VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Councils struggling to make case for preventative digital care
29/04/2025 Local authorities are struggling to make the investment case for preventative digital care, according to a commission looking at proactive care services. |
Social care providers ‘at risk of collapse’ amid £2.8bn costs rise
22/11/2024 England’s adult social care sector faces extra costs of £2.8bn next year due to changes announced in last month’s Budget, new research has revealed. |
Migrant care workers face ‘persistent breaches of employment rights’
12/11/2024 Migrants working in adult social care have reported facing unsustainable working hours, ‘demoralising’ financial insecurity, and persistent employment rights breaches. |
Care for working-age and disabled adults to cost £17bn by 2030
11/11/2024 Social care costs for working-age adults and those with a lifelong disability could reach £17bn by 2030, according to new research. |
MPs launch inquiry into cost of failing to fix social care
04/11/2024 MPs have launched an inquiry looking into the costs of failing to fix the struggling adult social care system. |
Birmingham day centres set for axe
10/10/2024 Councillors in Birmingham have been advised to approve the closure of four day centres for disabled adults. |
Norfolk faces £45m budget gap
01/10/2024 Norfolk County Council is planning millions of pounds of cuts it does ‘not want to make’ in the face of a £44.75m deficit in its budget for next year. |
Hampshire CC’s shortfall jumps to £175m
03/09/2024 Hampshire County Council’s projected overall financial shortfall has jumped from £132m to at least £175m. |
Councils stuck in social care and hospital ‘doom loop’
16/07/2024 Over-stretched councils are struggling to meet the increasingly complex social care needs of people being discharged from hospital, a new survey has revealed. |
Council introduces DBS checks for members
11/07/2024 West Northamptonshire Council will require all members to receive Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. |
Council failed in duties over care home closure
08/07/2024 Wokingham Borough Council’s failures over a struggling care home caused distress and anxiety for a woman who had lived there for 16 years, an investigation has found. |
NHS debt to council climbs by £11m in a year
02/07/2024 The NHS owes Cambridgeshire County Council £13m for adult social care services, a report has revealed. |
‘Talk more’ about social care, party leaders told
21/06/2024 Political parties must do more to acknowledge the value of adult social care in the run up to the General Election, sector leaders have argued. |
Labour plan to reduce delayed discharges
20/06/2024 Labour is reportedly planning to buy thousands of beds in care homes in an effort to reduce the problem of delayed discharges in hospitals. |
Councils and NHS row over Better Care Fund use
18/06/2024 Some Integrated Care Boards are seeking to challenge the parts of the Better Care Fund earmarked for social care funding, LGA councillors have been told. |
Council told to tackle safeguarding backlog
14/06/2024 A Local Government Association peer challenge urged Cumberland Council to take immediate action on a ‘significant’ safeguarding backlog. |
Cash-strapped Slough BC faces going £11m over budget
13/06/2024 The leadership of Slough BC should take ‘immediate action’ as the council is at risk of going £11m over budget this year, according to cabinet papers. |
Lib Dem bid to fix care and end council funding crisis
10/06/2024 The Lib Dems have pledged multi-year settlements and a cross-party solution for social care to help end councils’ current funding crisis in their manifesto today. |
Council bosses call on next government to deliver ‘fundamental reform’
30/05/2024 Local services could reach ‘breaking point’ if the next government fails to deliver long-term funding and ‘fundamental reform’, a cross-party group of council leaders has argued. |
BT: Too many councils failing to engage
21/05/2024 ‘Too many’ councils are failing to engage with telecoms giant BT as it works to switch customers to digital phone lines, the firm has said. |
Political battle over National Care Service
25/04/2024 Competing visions of the future of social care have been set out by Labour and the Conservatives as they prepare for a General Election. |
New ADASS president calls for community focus
25/04/2024 The new president of the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADASS) has called for a community, rather than a hospital, focus for the sector. |
'Grave concerns' over phone switchover
22/03/2024 UK mayors have expressed ‘grave concerns’ about the impact on vulnerable people of the planned phase out of the analogue phone system. |
CCN: Two-thirds of council budgets spent on care
18/03/2024 Council chiefs have called for an ‘honest discussion’ about services as new research reveals local authorities spend two-thirds of their budgets on care. |
Deprivation of Liberty backlog 'may never be eradicated'
08/03/2024 A report has called for councils to get more resources to tackle the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) backlog. |
Stoke-on-Trent warns services may be ‘stripped to the bone’
