Noxious silence on treatment of Manning
- The Guardian, Tuesday 15 March 2011
- Article history
What is remarkable about PJ Crowley's expression of disagreement with the treatment of Bradley Manning (Report, 12 March) is that he has not been joined by others from the US government. In the diplomatic, intelligence and military services, there is considerable dissent from the policies of the White House, specifically, from its continuation of the violations of the US constitution and international norms of civil and human rights begun by the preceding administration. Given what these persons say to their families and friends, one would expect a few more to come forward and break a silence which is increasingly noxious.
Norman Birnbaum
Washington DC
• You report the resignation of PJ Crowley following his description of the conditions under which Bradley Manning is detained (Report, 14 March). Those conditions, imposed on an unconvicted prisoner who is also a British citizen, have included solitary confinement, repeated waking, enforced sleeping positions and being required every day to parade naked in his cell. Under the pretext of suicide risk – apparently denied by the prison psychologist – his glasses and clothes have at times been confiscated. President Obama has now said he has been "reassured" by the Pentagon that Manning's confinement is appropriate. Manning is accused of passing the US "embassy tapes" to WikiLeaks.
Here in the UK, the US is seeking extradition of Gary McKinnon on charges of prejudicing US national security by hacking into Pentagon computers. Prison sentences of up to 60 years have been mentioned. There are many factors in McKinnon's case – his state of health and the unbalanced nature of the extradition treaty among them – but the treatment of Manning must surely mean there can now be no further question of his being delivered into US custody.
Roger Hallam
London
2011-03-16
Letters: Noxious silence on treatment of Manning | World news | The Guardian
Refuse this extradition | Duncan Campbell | Comment is free | The Guardian
Refuse this extradition
Newly released evidence of hacker Gary McKinnon's Asperger's must surely persuade parliament to protect him
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 March 2011 13.59 GMT
- Article history
Gary McKinnon with his mother, Janis Sharp, who has revealed details of his condition that may be germane to his extradition. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian
Extradition, extradition, extradition. The attention being paid to the attempts made by the Swedish government to extradite Julian Assange and what is happening to Bradley Manning in Virginia has inevitably obscured another battle being fought out behind the scenes, that of Gary McKinnon, the hacker with Asperger's syndrome who left rude messages in the Pentagon's computer system a decade ago.
Every member of both houses of parliament should by now have received a letter containing fresh details of McKinnon's medical history and that of close members of his family. The decision to make public this intimate side of his life has been taken because McKinnon's family now feel that there is a real possibility the government may bow to repeated requests from the United States and allow the extradition.
What MPs and members of the House of Lords will learn is that McKinnon's mental problems were first noted back in 1983, when he was only 17. When he was diagnosed three years ago as suffering from Asperger's syndrome, suggestions were made in some quarters that this was a convenient way for him to avoid being extradited. This new evidence – which will form part of a debate in the Lords, initiated by Lord Maginnis, on March 23 – gives the lie to that scepticism.
In the letter McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, writes: "On 10 February 1983 we were compelled to take my son to see a neurologist because of our grave concerns regarding the sudden deterioration in Gary's mental health and the loss of his intellectual faculties, leading us to fear that Gary may have a brain tumour." She goes on to spell out the family's painful medical history.
She had taken the decision to go public with the family's many problems because she feels that MPs and members of the House of Lords need all the ammunition available as McKinnon runs out of legal options to fight extradition.
To her credit, Theresa May, the home secretary, stayed the extradition process once the coalition government took office. She is, according to the Home Office, "looking afresh" at the medical evidence, and is asking McKinnon to submit to a further examination – which he has agreed to, provided the examiner is an expert in Asperger's syndrome.
May then has to make what may be a speedy decision as to whether allowing extradition would be a breach of McKinnon's human rights. What politicians may want to digest is the assessment made by Professor Declan Murphy – an expert in Asperger's and autism and a psychiatrist regularly used by the Home Office – that "[Gary] now has a fixed autistic-like idea, which is currently unshakable, that his best outcome is to take his own life".
Thanks to WikiLeaks, it has emerged that Gordon Brown, when prime minister, approached the US ambassador in the UK, Louis Susman, on McKinnon's behalf. Brown's reasonable suggestion – that McKinnon would plead guilty to hacking offences but would serve any sentence in the UK – was then snubbed by a secretary of state who this week has been lecturing Middle Eastern countries on tolerance and humanity.
