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.
Norfolk councils sued over alleged abuse in children’s home
14/03/2025 Former residents of a children's home in Norfolk are taking legal action against local authorities over allegations of historic physical and sexual abuse. |
Care home plans approved with £57m backing
14/03/2025 Gloucestershire councillors have approved plans to build three new care homes over the next four and a half years thanks to a £57m cash injection. |
Tax hike threatens to add to nursing home costs
27/01/2025 The Government has been urged to reverse its NICs hike on care providers as figures reveal how much nursing costs for pensioners have increased in a decade. |
Ombudsman: Decision to move man in his final days caused ‘distress’
16/01/2025 Essex County Council’s decision to move a man with dementia away from his wife during the final weeks of his life caused ‘avoidable distress’, an ombudsman has said. |
A third of children in care placed 20 miles from home
11/11/2024 A third of young people in council care were placed in accommodation more than 20 miles from their local area last year, a new report has revealed. |
Lib Dems call for cross-party talks on social care ‘postcode lottery’
09/10/2024 The Lib Dems have repeated their call for cross-party talks on social care after revealing a steep rise in the number of pensioners per care home. |
Care service outsourcing surges despite quality concerns
08/10/2024 The outsourcing of care services to private providers has ‘surged’ over the last two decades despite concerns over quality, a new study has found. |
McKellen praises UK’s ‘first of a kind’ LGBTQ+ care scheme
26/09/2024 Actor Ian McKellen has praised Manchester City Council’s approval of the UK’s ‘first of a kind’ purpose-built majority LGBTQ+ extra care social rent housing scheme. |
Care homes invited to adopt AI solutions
24/09/2024 Care homes in Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are being invited to take part in an initiative that uses AI to enhance resident monitoring. |
Derbyshire could charge parents for children in care
09/09/2024 Derbyshire County Council is considering charging parents whose children are taken into care as it faces ‘unprecedented’ financial difficulty. |
Nine in ten felt lonely as a child in care
09/09/2024 More than nine in 10 (91%) care-experienced adults in the UK felt lonely and isolated during their time as a child in care, research has revealed. |
Care providers call for reform of hospital discharge process
28/08/2024 Care providers have called on the Government to reform the hospital discharge process. |
Care home numbers down by 1,500
23/07/2024 The number of care homes in England has decreased by nearly 1,500 since 2018, according to a study by the House of Commons Library. |
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. |
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. |
Mandatory reporting exemptions a 'fudge'
13/05/2024 Ministers’ decision to exempt instances of child abuse from a new reporting law means they have dodged the mandatory duty demanded by a national inquiry. |
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. |
Migration plans ‘spell total disaster’ for social care
05/12/2023 The Government has been accused of ‘playing roulette with essential services’ over its new plans to curb immigration. |
Care service failed to meet cultural needs
28/11/2023 A woman suffered diet and skin problems because the nursing home her council placed her in failed to meet her cultural needs, a watchdog has found. |
Councils need help to tackle care staff exploitation, union says
28/11/2023 The Government must drop plans to cap overseas care staff and act to stop the exploitation of those already working in the UK, the trade union Unison has said. |
New pilot to monitor care home infections
31/10/2023 A national surveillance study initially set up in response to Covid-19 has received government funding for a pilot scheme to monitor infections in care homes. |
Child abuse inquiry chair criticises Government response
23/10/2023 The chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has warned ministers’ response to her recommendations has been ‘weak’. |
New travel concession for London care leavers
09/10/2023 Care leavers aged 18-25 will receive half-price bus and tram travel in London, mayor Sadiq Khan announced today. |
‘Shockingly high’ justice system involvement among care-experienced children
21/09/2023 A third of care-experienced children born from 1996-99 received a youth justice caution or conviction – a finding described as a ‘terrible indictment of the failure of local authorities’. |
Families sue over Covid care home deaths
25/08/2023 Thirty families are launching legal action against the Government over the deaths of their relatives from Covid-19 in care homes when the pandemic began. |
100 care homes lying empty, according to Lib Dems
26/06/2023 An estimated 100 care homes are lying empty despite 40,000 people waiting for care, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. |
Cleaner air for those that need it most
15/06/2023 Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council, discusses the local authority's new initiative to protect residents in care homes from pollution. |
MPs back campaign to ban handcuffing children in care
05/06/2023 Several MPs are backing a campaign to scrap legislation that allows children in care to be handcuffed when they are transported between premises. |
Care homes 'at risk of closure'