26/02/2024 Stoke-on-Trent City Council has warned its budget plans rest on a bid to secure an extra £42.2m in Government funding. |
Fears over digital switchover costs
08/01/2024 Councils face multi-million pound bills as a result of the digital switchover of the telephone system. |
Regulator praises Bolton care service
08/01/2024 An inspection of Bolton Council’s home support reablement service has found it is effective, caring, and well led. |
Manchester leads list for local government in New Year honours
02/01/2024 The chief executives of both Manchester City Council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority have been recognised in the New Year Honours List. |
Autistic adults without care entitlement face 'breakdown'
05/12/2023 More than 11,000 autistic adults in England are not receiving the care they are legally entitled to, a group of autism charities has found. |
New inspections require ‘significant’ work, pilot councils say
01/12/2023 Councils have reported spending 'a huge amount of time and energy' preparing for and undergoing the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) new adult social care assessments. |
Council directors call for ministers to ditch 'senseless' immigration crackdown
27/11/2023 An influential group of experts – including council directors – has urged ministers to ditch ‘senseless’ plans to tighten visa requirements for social care and health workers. |
Government behind on scaled-back care reforms
10/11/2023 The Government is behind even on its revised plans to overhaul adult social care, a National Audit Office (NAO) report has found. |
Meals on wheels ‘heading for UK-wide collapse’
30/10/2023 The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) has called for meals on wheels to become a statutory responsibility for councils after it found provision of the services continued to fall. |
£42m boost for social care innovation
25/10/2023 The Government has announced £42.6m to fund innovative local approaches that improve the quality and accessibility of adult social care. |
Hampshire County Council on ‘financial cliff edge’
05/10/2023 Hampshire CC has warned that cuts to services and job losses are inevitable as the council is facing ‘one of the biggest budget shortfalls in its history’. |
Cumberland working to reduce ‘escalating costs’
26/09/2023 Cumberland Council says it is working hard to control ‘escalating costs’, but it is facing a potential overspend of £17.5m. |
Mental health top reason for social care absences
20/09/2023 New research has claimed mental health and stress is the most common reason for social care staff sickness and absence in more than 77% of councils. |
Stoke-on-Trent Council at risk of bankruptcy
05/09/2023 Stoke-on-Trent Council has warned that it is on the verge of bankruptcy and called for a ‘national overhaul’ of social care funding. |
Auditor finds ‘significant weaknesses’ in Bristol's finances
10/08/2023 ‘Significant weaknesses’ in reducing overspends are threatening Bristol City Council’s financial sustainability, according to its external auditor. |
Health backing for police withdrawal delay
08/08/2023 Senior healthcare figures have backed councils’ demand to delay police withdrawal from non-urgent mental health callouts. |
Growth in social care workforce but 150,000 vacancies remain
12/07/2023 The number of filled posts in the social care workforce increased by 1% over the last year, but it is estimated there are still more than 150,000 vacancies. |
Care England calls for ICS representation
10/07/2023 A report by Care England into the progress of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) has called for provider representatives to be on every partnership or board. |
Hancock: Whitehall oversight of care was terrible
27/06/2023 Whitehall oversight of adult social care before Covid-19 was ‘terrible’ and officials had no understanding of whether councils could cope, Matt Hancock admits. |
Discharge delays overwhelming hospitals, NAO finds
22/06/2023 Delays to patient discharges have played a key role in overwhelming hospitals, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). |
Why co-production is key to digitally inclusive services
30/05/2023 Georgina Walton, Adult Social Care, Kent County Council discusses the local authority’s EMPOWERCARE project and its mission to overcome digital exclusion. |
Councils 'not ready' for Met's mental health withdrawal
30/05/2023 Councils are not ready for the consequences of the Metropolitan Police Services’ decision to withdraw from non-emergency mental health callouts, experts warn. |
General election offers chance to 'raise awareness of social care'
27/04/2023 The ‘looming general election’ offers an ideal chance to showcase and raise awareness of social care with the public, says the new president of ADASS. |
Care leaders warn social care system ‘run out of road’
26/04/2023 Body representing social services directors has published ‘roadmap’ for fixing care and says there is a consensus on what needs to be done but a lack of will. |
Peers' warning over supported housing reforms
24/04/2023 Ministers must avoid forcing high-quality supported housing providers from the market in their rush to tackle rogue landlords, peers have warned. |
