Court finds woman has capacity to decide about contact with husband
‘Social care needs you’, retired care workers told
Social workers ‘urgently’ need hand sanitizer, survey reveals
Health and social care workers first in line for coronavirus testing, Holyrood says
Maintaining performance
The 15 strongest performing councils in adult social care have been highlighted in IMPOWER’s latest productivity INDEX. Ralph Cook looks at the results.
Government issues guidance on isolation for residential educational settings
23/03/2020 Social workers who need to investigate child protection concerns should be admitted to the home while taking infection control measures, according to guidance. |
Families living in poverty ‘struggling to keep heads above water’
23/03/2020 A children’s charity has launched an emergency appeal to help families who fear they will ‘go under’ as a result of the economic and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. |
New programme launched to support fight against ‘witchcraft allegations’
20/03/2020 The centre dedicated to fighting female genital mutilation (FGM) has launched a first-of-its-kind e-learning programme to address the startling rise of witchcraft allegations against children. |
£3bn bed blocking coronavirus cash injection
19/03/2020 Almost £3bn of the Government’s £5bn Covid-19 funding will go towards freeing up at least 15,000 English hospital beds by the end of next week, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced. |
Devon CC’s children’s services criticised for ‘serious failures’
19/03/2020 Ofsted has found ‘serious failures’ in services for young people in Devon as they discovered a minority of care leavers had been living in tents. |
Covid-19 forces Ombudsman to suspend services
19/03/2020 The body tasked with investigating complaints against local authorities has temporarily suspended its services due to the impact of Coronavirus. |
Social care inspections halted to focus on the ‘global health emergency’
17/03/2020 The social care regulator in England has announced it will be stopping all inspections in order to focus on supporting providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Councils secure funding to deliver preventative HIV drug
16/03/2020 Local authorities in England will receive £16m to deliver the preventative HIV treatment PrEP. |
Yorkshire council criticises Ofsted rating based on ‘short inspection visit’
16/03/2020 A local authority in Yorkshire has said it is ‘disappointed’ by an Ofsted rating of its children’s social care services which concluded they were ‘inadequate’. |
Budget 2020: £5bn emergency fund to fight coronavirus
11/03/2020 The Government has promised to deliver a £5bn emergency fund to help manage the extra pressures the NHS and social care are facing in the wake of coronavirus. |
Jenrick launches taskforce to ‘strengthen’ plans to tackle coronavirus
10/03/2020 The local government secretary, Robert Jenrick, has launched a new taskforce to strengthen local plans to help tackle the outbreak of coronavirus. |
Social care ‘crisis’ inquiry launched
10/03/2020 A Parliamentary inquiry has been launched to find out what needs to be done to solve the ongoing social care funding and workforce crisis. |
Government to give volunteers job protection to help fight coronavirus
09/03/2020 New measures to make it easier for volunteers to help support health and social care services have been introduced by the Government in the fight against the coronavirus. |
Service reform needed to tackle persistent use of Spice within homeless population
06/03/2020 Legislation has failed to reduce the use of Spice by homeless people, a new study has concluded. |
Government announces £1m ‘boost’ to student mental health support
05/03/2020 Student groups most at risk of poor mental health will benefit from more targeted support through a £1m Government funding boost. |
Two million over-55s in ‘dangerous’ homes
05/03/2020 Over two million over-55s are living in a home that endangers their health and wellbeing, an alarming new report has revealed. |
Public health cuts ‘stall’ progress in children’s health
04/03/2020 Progress in children’s health and wellbeing has ‘stalled or is in reverse’ partly because of cuts to local authority budgets, study finds. |
Number of homeless people admitted to hospital rises 130% in five years
03/03/2020 Homelessness led to a sharp increase in the number of hospital admissions in the past year, new research has revealed. |
Study finds 64,000 UC recipients suffer ‘psychological distress’
02/03/2020 New research has found that tens of thousands of people have experienced ‘psychological distress’ due to the introduction of Universal Credit (UC). |
Care leaders must promote ‘awareness’ of good practice in sexual safety
27/02/2020 Care leaders should promote a culture that keeps people in social care safe from sexual abuse and supports them in expressing their sexuality, regulator says. |
Parents face ‘postcode lottery’ for expensive childcare, survey reveals
26/02/2020 Parents are paying 5% more for childcare for the under-twos than they were one year ago, according to an annual survey of childcare costs. |
Council advises pupils to ‘self-isolate’ following Coronavirus fears
26/02/2020 Cheshire East Council has told pupils who have been to Italy where Coronavirus cases have been identified to ‘self-isolate’ as a precautionary measure. |
Consultation on dedicated school leaders launched
25/02/2020 The Government today launched a consultation on plans to place a dedicated school leader in every school to help vulnerable children achieve more and ensure they attend lessons. |
