Stigmabase | Isles

Peter Tatchell: The equal marriage consultation is not good enough : by Peter Tatchell for PinkNews.co. uk Equality minister Lynne Featherstone has announced that the government's consultation on gay marriage is postponed until March 2012, and that its terms of reference will explicitly exclude same-sex religious ... PinkNews.co.uk

Economic crunch sees families turning to food banks for help : A spokesman for the trust said: "Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. "Last year our UK food bank network fed over 60000 people experiencing food poverty . ... United Kingdom | Ireland

More clients for marketing agency : The agency has also been reappointed by Kier as the retained national PR and communications agency for its maintenance arm, which holds one of the largest social housing repair and maintenance portfolios in the UK . Acceleris was originally appointed by ... United Kingdom | Ireland

UK Surgeons Separate Twin Joined at Head : Facing the World, a charity which helps disfigured children, said it had helped fund the four-stage operation on 11-month-olds Rital and Ritag Gaboura. Twins born joined at the head are known as craniopagus twins and they occur in about one in 2.5 ... United Kingdom | Ireland

UK education system a 'culture of excuses': teacher : We have a national curriculum in England and you could decide not to follow that, for instance, and do something slightly different. Those are freedoms that only free schools and academies have. Academies were set up by our old Labour government and ... United Kingdom | Ireland

UK police detain seven people on terrorism suspicions : British police said Monday they had arrested seven people in a counterterrorism operation in the city of Birmingham. Six men, aged 25 to 32, were arrested overnight on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism. A 22-year- old woman was also held on ... United Kingdom | Ireland

First Quantum Minerals Provides Update on BVI Legal Proceedings : As a result of the cancellation, over 700 Congolese have been out of work since August 2009, and the social programs instituted by First Quantum, including an almost completed hospital, and HIV - Aids and Malaria treatment programs were as a result ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Pledge on quality maternity care : The National Childbirth Trust (NCT) said Wales had suffered variable standards of care in the past but this was a "significant opportunity". The minister outlined the strategy during a visit to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff . ... BBC News

London Remains Area in UK with Highest Average House Price : The current average house price is now £233139 in the UK . In London the average remained on the rise helping to balance out the weaker house prices of other areas in the UK . London had the highest asking price of all areas at an average of £427889. ... Remortgage News

Keep a close eye on private prisons : Yet studies show that these savings will be carried out through reduced staffing and by curtailing rehabilitation and training programs for inmates. At Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in Mississippi, the Geo Group cut staff at a juvenile ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Released from prison earlier this year, drunken driver arrested again : She said Easterling told her he was going to try and do better and planned on going to rehab . But he may be going back to prison . Because he is on probation, the four suspended years of his sentence are still hanging over his head. ... United Kingdom | Ireland

September 19: Union strike demands at odds with reality Not exactly a novel plan, as the general hard-working independent citizens and the elderly have always had to observe the eventual disruption to the UK . As is usual the Unions always blame the Government but ironically it is not politicians who are ...

Fall in house prices in Wales bucks UK trend North and Mid Wales was the only area in Wales to see an annual fall in asking prices, going down 3.7%, while Cardiff and South Wales both registered small increases, and Swansea saw a 5.4% increase to an average of £161243 from £153018 last year. ...

Thousands back Minister for Older People - Age UK : More than 60000 people have signed a petition calling for the creation of a minister to champion the rights of older members of the UK's society in Parliament.

Gender-free UK passport mooted : Mrs Featherstone - who has just announced plans for gay weddings - has made a string of promises committing the Government to do more for transgender people. She said: “The UK Government is totally committed to creating a society that is fair for ... Independent Online

Garden cities: reshaping the ideas of the past for the 21st century : Some of the later new towns showed how relying on a state vision can come off the rails: like the architects of early 1970s social housing in Milton Keynes who were obsessed with preventing the tenants having any opportunity for decoration or ornament ... The Guardian

Mental Health nursing in the UK : Does anyone have experience as an Australian post-grad trained mental health nurse moving over to the UK ? I am a mental health nurse in the western suburbs of Melbourne with two and a half years of public mental health experience (12 months of which ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Barclays Wealth Report: Philanthropy Could Save UK Taxpayer £100bn : According to the research, badly behaved children cost the UK £51bn a year, adults out of work with mental health problems cost £45bn a year and chaotic families cost a further £12bn a year. Emma Turner, Director of Client Philanthropy at Barclays ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Ark snaps up six Anchor care branches Domiciliary care company Ark Home Healthcare has acquired part of Anchor Trust, England's largest not-for-profit housing and home care provider for older people . Ark, backed by private equity partners Ashridge Capital and Core Capital, has bought six ...

New drug could reduce blood clots in joint replacement patients Older patients who have hip or knee replacements could benefit from a new pill that lowers their risk of suffering potentially fatal blood clots. By Martin Beckford, Health Correspondent The blood-thinning drug, called apixaban, has been found in ...

Services to pay tribute to miners : "Only a day old , minersappealfund.org has already raised over £30000 with hundreds of donations small and large," said Mr Hain, who has been tweeting updates on the amount of money raised. At Cilybebyll Parish Church, close to the Gleision mine, ... BBC News

'Cannabis should be legalised in UK' : Cannabis should be legalised in Britain and all other personal drug use decriminalised, delegates voted on Sunday by an overwhelming margin. They called for the creation of a panel to review the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act so that “possession of any ... Independent Online

Fall Into Autumn With a Charity Skydive for the NSPCC It will also help the NSPCC to develop its national helplines - ChildLine for young people and the NSPCC Helpline for concerned adults - so that we can be there for vulnerable children and young people wherever they may be in the UK ." A charity skydive ...

