Digital public services that deliver
Nick Pike explores the challenges facing chief digital officer in driving forward Local Digital Declarations.
Care home closed amid allegations of ‘child cruelty’
02/08/2019 A care home in the north Bristol area for children with special needs has been closed down amid allegations of child cruelty. |
Nottinghamshire councils apologise for ‘decades’ of child abuse
01/08/2019 Nottinghamshire councils have apologised for letting survivors ‘down in worst possible way’ after an inquiry found hundreds of children were abused in care. |
Over 40% of emergency hospital admissions ‘avoidable'
25/07/2019 Council chiefs have called for more resources to recruit care home staff after research shows four in 10 hospital admissions from care homes could be avoided. |
Stop 'criminalisation' of children in care homes, council chiefs say
09/07/2019 More must be done to stop the 'criminalisation' of children in care homes, according to local government leaders. |
Thousands of older people impacted by care home closures, survey reveals
27/06/2019 Survey of social care directors has revealed that thousands of older and disabled people have been impacted by care home closures after a decade of cuts. |
Cuts impacting on oral health in care homes, council chiefs warn
24/06/2019 Care home residents are not supported to ‘maintain and improve’ their oral health, the national health and social care regulator has revealed. |
‘Locked up’ children cost £300m to care for, commissioner says
16/05/2019 An estimated 1,500 children in England are locked up by the state for their own or others’ safety at a cost of a third of a billion pounds a year, new report reveals. |
Four Seasons Health Care slides into administration
30/04/2019 Funding has been found to prop up more than 300 care homes as Four Seasons Health Care enters administration. |
Digital portal showing care home vacancies launched
16/04/2019 Local authorities have partnered with the NHS to provide a new digital portal which shows how many vacancies there are in local care homes. |
Council criticised for not carrying out ‘proper assessments’ in deprivation of liberty cases
01/04/2019 Council argues legislation dealing with when it is legitimate to deprive someone of liberty is not 'fit for purpose’ after being criticised by ombudsman. |
Children’s home system ‘catastrophically failing children’, MPs warn
26/03/2019 MPs today launched a Parliamentary inquiry into the record number of children who are ‘farmed out’ to live in children’s homes miles away from family and friends. |
Care home quality ‘worsens’ in a third of council areas
06/03/2019 The quality of care homes has worsened in more than a third of local authority areas over the last year, according to an elderly persons charity. |
Fire safety failures revealed in care homes
05/02/2019 Serious fire safety failures have been found in nearly 100 care homes across London, the capital’s fire brigade have said. |
One in five councils have not increased spending on care home fees
28/01/2019 One in five councils have not increased the fees they pay care homes in the past year despite costs rising by up to 5%, new research has shown. |
Care homes spend less than £3 per resident on food
25/01/2019 Elderly care homes are spending an average of just £2.44 per resident on food, according to new research. |
Council fees are squeezing providers out of the care market, think tank warns
11/12/2018 The low fees paid to care providers by overstretched local authorities are impacting on care staff and are forcing them to hand back contracts, a new report has found. |
Regulator calls for more transparency in the care home sector
16/11/2018 Care homes should be upfront about all of the terms and conditions in their contracts to ensure residents and their representatives are treated fairly, new guidelines say. |
Care home provider on verge of collapse, regulators warn
07/11/2018 The financial problems of one of the UK’s largest care providers poses ‘credible risk of service disruption’ to local provision of social care, regulators say |
Millions underestimating cost of care homes
31/10/2018 More than half of people are underestimating care-home costs by around £12,000 a year, new research has revealed. |
Former Northants leader admits ‘mistakes’ over PFI deal
04/10/2018 Former leader of Northamptonshire County Council has admitted mistakes were made in a PFI deal which has meant up to £2m a year being paid for empty care beds. |
Council pays £50,000 to victim of care home grooming gang
10/09/2018 A former children's care home resident has received a £50,000 payout from Birmingham City Council after she claimed it failed to protect her from grooming gangs. |
Older adults failing to save for future care needs
20/08/2018 More than one in 10 older people will have to pay at least £100,000 for their care, but most are not saving to cover the cost, according to new research. |
Dementia sufferers told to leave care home over safety concerns
15/08/2018 Doncaster Council was forced to tell 27 residents to leave their privately run care home over concerns for their safety. |
Care homes not operating at full capacity, data analysts find
25/07/2018 Healthcare data specialists have called for a reappraisal of the ‘care home crisis’ after discovering care homes have more capacity than was thought. |
Social care crisis leads to over 80% rise in care home insolvencies
14/05/2018 The funding crisis in the social care sector has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of private care providers entering insolvency, a new study reveals. |
