Oxfordshire County Council launches 10-year learning disabilities plan
Council launches petition to guarantee job interviews for care leavers
Family of asbestos victim receives over £1m compensation
Government urges councils to work with ICBs on neighbourhood health centres
Underfunding, Not Demand, Is Breaking SEND
Jack Lowman, Sense, says properly funding the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system is vital for disabled children to get the best start.
Rising home care costs see councils take legal action
24/04/2026 Over 40 councils were found to have taken legal action against people who had incurred home care debt, research has found. |
Illegal children's home placements up 370%
20/04/2026 The use of illegal, unregistered children's homes has surged by more than 370% in four years, according to new research. |
Public toilet numbers reach crisis point
20/04/2026 New research has revealed there is just one public toilet for every 15,481 people in England, as experts warn of ‘public toilet deserts’. |
Improvement notice lifted on Oxfordshire's SEND services
20/04/2026 An improvement notice for SEND services in Oxfordshire issued following an inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in 2023 has been lifted. |
Government to examine deaths of vulnerable care leavers
16/04/2026 The Government has announced a review into the deaths of vulnerable care leavers, aiming to improve protections for young people leaving the care system. |
Urgent call to close dementia training gap
16/04/2026 Over a third of care workers lack basic knowledge of dementia, research has found. |
Think tank proposes later-life social care fund
16/04/2026 A think tank is calling for a fundamental redesign of how later-life social care is funded in England, proposing a new national insurance-style fund. |
Lancashire CC apologises for role in failings before Southport attack
14/04/2026 The chief executive of Lancashire County Council has apologised for the authority's role in the systemic failings that preceded the Southport knife attack. |
Thousands of unpaid carers to have allowance debts cancelled
13/04/2026 The Government has announced that tens of thousands of unpaid carers will have debts reduced, cancelled, or refunded following a decade of confusing guidance. |
Pizza Out, Salad In: Schools face sweeping junk food ban
13/04/2026 The Government has announced plans to overhaul school food standards for the first time in over a decade. |
New food plan strives to boost heathy living in West Northants
10/04/2026 West Northants Council has announced a new food plan to encourage healthy eating through increasing access to affordable food. |
Councils cutting services to pay for social care, think tank warns
08/04/2026 Councils are raiding reserves and slashing non-statutory services to keep pace with a ‘precarious’ social care system, according to The King’s Fund. |
£60,000 up for grabs as homelessness award opens
07/04/2026 Organisations tackling homelessness are being invited to apply for the London Homelessness Awards 2026, with a total prize fund of £60,000 on offer. |
Council issued second Ombudsman report following homelessness case
02/04/2026 A second report has been presented to a council by the Ombudsman following the local authority’s failures in the case of a man who required help for homelessness. |
Blackpool care home fire sees emergency services called
02/04/2026 A fire at a Blackpool care home was declared a major incident by emergency services. |
Largest ICB in England established in London
01/04/2026 The largest ICB in England responsible for a £12bn NHS annual investment has been established in London. |
Poll reveals ‘systemic barriers’ in mental health care
31/03/2026 While experiences of mental health care at the local level are improving, systemic barriers continue to leave many patients in crisis, new survey reveals. |
Sibling contact for children in care to be prioritised by councils
27/03/2026 New legislation will require councils to ensure siblings in care remain in contact. |
Parents of SEND children without EHCPs report worst school experiences
26/03/2026 Parents of children with SEND who do not have an EHCP consistently report the poorest experiences of the school system, according to a major new survey. |
Welsh councils warn social care system ‘stretched too far’
26/03/2026 Welsh councils are warning that social care is under unsustainable pressure and cannot continue without long-term funding certainty. |
Health devolution deals to give great powers to mayors
26/03/2026 Two new health devolution deals are to give greater powers to mayors in Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire. |
Care-experienced young people face greater barriers to work, research finds
23/03/2026 Nearly 30% more care-experienced young people aged 19 to 21 are not in employment, education or training, versus their non-care-experienced peers, data has found. |
ICB savings risk shifting care costs to councils, think-tank warns
19/03/2026 An ICB’s £277m savings programme for 2025/26 risks shifting care costs to local councils and residents, the Nuffield Trust has warned. |
Visiting rights in hospitals and care homes to be strengthened
18/03/2026 Visiting rights in hospitals, care homes and hospices are to be strengthened under Government legislation. |
Council care leavers benefit from UTCs, study finds
