Children do less exercise as they get older, research reveals
Councils chiefs call for more powers to ‘restrict’ takeaways
One and a half million older people have ‘unmet care needs’, charity warns
Only one in five alcoholics receiving treatment, health experts say
Policy action to secure the future health of young people
We need to invest across housing, employment and transport to secure the health prospects of the next generation, argues Martina Kane.
Family hardship drives 53% increase in children referred for ‘urgent support’
05/11/2019 A rise in family ‘conflict and hardship’ against a background of cuts to council budgets is behind the heightened pressure on child protection services, local authority leaders have revealed. |
Thousands of inpatients with learning disabilities and autism to receive care review
05/11/2019 Thousands of people with learning disabilities and autism that have detained in a mental health hospital will have their care reviewed over the next 12 months, the Government announced today. |
Stoke-on-Trent CC given three months to improve ‘inadequate’ children’s services
01/11/2019 Williamson issues a direction which gives Stoke-on-Trent three months to establish a partnership with another council to deliver children’s social care. |
Local government sector guide to tackling loneliness launched
29/10/2019 Local authority leaders have joined forces to produce a guide on how to tackle loneliness for commissioners, service providers, councillors and others working in the sector. |
Failure of £350m Four Seasons deal proof social care is not ‘properly’ funded
25/10/2019 The failure to sell the struggling social care provider, Four Seasons, is further proof that the Government is not funding social care properly, union says. |
Councils chiefs call for more sexual health funding
25/10/2019 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to ensure that its updated sexual and reproductive health strategy is ‘fully funded’. |
UK lagging behind on health care infrastructure spending
24/10/2019 The UK is spending ‘significantly’ less on health care infrastructure compared to other countries in the EU, new research has revealed today. |
New academy to drive forward 'social prescription'
23/10/2019 Every patient with long-term health problems will be offered a 'social prescription' including arts, sport or leisure activities in a new Government initiative. |
NHS study reveals ‘growing’ pressure on social care sector
23/10/2019 Charity calls for ‘urgent solution’ to the care crisis as study reveals councils received two million new requests for adult social care support last year. |
Whitehall commits £19m for young people leaving care
23/10/2019 Young people leaving care have been promised better housing, healthcare and employment opportunities in a new government scheme. |
Children in care not getting their legal right to a ‘buddy’
22/10/2019 Children in the care system are not getting their legal right to an essential ‘buddy’ as more than two thirds of councils admit leaving them on waiting lists, a children’s charity reveals. |
Nearly £2m awarded to projects improving health services for the homeless
22/10/2019 Nearly £2m has been awarded to six projects as part of an effort to help test models that improve access to health services for people sleeping rough. |
Reform of primary care in Wales ‘not happening quickly enough’
22/10/2019 Plans to strengthen primary care in Wales have not happened as quickly or as widely as intended, according to auditors. |
Councils helping fewer unpaid family carers
21/10/2019 Fewer unpaid family carers are receiving support from their local council, new figures have revealed. |
Whitehall confirms plans to end ‘postcode lottery’ for abuse survivors
21/10/2019 The Government has confirmed plans for a new legal duty for local authorities to provide survivors of domestic abuse with safe accommodation. |
Council chiefs call for investment into leisure facilities
18/10/2019 Local authority leaders have voiced concerns over the ability of councils to continue to provide leisure centres, which contribute to public health, without more Government investment. |
Khan announces £4m for London youth workers
16/10/2019 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced he will invest £4m to increase the number of youth workers in hospitals across the capital. |
Number of young people gambling is ‘emerging’ public health risk
16/10/2019 A new study has found an increasing number of young people are experimenting with gambling, making them more likely to be problem gamblers later in life. |
Charity calls for ‘whole Government approach’ to health of young people
16/10/2019 Whitehall should transform its policies across housing, transport and education in order to secure the future health of today’s young people, charity says. |
Council adopts fingerprint-based drug testing
15/10/2019 Peterborough City Council has brought in fingerprint-based drug testing as part of its family safeguarding social care initiative. |
Care green paper delay causing 'instability'
15/10/2019 The care regulator has accused the Government of aggravating the funding pressures in adult social care by stalling on the long-awaited care green paper. |
£2m loneliness fund launched
15/10/2019 The Government has launched a new £2m fund to help support grassroots organisations at the frontline of tackling loneliness. |
A quarter of London’s parks have unsafe air quality
11/10/2019 One in four of green spaces in London breach safety limits for air quality, new analysis has revealed. |
Around 58,000 reception-aged children obese, data shows
11/10/2019 New figures from the NHS have revealed that obesity levels among reception-aged schoolchildren in England have increased. |
Give councils the powers to restrict takeaways, obesity report says
