By 1 April 2007, the social work bursary and postgraduate bursary service will be transferred from the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

Home Secretary John Reid will this week launch a drive to deny illegal immigrants the benefits of living in the UK. Immigration minister Liam Byrne said the initiative would involve a cross-Government effort to ensure that illegals cannot get housing, healthcare or work.

Thousands of pensioners are to be freed from the old-age poverty trap in a pioneering scheme of free home care. The plan is being introduced for the Isle of Wight. If successful, it could be extended to other parts of the country.

Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke has called for DNA details to be put on the identity cards database – despite warnings it will be accessed by crooks. Mr Clarke argues that current Government plans for ID cards are too timid and that the more information placed on them, the safer they will be from abuse.

Children as young as three are being treated for obesity, an expert warns. In a normal child 20-25% of their body weight will be fat but specialists report that they are seeing toddlers with up to 50% body fat.

The government has unveiled the first advertising campaign to highlight the “invisible dangers” of passive smoking. The advert, which runs from today shows dark smoke curling around guests at a wedding to demonstrate that 85% of smoke is invisible and odourless.

Ministers are considering setting up a database of fingerprints of children aged 11 to 15. Immigration minister Liam Byrne said that the idea is being considered as part of the preparations for the introduction of biometric passports and ID cards.

{mosimage}From next year, everyone over 16 who applies for a passport will have their fingerprints – along with eye and facial scans – recorded in the National Identity Register.

But Mr Byrne said ministers were concerned that teenagers aged 16-20 could end up travelling for a period on passports without biometric details if they hold a child passport issued between the ages of 11 and 15 and valid for five years.

Officials at the Identity and Passport Service have proposed the fingerprint database as a way of ensuring that all passports carried by those aged 16 or over hold biometric details, he said.

But he said no final decision had yet been made on whether to go ahead with the proposal. “These are proposals which we are looking at,” Mr Byrne told ITV1’s The Sunday Edition. “The challenge that officials have been asked to find an answer to is how do you make sure that people who are 16 and over have got biometric details recorded in their passports?

“If you only have to renew your passport every five years then potentially a 12-year-old won’t have to renew their passport until they are 16. That would mean you would have some 16-year-olds who would have a passport without biometric details. These are proposals which officials are looking at, but we haven’t come to any conclusion yet.”

A shocking new report claims that too many of the 4,300 women in Britain’s prisons are vulnerable and a danger to themselves – and already this year two have taken their own lives.

Community groups tackling gangs and gun crime will be able to apply for a share of £500,000 government funding from today. Groups can apply for up to £5,000 each from the sixth round of the Connected Fund, which exists to combat gangs through educational, sporting and cultural activities.

The government says its below-inflation public sector pay rises are fair for staff and good for the economy. But the Treasury is preparing for a rough ride from angry unions, with some threatening industrial action.

{mosimage}While nurses will get a 1.9% rise, GPs will get none at all. Some armed forces personnel will get 9.2%, but senior civil servants will receive just 1.4%.

Chief Secretary of the Treasury Stephen Timms told BBC Two’s Newsnight the deal was “fair to staff as well as being right for the economy”. He added: “I hope that when staff look at the details of this settlement and see what it actually means in terms of their pay next year they will recognise that it is a fair settlement.”

But Kevin Coyne, of Amicus, said the union was very unhappy with the rises. He warned: “We will assess the mood of our members in regard to the staged payment and the overall figure, which may lead to an industrial action ballot.”