Legal threat forces Devon CC to halt care cuts
17/04/2023 Devon County Council will halt its plans to cut adult day and respite services after the mental health charity Mencap threatened to take legal action. |
EXCLUSIVE: ‘It’s time for a new Audit Commission’
12/04/2023 An ex-senior mandarin has today called for a new Audit Commission as The MJ reveals the draft metrics the Government is considering for its new watchdog. |
Hewitt Review calls for social care to be ‘national priority’
04/04/2023 The former health secretary's report on Integrated Care Systems called for further funding and a workforce strategy for social care. |
Care home residents struggle to access NHS dental care
20/03/2023 The proportion of care home providers saying that people who use their services could 'never' access NHS dental care has increased fourfold, regulator finds. |
No extra social care funding for struggling councils
13/03/2023 A minister said councils would receive further support if they were found to be in need of improvement under new Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments. |
Bed blocking down by just 3% a month on from £250m plan
22/02/2023 The Government’s £250m initiative to speed up hospital discharges reduced the number of bed blockers by less than 3% in its first month. |
Lancashire County Council is set to pass its first £1bn budget
10/02/2023 Members have been told that the current financial outlook was ‘generally positive thanks to careful management’. |
Sector given role in NHS plan
31/01/2023 Local government will join an ‘expert group’ with the community sector and care providers to ‘build adult social care capacity’ as part of a new NHS plan. |
DLUHC: No more section 114 notices expected
10/01/2023 Whitehall officials are not expecting councils to issue further section 114 notices in the coming weeks, crediting the sector’s ‘positive’ settlement. |
Top awards for sector in King Charles III's Honours list
03/01/2023 Local government figures from across the sector have been recognised in the first New Year's Honours list under King Charles III. |
CQC delays new care inspections
21/12/2022 The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced it is to delay the introduction of its new adult care assessments. |
Nottingham bids to close £11m budget gap
21/12/2022 Nottingham City Council has introduced spending controls as the authority attempts to rein in an overspend of more than £11m. |
Adult care services 'invisible,' claim peers
06/12/2022 The Adult Social Care Committee said society’s understanding of adult social care was ‘partial and often flawed’ and the sector needed ‘long-term funding’. |
Counties issue ICS warning
21/11/2022 Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) must not become yet another NHS reorganisation to work around, chairman of the County Councils’ Network (CCN) has warned. |
Majority of directors warn needs of older and disabled people will not be met this winter
15/11/2022 The majority of councils do not have the funding or staff to meet the care needs of older and disabled people this winter, a new survey has warned today. |
Survey of care workers reveals 'staggering epidemic' of loneliness
10/11/2022 Nearly half a million (485,000) vulnerable and elderly people only have social contact with their care worker, a new survey has found. |
Charity warns of 'perfect storm' for carer breakdown
09/11/2022 The health of unpaid carers and the people they support is deteriorating due to serious difficulties getting the NHS treatment they need, a new survey has revealed. |
Care in crisis: CQC reveals stark issues ahead
21/10/2022 The care system is in crisis and staff now live with the risk their patients will come to harm, the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) annual report has revealed. |
Counties welcome care reform delay reports
19/10/2022 County councils have reacted to reports the Government is to push back social care reforms by at least a year. |
Abolition of social care levy survives Budget bonfire
17/10/2022 The abolition of the health and care levy is now the only major part of the discredited mini-Budget to survive after new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt today junked most of the other tax cuts in a dramatic announcement. |
Councils face ‘battle to balance budgets’
09/09/2022 PM Liz Truss should use any emergency budget to address the inflation cost pressures facing council budgets and the social care crisis, council chiefs say. |
Social care reform – amplifying the voices of experts by experience
07/09/2022 Chelsea Lovall, expert by experience and Quality Consultant for Dimensions UK, discusses the priorities for reforming adult social care. |
York reviews elderly care amid watchdog criticism
09/08/2022 City of York Council has agreed to review its handling of an elderly care plan for a vulnerable couple after a rebuke from the sector’s ombudsman. |
Government not even close to ‘rescuing’ social care
03/08/2022 The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee said billions of pounds ‘urgently’ needed to be injected into the system to meet both short-term and long-term needs. |
Oxfordshire becomes latest trailblazer for social care reform
