Virtual grown-ups
30 Jan 2012
Sue Palmer reports on the phenomenon of the new generation locked away in their rooms for hours in the substitute world created by the Internet and where the 'screen' becomes the only friend they want ...
Treating the illnesses beneath the crime
30 Jan 2012
Throughout history, all societies have included a population of marginalised people, suffering from mental health disorders of such severity that their demeanour and actions are intolerable to others. These individuals … » more
Personal debt is a crisis for the poorest in Britain
30 Jan 2012
As a new year begins, it is natural to look forward to the year ahead; to take stock, make plans and set goals. With 2012 looking set to be another … » more
Marriage is better for the children, and better for the taxpayer
30 Jan 2012
The cost of family breakdown in Britain is now, at £42bn a year and rising, more than the defence budget, yet government seem to think that it is no business of theirs ...
The 'carrot and stick' answer to human trafficking
30 Jan 2012
On 28 November 2011 the Equality and Human Rights Commission published the report of its Inquiry into Human Trafficking in Scotland. One of its key findings was that while businesses … » more
Tackling drug-abuse is a national priority, er, depending on where you live
09 Jan 2012
There is a strong commitment within government to drug policy and particularly drug and alcohol treatment. This is evidenced by the cross-departmental representation on the Inter-Ministerial Group on Drugs and, … » more
Despite the fuss, it must be better to keep fathers in the picture
09 Jan 2012
As the Welfare Reform Bill makes its way through the House of Lords, the controversy surrounding those elements relating to the proposed reforms of the child-maintenance system shows no sign … » more
A merciful muddle
09 Jan 2012
Britain's legal approach to euthanasia may be a messy compromise, but it is much better than anything that could take its place
The scandal of slavery in Britain
09 Jan 2012
Ten years after the United States was violently awoken to its vulnerability to terrorist attacks, the date 9/11 marks another rude awakening much closer to home. On 11 September 2011, … » more
Trouble-shooting problem families is worth every penny it costs
09 Jan 2012
Is it really worth spending money on troubleshooters to help families with multiple problems? Indeed it is. Just look at the numbers. Existing local authority family intervention programmes (FIPs) have … » more
Child poverty in Britain is becoming a Dickens of a problem
26 Oct 2011
The levels of child poverty in this country are a detriment to our society; the potential of so many held back simply by where they are born and raised may … » more
Adoption is more complex than 'broken'
26 Oct 2011
Adoption is never very far away from public consciousness. As an answer to infertility or the strong altruistic drive to care for a child whose mother cannot take on that … » more
Keeping children at the heart of child protection
29 Sep 2011
In the aftermath of the death of Baby P, everyone was shocked to hear that social workers were spending up to 80 per cent of their time in front of … » more
The price children may pay for not having a Dad
11 Jul 2011
Given that almost half of all children will not grow up with both parents and one third of children whose parents are separated or divorced have no contact with their … » more
Better to stick together
10 Jul 2011
Half of all babies born today will experience family breakdown before they have left school. The cost to the taxpayer of picking up the pieces is more than the entire … » more
Bringing dads into the picture
10 Jul 2011
For the last decade Whitehall's interest in fathers has flared up in different departments at different times, depending on when and where ministers had their eureka moment. Now, with two … » more
Too often, Mum's the word in family breakups
10 Jul 2011
One of the most noticeable and defining features of the Coalition government has been its focus on family and its recognition of the importance of fathers to children. David Cameron’s … » more
An absent father leaves a gap no one else can ever quite fill
10 Jul 2011
Not long ago I was speaking on the subject of fatherlessness at a conference in the UK. Two women came up to me after my final session. The first was … » more
Brandchild Britain
10 Jul 2011
Poppy was a bright, happy three-year-old, who loved playing and pottering around the garden. Her family didn’t have a TV so she was used to amusing herself. Then she started … » more
Fiddling while the NHS burns
10 Jul 2011
The NHS reforms will produce another expensive example of ‘jumping on the spot’. Since the reform contagion broke out in 1974 we have re-disorganised regularly with little evidence of effect … » more
Gove is heading schools to the bottom of the list
27 Apr 2011
One thing is for sure: the range of education policies with which the Conservatives fought last year’s general election, and which were outlined in the Schools white paper last November, … » more
If you want to 'look after the poor' Mr Cameron, it isn't going well
27 Apr 2011
David Cameron distinguished himself from Margaret Thatcher when he said, on first entering No 10 as prime minsiter: ‘I want to make sure that my government always looks after the … » more
Fiddling with the NHS is still no answer to its problems
27 Apr 2011
For politicians, 're-disorganising' the NHS is a substitute for dealing with the real problems in health care: inefficiency and inequity. Whether it is a Labour or Coalition government, the reformers … » more
The stigma that turns a hospital into prison
27 Apr 2011
What is going on for patients who have a mental illness? Coercion is becoming more prevalent in the care and treatment of those with mental illness at the very time … » more
The tough test for the NHS isn't cost but care
03 Apr 2011
In order of decreasing importance, the NHS has three main goals — equity, quality and cost containment. As this third goal continues to concentrate minds in the coming years of … » more
Does Mr Gove think schools should be run like the NHS?
