DS Daily - 18th February 2011

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Welfare Reform Bill 2011

A list of Impact assessments. The Bill legislates for the biggest change to the welfare system for over 60 years [Department for Work and Pensions, UK]

PM’s speech on Welfare Reform Bill

Prime Minister David Cameron delivered a speech on the Welfare Reform Bill on 17 February 2011 [Number 10, UK]

David Cameron sets out Welfare Reform Bill plans

A "universal credit", sanctions for those turning down jobs and a cap on benefits paid to a single family are among the changes outlined [BBC, UK]

Cuts mean homelessness set to rise, say charities

More than 1,700 rough sleepers already on streets could be joined by many more following hostel bed cutbacks [Guardian, UK]

Welfare reforms

Housing and Communities Minister, Alex Neil has responded to Welfare Reform plans unveiled by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith [Scottish Government, UK]

Rough Sleeping England - Autumn 2010

This is a new statistical release presenting a new data series of rough sleeping counts and estimates following the introduction of revised guidance on evaluating the extent of rough sleeping in September 2010 PDF [Communities and Local Government, UK]

Voluntary sector funding announced to help tackle rough sleeping

At the Spending Review, the Coalition Government announced a £400million investment to tackle homelessness. Whilst the majority of this funding is directed through councils to allow them to decide their priorities locally, ministers decided that there remained a compelling case for a 'Homelessness Grant' to be given directly to the voluntary sector [Communities and Local Government, UK]

Rough sleeping warning

Rough sleeping figures paint a worrying picture of the future of homelessness in this country warns [Shelter, UK]

Welfare reforms reaction

The Government's welfare reforms were welcomed by some groups, but union leaders complained ministers were blaming the jobless for being unemployed [Telegraph, UK]

A welfare bill for people with straightforward lives

Simplify the welfare support system by all means – but don't forget that the lives of real people are complex [Guardian, UK]

A welfare system that works

Alongside 'making work pay' in today's bill we also have 'making benefits painful': sanctions for people who refuse a reasonable job offer, or refuse training. But our review of international evidence on sanctions reveals a mixed picture [Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK]

Welfare reform: Do Iain Duncan Smith's claims check out?

There can be little doubt that Iain Duncan Smith has avoided many of the problems that are apparent in much of the press reporting of welfare and benefits issues, and he should be commended for doing so. However some of his claims do need greater contextualisation, and some, such as his assertion on the record proportion of working age adults in poverty, could be misleading without this [Factcheck, UK]

Health leaders call for urgen action on public health shake-up

Following a Local Government Group summit, 10 leading public health bodies have issued a joint statement on the Government's Health and Social Care Bill [Local Government Association, UK]

Response to the UK Government's Tackling Child Poverty and Improving Life Chances: Consulting on a New Approach

[Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK]

Cash Counts for Parents With Mental Health Difficulties And Their Children

Impact of mental health problems on family finances PDF report [Family Action, UK]

53 arrests made in crackdown on drugs

Police have arrested 53 people across Swansea and Neath Port Talbot in connection with drugs and stolen property following a 12-day crackdown [Wales Online, UK]

Increase in Alcohol Attributable Hospital Admissions in the South West

This report provides an enhanced understanding of the populations being admitted to hospital due to alcohol and will be useful to those concerned with the planning and commissioning of alcohol misuse prevention and treatment services [South West Public Health Observatory, UK]

An alcoholic doctor talks frankly about her addiction

A doctor spoke frankly about her addiction to alcohol and responded to the goverment's call for health labels to be put on spirit bottles [BBC, UK]

At last, Britain's a world leader again (unfortunately it's in drinking alcohol)

Only eastern European countries such as Russia, Croatia and Estonia drink more [Daily Mail, UK]

TV advert in south west to 'dispel myths' of roll-ups

Anti-smoking campaigners have begun a television advertising campaign in the south west of England to highlight the risks of smoking hand-rolled tobacco [BBC, UK]

Problem drinking curbed by EU-funded drug education curriculum

The largest European drug education trial ever conducted tested whether US-style social influence programmes would prove effective in Europe. Among the successes were the reductions in problem drinking documented in this report [Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK]

Hepatitis and drug use

A new thematic page on drug use and hepatitis [EMCDDA]

Canadians back tougher sentences for drug dealers: Norlock

Northumberland-Quinte West MP Rick Norlock said he's confident a majority of Canadians support his government's efforts to get tough on drug traffickers by making minimum sentences mandatory [Northumberland News, Canada]

Young Alcohol Users Often Get Alcohol from Family or Home

Annually, an estimated 709,000 youths aged 12 to 14 (5.9 percent) drank alcohol in the past month according to combined 2006 to 2009 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health PDF [SAMHSA, USA]

Physician Pleads Guilty to $1 Million Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri announced that on February 16, 2011, an Independence, Mo., physician has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to illegally distribute more than $1 million worth of OxyContin and oxycodone [DEA, USA]