Private social care providers criticise ‘paltry’ fee offers
09/05/2018 Independent providers of social care have criticised local authorities for what they describe as ‘paltry fee offers’. |
Neglect common in care homes due to staff ‘burnout’
22/03/2018 The largest-ever survey of care home staff in England has found that neglectful behaviours are widespread due to staff ‘burnout’. |
Care home quality and choice ‘likely to get worse’, council chiefs warn
15/03/2018 Council leaders have warned the choice of care homes will get worse as charity reveals quality of homes in one in five local authority areas dropped last year. |
Care homes in danger of ‘breaking law’ over contracts
05/03/2018 Local authorities have a duty to provide clear information on the care system, council chiefs say as research reveals care homes are withholding contracts and not explaining terms to customers. |
Projects launched to support care leavers
28/02/2018 Three new projects to help care leavers into education, employment or training has been launched by the Government. |
Birmingham Council denies it will ‘suddenly’ move residents to new care providers
05/02/2018 Birmingham City Council has denied accusations they will move residents receiving social care services should their provider not complete the tender process. |
MPs ‘strikingly pessimistic’ about the quality of local care homes
23/01/2018 Two-thirds of MPs in England believe there is a lack of high-quality care homes for their older constituents to choose from, a new survey has revealed. |
Care home providers struggling with ‘harsh reality’ of care crisis
18/01/2018 Half of England’s large care home providers have at least one in four failing homes in their network, according to a consumer watchdog. |
Five London councils commission programme to keep troubled youngsters out of care
16/01/2018 Five London boroughs have jointly commissioned a new programme to help vulnerable young people stay out of care. |
Councils urged to be clear on care home costs
11/01/2018 Councils have been reminded to give families accurate information about care home fees by the ombudsman, following a complaint against Lincolnshire County Council. |
Welsh council first to offer care leavers council tax relief
20/12/2017 Rhondda Cynon Taf has become the first Welsh council to agree to a council tax exemption for care leavers up to the age of 25. |
Pensioners face care home funding ‘lottery’
18/12/2017 Pensioners face a care funding lottery, insurance company warns as FOI requests reveal ‘huge variation’ in how care homes are funded. |
Council cuts responsible for £1bn care home sector shortfall
30/11/2017 The care home sector is suffering from a £1bn funding shortfall because councils are not paying high enough fee rates, extensive review into the sector finds. |
Over half of care home places ‘inadequate’, investigation reveals
29/11/2017 Local government leaders have renewed calls for urgent action to fix the care home system after report accuses many homes of being substandard. |
Thousands of young disabled adults are 'stuck' in older people’s care homes
14/11/2017 Thousands of young disabled adults are being forced to live in older people’s care homes, a shocking new study has revealed |
‘Critical lack’ of care home places leaves families feeling guilty, survey reveals
27/10/2017 Families facing a ‘critical lack’ of choice when it comes to arranging a care home for relatives as councils face care home place shortfall, watchdog finds. |
Average stay in a residential care equals 26 family holidays
26/10/2017 The cost of the average length of stay in a residential care home has risen to nearly £82,000 - the equivalent of 26 annual family holidays - new research has revealed. |
Number of deaths in care homes could exceed those in hospitals by 2040
11/10/2017 The number of deaths occurring in care homes could double in the next 25 years, new research has warned today. |
Councils face ‘massive’ shortfall in care home places
04/10/2017 Councils will face a massive shortfall in care home places for the elderly unless urgent action is taken, according to new research. |
Care leavers with mental health needs being failed by services
14/09/2017 Two-thirds of care leavers with mental health needs are not receiving any help from a statutory services, a new study has revealed today. |
Council fined after separating husband and wife for 10 months
22/08/2017 A council has been ordered to pay out hundreds of pounds in compensation after separating a married couple for 10 months due to a lack of homecare availability. |
More than 70,000 care home places needed by 2025, warns study
16/08/2017 An extra 71,000 care home places will be needed in England by 2025 in order to cope with an ageing population, new research has revealed. |
Care homes failing to get 'basics right' warns watchdog
10/08/2017 Most residents of care homes are happy with the way they are looked after, according to health watchdogs. |
Council rapped for banning man from visiting relative in care home
09/08/2017 Nottinghamshire County Council failed to go through the correct procedures when it banned a man from visiting his partner’s mother in her care home, the local government ombudsman has ruled. |
Councils win legal battle over nursing care fees
03/08/2017 Health boards in Wales ‘misinterpreted’ the law regarding who is responsible for paying for nurses to deliver social care in residential homes, a court has ruled. |
