Whitehall urged to adopt ‘social model’ for dealing with mental health issues
Homeless people denied access to healthcare, study finds
Diabetes in children up 50% in five years
Javid announces ‘public health duty’ to tackle violent crime
A war on pesticides?
With 40 councils now banning the use of Roundup over safety fears, Mark Whitehead finds out why the debate on using chemicals to kill weeds continues to rage.
Whitehall announces £135m for health and social care system
11/07/2019 The Government has announced a multi-million pound investment to help tackle the biggest issues facing health and social care over the next five years. |
Deaf children face ‘radio aid lottery’
11/07/2019 Local authority leaders have hit back against a claim that councils are failing to provide aids to deaf children. |
Free HPV vaccination to be offered to boys
09/07/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed an announcement that from boys will be offered the free Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine for the first time. |
Dementia sufferers spend £15bn while waiting for care reforms
09/07/2019 Long-term sustainable funding must be provided to help support people with dementia, local government leaders have demanded. |
Over half of unpaid carers ‘unable’ to save for retirement
09/07/2019 Funding cuts are making it increasingly difficult to support unpaid carers, local government leaders have warned. |
Air pollution ‘shortening the lives of children’, report reveals
08/07/2019 A new study has revealed that air pollution could be shortening the lives of children in Birmingham by seven months. |
Council apologises for misinforming homeless teenager about their rights
05/07/2019 Essex County Council has apologised for turning away homeless children from care following a judicial review and has committed to better train its social workers. |
Primary school children targeted for ‘county lines’ drug trafficking
05/07/2019 The response from statutory agencies to ‘county lines’ drug dealing is ‘too often haphazard’, a charity warns as new report reveals children as young as seven are being exploited by criminal gangs. |
Councils demand social care green paper within ten weeks
04/07/2019 Council leaders have demanded the Government to publish the much-delayed social care green paper before Parliament goes into recess in September. |
MPs call for £8bn to be invested into ‘struggling’ care system
04/07/2019 MPs have called on the Government to inject £8bn into the struggling social care system to restore it to pre-austerity levels. |
Health and wellbeing boards make ‘real difference’, council chiefs say
03/07/2019 Boards set up to promote collaboration between health and social care professionals are achieving success, according to local government leaders. |
Adoptive families ‘fighting losing battle’ for support
02/07/2019 Adopted children are twice as likely not to be in employment, education or training as their peers, according to the first ever UK-wide assessment of adoption. |
Majority of young people experience mental health issues, poll reveals
02/07/2019 Three in five young people have experienced a mental health problem or are close to someone who has, according to a new survey. |
Council chiefs warn of ‘children’s mental health crisis’
01/07/2019 Local authority leaders have warned that social services are seeing more than 560 cases of children with mental health disorders every day – an increase of more than 50% in just four years. |
Criminals making £100m a year from London’s illegal tobacco trade
28/06/2019 Illegal tobacco trade in London is bringing crime into communities and undermining stop smoking efforts, London Councils has warned today. |
Over 500,000 social housing tenants in poverty due to smoking
27/06/2019 Over half a million social housing tenants are living in poverty due to the cost of smoking, anti-smoking campaigners say. |
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. |
Carers increasingly ‘depressed’, survey reveals
25/06/2019 Carers are feeling stressed and depressed working in what is an increasingly over-stretched and underfunded care system, a new survey has revealed. |
Council-led programmes to fight childhood obesity launched
25/06/2019 The Government is to fund five council-led programmes to tackle childhood obesity. |
Thousands of overspill beds being used for routine care, report says
24/06/2019 Hospital beds that are supposed to be used only during emergencies and periods of high demand are being utilised for routine care, investigation reveals. |
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. |
Service launched to help 55,000 children who are addicted to gambling
24/06/2019 The NHS has announced the launch of the health service’s first young people’s gambling addiction service to help tackle the ‘scourge’ of problem gambling. |
Council criticised for handling of disabled woman’s case
21/06/2019 Somerset County Council has been told to complete its assessment of a disabled woman’s needs after failing to comply with an earlier ruling by the LGO. |
Charity calls for protected funding for children’s hospices
20/06/2019 NHS England is being urged to keep its promise to protect and increase funding for children’s hospices by charity Together for Short Lives. |
Social workers warn of 'devastating' impact of cuts
