NANNY STATE

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A two year old boy was banned from eating cheese sandwiches at a council-run nursery unless his parents added a lettuce leaf. Jack Ormisher had his packed lunch taken away by staff who said it violated their healthy eating policy. When Jack's father went to pick him up from the Westfield Children's Centre, in Pemberton, near Wigan, he was told to include lettuce or tomato in future so the sandwich could be classed as a ''snack'' rather than ''lunch.'' A spokesman for Wigan Council said, ''The centre has a list of recommended healthy food, according to national guidelines, which children are encouraged to eat. A cheese sandwich would not feature on the list.'' (Source: Daily Telegraph, Apr/10)

A police squad has been banned from using toasters due to health and safety concerns. Officers in the City and Holbeck division, West Yorkshire, have been told not to use the appliances after flames engulfed a police station. A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the fire at Holbeck police station started as a result of a toaster on the premises but he did not know if it was an electrical fault or had been caused by a food item being left in the appliance for too long. He said, "It was a bad fire. Not bad enough to call out the fire service but it was bad. The ban is not force-wide but in the Holbeck division." Chief Superintendent Mark Milsom, of the City and Holbeck division, said, "We've had to stop using toasters because of a serious fire, but apart from that we've never seen this as a burning issue." (Source: Daily Mail, Mar/10)

Greater Manchester Fire Service has drawn up a four-page safety manual to instruct crews on how to sit in a reclining chair. Firemen hoping for a rest between call-outs are banned from doing so until they have been trained to use the £400 device. The first task will be to take out their "personal-issue head protector" and place it on the back of the chair. Then, and only then, can they begin their descent, a process that must end with them sitting "fully back". Those that get this far can "get ready to recline".

The manual advises: "To release the mechanism (i.e. to start reclining), simply lift the lever under the right-hand arm of the chair (when seated). This moves the chair into its semi-reclined position (i.e. feet up, head up)." To recline the chair fully, they must hold on to the arm rests and push backwards. To "upright" [sic] the chair, the occupant "should sit up slightly into the semi-reclined position, hold on to the armrest then press downwards with their heels until the action locks the chair flush".

Crews are warned that only "trained personnel" can carry out "lubrication of mechanisms" and that sleeping bags must not be used. They are also given advice on how to deal with spillages, "tissue should firstly be placed on the stain to absorb excess liquid", and warned that horseplay involving recliners is deemed a disciplinary offence. The fire service has spent £130,000 on its new Calcot recliners, which will be used as beds during night shifts. A fire service spokesman said, "Training will be given for health and safety reasons. There are moving parts." (Source: Daily Telegraph, Jan/06)

The British Standards Institution believes fountain pens are too dangerous for children under the age of 14. After decades when pupils were encouraged to master penmanship, the benefits of developing good handwriting are now seen to be outweighed by the risk of swallowing the cap. Waterman has inserted a small slip with its pens which reads: "This product is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 14 years." British Standard 7272, drafted in 1990 and updated several times, sets out strict guidelines on how pens should be made. It says a pen cap should have a small hole to allow a child to breathe if he or she swallows it. Pens with no hole are seen as unsuitable for under-14s. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

Katie Joyce and other mums chipped in for the 10ft plastic pool to give their children a holiday treat. But when they set up the £50 inflatable on a council-owned communal green without permission, they were warned it would be removed on safety grounds. Bosses at Warwick district council feared a child could get hurt although the water was only 12 inches deep and told families on the Fallow Hill estate in Leamington Spa not to let children use it. Residents say the council was unhappy because there was no lifeguard or first aider.

District Council spokesman Richard Brooker explained, "The crux of the problem is insurance. Because we are aware of the pool we are now liable should anyone get hurt. They had not been given permission for it to be used and there are no lifeguards. It is a safety issue." Later the council backed down. Spokesman John McGowan said the inflatable could return without official permission but only if warning notices were pinned up. There are now SIX warning signs and the council intends to supply a seventh, portable one.

Mr McGowan added, "The pool can stay as long as notices warn people it's not our liability if someone is hurt and people use it at their own risk. Should we receive complaints or if someone injures themselves we will again look at removing the pool." A follow-up letter from the council's housing boss, Bill Hunt, added, "Permission for the pool and the play equipment to be placed and used on our land has not been granted. However, permission would be granted if evidence showed public liability insurance had been obtained." One of the parents, Katie Joyce, said, "It's ridiculous, those kids could not be safer." Famous last words. (Source: Daily Mirror)

Children's Minister Margaret Hodge has sparked Tory anger by praising the "unsung virtues" of the nanny state. In a speech in London, Mrs Hodge insisted the government had a "powerful" role to play in family life. She said "good nannies" were not just about telling you what you must do but about "ensuring you can make real and informed choices for yourself". But Tory spokesman Theresa May said the government was "intent on interfering" in every aspect of people's lives.

Mrs May said families did not need a nanny looking over their shoulder and "tutting disapprovingly every time they make a decision that does not meet with government approval". Mrs May told BBC Radio 4's The World at One, "At least Mrs Hodge has admitted what many have been saying for years, that the government is intent on interfering and controlling every aspect of our lives. Families want the freedom to make their own choices over how they run their lives."

For the Liberal Democrats, Simon Hughes said that government should provide high quality public services enabling people to choose the way they wanted to live rather than a "one size fits all approach". He added, "Labour too often tries to compel people rather than informing and supporting them to make their own choices. Labour has come under attack in recent months over plans to ban smoking in public places and smacking.

But in her speech, Mrs Hodge said the state had historically taken an interest in the family, on everything from compulsory education for children to drink-drive laws. She said that "the state can be a powerful force for good in families and communities" and government should offer "as much support as possible" to parents especially at the points of transition in children's lives such as moving from primary to secondary school or when they bring their baby home from hospital, she added.

But she said that, rather than "instructing and haranguing" parents, the state should enable and empower them. She stressed good parenting was not linked to socio-economic background but said poorer families faced "many more obstacles and that makes the state's job different". She added, "If we really do believe in opportunity for all then the state does need to provide support for the family and children to counter the influence of disadvantage."

Mrs Hodge said that was why the government had decided to offer more to families in disadvantaged areas, with schemes such as Sure Start, the government's network of family centres, which she said helped "deliver the best start in life for every child". She pointed to evidence that Sure Start is working including "a 37% increase in breastfeeding in Millmead, Kent", a "25% cut in smoking by pregnant women in Whitehaven" and " a 47% decrease in the number of children under three admitted to an A&E department in Hastings and St Leonards".

Mrs Hodge acknowledged state intervention in family life raised difficult questions but it was not good enough to shy away from such issues. "For me it's not a question of whether we should intrude in family life, but how and when, and we have to constantly remain focused on our purpose: to strengthen and support families so they can enjoy their opportunities and help to provide opportunities for their children."

Mrs Hodge was speaking at a seminar organised by the left-leaning think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research. The speech comes as Mr's Hodge's department prepares to publish a booklet to be given to all new parents with advice on how to read a book to their children and how to limit the amount of television they watch. (Source: BBC Online)

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