It is perfectly possible for the United Kingdom to refuse to grant an extradition request. Life will go on. Last July Switzerland refused an American request for the extradition of the film director Roman Polanksi, who was convicted of a far more serious crime than computer hacking, and so far Hillary Clinton has not instituted a no-fly zone over Geneva.
Coincidentally, this month the National Archives released official and previously censored documents about UFOs. It was McKinnon's belief in the existence of UFOs that sent him on his weird and wonderful hacking mission through the computer systems of Nasa and the Pentagon. The Ministry of Defence documents show this was something that even quite senior government figures around the world were concerned about, although many "flying saucer" sightings have turned out to be pranks or misunderstandings.
When confidential government documents are released in 30 years, detailing discussions about a computer hacker with Asperger's syndrome who did no harm beyond embarrassment to the American military, we must hope that future generations see that our ministers stood up for decency and common sense, and did not bow to demands for an ignoble extradition.
2010-12-16
PM - How the US could charge Assange 16/12/2010 - http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s3095264.htm
How the US could charge Assange
Mark Colvin reported this story on Thursday, December 16, 2010 18:30:00
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange remains in jail in London, while US Government lawyers try to work out what charges Washington might bring against him. -->MARK COVIN: The Australian founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange remains in jail in London, and in the United States government lawyers are using the time to try to work out what to charge him with. The New York Times reports that they're looking for evidence of any collusion in his early contacts with an army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking the information.
John Bellinger was Legal Adviser of the Department of State during the Bush administration and now a partner with Arnold and Porter in Washington, DC. I asked him what Assange might eventually be charged with.
JOHN BELLINGER: I think our Justice Department is considering a variety of different criminal statutes under which Mr Assange could be charged, including the Espionage Act of 1917 which makes it a crime for a person of unauthorised access to information relating to the national defence to disclose it to persons not entitled to receive it.
I think they're also looking at possible charges under the Theft of Government Property Act and under statutes prohibiting unauthorised access to government computers.
MARK COLVIN: The one thing I know about the Espionage Act is that the poet ee. cummings was locked up for 3.5 months for saying in 1917 that he didn't hate the Germans. It's a pretty broad Act isn't it?
JOHN BELLINGER: It's a broad act and all of these statutes but particularly the Espionage Act can be technically very difficult to bring prosecutions under. I think that's probably one reason why we have not seen charges brought yet, at least publicly.
MARK COLVIN: But in the 20s they locked up a lot of people, mostly socialists, I think and unionists for quite long periods of time under the Espionage Act.
JOHN BELLINGER: Well I think what Mr Assange has done is probably orders of magnitude different from some of those cases. After all he's alleged to have accessed 250,000 classified cables and I think amongst those the government can find probably quite a large number of them that would show serious damage to the national security.
MARK COLVIN: But you say he's accessed them, we've all accessed a lot of them now. How will the United States be able to prove that he conspired to get them rather than just being given them?
JOHN BELLINGER: Well, as I understand it, that's what the government is looking at right now is to see whether he could be charged with conspiracy to gain access to these classified documents in addition to holding them and failing to return them to the government.
Now my successor as the legal adviser to the State Department wrote a very stern letter to Mr Assange and his lawyers about 10 days ago.
MARK COLVIN: I've got a copy of that. Was that sent with a particular purpose in mind? In other words, is having sent the letter something which would strengthen the United States' case if it comes to court?
JOHN BELLINGER: Yes, absolutely. What it does is it, one put Mr Assange on notice that disclosure of the information would be expected to cause injury to the United States as well as to individual human rights activists, bloggers, even journalists and, in addition, to ask him to return the information and Mr Assange's failure to return the stolen property, even after receiving a request from US government could be potentially an additional element of an offence under various criminal statutes.
MARK COLVIN: Richard Nixon didn't manage to jail Daniel Ellsberg for leaking the Pentagon Papers, why would the United States be more likely to succeed in the case of Julian Assange?
JOHN BELLINGER: Well these cases can be quite difficult to bring, leaked cases and unauthorised disclosure cases are admittedly quite difficult and I can expect that there would be a substantial legal battle both in a prosecution and also with respect to any extradition.
I do think that the major difference here is just the absolute magnitude of the information that Mr Assange has received and is making public and the damage caused by many of the cables. So in some of these prior cases there was less information or harder to show damage but again, these cases can be difficult to bring but this one does seem to have more serious consequences than the past cases.