25/07/2022 Oxfordshire County Council has become the sixth local authority to become a trailblazer for the government’s social care reform. |
Filled posts in adult social care are down for the first time
21/07/2022 The number of filled posts in adult social care is down for the first time on record, highlighting recruitment challenges, a new report has found. |
Social care faces 'most challenging year'
19/07/2022 Inflation and a labour market crisis are expected to add to long-term pressures caused by austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services’ (ADASS) spring survey has found. |
Care warning after elderly 'population boom'
15/07/2022 A ‘population boom’ of over-65s is piling pressure on adult care services, county councils have warned. |
Poor pay and terms and conditions making it hard to recruit PAs, survey shows
13/07/2022 More than three-quarters of people who employ a personal assistant to help with their care needs are finding it harder to find and retain one, a new survey has found. |
Minister delays self-funding care reforms
07/07/2022 Residential care self-funders will not be able to ask their council to arrange care for them at the lower local authority rate until April 2025, minister Gillian Keegan has announced. |
North-South self-funding split revealed
07/07/2022 The South East has the highest proportion of self-funders in community care services and the North East the lowest, according to the Office for National Statistics. |
Council chiefs warn of 'disastrous' financial crisis
27/06/2022 More councils could be tipped into financial crisis while others face emergency cuts due to soaring inflation and living wage increases, the LGA warned today. |
Local government austerity linked to poor health
24/06/2022 Local authority cuts have been a significant driver of poor health outcomes at the local level, according to new research. |
Only one third of carers ‘very satisfied’ with support
24/06/2022 Only around one third of carers reported feeling very or extremely satisfied with support and services last year, a new survey has revealed. |
Report highlights 'worrying' gap of 50,000 homes in housing-with-care
16/06/2022 Scotland faces a supply gap of 50,000 homes in housing-with-care, and this shortfall will only get worse, a new report has warned. |
Councils to receive over £15m to fund social care reforms
16/06/2022 The Government has announced a multi-million-pound package aimed at helping local authorities prepare for adult social care charging reform in October 2023. |
Counties in inflation funding call
14/06/2022 County councils have called for extra Government funding to cope with huge increases caused by inflation. |
Adult social care reforms could cost nearly £26bn
25/05/2022 Adult social care reforms could cost a minimum of £10bn more than currently estimated and will require over 4,000 new social work staff, new study reveals. |
Advisers call for minimum pay to ease care workforce crisis
27/04/2022 The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has said the Government should foot the bill for a minimum rate of £10.50 per hour for care workers in England. |
Adult social care workforce receives £500m boost
05/04/2022 People working in adult social care in England are set to benefit from a £500m boost that will go towards improving the recruitment and retention of staff. |
Care homes could face 'widespread closures' under reforms, counties warn
18/03/2022 Care homes are at risk of closure as the Government has ‘seriously underestimated’ the cost of its social care reforms, county councils have warned today. |
Review launched to assess shortfall in housing-with-care options
08/03/2022 A review to assess the level of unmet need for housing-with-care for older people in the UK has been launched. |
Dorset Council to set up adult social care company
07/03/2022 Dorset Council has agreed to set up a new company to deliver adult social care services. |
Warnings over unmet care needs
01/03/2022 Social care services could be put under further pressure due to unmet needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research. |
'Underfunded' adult social care reforms put services at risk, warn councils
25/02/2022 The underfunding of social care reforms will put the quality and availability of services at risk, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
Care cap will fail to help poorer pensioners, charity warns
10/02/2022 More than four out of five older people will not benefit from the Government's social care cap, a charity has warned. |
Government set to scrap mandatory vaccines for care staff
01/02/2022 The Government is considering scrapping compulsory COVID vaccines for health and care workers in England. |
Restrictions on care home visitors to be removed
27/01/2022 There will be no limit on visits to care homes and self-isolation periods will be cut from Monday, the Government has announced. |
Cornwall declares critical care incident
19/01/2022 Cornwall Council has declared a critical incident in adult social care. |
Half of councils forced to ration care, survey reveals
14/01/2022 Staff shortages have forced more than of councils in England to ration social care and support, a new survey has revealed. |
