A policewoman who admitted trying to kill her former lover when she shot him with her police issue handgun has been jailed for 12 years. Diane Northcott, 41, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Sergeant Laurence Smyth inside a police station in Newtownabbey in September 2006.
Commenting on the publication today of a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that has called for the UK's tax credit system to be completely overhauled, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Danny Alexander said:
The Liberal Democrats have highlighted evidence that the Government has reneged on its promise to consult on increasing the Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA) for more than 250,000 care home residents. Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, alongside a number of his Front Bench colleagues, has signed a motion against the regulations introducing the insufficient increase.
A pioneering hospital treating people with complex mental health problems is to close next week. NHS bosses in charge of the Henderson Hospital in south west London said the closure was temporary and a public consultation will still take place.
Nearly 100,000 patients with Alzheimer's a year will be refused drugs that could delay the onset of the disease, the Court of Appeal has heard. The manufacturer of one drug - Aricept - has been fighting a decision to restrict access to patients in the later stages of the disease. NHS drugs advisers said the therapy along with others in its class are not cost effective for early Alzheimer's.
Help is being provided to people with disabilities to allow them to enjoy a major music festival in Cambridgeshire. Cambridgeshire County Council is providing two wheelchair accessible minibuses to transport disabled people to Cambridge Folk Festival.
