Dolls and teddy bears can help people with Alzheimer’s disease interact and communicate with others, researchers have found. The team from Newcastle General Hospital studied the benefits of dolls after seeing how one patient bonded with a teddy bear from her son. Patients bond with and care for the dolls, and staff found the toys gave them something to talk about.The research was presented to a British Psychological Society Conference.

Cases of murder and manslaughter have risen by almost a quarter since Labour came to power, Home Office figures have revealed. Since 1997, the number of homicide victims, including solved and unsolved cases, has averaged 737 per year. In the period from 1990 to 1996, the average was 601. The figures deal a further blow to Tony Blair’s reputation on law and order, after he came to office pledging to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”.

Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, is expected to spark a major new row between politicians and judges by rejecting calls to refer the case of Craig Sweeney, a paedophile who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a three-year-old girl, to the Court of Appeal.The decision not to refer the high-profile case of Sweeney, 24, to the higher court will represent an embarrassing rebuke to the Home Secretary, John Reid. Last month Reid wrote to Goldsmith claiming the minimum five years and 108 days’ sentence handed down to Sweeney was ‘unduly lenient’ and should be reconsidered by the Court of Appeal.

Police are investigating allegations that two six-year-old boys sexually assaulted two five-year-old girls at a primary school. Officers were called to the school in Suffolk, which cannot be named for legal reasons, but because the boys are below the age of criminal responsibility social services are now dealing with the matter. In a statement, Suffolk County Council described what happened as “deeply disturbing”. The alleged assaults took place on June 22, a police spokeswoman said.

An inquiry into day-centre provision for vulnerable people in Birmingham has blasted an inadequate service starved of resources and based in “dismal” buildings not fit for purpose. The scrutiny committee investigation hit out at a lack of purpose or vision by the city council’s social services directorate, with elderly people spending their days playing bingo and being sucked into a dependency culture.

Colleagues of a social worker killed in the July 7 bombings have created an award recognising “dedication and excellence” in honour of her commitment to helping people with learning disabilities. Ojara Ikeagwu was one of 27 people – including suicide bomber Jermaine Lindsay – who died in the Piccadilly Line explosion between Russell Square and King’s Cross.

A 62-year-old has become the oldest British mother on record after giving birth to a boy. Dr Patricia Rashbrook and her husband described the 6lb 10oz baby, who has been nicknamed JJ, as “beautiful”. The child psychiatrist from Lewes, East Sussex, reportedly underwent a Caesarean section which went smoothly. Dr Rashbrook travelled to the former Soviet Union with her husband John Farrant, 60, to get fertility treatment from Italian doctor Severino Antinori.

Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis said:
“I am appalled that the vulnerable people living in this facility in Cornwall have been abused by those who were supposed to protect and care for them. Abuse of vulnerable people in any setting is simply unacceptable. With the help of an external team we appointed with the SHA in October 2005, the local NHS and county council have already taken steps to ensure that the people involved are now safe.

The heads of two care inspectorates have voiced serious concerns about the treatment of people with learning disabilities across England. Their report comes just over a year after an investigation was launched by Dorset police and Poole social services over the alleged assault of Down’s Syndrome man Jamie McManus.

Giving people the skills and confidence to get a job in health and social care has come up trumps in an annual NHS awards ceremony. The Employability Project – a partnership between Bradford District Care Trust, Job Centre Plus and Yorkshire Forward – aims to help people from black and ethnic minority communities, people with learning disabilities and those with mental health problems to get into work.