Families caring for loved ones with profound learning disabilities are reaching breaking point, a report has warned. The charity Mencap said seven out of 10 families had reached or come close to breaking point due to the stress of round-the-clock care. Many are denied access to adequate short-break care by local authorities or hospital trusts, the charity said. One in three families questioned said their access to short breaks had been cut in the last year, while six out of 10 felt the breaks on offer never fully met their needs.

Children who grow up with alcoholic parents bear emotional, behavioural and mental scars, experts say. The Priory study said children of alcoholics were four times more likely to be addicted to drink and there was a risk of drug and gambling problems. The private health provider said a child’s early life was characterised by chaos, trauma, confusion and shame and, quite often, sexual and physical abuse. The report found 55% of domestic violence occurs in alcoholic homes.

Most people living in the UK favour imposing restrictions on migrant workers, a new survey has revealed. Three-quarters of those polled for the Tonight With Trevor McDonald: Open Door UK programme felt limits should be put on the number of people allowed into the UK or the type of work they were allowed to do. Overall, only 4% believed the Government had immigration under control and almost half said they were less likely to vote Labour because of the party’s current policy on migrant workers.

Furious residents in Coventry are organising a petition in protest at plans to create a new home in their street for people with mental health problems. The former old folk’s home in Allesley, Coventry, is next to the village primary school and neighbours say they are worried about the effect the plans could have on school children. Patricia Fox, aged 38, said the main concern was that people did not know exactly who would be moving into the home and whether it could cause problems.

Disabled people in south Essex could soon be taking back control over their care thanks to a Government pilot scheme. Gary MacTaggart, 48, of Temple Close, Billericay, is one of five disabled people living on individual budgets as part of the scheme which is being run by Essex County Council. It means Mr MacTaggart, who lives with multiple sclerosis, is in total control of his care, allowing him to budget his money into the things he really needs to make his life easier.

A series of drastic cutbacks to adult social care in Wiltshire have been proposed by a cash-strapped council desperate to plug a £7m budget deficit. People with learning difficulties, those needing respite care and the elderly will bear the brunt of the cutbacks as Wiltshire County Council’s cabinet prepares to discuss cuts to day care facilities as part of a corporate recovery plan. The move follows the announcement earlier this year that the council faces a £7m budget shortfall in 2006/07. Dr Keith Robinson, chief executive of the council, admitted the cutbacks would cause anxiety.

Workmen are putting the finishing touches to what will be the largest residential care home in the county – with some 148 beds. The modern Milton Court Care Centre, in Tunbridge Grove, Kents Hill, which is expected to employ 100 staff, is due to open its doors to new residents in mid November. Caroline Roberts, the general manager of the centre, said: “Both myself and Guy Horwood, the clinical manager, have managed homes and we have also regulated homes. So we have worked on both sides of the fence and we will have to put into practice what we have preached during the past four years.

Children will have their say on plans to make family courts more responsive to their needs, Harriet Harman, minister for family justice, has announced. The government is asking young people whether judges should ask their views and tell them courts’ decisions and whether they should have their own legal representation in divorce cases. The Department for Constitutional Affairs is also considering whether individuals should be able to request full information on why courts reached particular custody arrangements or authorised their adoption once they reach adulthood.

Financial plans drawn up to claw back millions of pounds from health services have been condemned after it emerged care beds are the latest casualties in the cutbacks in North Yorkshire. Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) has announced it is hoping to shave up to £50,000 off this year’s budgets by withdrawing funding for the care beds in two units in York which have been instrumental in keeping patients out of hospital. The PCT is facing one of the worst financial crises in the country as it attempts to make nearly £23m in savings to balance its books and meet Government deadlines by March 31 next year.

Gene therapy has eradicated cancer from two dying men using genetically modified versions of their own cells. Both were suffering from advanced melanoma but the technique could be customised to attack other common cancers. Although scientists remain cautious because there have been many false dawns in the use of gene therapy, the results show, in principle at least, that aggressive cancer can be treated this way, even after it has spread and the outlook is grim.