Care home residents hit with 'top up' stealth tax
27/07/2017 A quarter of care home residents whose care is supposed to be free are being forced to pay top-up fees, according to Age UK. |
Care providers take council to court over ‘inadequate’ fee rates
19/07/2017 The largest representative of private social care providers has announced the date it is taking Essex County Council to court over ‘inadequate’ fee rates paid to providers. |
Councils urged to be 'open and transparent' over cost of care exercises
21/06/2017 Home care providers have written to prime minister Theresa May demanding changes to support their sector, including ensuring that councils’ ‘market-shaping obligations’ are enforced. |
Care workers warn the dignity of residents is being compromised by cuts
19/06/2017 Severe staff shortages in residential care homes are denying elderly people the most basic levels of care, according to a survey of care workers. |
A number of care homes may be breaking the law, research reveals
15/06/2017 An investigation has been launched after revelations some care homes are breaking consumer protection laws by charging families after a resident has died. |
Ombudsman warns councils to offer affordable care options
14/06/2017 The local government ombudsman has reminded councils they must offer affordable placements to families when arranging care for their relatives. |
Councils accused of ‘poor commissioning’ in Devon care home abuse case
08/06/2017 Learning disabilities charities have blamed ‘poor commissioning’ by local authorities and ‘weak inspection’ regimes for abuse in two care homes in Devon. |
Judge calls for end of ‘inhumane’ separation of elderly couples in care homes
10/05/2017 Separating elderly couples when one or both of them go into care is ‘inhumane’, a senior judge has said. |
Essex council taken to court over care home fee rates
11/04/2017 The country’s largest representative body for providers of adult social care has accused Essex council of ‘unlawful’ practices with regards to how much it pays care home providers. |
Charity reveals ‘stark variation’ in care home quality
11/04/2017 New research has revealed ‘stark variation’ at both the local authority and regional level when it comes to the quality of care homes. |
Care home bill can eat up more than half the value of a house research shows
20/03/2017 People face losing up to half the value of their home when entering residential care, new analysis has revealed today. |
Care firms cancelling council contracts due to lack of money
20/03/2017 Care firms have ended contracts with 95 councils, warning they are unable to deliver services on the amount they are being paid, a new investigation has revealed. |
Talks over care home fees at 'virtual breakdown'
16/03/2017 Hundreds of care home are at risk of closure in Scotland due to ‘chronic underfunding’, Scottish Care has warned. |
Care home accuses Cornwall Council of ‘disruptive behaviour’
07/03/2017 A mental care home has accused Cornwall Council of ‘persistent intrusive and disruptive behaviour’ and suspended officials from accessing its care provision. |
Disabled children with challenging behaviour being 'hidden' from society
26/01/2017 A ‘fragmented' care system is depriving disabled children with complex needs of the right to an education and family life, a damning review has said today. |
Care homes rely on ‘hidden tax’ of £1.3bn to stay open
25/01/2017 The care home funding shortfall has left self-funders paying a ‘hidden tax’ of £1.3bn to keep the sector ‘afloat’, analysts reveal. |
Council criticised after woman in care home left ‘malnourished’
05/01/2017 Wokingham council has been told to pay out thousands in compensation after a woman was left ‘severely malnourished’ and bored during a stay in a care home. |
New care housing to save county council nearly £3m a year
21/12/2016 A county council has unveiled plans to build 600 homes for older and disabled people within the next decade. |
British adults believe abuse in care homes is ‘common’
25/11/2016 Over half of British adults believe that abuse and neglect in care homes for the elderly is common, new research reveals. |
Care homes using ‘self-funders’ to deal with funding squeeze
20/10/2016 Financially squeezed care homes are using older people who pay for their own care to make up shortfalls to keep struggling homes open. |
Widespread use of antipsychotics to treat dementia despite ‘substantial’ risks
21/09/2016 A care home dementia survey has uncovered widespread failure to reduce the prescribing of antipsychotic drugs, despite Government warnings they pose a ‘substantial clinical risk’. |
Care home closures put 162 jobs at risk
18/08/2016 Britain’s biggest care home group is closing three of its homes putting over 150 jobs at risk because they are ‘operating at a loss’. |
Care homes fees soar to £30,000 a year for first time
17/08/2016 The annual cost of a care home for elderly people has risen to over £30,000 a year for the first time, increasing ten times faster than pensioner incomes, new research has revealed. |
The June issue of Local Government News contains the full details of all the winning schemes in the 2019 Street Design Awards. From Children's Play to Pedestrian Environment, find out who has been recognised for their innovation and use of best practice.
This issue also explores how local government pension funds can hedge currency risk, how councils can best address the shortfall in school places, and an update on the number of authorities banning the use of Roundup over safety fears.