13/03/2026 Delivering an unconditional cash transfer (UTC) to young people leaving council care could help them secure stable housing, research has revealed. |
Scottish Gov and COSLA unveil alcohol and drugs response
12/03/2026 A new plan to reduce deaths and harms caused by alcohol and drugs in Scotland has been published by the Scottish Government and COSLA. |
Council U-turns on refusal of Ombudsman pay recommendations
12/03/2026 A council has agreed to deliver the financial recommendations of the Ombudsman after its previous refusal to provide remedies. |
Welsh councils urge funding boost to ease social care pressures
09/03/2026 Welsh councils have called for additional funding for social care to help break what they describe as a cycle of ‘managing crisis’ across frontline services. |
BREAKING NEWS: Streeting agrees to 'simple asks' from Baroness Casey
05/03/2026 Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has agreed to ‘simple asks’ on dementia, social care and motor neurone disease (MND) from Baroness Louise Casey. |
BREAKING NEWS: Baroness Casey makes five 'simple asks' of Streeting
05/03/2026 Baroness Louise Casey has revealed she has written to health and social care secretary Wes Streeting with five ‘simple' social care asks. |
Councils’ wood burning campaign prompts stove industry backlash
05/03/2026 Councils have been warned of possible legal action from the stove industry due to their campaigns cautioning about the dangers of wood burning. |
Contract blunder left 400 children without therapy, ombudsman finds
04/03/2026 Bucks Council left up to 400 children without therapy they were legally entitled to after failing to properly manage a change in its contracted services. |
Council could invest over £450k to boost smokefree service
03/03/2026 North Yorkshire Council is considering spending nearly £500,000 on e-cigarette procurement to help residents quit smoking. |
'Social care reform caught in political catch-22,' report finds
02/03/2026 Social care reform is caught in a political catch-22 with Government frightened to tackle the issue, according to a new report. |
Over £100m announced for kinship carers in seven council areas
27/02/2026 A new Government pilot scheme will see seven council areas provided with funding for kinship carers. |
Scottish IJBs at 'critical point', commission finds
26/02/2026 IJBs have reached a critical point in Scotland with a significant risk they will become financially unsustainable, according to Accounts Commission. |
Call for exclusion of adult social care premises from ‘Mansion Tax’
26/02/2026 Care England has called on the Government to exclude adult social care premises from the High Value Council Tax Surcharge, known as the ‘Mansion Tax.’ |
Manchester high schoolers to benefit from free gym classes
24/02/2026 Young people aged 11 to 16 could receive access to free gym and fitness services in Manchester. |
Released prisoners face severe mental health challenges, study finds
18/02/2026 A new study has revealed that people released from Scottish prisons experience a mental health and substance use crisis. |
Social work leaders launch petition on settlement plans
18/02/2026 British Association of Social Workers has called on the Home Office to ensure overseas-qualified social workers remain on a five-year pathway to settlement. |
Social care in Scotland receives £20m boost
13/02/2026 The Scottish Government has confirmed that social care will receive a £20m cash injection. |
Council fined after leaving a child without education for a year
12/02/2026 North Tyneside Council has agreed to pay £5,900 to a family after an investigation found it failed to provide suitable education for a child with SEND. |
Schools urged to act cautiously on pupil gender transition
12/02/2026 Schools will be required to take a careful, evidence-informed approach when a child asks to socially transition under new guidance. |
Think tank urges more support for unpaid carers
10/02/2026 One in three people from poorer backgrounds are unable to work due to their unpaid caring responsibilities, research has found. |
Council's SEND services improving but still inconsistent
09/02/2026 Improvements have been made to SEND services delivered by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council but services remain inconsistent, new report says. |
Council and ICB award preventative services contract
06/02/2026 A Preventative Services Contract for Adults has been awarded to three organisations by Shropshire Council and Shropshire ICB. |
Campaigners call for strengthened SEND protections ahead of reforms
04/02/2026 A joint statement has been sent to the Secretary of State, warning that legal protections for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) must be preserved. |
Govt pledges to recruit 10,000 foster carers
03/02/2026 The Government has unveiled a plan to recruit up to 10,000 new foster carers in England this Parliament, aiming to reverse a sharp decline in approved carers. |
Leisure services facing ‘triple squeeze’
03/02/2026 UK leisure services are facing a ‘triple squeeze’ of rising demand, ageing facilities and growing public health expectations, according to an APSE report. |
Kent leader calls for child migrant cost support
03/02/2026 Kent CC has urged the Government to tackle costs tied to caring for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children after Ofsted downgraded its children’s services. |