10/10/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed a proposal to strengthen planning powers to help deal with the underlying causes of obesity. |
Council chiefs call for ‘properly resourced’ plan to improve health visiting
10/10/2019 Council leaders have called for a ‘properly resourced’ plan to encourage closer working between health visitors and other local authority services. |
Call for dedicated social care appeals
10/10/2019 Fewer than one in five councils have a dedicated appeals process for social care, according to new research. |
Majority of children ‘happy’, report finds
10/10/2019 The overwhelming majority of children in the UK are happy, according to an official report. |
Young offenders ‘set up to fail’, report warns
08/10/2019 Children and young people released from young offender institutions are getting too little support in the community and are being ‘set up to fail’, a new report shows. |
Half of mental health patients with diabetes not receiving ‘vital checks’
08/10/2019 A charity has called on the NHS to better integrate mental health and diabetes care after it was revealed that half of those needing treatment in both areas are not receiving vital checks. |
Kinship carers ‘lack support’ in times of crisis, charity warns
07/10/2019 Family members who take on the responsibility of caring for children who are not their own risk being penalised due to a lack of support and independent advice, a charity has warned. |
Whitehall announces £35m mental health research programme
07/10/2019 The Government today announced a £35m programme dedicated to researching teenage mental health issues. |
Whitehall launches 10 new foster projects
04/10/2019 The Government has today launched fostering projects in 10 new locations in a bid to provide foster families with practical and emotional support and advice. |
Nine in 10 complaints about SEND provision upheld by Ombudsman
03/10/2019 The Ombudsman is receiving more complaints about education, health and care plans (EHCP) than ever before – and the vast majority are being upheld. |
Children’s voices missing from care records, study warns
03/10/2019 The voices of children and young people are missing from their social care records causing significant distress and upset, research has warned today. |
Council launches new children's company in Worcestershire
02/10/2019 A new council-owned company to deliver children's services in Worcestershire has officially gone live. |
Local councils aim to make communities 'seizure savvy'
02/10/2019 A new partnership to help local councils raise awareness of how to help someone having an epileptic fit has been launched. |
Councils issue warning over toxic skin-lightening creams
30/09/2019 Local government leaders have warned of the dangers of skin-lightening creams that 'act like paint stripper' and increase the risk of cancer. |
Calls for free social care across Wales
30/09/2019 Social care should be free at the point of need for everyone in Wales, a commission has argued today. |
Multi-million funding to transform community mental health services
30/09/2019 Mental health services in 12 areas of England are to share £70m funding to deliver new specialist services. |
Councils voice concern over 'alarming' fall in childhood vaccination rates
27/09/2019 An 'alarming' fall in childhood vaccination rates should serve as a wake-up call to parents and authorities about the need for children to be protected against disease, local government leaders have warned. |
No-deal Brexit presents 'risk' to health and social care sectors
27/09/2019 There is a risk that care homes and the NHS will be unable to access vital medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the public spending watchdog has warned today. |
Social care for smokers costing councils £720m a year
26/09/2019 Smoking-related social care is costing local authorities £720m a year, new research has revealed. |
Majority of young carers suffer mental health issues, study shows
25/09/2019 A new study has revealed that nearly two thirds of young carers in the UK suffer from mental health problems because of their caring duties. |
Kinship carers blast lack of support from children's services
24/09/2019 Local authorities should have a legal responsibility to support people looking after the children of family and friends, campaigners have argued. |
Labour commit to providing elderly with free personal care
23/09/2019 The Labour Party has committed to the introduction of free personal care for all older people at an estimated cost of £6bn. |
Over 300,000 people forced to sell homes to pay for care
19/09/2019 Over the last 20 years hundreds of thousands of older people have been forced to sell their home to cover the cost of social care, charity reveals. |
Smoking rates dropping at fastest rate in a decade
19/09/2019 The number of adult smokers fell by 2.2% in the first half of this year, according to the latest figures. |
Ombudsman upholds two thirds of care complaints
19/09/2019 But despite this complaints about care have fallen and in the vast majority of cases his recommendations are carried out, council leaders say. |
Nurse shortages ‘endangering’ care home patients
17/09/2019 A campaign has been launched calling on the Government to fix the nursing workforce crisis as hospitals and care homes warn patient safety is ‘endangered’. |
This issue of Local Government News explores how councils can tackle modern slavery and trafficking in their supply chains, finds out more about Cambridge's first cohousing scheme and the launch of a new project to build a shared service pattern library for local government.
This issue also contains a special focus on children's services and how councils are protecting children following local safeguarding children boards being abolished.