25/05/2023 Care homes in Scotland have warned they are at risk of closure as they rejected a 6% fee increase from councils. |
Care home accused of ‘contemptuous’ behaviour
27/04/2023 Ombudsman has accused a Leicester care company boss of sending ‘intimidating, abusive and threatening emails’ to an elderly woman who complained. |
Safeguarding overhaul called for after ‘horrific’ child abuse case
20/04/2023 Council leaders have called for more powers to hold partners to account after a review into the abuse of children with disabilities at Hesley Group of homes. |
Staff propped up care system during pandemic, study finds
13/04/2023 Many care home staff worked overtime without extra pay to prop up the system during the pandemic, according to a new study. |
‘Horrendous’ energy costs threaten third of care homes
24/03/2023 One third of care homes in England have considered closing over the past year because of ‘horrendous’ running costs. |
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. |
BT trials smart tech to support care home residents
30/11/2022 BT is trialing smart technology to support care home residents in Scarborough in a move that will make independent living easier. |
Care home deaths fall to pre-pandemic levels
23/11/2022 The number of deaths in care homes has fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, new figures have revealed. |
Council apologises for care home top-fees
20/10/2022 Birmingham City Council has apologised ‘unreservedly’ for wrongly charging a family care home fees for more than 11 years. |
Ombudsman cautions councils against multiple care home contracts
01/09/2022 Local authorities have been cautioned against allowing the care homes they work with to have subsidiary contracts with clients. |
Victims of child abuse sent to care homes 350 miles away
30/08/2022 Local authorities in England and Wales are being forced to send some of the most vulnerable children to care homes in Scotland, new research has revealed. |
Care services for homeless ‘sadly lacking’
25/08/2022 Homeless people with multiple and complex health conditions are missing out on the care they need because of a lack of specialist provision, charity says. |
Care home residents first to receive COVID booster jab
19/08/2022 Care home residents and people who are housebound will be the first groups to receive the COVID booster jab, NHS England has confirmed. |
Prescribing of harmful antipsychotics in care homes up 50%
05/08/2022 Prescribing of potentially harmful antipsychotics to dementia sufferers increased by more than 50% in a third of care homes during pandemic, research reveals. |
Children in care placed far from home, Ofsted say
08/07/2022 Children in the care system are often placed in homes far away from their families because of a lack of suitable places near to where they live, Ofsted says. |
Council closes four care homes due to ‘market conditions’
23/06/2022 Gloucestershire County Council has decided to close down four care homes due to the pressures of ‘wider market conditions’. |
Care home owners paid 13 times more than carers
15/06/2022 The pay of executives at equity firms that own care homes is 13 times higher than the wages of the care home workers they employ, new research has revealed. |
Government confirms it won’t appeal COVID care home ruling
05/05/2022 Government won't appeal a court decision which found the policy of discharging patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic was unlawful. |
Discharging patients into care homes was 'unlawful', High Court rules
27/04/2022 The High Court today ruled that the Government’s policy of discharging patients from hospital to care homes at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was unlawful. |
County council to close four care homes
24/03/2022 Gloucestershire CC is considering a proposal to close four care homes due to a combination of factors such as a lack of demand and staffing difficulties. |
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. |
London council first to publish new charter to protect care home staff
08/02/2022 Southwark Council has agreed a new charter that will improve the working terms and conditions for all residential care providers in the borough. |
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. |
Care managers report 'significant' service disruption due to staff shortages
20/10/2021 Staff shortages are forcing two-thirds of care homes to turn people away from their services, a new survey has warned. |
Javid announces £388m to protect care sector over winter
01/10/2021 The Government has announced an extra £388.3m to help prevent infections and provide testing in the care sector. |
Union warns mandatory vaccines will cause care home 'catastrophe'
06/09/2021 Mandatory COVID vaccines for care home workers will cause a staffing crisis that will overwhelm the sector, a trade union has warned. |
Council agrees to refund care home top-up fees
19/08/2021 Dudley Council has agreed to refund care home top-up fees for families whose relatives were not offered an affordable placement. |
Over 39,000 care home residents die with COVID-19
22/07/2021 Local authority leaders have called on the country to reflect on the ‘dedication and commitment’ of the social care workforce as data on deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes is published. |
Adult social care given extra £250m for COVID-19 protections
28/06/2021 The Government is providing an extra £250m to help protect people in adult social care from COVID-19. |