MARK COLVIN: WikiLeaks seems to be some sort of collective; why prosecute its founder rather than everybody in it?
JOHN BELLINGER: These are difficult questions. I think certainly the US government is trying to avoid as best it can questions under our first amendment protecting freedom of the press.
MARK COLVIN: Which could arise if Mr Assange claims to be a journalist, as he does, and a publisher, as he does.
JOHN BELLINGER: He will no doubt raise those as a defence and certainly those issues would have to be litigated if he were brought back to the United States.
MARK COLVIN: And the first amendment which protects freedom of speech would come into play there?
JOHN BELLINGER: In cases like this in the past, although there has not been one of this magnitude in the past, certainly individuals have raised their first amendment rights and with Mr Assange, in particular, who has said that he is a journalist engaged in news gathering, I think we can certainly expect that he would raise those issue as a defence.
MARK COLVIN: We've discussed possible charges, what about the possibilities of extradition, either from Sweden or the UK?
JOHN BELLINGER: Well that may be potentially even harder. The government, US government is not yet brought charges or at least publicly but when, if and when they do perhaps the even harder battle would be the battle over his extradition from either Britain or Sweden.
The United States has well functioning extradition agreements with both Britain and Sweden. There's a relatively new Extradition Treaty between the US and the UK. On the other hand both of those treaties have got exception for political offences and I think we can certainly expect that Mr Assange's lawyers would argue that at least charges under the Espionage Act count as political offences. And certainly in the UK with respect to extraditions in recent years, we have seen the British bar kick up huge legal battles.
MARK COLVIN: There's a British hacker who was arrested in 2002, Gary McKinnon, for hacking into US military computers. He was arrested in 2002 as I say and he's still in Britain despite the US's best efforts to extradite him.
JOHN BELLINGER: Yes I'm very familiar with that case.
MARK COLVIN: Could that happen to Julian Assange?
JOHN BELLINGER: I think that could potentially take a very long time to litigate his extradition. Obviously in this case Mr Assange has got a number of individuals who are supporting his case as an example of freedom of expression.
On the other hand, the British government and governments around the world I think are likely to have little sympathy for what he's done because they see that if people like Mr Assange are allowed to act with impunity then soon we will be seeing the leaks of diplomatic cables from governments all around the world.
MARK COLVIN: Sure but these are two countries, Sweden and the UK, which have completely independent legal systems, it does sound as though it's going to be quite a long time before the United States can really get their hands on Julian Assange.
JOHN BELLINGER: I'm expecting that we would see a lengthy extradition battle in either country, assuming that the United States were to actually seek his extradition. As you point out, these past cases have resulted in legal battles that have gone on for years.
MARK COLVIN: John Bellinger who was the legal adviser of the US State Department during the Bush administration.
2010-07-16
Barack Obama blocks reform of 'one-sided' extradition treaty - Telegraph
A series of high-profile extradition attempts, including that of Gary McKinnon, the alleged computer hacker, and three NatWest bankers, have sparked public anger over the arrangements.
The Coalition is committed to reviewing the treaty and is set to appoint a high-profile figure to consider alternatives. Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has said it is still the Government's intention to review the arrangements.
However, the issue could now lead to problems in the transatlantic relationship, which is already strained following the BP oil spill.
A well-placed American Government source said: "Our position is any examination of the treaty will show that it is a balanced treaty. "The treaty does not target Britons but criminals sheltering in the UK. It is not about trying to get Britons, it is trying to get criminals, regardless of nationality. Nationality is not a factor."
The source added that if people looked at the "cold hard facts" they would conclude that the treaty did not need to be revised.
"There is a fair amount of misunderstanding," he said when asked if British ministers had unfairly criticised the treaty.
He disclosed that in the majority of cases, the treaty was used to extradite foreign nationals, particularly Americans, staying in Britain.
A spokesman for the American embassy in London said that it was an "excellent treaty".
"We think it's an excellent treaty providing equal justice for both countries," the spokesman said.
It is not thought that the British government has yet approached the Americans about renegotiating the 2003 treaty.
However, the Home Secretary said that she will push ahead with the review.
Baroness Neville-Jones, the Home Office minister in charge of security and counter terrorism, has been appointed to lead the review of the treaty.
It is understood that Lady Neville-Jones is likely to appoint a British judge or someone with a judicial background to review the controversial treaty.
But, the American position on the treaty is a setback for the Coalition.
