The Government’s health watchdog faces court action over its decision to deny tens of thousands of patients access to dementia drugs. Companies involved in the marketing of one of the drugs said they had no option but to seek a judicial review of how the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) reached its conclusions.

Healthcare Locums (HCL) is to acquire social-work agency Blue Group International Holdings in an deal worth up to £14m. Healthcare Locums will pay £10m cash on completion of the deal, and a further £2m on the first anniversary of completion. Earn-out payments could be up to £2m.

A company planning to slash care workers’ pay refused to answer questions at a council meeting. Now a band of councillors is preparing to place the controversial plans – which would result in almost 100 former council workers having their wages slashed – under the microscope.

{mosimage}A Home Office official exposed as a leading member of an Islamic extremist group will keep his £40,000 job because Tony Blair has failed to ban the organisation.

In the wake of the July 7 bombings last year, the Prime Minister promised to outlaw Hizb ut-Tahrir, who refuses to condemn suicide bombers and has called for the destruction of Israel.

But nothing has been done. As a result, Abid Javaid’s bosses at the scandal-hit Immigration and Nationality Directorate are powerless to sack the 41-year-old.

He will stay on unless it can be proved that he abused his position as a senior executive officer in the IT department. As Home Secretary John Reid launched an inquiry yesterday, the Kenyan-born father of four was ‘working from home’ with the permission of senior officials.

Any attempt to remove him would almost certainly lead to a costly employment tribunal. Mr Javaid, from Thornton Heath, South London, will now be subjected to a fresh round of security vetting.

The Council of Black Led Churches, The African Caribbean Evangelical Alliance, The Peace Alliance and Christians Together in Brent are among the growing number of faith groups who have expressed their grave concern over the government’s handling of the changes to the 1983 Mental Health Act. The crisis in black mental health is increasingly recognised as one of the most critical issues facing African Caribbean communities in Britain today.

A Council leader has pledged to “bring in the tanks” if a housing association’s plan to close six OAP homes goes ahead. Bexley councillors say they remain to be convinced by London & Quadrant’s (L&Q) plans for the sheltered housing scheme. Six of the association’s 16 sheltered housing schemes in the borough are earmarked for closure – affecting 200 elderly residents. Council leader Councillor Ian Clement said Bexley would withhold consent for the closures unless L&Q could convince it “the changes are necessary”.

An independent inquiry into the care given to a paranoid schizophrenic who killed a man in a vicious knife attack after being allowed to leave a psychiatric hospital will be published.

Government efforts to encourage community participation in public service delivery have resulted in the same small group of well-connected individuals taking up seats on the boards of more and more projects, according to a report.

Research suggests date-rape drugs may not be as prevalent as first thought. A study commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), suggests many victims of sexual assault may have just been extremely drunk.

In the UK, it is estimated that up to 40% of people with a learning disability also have a mental health problem but many of them are not getting the support they urgently need.