COVID vaccines to be mandatory for care home staff
17/06/2021 The Government has confirmed everyone working in a CQC-registered care homes in England will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. |
Government announces £50m boost for care leavers
24/05/2021 The Government today announced a £51m funding boost to help councils support care leavers and have launched a consultation on improving the quality of housing for those leaving care. |
End blanket ban on care home visits, MPs say
05/05/2021 MPs have urged the Government to change the law to ensure an end to the blanket ban on care home visits. |
Government scraps self-isolation rule to allow care home residents to visit polling stations
04/05/2021 Care home residents will be allowed to vote in person in this week's local elections without having to self-isolate afterwards for 14 days, due to changes in Government guidance. |
Vaccine may be made compulsory for care home staff
14/04/2021 Staff in English care homes with older adults may be required to have a COVID-19 vaccine in a bid to tackle hesitancy within the sector. |
Care home residents 'barred' from voting booth says care group
14/04/2021 A care group has branded it a 'national scandal' that care home residents will be unable to vote in person in the local elections without self-isolating for 14 days afterwards. |
COVID care home infections fall 62% after single vaccine dose
29/03/2021 A single dose of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines gives residents of care homes protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection after four weeks. |
Care home visits to resume in March
22/02/2021 Care home residents in England and Wales will be allowed one regular visitor from 8 March under plans to ease lockdown restrictions. |
Welsh council takes over care home amid COVID-19 outbreak
06/01/2021 A county council in Wales has taken over the management of a private care home that has been severely affected by COVID-19. |
Hancock announces £149m grant to fund COVID-19 testing in care homes
24/12/2020 Care homes across the country are to be given access to a £149m grant to support the roll out of rapid coronavirus testing. |
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One in nine care workers not tested weekly
16/12/2020 A government pledge to test all care home staff every seven days is not being met, according to a survey published today. |
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Care home study to test immune response to COVID-19 ‘tripled in size’
19/11/2020 The Government has announced that it is expanding the Vivaldi study to test thousands more care home staff and residents for immune response to coronavirus. |
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County to take early control over four care homes
17/11/2020 Northamptonshire County Council is taking over the management of four care homes nine years earlier than planned after it negotiated a change to a long-running PFI contract. |
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COVID-19 testing pilot for care homes launched
16/11/2020 The Government has announced a new pilot that will see friends and family members of some care home residents in Hampshire, Cornwall and Devon offered regular COVID-19 tests. |
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Sector calls for ‘meaningful’ guidance on care home visits
05/11/2020 The care sector has called on the Government to provide detailed guidance on how care homes can offer COVID-secure visits during lockdown. |
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Council apologises over failings at Morleigh Group care homes
03/11/2020 Cornwall Council has apologised after a report highlighted failures at the former Morleigh Group care home provider. |
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Government ‘effectively abandoned’ care home residents to COVID-19, Amnesty says
05/10/2020 Care home residents in England were ‘effectively abandoned’ by the Government in the early stages of the pandemic, human rights organisation says. |
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Care providers to receive nearly £550m to reduce Covid transmissions
17/09/2020 Care providers in England will benefit from over half a billion pounds of extra funding to reduce Covid-19 transmissions, the Government has confirmed. |
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Care home providers warned of Covid-19 rise
14/09/2020 Department of Health & Social Care has written to care home providers in England warning them of the risk of a rise in coronavirus cases in the care sector. |
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Fifth of care homes took on Covid patients, survey reveals
24/08/2020 One in five care homes had to accept patients discharged from hospital who had tested positive for COVID-19 during the early part of the pandemic, a survey has found. |
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Yorkshire councils make case for more localised COVID-19 interventions
11/08/2020 Seven councils in Yorkshire that have appeared on the national COVID-19 watchlist in recent weeks have pledged to work together in a bid to secure extra funding. |
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New guidance to allow care homes to open to visitors
23/07/2020 Public health directors will start to assess care homes to see if they can re-open for visits from family and friends, under new government guidance. |