Last year, Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, described the extradition arrangements as a "mess" and pledged to reform the treaty.
"Our extradition laws are a mess," he said at the Conservative party's annual conference last October. "They're one sided. A Conservative government will rewrite them." Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, previously campaigned to stop Gary McKinnon from being extradited.
The US is seeking to extradite Mr McKinnon who hacked into sensitive American computer systems. He has argued that he suffers from Asperger's syndrome and that his actions were harmless as he was attempting to find evidence of UFOs.
Last December, Mr Clegg said: "This treaty is wrong and Gary McKinnon's extradition to the USA must be stopped. The Government can change this." The British government could unilaterally alter the 2003 Extradition Act but this would be likely to antagonise the Americans.
The treaty has long-proved controversial. It was adopted by the UK in 2003 although America did not ratify the treatment until 2006 following British pressure.
It was initially intended to help deport terrorism suspects although it has been used more commonly for white-collar fraud. In some cases, the alleged crimes were committed in the UK but had ramifications in America.
Ian Norris, the former chief executive of Morgan Crucible, was extradited to America earlier this year under the treaty and is now on trial amid allegations of price fixing.
The Home Secretary has been considering whether to extradite Mr McKinnon for the past eight weeks. She said she was considering "representations" from Mr McKinnon's lawyers.
Asked by Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Home Affairs select committee, if she was being pressured by the Americans "to make this decision quickly", Mrs May said: "I am well aware about the feelings about this case from a variety of sources.
"I am also well aware that the Home Secretary has a limited, a particular role in this and it is important that I recognise the legal framework in which I am operating."
2010-06-25
House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 15 Jun 2010 (pt 0011)
Previous Section Index Home Page 15 Jun 2010 : Column 384W—continued
Forensic Science Service
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed by the Forensic Science Service in each financial year since 2005-06. [2283]
James Brokenshire: The information requested is shown in the following table:
Forensic Science Service-staffing figures Average number of full-time equivalent staff employed Note:
Based on figures reported in the annual report and accounts, annualised for the first two years due to differing accounting periods.
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) voluntary and (b) involuntary redundancies there were from the Forensic Science Service in 2009-10. [2284]
15 Jun 2010 : Column 385W
James Brokenshire: There were no voluntary redundancies and 34 compulsory redundancies.
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staffed locations of the Forensic Science Service there were in each financial year since 2005-06. [2285]
James Brokenshire: The information requested is shown in the following table:
Forensic Science Service Ltd-number of staffed locations Number of staffed locations
Gary McKinnon
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the request from the US Administration for the extradition of Gary McKinnon. [1443]
Nick Herbert: The UK's policy and practice is to give maximum assistance to all of its extradition partners in accordance with domestic law and international obligations. It expects no less in return. In Mr McKinnon's case, proceedings under the Extradition Act 2003 are now at an end, but the Government have agreed to look afresh at whether new evidence demonstrates that extradition would breach Mr McKinnon's human rights. To that end, we are considering further representations which Mr McKinnon's solicitors submitted to us on 8 June.
More generally, the Government have undertaken to review the 2003 Act and the UK-USA Extradition treaty.
Immobilisation of Vehicles
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to introduce a code of practice for wheelclampers. [2376]
Lynne Featherstone: The Government included in their Coalition Agreement, published on 12 May, a commitment to tackle rogue private sector wheel clampers. An announcement on how we will do this will be made in due course.
Members: Security
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has had discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers on advice to hon. Members on security measures at constituency offices; and if she will make a statement. [340]
Nick Herbert: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has had discussions with representatives of ACPO and the police service on a range of issues. In the course of these, my right hon. Friend has been briefed on the action which the police are taking in the light of the incident involving the hon. Member for East Ham at his Newham constituency office on 14 May 2010. The briefing my right hon. Friend received included details on the liaison that has taken place between the police and the parliamentary authorities to ensure that hon. Members are given appropriate advice and support on security measures at constituency offices.
15 Jun 2010 : Column 386W
Passports: Lost Property
Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost of Hampshire Constabulary running the airfield at HMS Daedalus in Lee-on-the-Solent is for 2010-11, identifying separately the cost of employment of the Air Support Unit officers and staff and associated expenses. [2204]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 14 June 2010]: The information requested is not held centrally. The costs of running the airfield at HMS Daedalus in Lee-on-the-Solent and the cost of employing Air Support Unit officers and staff are matters for the chief constable of Hampshire.
Police: Ports
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget for the UK Port Police in (a) the UK and (b) the Port of Dover (i) was in each year from 2007-08 to 2009-10 and (ii) is estimated to be in 2010-11. [2286]
Nick Herbert: The information is as follows:
(a) Nine UK sea ports maintain their own independent port police force entirely funded by the individual port. However, responsibility for policing the UK's sea and air ports lies primarily with the geographic police force in whose territory a port lies. There are around 1,400 special branch officers working at the UK's major air and sea ports. There are also around 1,600 uniformed police patrolling UK ports, who are responsible for protective security and general policing. These officers can be supported on general policing by further officers from the local force. All these officers are drawn from the police force within whose territory the port sits: there is not a specific ports policing budget.
(b) The port of Dover police is independent police force and its budget is a matter for the Dover Harbour Board.
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for the future of the Port Police. [2287]
Nick Herbert: None-this is a matter for the nine ports involved. Nevertheless, on the important matter of border policing in general the coalition agreement sets out a commitment to create a dedicated border police force, as part of a refocused Serious Organised Crime Agency, to enhance national security, improve immigration controls and crack down on the trafficking of people, weapons and drugs. It will also tackle the smuggling and illegal trade on wildlife.
Police: Rural Areas
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to improve policing in rural areas. [2407]
Nick Herbert: The Government are committed to ensuring that all communities, including those in rural areas, receive a high quality policing service that meets local priorities. Effective neighbourhood policing by police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) provides an important policing presence in
15 Jun 2010 : Column 387W
rural, as well as urban areas. The programme set out by the Coalition explains our approach to improving policing, including:the introduction of directly elected individuals, giving the public a greater voice to ensure their priorities are reflected;
regular beat meetings where residents can hold the police to account;
the publication of crime maps showing the public what is happening in their streets, villages and towns; and
cutting through the bureaucracy that hinders the police, and introducing better technology, so that the police can spend more time out in their communities.
We will also work to enable our citizens to play a more active part in keeping their own neighbourhoods safe, for example through the Neighbourhood and Farm Watch schemes that are in place in many rural areas.
Rape
Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department plans to take to increase conviction rates in cases of rape. [2218]
James Brokenshire: We need to increase the number of successful rape prosecutions and send more rapists to jail. The current conviction rate in cases of rape proceeded against in court stands at 38%.
As we have made clear, the victim in rape cases remains our priority and we welcome many of the improvements introduced by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service in recent years, intended to improve both victim care and the number of cases reaching court. These include specially trained officers and prosecutors, dedicated rape units within police force areas and investment in Sexual Assault Referral Centres for the improved collection of forensic evidence and provision of immediate crisis and medial care to victims.
It is important, however, that victims have access to longer term support and we have therefore committed to providing sustainable support for rape crisis centres.
Over the coming months, we shall work with partners to consider what more needs to be done to ensure that perpetrators of rape are brought to justice.
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of whether the reservation made by the previous Government to the UN Convention on the Right of
15 Jun 2010 : Column 388W
Persons with Disabilities on disabled people's rights to liberty of movement is compatible with the object and purpose of the Convention; and when her Department plans to conduct a review of the reservation. [1601]Damian Green: This Administration has made no separate assessment on this specific issue.
The Home Office is currently reviewing the continuing need for the reservation, and will shortly invite interested parties to contribute to this.
Wigan
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what public expenditure projects within (a) Wigan constituency and (b) the Metropolitan borough of Wigan her Department had secured Treasury approval between 1 January 2010 and the date of her appointment as Secretary of State. [1692]
Nick Herbert: The Government are re-assessing spending approvals granted between 1 January 2010 and the general election to ensure that they offer good value for money and are consistent with the Government's priorities. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many people in (a) Wigan constituency, (b) the North West region and (c) England are undertaking an apprenticeship; [1645]
(2) how many people in (a) Wigan constituency, (b) the North West region and (c) England are undertaking an advanced apprenticeship; [1646]
(3) how many people in (a) Wigan constituency, (b) the North West region and (c) England are undertaking a higher apprenticeship. [1647]
Mr Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of Apprenticeship (Level 2), Advanced Apprenticeship (Level 3) and Higher Level Apprenticeship (Level 4) programme starts in Wigan parliamentary constituency, the north-west Government office region and England for 2008/09, the latest year for which complete data are available.
Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by level and geography, 2008-09. Apprenticeships (Level 2) Advanced Apprenticeships (Level 3) Higher level Apprenticeships (Level 4) Total Notes:
1. Figures for Wigan parliamentary constituency are rounded to the nearest 10. All other figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Figures are based upon home postcode of the learner.
3. '-' Indicates a base value of less than five for parliamentary constituency and less than 50 for Government office region.
4. The England figure contains a small amount of counts where the postcode of the learner is outside England and also learners where the postcode is not known.
Source:
Individualised Learner Record
15 Jun 2010 : Column 389W
Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts by parliamentary constituency, local authority, Government office region and for England is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 24 March, and revised on 22 April:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfrmar10
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on the level of demand for apprenticeships in (a) engineering and (b) manufacturing. [2189]
Mr Hayes [holding answer 14 June 2010]: Ministers and officials have received a number of representations about apprenticeships including those in engineering and manufacturing. The Government are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships, in particular advanced apprenticeships, to meet the needs of employers in an advanced modern economy. We know also that the demand from young people and adults for good quality employer-owned apprenticeships is high. The Government's decision to redeploy £150 million of Train to Gain funds for 2010-11, creating an additional 50,000 adult places, demonstrates our commitment to high-quality skills. Apprenticeships are founded on partnerships so it is important that employers, including those in manufacturing and engineering, take up these new opportunities and offer apprenticeship places to secure a new generation of highly skilled employees and we will be encouraging them to do so.
Building Colleges for the Future Programme
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria will be applied to decide on provision of additional capital funding for further education colleges. [2666]
Mr Hayes: The Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 24 May announced that £50 million of Train to Gain funding would be reallocated to support a range of capital infrastructure projects prioritising those colleges who have not previously benefitted significantly from previous further education capital investment.
The funding is to be spent in 2010-11 and will result in genuine benefits to colleges and learners. The Skills Funding Agency has already begun work on a robust process to ensure value for money and, most importantly, the best outcomes for learners. As part of this process the Agency has consulted the sector through the Association of Colleges' Capital Reference Group to ensure that the views of the sector inform this process.
The Skills Funding Agency will be inviting colleges to apply shortly with a view to successful projects starting on site as soon as is practicable.
Next Section Index Home Page
2010-03-28
Asperger's Syndrome Diagnosis
- Difficulty knowing what to say or how to behave in social situations. Many have a tendency to say the “wrong thing.” They may appear awkward or rude, and unintentionally upset others.
- Trouble with “theory of mind,” that is, trouble perceiving the intentions or emotions of other people, due to a tendency to ignore or misinterpret such cues as facial expression, body language, and vocal intonation.
- Slower than average auditory, visual, or intellectual processing, which can contribute to difficulties keeping up in a range of social settings—a class, a soccer game, a party.
- Challenges with “executive functioning,” that is, organizing, initiating, analyzing, prioritizing, and completing tasks.
- A tendency to focus on the details of a given situation and miss the big picture.
- Intense, narrow, time-consuming personal interest(s) — sometimes eccentric in nature — that may result in social isolation, or interfere with the completion of everyday tasks. (On the other hand, some interests can lead to social connection and even careers. For example, there are children and adults with an encyclopedic knowledge of vacuum cleaners.)
- Inflexibility and resistance to change. Change may trigger anxiety, while familiar objects, settings, and routines offer reassurance. One result is difficulty transitioning from one activity to another: from one class to another, from work time to lunch, from talking to listening. Moving to a new school, new town, or new social role can be an enormous challenge.
- Feeling somehow different and disconnected from the rest of the world and not “fitting in”—sometimes called “wrong planet” syndrome.
- Extreme sensitivity—or relative insensitivity—to sights, sounds, smells, tastes, or textures. Many people outgrow these sensory issues at least to some extent as they mature.
- Vulnerability to stress, sometimes escalating to psychological or emotional problems including low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.
- Normal to very high intelligence
- Good verbal skills, including rich vocabularies
- Originality and creativity including a propensity for “thinking outside the box”
- Honesty and ingenuity
- Careful attention to details
- Strong work ethic, with particular attention to accuracy and quality of work
- Special interests that can be tailored toward productive work or hobbies; individuals with AS who have intensive knowledge in one or more specific areas can channel their expertise toward new discoveries and creations in their chosen field
- Keen senses allow some people with AS to see, hear or feel subtle changes in the environment that others do not, resulting in phenomenal powers of observation