Local authorities should refrain from "panic" cuts to services, charities for disabled children have warned. The Council for Disabled Children says some families are seeing "lifeline services" stopped with little warning. Losing services such as a few hours' respite break for parents can have a huge impact on families, it warns.
Thousands of pupils are being wrongly labelled as having special educational needs when all they require is better teaching and support, Ofsted has said. It said up to 25% of the 1.7m pupils in England with special needs would not be so labelled if schools focused more on teaching for all their children. The National Union of Teachers said such claims were "insulting and wrong"
A drug for type two diabetes is still being prescribed in the UK despite being recommended for withdrawal two months ago, BBC Panorama has found. Avandia has been linked to a raised risk of heart attacks and heart failure and is under a Europe-wide review.
A new study suggests high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease. Brain shrinkage is one of the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, which often leads to dementia. Researchers say this could be the first step towards finding a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer's. Experts said the findings were important but more research was needed.
Nine out of 10 people in Britain have never had a disabled person in their house for a social occasion, claims a survey from a disability charity. Scope says the survey shows that disabled people are socially excluded. While the survey found widespread backing for equal opportunities, in practice few people have any personal dealings with people with disabilities.
Volunteers are calling on a multiple sclerosis (MS) charity not to abandon four residential respite care centres.