19/06/2019 Social workers have claimed they cannot do their jobs properly because of years of funding cuts. |
Children exposed to toxic air inside schools, report warns
18/06/2019 The quality of air inside and outside primary schools must be improved to protect children's health, campaigners have demanded. |
Wider funding issues put NHS plan in 'jeopardy'
18/06/2019 Delivering improved care for patients in the new NHS Long Term Plan will be 'extremely challenging' without urgent government action to increase funding, health experts have warned. |
Report highlights cuts to children's centres
17/06/2019 Councils have been forced to reduce spending on children’s centres by nearly £100 per child in the past three years, a charity has warned. |
Charity warns cuts to children’s services ‘undermine’ mental health agenda
17/06/2019 A children’s charity has welcomed the Prime Minister’s ‘new mission’ to put prevention at the top of the mental health agenda, but warn that cuts to children’s services undermine progress in this area. |
Children being denied advocacy, report warns
13/06/2019 A ‘significant’ group of children are being denied their legal right to advocacy, a new report has warned today. |
Ombudsman reprimands council over support for vulnerable people
13/06/2019 Councils have been reminded of their obligations to supporting vulnerable people by the Ombudsman after Suffolk CC halted assessments for a deafblind couple’s care plans because of a dispute. |
Union warns 130,000 people trapped in social care debt
12/06/2019 Nearly 100,000 people are facing debt collectors over unpaid social care charges, an investigation has revealed. |
Launch of £5m fund to support unpaid carers
12/06/2019 A new pot of government money will help promote the health and wellbeing of people who look after others, according to minister for care Caroline Dinenage. |
Poorest children most affected by early years funding crisis, research finds
12/06/2019 The poorest children are bearing the brunt of cuts in funding for early years education, according to campaigners. |
Charities call for £1bn a year to reverse public health cuts
12/06/2019 Two health charities are calling on the Government to reverse the £1bn a year cuts to public health grants. |
Council apologises for failing to protect girls from grooming gang
11/06/2019 Kirklees Council has apologised for failing to protect two girls from abuse, after an independent review found opportunities were lost to protect them from exploitation. |
Some schools 'discouraging' admission of special needs children
11/06/2019 Children with special needs are being discouraged from attending some primary schools, education experts have warned. |
Local authorities will continue to commission public health services
10/06/2019 Councils will continue to commission local public health services, a government review has concluded. |
Domestic abuse victims more likely to develop a mental illness
07/06/2019 Women suffering domestic abuse are three times more likely than others to develop mental illness, according to a study. |
Councils warn of national 'special needs emergency'
06/06/2019 Councils are supporting more than 130 extra children and young people with special education needs every day, new figures have revealed. |
Calls for sugar-free schools by 2022
05/06/2019 All schools in London should be sugar-free by 2022, according to health experts. |
Over half of the disease burden in England ‘preventable’
04/06/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed a report which urges the Government to increase investment into initiatives supporting public health. |
Sure Start had ‘major benefits’ for disadvantaged children, think tank says
04/06/2019 The twenty-year-old childcare programme has had major health benefits for children in poorer neighbourhoods, a new analysis reveals. |
MPs warn of ‘worrying’ sexual health inequalities
03/06/2019 Members of Parliament have called for a new national strategy to ensure high quality sexual health services for all. |
Council leaders welcome Panorama’s ‘powerful’ social care episode
30/05/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed a recent ‘powerful and emotive’ episode of Panorama that shone some light on the adult social care crisis. |
England faces £4.4bn care funding gap
29/05/2019 There will be a social care funding gap of £4.4bn in England by 2023/24 unless there is a funding commitment from the Government, a health think tank says. |
County council chiefs warn of ‘fragile nature’ of care system
29/05/2019 Councils will need to spend £6.1bn per year more in 2025 on adult social care services compared to what they were spending a decade ago, figures reveal. |
Older people waiting too long for care, charity warns
28/05/2019 Four out of ten older people with critical or substantial needs are waiting more than six weeks for social care in Scotland, a charity has warned. |
Free social care for the elderly could save NHS £4.5bn a year, think tank says
23/05/2019 The introduction of free social care for everyone over 65 would save the NHS in England £4.5bn a year and help improve care in the community, think tank says. |
Council criticised for ‘serious delays’ in completing SEND plans
23/05/2019 Hackney Council has been criticised by the ombudsman over serious delays when completing plans for children with Special Educational Needs. |
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.
