Category Archives: #HeadlineTherapy

Thanks to Linsey Smith and BBC News Online for the Headline

Inevitably the failures of the ‘Early release’ scheme will hit the headlines. Already there have been some people who have returned to prison, for “shoplifting”, “drunk and disorderly” , “fraud” and worryingly “domestic violence”.

Those are a small but key percentage of those released on the 1st October this year. The Headlines will not focus on the prisoners who perhaps had family or a support system in place and who do not reoffend. They are the success stories .

Among the reoffenders who are back in jail are people who didn’t want to leave jail in the first place, three meals a day, warmth and perhaps a bit of company is what they saw “prison” to be.

No doubt the statistics will be produced in a year to say the percentage of reoffenders was and a comparison done with how much the Police were able to make “new arrests” on the basis that there would be a place in Prison for them when the case was prosecuted successfully. The Government’s answer to making the streets safer is that the “new arrests” are more a danger to the public than the “early release prisoners”.

It’s early days on “early release”, but where a serious crime is involved the Headlines will not forgive the “error in judgement” of releasing a prisoner onto the streets to do harm, however, it’s unlikely that the good behaviour of those who having been released and who are getting on with their lives lawfully will be highlighted.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.

Thanks to Rachael Lewis and BBC Online News for the Headline.

When is fly-tipping not fly tipping? When the four overflowing skips are actually owned by a small family -owned company that has bought the previously multi-occupancy (MHO) which was shut down last year and who have after a year finally got planning permission to convert the building into fourteen residential units. The rubbish is from inside the building they are converting and consists of old sofas, mattresses and other detritus.

The situation has arisen in the leafy suburb of Moseley in Birmingham, and the owners of the property are blaming the Council on the lengthy time it has taken to approve their plans and having now incurred additional costs say that the project now will take another year to complete and that the situation with the unsightly overflowing skips is unfortunate, however they are on private land and they will address the situation as soon as possible.

A local councillor has got involved and contacted the “empty property officer” to get involved and the owners have been sent an official letter to clear the mess and if nothing happens within 28 days there will be a formal notice.

Actually, this kind of rubbish is very unsightly and if the skips are full they should be emptied and replaced with empty ones so that the work can continue.Perhaps the “empty property officer ” can enforce this?

Thanks to Joshua Askew and BBC Online News for the Headline.

Thanet District Council has a Car Park which is on the seafront of the Marina Esplanade in Ramsgate, a prime seaside location.They are looking for ideas from developers to utilise the land more creatively to get the maximum benefit for local taxpayers as well as creating a “wonderful seafront location”.

How exciting, to be in right at the very beginning of the project when anything is possible.

The site is approximately one acre along the Eastern Undercliff, and forms an unbroken seafront location.

Obviously they don’t need a Car Park as it’s not being used as much as the Council would like. So the usual options are shops, a hotel or sports and leisure spaces.

I suppose it has to be something that people both locals and visitors use and will provide an economic boost to the area.

Ideas please to Thanet Council.

#Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Thanks to Pamela Bilalova and BBC News Online for the Headline.

This story is from Newcastle where tenants of garages have been sent letters saying that their garages are not considered by the Council to be used to full capacity and some are in a very poor condition and a survey had recommended demolition.

The said garages have now had a notice put on them to say that the garage demolition will begin in January. This is despite the leader of the Council saying that “No final proposals have been developed for the site, and no decisions have been made.”

The garage tenants have already received a letter saying that the site would be redeveloped for much needed “social housing” and that the local authority would seek to identify alternative garages but could not guarantee to provide them.

The tenants, who need and use the garages , say that their removal will cause further congestion in their surrounding streets and additional social housing squashed into the location where the garages are currently will add more requirements for access and parking.

Why the disparity between what the Council are saying and what they are doing? If garages were part of the tenants agreement , how suddenly are you supposed to live without a garage?

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Thanks to Nadine Yousif and BBC News Online for the Headline.

Canada who unlike the UK has a medically assisted Dying Law (known as Maid) which has been in place in Canada since 2016 for people with terminal illnesses.

Campaigners within Canada advocated for people with Mental illness alone to be allowed to request Maid. However , after being considered for a number of years the Justice Minister has said that there was a lack of consensus on who would be eligible.

Concerns were raised about whether mental illnesses are currently understood well enough by medicine to determine appropriate eligibility.

A new Law will be introduced within a few weeks that suspends the expansion of Maid to people solely with mental illness indefinitely.

The justice minister said that an up and coming case in Canada’s federal court perhaps would be considered by Canada’s supreme Court and the Law may be challenged

This contrasts with the late Ludwig Minelli who helped found Dignitas, and who worked within Swiss Law to achieve the freedom that he felt everyone had the right to end their life if they so wished. Dignatas is probably the organisation we in the UK are more familiar with.

It is incredibly difficult and the argument comes down to “individual freedom”, however quality of life and modern medicine is changing so fast who is to know what the future holds.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