A majority of Britons will be obese within 25 years because so many people are leading such unhealthy lives, warns a new report commissioned by the government. It concludes that record numbers of people will die from diabetes, strokes, heart attacks and cancers.

A pilot scheme introducing books dealing with gay issues to children from the ages of four to 11 has just been launched in England’s schools. It is being argued that the books, one of which is a fairytale featuring a prince who turns down three princesses before falling in love and marrying a man, are necessary to make homosexuality seem normal to children.

Tougher penalties for drink-drivers could be introduced if a recommendation in a government-commissioned report is adopted. The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) report also called for the consequences of taking alcohol to be included in the school curriculum.

Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering flashbacks, trauma and panic attacks are being told to wait 18 months or longer for treatment on the National Health Service. Many of the ex-servicemen with posttraumatic stress should be given priority under government guidelines, but are being told that they must wait for treatment, in some cases for up to four years.

Fatty acids can help children in exams and improve their behaviour in class and at home, a study suggests. Overweight children who took fatty acid dietary supplements showed dramatic improvements in concentration, reading, memory and mental agility.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, has called on his flock to join a campaign against new gay rights laws. Archbishop Nichols urged Catholics in the city to write to their MPs in protest at the Sexual Orientation Regulations, published last week by the Government.

A primary school headmaster has outraged parents after he tricked his pupils into recording their fingerprints by telling them they were playing spies. Children were persuaded to give their prints after being told by Mark Woodburn that it was ‘just a game…so there’s no need to tell your parents’.

British troops who suffered mental illness after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are having to wait up to 18 months for treatment, it has been claimed. New Ministry of Defence (MoD) figures reveal 2,123 servicemen and women have been treated for mental health conditions after returning from Iraq since 2003.

{mosimage}Veterans are entitled to priority NHS treatment for “disabling conditions” that result from their service – but many are being put on lengthy waiting lists. More than 320 troops who served in Iraq have been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while others have suffered from anxiety or depression.
Services mental health charity Combat Stress, which runs three homes for veterans with PTSD, reported a worrying increase in the number of Iraq veterans referred.

Toby Elliott, the charity’s chief executive, told the Sunday Times: “Twenty-five years on from the Falklands war, we have seen less than 400 soldiers (from that conflict). “The rate of admission from Iraq is much faster. The worry is that it is only the bow wave of what will be coming for many years.”

More than a million foreigners have been allowed to come to work in Britain in just three years – and given the right to remain indefinitely. The numbers of migrants, who are also entitled to bring their families and settle, have been revealed in new figures released to MPs by the Home Office.

Schools Minister Andrew Adonis has announced further action to ensure better support for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Draft guidance on planning and developing provision for children with SEN has been sent to local authorities and SEN groups for further comment.