A group representing disabled people has suggested knocking down the 300-year-old Midsteeple in Dumfries to replace it with an advice centre. The Nithsdale Coalition of Disabled People (NCDP) has written to Dumfries and Galloway Council with its plan. Chairman Alastair Moir said there was no justification for spending more than £2m on renovating the building.
A major review has concluded there is little evidence to suggest a key plank of government plans to toughen up mental health laws actually works. The Mental Health Bill would allow people with untreatable personality disorders to be detained, even if they have not committed a crime. But a review found no sound evidence these community treatments orders had been beneficial in other countries. The government rejected accusations the review had been buried.
More people are being diagnosed with diabetes, but the NHS has to do more to meet the challenge of treating them, the government has said. The assessment by the Department of Health reveals how the Health Service has fared with implementing 2003 guidelines on the disease.
The use of drugs to treat hyperactivity in children has soared worldwide, say US researchers. Between 1993 and 2003, prescriptions of ADHD medications, such as Ritalin, almost tripled. Global spending on ADHD drugs increased nine-fold, with 83% occurring in the US, a study in Health Affairs reported.
A DISABLED woman who broke her back five years ago claims she is being denied access to Ilkley Moor because of speed bumps which are too painful for her to drive over. Christine Gale, of Addingham, is calling on Bradford Council to assess whether the traffic-calming measures it has introduced on the route are preventing disabled drivers from using it.
My Lords, I start by welcoming the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, to his new DWP duties. I have always found him open, courteous, thoughtful and honest in our exchanges on Treasury matters. I hope that by saying that I am not putting the kibosh on his career when Gordon Brown takes over. The House has been very fortunate in recent years in all its Work and Pensions Ministers: the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and now the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie.