Episode details

Radio 4,14 Dec 2015,45 mins
Charity Christmas cards, Recycled teenagers, Safeguarding adults in care
You and YoursAvailable for over a year
Once again there are complaints in the press that not enough money from the sale of Charity Christmas cards is passed on to good causes. Every year, charities receive around £50 million from Christmas cards and generally, supermarkets donate around 10% of the sale price whilst department stores pass on between 20% to 25%. To discuss the charity Christmas card market and to explore why more of the money it raises does not find its way into charity coffers, Winifred is joined by Dame Hilary Blume, founder of CardAid, and by the CEO of the Greeting Card Association - Sharon Little. The Strawberry Duck pub in East Manchester has become a point of contact for lonely elderly people in the area and on the final Thursday of every month, the landlady organises a knees-up for the Clayton, Droylsden and Openshaw Recycled Teenagers Club. Reporter Geoff Bird has visited their Christmas Party. Somerset County Council has been severely criticised for holding a teenager in care against the wishes of her family. The girl - who has severe learning disabilities and can't be named for legal reasons - went into respite care for a fortnight to give her mother a break but ended up being detained for thirteen months. Her grandmother and her solicitor, Catrin Blake, have been talking to You and Yours about what went wrong in a case that highlights the confusion surrounding DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) - orders put in place to protect the human rights of those in care.
Programme Website