Charity warns of modern slavery in UK : "We have been coming across some extremely disturbing reports from homeless people who have been 'enslaved' by criminal gangs across the UK ," said Mike Nicholas, a spokesman for the charity. "Increasing numbers of rough sleepers, many from central and ... Press TV

Massive rise in Devon and Cornwall burglary figures : "However, recession does bring pressure around property crime . Whether it is caused by drug addiction or just plain criminality , we are fighting it head-on." Internal police figures for April to August this year showed that burglaries had risen in ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Coalition Government to launch consultation on gay marriage The UK coalition government is to follow Scotland's lead and launch a consultation on the gay marriage. The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government will launch a consultation on the process allowing gay couples to marry in March. ...

The art of being yourself : The Queerfest cultural festival aims to defend the rights of the LGBT community and promote tolerance. By Sergey Chernov The MArt gallery will host an art exhibition titled 'Queerography.' Consulates of the UK , the Netherlands and Sweden are supporting ... United Kingdom | Ireland

German police: story of 'British' boy who emerged from woods 'credible' Police have not ruled out that he may have suffered mental trauma and he is undergoing psychiatric evaluation. Investigators said they would consider making a public appeal if the mystery continued. “We are determined to find out the identity of this ...

Hospitals and care homes are failing the elderly - One News Page ... : Hospitals and care homes are failing the elderly : Half of UK hospitals and care homes are failing to look after patients, a damning report.. World on One News ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Riots. Young people under pressure. : As many local resources are strapped for cash, closing or hanging on by a thread, the media reminds us of a growing sense of unrest amongst young people through coverage of recent rampages in cities acros the UK . As youth centres and community projects ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Conjoined Twins Separated At Great Ormond Street Hospital, England : Rital and Ritag Gaboura, 11 months- old twins who were born with their heads joined together, were successfully separated by surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, England . According to experts at the hospital, one 1 in every 10 million twins ...

Travellers vow to resist eviction : Residents said among them were the very young, the vulnerable and the elderly . Ms McCarthy insisted though, the remaining adults would lock themselves to their properties. She would not say how many planned to take part, but it is understood as many as ... BBC News

Anti-poverty action haunts coalition : They demanded that Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable "clean the UK's debt skeletons out of the cupboards." The JDC said ministers must open the books on 30 years of "failed or inappropriate" government-supported loans to countries to buy British ...

Vauxhall donates engines to British juvenile rehabilitation facility : Vauxhall, General Motors' British subsidiary, is donating three engines to the HMYOI (which stands for Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution) prison in Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom. The institution has a program called the ... Torque News

Three killed in quake-hit Nepal : Those dead included a motorcyclist and his eight-year- old child who were struck as they rode past, police said. Telephone lines were knocked out across Sikkim state, while power cuts plunged Gangtok, the capital, into darkness shortly after the quake ... BBC News

Princess Kate exploring UK charity work : Click here Princess Kate exploring UK charity work Originally published: September 18, 2011 10:17 AM Updated: September 18, 2011 11:03 AM By The Associated Press RAPHAEL G. SATTER (Associated Press) (AP) -- Newly-minted royal Kate Middleton is on the ... Newsday (subscription)

21-year-old seriously injured on birthday night out : A 21-year-old man celebrating his birthday in Glasgow was seriously injured when he was attacked outside a nightclub. The incident, which police are treating as attempted murder, took place at around 3am on Sunday in Mitchell Street outside the Tunnel ... stv.tv

Census shows grim future for the poor : Fewer adults ages 25 to 34 are earning degrees in America than in nations such as Luxembourg, the UK , France and Sweden, the four nations that leapfrogged America in the rankings. Perhaps this decline should come as no surprise. ...

Services to pay tribute to miners : The Catholic community of south Wales also sent condolences to relatives and friends of the miners killed. Archbishop of Cardiff George Stack said: "Prayers will be offered in all our churches this weekend for the repose of the souls of those who have ... BBC News

Age UK's 'itea and biscuits week' is back : “itea and biscuits” week is an annual campaign run by Age UK which aims to introduce technology to people in later life. Technology is increasingly important and can offer older people numerous benefits, from using mobile phones and the Internet to ... United Kingdom | Ireland

David Cameron faces backlash from women voters as cuts hit them hardest They face a big increase in childcare costs, are more likely to be caring for a relative or need social housing and are being more seriously affected by the pension changes than men In addition, female unemployment has hit a 23-year-high with 1.05 ...

Cost of social problems put at £100bn : Investing about £30bn a year in early stage interventions in three key areas – antisocial children, adults with mental health problems and dysfunctional families – is likely to save almost £100bn in benefits, lost productivity and the costs of dealing ...

County rated badly on cuts to disabled care : “Further, WSCC is now deducting 15 per cent of the amount of a personal budget before giving it to a person with mental health needs. “Personal budgets are cash payments that can be given to disabled people who are eligible for care and support ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Mortality Gap Widening for the Mentally Ill : The UK's National Health Service recently released a new mental health strategy with the theme "no health without mental health ," which stresses better integration between primary care and secondary care, more appropriate screening for physical illness ... United Kingdom | Ireland

Yearning for the great outdoors : Outdoor play is beneficial for children's physical and mental health , for forming friendships, and for the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills. If poorer children do it less, they are losing out. Indeed, children say that having plenty of ... The Independent (blog)