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Universities can help form the core of a research and development hub for forensic science in the UK, a Home Office review has suggested.

The report recommended improved links between those engaged in forensic research and those who used it.

The review followed the government’s decision to wind down the Forensic Science Service, which analyses crime scene evidence in England and Wales.

But one expert said devolving research to universities would not work.

The review also highlights the roles played in research by government labs and private forensic providers.

The Silverman Review came to light last week, on the same day that MPs published the findings of an inquiry that criticised the government’s plans for shutting down the Forensic Science Service, or FSS. The report has now become available on the internet.

The FSS had an international reputation for innovation in forensic science, and many experts have voiced dismay over the likely effect of the closure on UK R&D. Sir Alec Jeffreys, who helped pioneer the technique of genetic fingerprinting, called the move “potentially disastrous”.

In the review, Dr Silverman, who is chief scientific adviser to the Home Office, wrote: “Inevitably the research which has grown up is in some ways fragmented.

“With better co-ordination and linkages, paying attention not only to making new developments but also to their validation and communication, the energy and commitment in the area has the potential to drive innovation more effectively.”

It added: “It is not appropriate or even possible to take a top-down approach to this essential communication aspect of research and development; rather it is incumbent upon all involved to be particularly aware of this need and to build on the formal and informal networks that already exist.”

The review outlines a range of university research areas relevant to forensic science, but notes that “the difficulty, or perceived diffculty” of obtaining funding for forensic research was a recurrent theme in submissions to the review from academic institutions.

It recommends that consideration be given to making forensic science as a strategic research priority for the research councils, which fund academic research in the UK. It added: “In the first instance, the Home Office should facilitate contacts between Research Councils UK and academics, industry and end users to explore this possibility in detail.”

In addition, the review says that one of the major means for funding research in universities – the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF) – contains provisions to encourage research of “social, economic or cultural impact or benefit”, which could include forensic research.

The author further recommends funding councils take on board the need to appoint “specialist assessors” able to judge the impact of research submissions on forensic science practice.

On the research role for private forensic providers, Dr Silverman says that the existing framework agreement used by police to procure forensic services sets out a requirement for providers to carry out R&D.

But last week, an inquiry carried out by the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee described UK forensic R&D as “not healthy” and called for a new national research budget for forensic science.

It said the Home Office had not consulted Dr Silverman over the decision and that the government had not considered enough evidence before coming to its conclusion. The committee added that the chief scientific adviser’s satisfaction at his exclusion from the decision-making process was “unacceptable”.

Speaking to BBC News last week, forensic scientist Professor Peter Gill, at the University of Strathclyde and the University of Oslo, warned that simply devolving the responsibility for research to universities was unlikely to work.

He said: “To be useful [as a forensic researcher] you need to be part of a caseworking laboratory because the two feed off each other. You develop the method and then there is a way to implement them into casework, which is a joint collaboration between caseworkers and researchers.

“If you separate the research out it would not work properly. You have to have the right environment.”

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This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Wales’ older people’s commissioner says the elderly should not lose their savings to pay for their care.

Ruth Marks was speaking after a report said care costs in England should be capped so that people do not face losing large chunks of their assets.

She said older people were not well served by the current system of paying for care and that standards were not consistently high.

The Welsh Government said it had its own social services renewal programme.

The UK government asked economist Andrew Dilnot to look into how the system of funding social care in England could be changed because of concern it was becoming harder for people to get state support.

His report said elderly people and disabled adults should be offered council-funded home help and care home places if they have assets of less than £100,000 – up from the current £23,250. It said a £35,000 lifetime cap on costs would be fair.

In Wales, people are eligible for assistance if they have capital below of £22,500. Over this they fund all of their care costs themselves.

Ms Marks said: “This report is a serious and balanced look at a very pressing matter.

“Social care funding should be fair, and clear, so that people are able to plan for later life.

“Older people tell me that they do not want to lose a lifetime of assets simply because they need care and support. It is right that the funding mechanism supports those who most need it, but that people who have saved do not lose out.”

A maximum charge of £50 a week is being introduced for people in Wales receiving council home care services.

Councils will be compensated for loss of income under a £10.1m Welsh Government scheme which to end a “postcode lottery” in the amount paid, it was announced in March.

But there were warnings at the time that the move could put councils under even greater financial pressure.

An independent commission last year said users should have more personalised services, with standard eligibility rules applied across Wales for who should receive them.

Published last November, the From Vision to Action report warned of “striking variations” in what people could expect in different parts of the country. It found the system of planning, commissioning, and delivering services across 22 local authorities was not sustainable.