Life expectancy stalls for the first time in a century
25/02/2020 Life expectancy has stopped improving for the first time in more than 100 years, and has actually declined for England’s poorest women, according to a new study. |
England ‘unlikely’ to meet 2030 smoke-free target
25/02/2020 England will fail to reach the Government’s 2030 smoke-free target unless smoking in the poorest communities is tackled, research has revealed today. |
Carers of MS sufferers provide ‘35 hours or more’ of unpaid care a week
25/02/2020 Family members and friends who are providing unpaid care to loved ones with multiple sclerosis are ‘not getting the support they need’, according to new research. |
Think tank launches £3m fund to support community ‘wellbeing’
21/02/2020 A think tank has launched a £3m fund to empower community organisations and the health and care sector to work together to boost community wellbeing. |
Handyperson Services ‘unsung heroes’ in supporting independent living
20/02/2020 A new report has called for the work done by Handyperson Services in keeping vulnerable people safe to be fully recognised by commissioners. |
Charity warns of ‘deep’ health inequalities
20/02/2020 A charity has warned of ‘unacceptable’ health inequalities in how long and how healthy babies born today in different parts of England can expect to live. |
Cuts will lead to tragedy, health visitors warn
20/02/2020 Nearly half of health visitors in England worry a tragedy is waiting to happen where they work due to cuts to public health budgets. |
Unpaid young carers work ’25 hours a week’, charity says
18/02/2020 Young carers spend on average 25 hours a week caring for loved ones – the equivalent of over £12,000 a year on a part-time carer’s wage, according to new research. |
Majority of homeless women suffer mental health issues
17/02/2020 A new study has revealed that the vast majority of women who are homeless suffer from physical or mental health issues. |
Councils cannot afford to roll-out anti-HIV drug
12/02/2020 Local authority leaders have warned that cash-strapped councils cannot afford to roll-out the anti-HIV drug PrEP without guarantees it will be fully funded. |
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. |
Study finds a tenth of 14-year olds 'blighted' by poverty
12/02/2020 A tenth of 14-year olds are living in persistent poverty, analysis by the Children's Society has found. |
Air pollution stopping children reaching sporting potential, report warns
11/02/2020 More than a quarter of children’s sports grounds have dangerous levels of air pollution, a new report has found. |
Councils to receive share of £4.5m to roll out digital social care projects
11/02/2020 Sixteen organisations that provide adult social care services are to receive a share of £4.5m to enable them to roll out digital projects on a wider scale. |
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. |
Care denied to 700,000 older people, charity reveals
07/02/2020 Around 700,000 older people have had their request for care turned down in the past year, analysis by a charity has discovered. |
Council announces £4.4m for ‘significantly declined’ children’s services
07/02/2020 Hull City Council has announced a series of measures to improve children’s services after Ofsted concluded that the experiences of children in care had ‘significantly declined.’ |
Scotland has ‘highest rate’ of homeless deaths in Britain, figures reveal
06/02/2020 Scotland has over twice the number of homelessness deaths than England, ‘experimental statistics’ reveal. |
London aims to be ‘first city’ to stop new HIV infections
05/02/2020 Over 30 organisations have joined together in an effort to make London the first city in the world to stop new HIV infections. |
Public health cuts leading to 'spiralling' STI rates
05/02/2020 Local authority leaders have called for more investment into public health services as a new report reveals that there is an STI diagnosis every 70 seconds in England. |
Best practice to help children avoid reaching crisis point
04/02/2020 Historic underfunding and a fragmented system are preventing councils from stopping more children from reaching crisis point, a new report has found. |
Local agencies 'woefully ill-equipped' to stop child abuse
04/02/2020 Children are being left at risk because local agencies – including social care – are often ‘woefully ill-equipped’ to prevent and respond to child sex abuse in families, four inspectorates have warned. |
A quarter of population exposed to toxic air, charity warns
04/02/2020 A quarter of people in the UK are living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution, a new study has warned today. |
Nearly 300 children start smoking every day, figures show
03/02/2020 Campaigners have called for tobacco manufacturers to pay to end smoking after figures show 280 children in England start smoking every day. |
Number of schools commissioning mental health support ‘doubles’
03/02/2020 The number of schools commissioning professional help for children’s mental health issues has almost doubled in the last four years, a survey has revealed. |
Commission puts health devolution back on political agenda
03/02/2020 A new Commission calling for the devolution of health and social care services has been launched today. |
Council offers pioneering family therapy to reduce gang crime
31/01/2020 Redbridge Council has become the first in the UK to deliver a ground-breaking family therapy service for young people at risk of joining gangs. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
