Have a read of this......http://www.shponline.co.uk/article.asp?pagename=news&article_id=9690 I cannot for one moment believe that the individuals that take part in the gang culture would have, in the past been seen doing adventure courses, kayaking, rock climbing and orienteering etc etc and so not taken up with the gangs they are in - would like to see the research if this is in fact true.

I also read that this morning and thought this is just rubbish! Gang culture has grown in the past few years (its always been here) mainly because of immigration (this is not a racist rant in anyway just my opinion). Large groups of different nationalities come to towns to live and are tending to stick together within their own nationality because that's who they know. Other gangs within the area will also develop as they feel threatened and will want to claim their territory. Also all gangs will want the feeling of safety in numbers, protection of their own kind and secure their income streams. The same happened in America when they opened the doors to the new world with White American, Black American, Irish, Mexican, Italian, Polish and Puerterican and more. Its not rocket science and they think lack of adventure training is the root of the problem.......................

The following is quoted from the House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee report on Compensation culture: Third Report of Session 2005–06, published on the 14th February 2006. 'It is evident from the statistical evidence that the UK is not moving towards a “compensation culture” driven by a significant increase in litigation.' Shame to kill off an emotive fallacy with facts but we can expect more of this kind of tripe as the Tories 'investigation' into health and safety gathers pace. Cheers. Nigel Bryson

LB – yes they are. The following quotes show that it relates to the number of claims going down over time. ‘The Compensation Recovery Unit is a unit to which all claims for personal injuries are supposed to be reported, whether they result in a judgment or a settlement, and their statistics indicate that over the last five years there has been a drop of about 5% in claims for personal injuries. If you take out of the equation claims for road traffic accident injuries, which are probably not influenced by any kind of culture, then the drop is very much more substantial: employer's liability 20%, clinical negligence 34%, and I think the statistics for claims by patients in hospitals who have suffered an untoward event in the course of their treatment suggest that less than 1% of such patients bring a claim against the hospital, so it does not look like a compensation culture.’ Rt Hon Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, a Member of the House of Lords, Lord Chief Justice: evidence to House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee report on Compensation culture: Third Report of Session 2005–06 ‘Accidents and claims frequency continue to fall ….’ Risk Insight: Employers’ Liability Insight 2008: Zurich ‘Accidents and claims frequency fall but legal costs continue to rise.’ Risk Insight: Employers’ Liability Insight 2009: Zurich If anyone wants to make a ‘no win, no fee’ claim ‘at the drop of a hat’ surely we would expect claims to increase. What has increased significantly, of course, is legal fees. Cheers. Nigel

LB - there is some interesting stuff in the evidence given by various parties to the report. The reference is: House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee: Compensation culture Third Report of Session 2005–06 Volume II Oral and written evidence HC 754–II 14 February 2006