A Welsh Government spokesman said it was up to Whitehall and the UK government to respond to the Dilnot report.

He said the Welsh Government had its own programme for renewal of social services and that First Minister Carwyn Jones had signalled an intention to bring forward a social services bill.

The spokesman said the bill “could provide an opportunity to legislate on any relevant elements arising from the Dilnot report, if we so chose”.

“We have already taken action in Wales to cap charging – we have introduced a weekly maximum charge of £50 for non-residential care,” he said.

“We are pleased to see that the Dilnot Commission is following a similarly pragmatic and straightforward approach in their key recommendations around capping an individual’s lifetime contribution towards care costs.

“We recognise that this is an issue of vital importance and the Dilnot report is helpful in analysing the problems and offering solutions.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A drug used by smokers to help them quit increases the risk of heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular problems, research says.

An international team reviewed studies involving more than 8,000 smokers, and found more of those taking Champix fell ill than those on dummy drugs.

The review, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, suggests smokers should not use the drug to stop.

But makers Pfizer say it is an “important option” to help people quit.

And heart experts stress smoking itself is a major heart disease risk factor.

Champix (varenicline) accounted for over 955,000 prescriptions in England last year.

It works by cutting cravings, but in the past it has been linked to depression and suicidal thoughts.

This review, carried out by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Maryland, and the UK’s University of East Anglia, looked at 14 studies into cardiovascular problems in people taking the drug.

All bar one excluded people with a history of heart disease, and lasted for between seven weeks and a year. The majority of those involved were men aged under 45.

In all, of the 4,908 people taking Champix (known as Chantix in the US), 52 experienced serious cardiovascular problems such as heart attack or arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) compared with 27 of the 3,308 taking dummy drugs.

The US Food and Drug Administration has already placed a warning on the drug’s information leaflet about the risk of suicidal thoughts and it recently added a second about additional cardiovascular risk to people who already have heart disease after looking at one study of 700 people.

Writing in the journal, the researchers said: “Clinicians should carefully balance the risk of serious cardiovascular events associated with varenicline use against the known benefits of the drug on smoking cessation.”

Dr Yoon Loke of the University of East Anglia, who worked on the review, agreed the numbers involved were small, but said that was likely to be because the studies looked at healthy people – and that the risk could be greater for smokers who already had heart problems.

He added: “There are lots of other options to help people stop smoking that don’t involve drugs.”

Doireann Maddock, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Smoking is one of the major risk factors for heart disease.

“In fact, smokers double their risk of a heart attack compared with people who have never smoked, and quitting smoking is the single most important thing you can do to improve your heart health.”

She said the study’s finding was “a concern”, but said further research was needed before firm conclusions could be drawn.

“People using varenicline to help them to stop smoking should not stop using it because of this study alone but should chat to their GP about it and the options available.”

A spokesman for Pfizer, which makes the drug, said the company “disagreed with the interpretation of the data” in the study, which it said had “limitations”.

He added: “Champix is an important treatment option for smokers who want to quit. Patients should consult with their healthcare providers to determine what medications are right for them.”

The Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which monitors the safety of drugs used in the UK, says it has received 306 reports of adverse drug reactions linked to cardiac problems since the drug was launched in 2006 – with deaths in 17 cases.

However, it stressed that such reports did not prove a link to the drug, and other underlying factors could be involved.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Hilary Breakwell talks about her life looking after her 86-year-old mum Kate, who suffers from mixed dementia.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A Spanish man has been sentenced to four years in prison after he admitted injuring a policewoman during 12 July riots in Ardoyne last year.

Rodger Jarro Costa, 29, from Barcelona, pleaded guilty to attempting to commit grievous bodily harm last month, just as his trial was about to begin.

Costa, whose address was given as Ulsterville Avenue, south Belfast, had already pleaded guilty to rioting.

The police officer was injured after a concrete block was dropped on her head.

She was one of 48 PSNI officers injured during three nights of violence.

Judge Tom Burgess told Belfast Crown Court that Costa had intentionally armed himself and thrown several pieces of heavy masonry at police with the intention of injuring them.

He said the politics and journalism graduate was lucky not to be facing more serious charges as he could easily have caused fatal injuries to the policewoman.

Costa was originally charged with trying to murder the officer but he pleaded guilty to a charge of riot and of attempting to cause her grievous bodily harm.

Judge Burgess told Costa the Northern Ireland community had welcomed him but that their “welcome has been poorly repaid,” and added that he could not hand down a jail term which would allow the Spaniard to go home in the near future as “he still owes a debt to our society”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.