03 Apr 2011
So far Michael Gove has been a Secretary of State in a hurry; two Education Bills, a white and green paper; new forms of academies and a completely new type … » more
How will tomorrow's survivor's survive?
17 Jan 2011
Ring out the old, ring in a new pension policy? An academic expert now occupies the ministerial chair. Austerity will hit university students, families and housing benefit claimants, but the … » more
Little people in the Big Society
17 Jan 2011
It is often said that nations should be judged by how they treat the most disadvantaged or vulnerable amongst their people. In all societies, children fall into this category, not … » more
Operating in the dark
30 Nov 2010
The appropriate mix of public and private-sector provision in the UK health service has been the subject of debate since before the creation of the NHS. The left see ‘privatisation’ … » more
The earlier we start to help, the more chances for Britain's babies
30 Nov 2010
Early in my parliamentary career I met Sharon, a 16-year-old single mother with her tiny new baby, at an advice surgery in my constituency. She asked for my help with … » more
This is not reform so what is Mr Lansley up to?
28 Oct 2010
When French diplomat Tallyrand died in 1836, Austrian diplomat Metternich is supposed to have asked: ‘I wonder what he meant by that?’ One might be forgiven for raising similarly suspicious … » more
Children need a champion with more to give than Santa Claus
30 Sep 2010
Were parliamentarians to be asked who’s protecting the human rights of children in England, spoof answers might include ‘Father Christmas’, the ‘Tooth Fairy’ and the ‘Easter Bunny’. These make-believe figures … » more
Low-cost credit available now — at your local Post Office
30 Sep 2010
The recent banking crisis has damaged public trust in high street banks and made it harder and more expensive for those on low incomes to gain credit. In addition, with … » more
The poor need a better deal from the banks
30 Sep 2010
High-cost credit sounds like something to be avoided. Why would anyone seeking credit choose to pay more when there are cheaper options? Nevertheless, many do. The Consumer Focus study Keeping … » more
Welfare reform: what happens next?
02 Sep 2010
The government's approach to reducing welfare dependency, by improving the incentive to work, is the right thing to do. Work is the most sustainable way to reduce welfare dependency, if … » more
A Coalition with no idea of the problem, and no idea of the solution
31 Aug 2010
Health-care delivery in public and private health-care systems is demonstrably inefficient. Inefficiency manifests itself in the failure to deliver cost-effective care to patients who would benefit, poor control of patient … » more
Going for broke
31 Aug 2010
National debt has been in the headlines for the last few months but levels of personal debt are far higher and only look set to get worse. In January 2010, … » more
The silent misery of Britain's indebted poor
31 Aug 2010
Suzie rang me whilst bailiffs were at her door. Her cupboards were empty of food and she was about to lose the very little she and her daughter had. It … » more
Re-disorganising the NHS yet again
22 Jul 2010
The NHS consumes over £100bn, and nearly twenty per cent of public expenditure. Despite being ‘soaked’ in money during the last decade, the service continues to exhibit failures common to all health-care systems, public and private — as example, large un-evidenced variations in clinical practice, failure to deliver to patients ‘what works’, medical errors and an absence of measurement of whether health care improves patients’ health.
Let's exploit children: they're the softest target
07 Jan 2010
Nasty place, Victorian Britain. To keep the Industrial Revolution rolling, poor children were dispatched down mines, up chimneys, into dark Satanic mills. But then, as the industrialists pointed out, there … » more
Preserving the legacy of Lloyd George
08 Dec 2009
Few of us doubt that the next five years will bring tough times in the fight among different interests to preserve entitlements to state resources. An unprecedented squeeze on public … » more