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Care chiefs reject Boris' COVID claims
07/07/2020 Care chiefs have rejected claims by Boris Johnson that it was their lack of vigilance that led to a high number of coronavirus deaths in care homes. |
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Social care is running out of cash, experts warn
18/06/2020 Social care could run out of money to deal with the fallout of the coronavirus crisis by the end of the summer unless the Government steps in with more cash. |
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Care home deaths drop but council chiefs still ‘seriously’ concerned
17/06/2020 Council chiefs welcome decrease in the number of Covid-related care home deaths but warn that it is ‘seriously concerning’ that the death rate remains so high. |
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Care homes were an ‘afterthought’ during pandemic, watchdog warns
12/06/2020 A new report has warned that around 25,000 people were discharged from hospital into a care home without being tested for coronavirus at the height of the pandemic. |
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Care home residents facing 'coronavirus bill'
08/06/2020 Some care home residents have been forced to pay a 'coronavirus bill’ of up to £100 a week by their provider, a charity has warned. |
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Care home on the brink of collapse
18/05/2020 Care homes in the North East have issued a legal warning to North Tyneside council, claiming they could collapse within days without further funding. |
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Covid-19 care homes deaths 51% higher than estimated
15/05/2020 The number of care home residents who have died from coronavirus is more than 50% higher than previously estimated, figures today have revealed. |
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Johnson announces £600m for infection control in care homes
14/05/2020 Councils have welcomed the £600m extra funding for infection control within care homes. |
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Government unveils improved daily report on Covid-19 deaths
29/04/2020 From today, the new daily count for deaths caused by Covid-19 will include those occurring in care homes for the first time. |
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Councils must urgently allocate funding to social care providers, report warns
28/04/2020 Funding given to local authorities to deal with the coronavirus crisis must urgently get through to independent adult social care services, a new report has warned. |
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Care home coronavirus deaths quadruple
21/04/2020 The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the number of coronavirus deaths in care homes quadrupled in the week ending 10 April. |
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Data shows thousands dying in care homes from coronavirus
20/04/2020 The number of people dying from coronavirus in care homes has doubled in the past week, new data has revealed. |
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Coronavirus testing to be rolled out across social care sector
15/04/2020 The Government has pledged to offer testing for coronavirus to all social care staff and care home residents. |
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Spike in deaths led to fears of care homes crisis
14/04/2020 A huge spike in the number of UK deaths has led to fears the pandemic is rife in care homes. |
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Care England hits out at 'insufficient' funding increase
09/04/2020 Care England has branded the 10% funding increase for care homes as ‘derisory’ and warned many providers could collapse. |
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Care home bosses disqualified for diverting £500,000 of council money
31/03/2020 ‘Reckless’ care home bosses have been disqualified for diverting council funds and abandoning elderly residents. |
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Ombudsman reminds councils of care home ‘top-up fees’ duties
12/02/2020 Councils are being reminded by the local government Ombudsman of their duties to administer ‘top-up fees’ for people contributing towards relatives’ care. |
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Research highlights under-funding of independent care homes
11/02/2020 Care homes operated by local authorities receive over 40% more in weekly fees than independent homes, despite no difference in standards or quality of care, research has shown. |
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Union calls for Sanctuary Care homes to be brought ‘back in-house’
14/01/2020 Unite is urging councils who have contracts with Sanctuary Care to bring them ‘in-house’ after a criminal investigation was launched into one of its homes. |
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Thirty councils accused of ‘short changing’ independent care homes
13/01/2020 A charity has found 30 councils are paying less than £500 a week for an older person in an independent residential care home, the equivalent of just £2.97 per hour. |
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Partnership working will deliver best outcomes in social care
29/11/2019 Hayden Knight believes that a collaborative approach between providers, local authorities and other agencies offers an opportunity to innovate the way we care for people with dementia. |
