With all the talk of the Government's drive to build new houses, you might be surprised that last year 673,000 homes were lying empty in England. But this needn't be the case, suggests a recent scheme by Kent County Council. It brought almost 500 long-term vacant properties back into use, primarily by ensuring that council departments at county and district level were co-ordinating. The council also allocated £5 million for loans, so that property owners could renovate. The loans are then serviced by districts, so they are interest-free. “The interest is a loss to the district but it is a lot cheaper than issuing a grant,” says Susan Pledger, the No Use Empty project manager, in Environmental Health Practitioner (July).

From gaps in housing to gaps in NHS staffing, which have often been plugged with overseas workers. Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, said early this year that the NHS was moving “to a policy of self-sufficiency”. Indeed, it is now harder for non-EU workers to get permission to work in Britain, reports Health Service Journal (July 10). But have things gone too far? “We seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot by adding more rules to stop people coming here to work,” says Ali Mohammed, HR director at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust. The UK even risks looking “unfriendly and unwelcoming” to overseas staff, he adds.

It may seem like a foreign concept for a school to develop its own curriculum. But staff did so at St John's School and Community College in Marlborough, Wiltshire, reports The Times Educational Supplement (July 11). The new themed curriculum, including modules such as “being unique” and “forests”, initially met with scepticism from some teachers and pupils. But it has actually boosted test results and “improved [children's] social and emotional skills too”, says Kathryn Pollard, a teacher who helped to oversee the transition. She would recommend the move to others. “Instead of coasting into retirement, I'm enthusiastic about going to work every day.”

What about getting a job where pay is poor and the prospects non-existent? This is what a life in crime promises, say youth workers from the Humber Mentoring Project (HMP), reports Community Care (July 10). “The kids we see have made a career choice to go into crime, but they don't really see the full consequences of a criminal lifestyle,” says Chris Lennie, the project's manager. Potential young criminals referred to HMP are asked to fill in cards, listing the perks and prospects for occupations such as “gun dealer” and “armed robber”, then left to make up their own minds. “It's your choice, but make sure [that] you really know what you are getting into,” Lennie adds.

Healthcare you can bank on

The Department of Health are showing a keen interest in the foundation trusts' £2.3 billion of surpluses

BACKGROUND

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Charity blogs should also take an upfront approach, says Third Sector (July 9). “Good bloggers express themselves and are not afraid to upset people through honesty,” says Chris Arnold, the executive director of Feel, an ethical marketing agency. Blogs that are too corporate “are so fake, and they feel like a cheap sales pitch”. So what should aspiring charity bloggers do instead? They should question their decision to blog in the first place. “Ask yourself whether what you have got to say is fresh and interesting enough to make supporters return to your blog.”

Media Monitor

Unable to think of what to buy that special someone? Don't despair, Scotland Yard is launching a range of police-related gifts to raise money for a Met museum, The Sun (July 11) reports. The new Police Heritage Centre is needed to store uniforms, artefacts and police records. Products on offer could include replica old-fashioned police uniforms or pictures of gangsters, such as the Kray twins.

From PC presents to a non-PC parrot. Police were called to investigate a man wolf-whistling at girls. After hours of visiting houses in the area, Police Community Support Officers found the culprit when it whistled at one of the female officers. It was a ten-year-old parrot, The Times (July 9) reports. The talented bird's repertoire isn't limited to wolf-whistling - he can bark like a dog and sing nursery rhymes too.

“Give us a snog then.” This time it's not the parrot. These are the immortal words of Shakespeare's heroine in an abridged version of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. Thespians say there is a generation growing up loathing the great bard because lessons are “boring” and plays are dumbed down, the Daily Mail (July 8) says. Fear thee not, a scheme has been launched to reinvigorate lessons with tots as young as 6 lined up to study his works.

Police and an ambulance crew were called to a super-market in West Sussex after a brawl broke out in the fruit and veg aisle between two grannies on mobility scooters, The Sun (July 10) reports. A worker, who witnessed the fight over money, says that it was disturbing: “They were ramming each other like dodgems.”

And, finally, a cautionary tale for all would-be Samaritans. The Times (July 11) reports that a driver who let an injured girl rest in his car while awaiting an ambulance lost his roof when emergency services sliced it off. Paramedics at the accident in Belchamp Otten, Essex, thought the girl could have spinal injuries and cut off the roof to have her safely removed. “You can't be too careful,” an ambulance spokeswoman said.

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK
On the write lines

Producing a critically-acclaimed school magazine has helped tame rebellious pupils in a deprived area, TES Magazine (July 11)says

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