Redefining what good looks like
Impower’s annual top 10 list is a celebration of strong council performance, and as Jon Ainger explains, many local authorities have stepped up to the challenge.
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. |
Social alarms: time’s running out for local authorities to go digital
01/11/2019 Wendy Darling warns around 900,000 telecare users in the UK could be affected as telephone providers will stop installing landlines after 2020. |
Council makes improvements following death of rough sleeper
24/10/2019 Worcester City Council has implemented all ten recommendations made in an independent review into the death of a rough sleeper in the city. |
Brexit threatens fight against modern slavery
18/10/2019 The commissioner appointed to tackle modern slavery has called for a stronger focus on prevention and warned that Brexit could undermine efforts to stop slavery. |
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. |
Safeguarding shake-up
24/09/2019 With local safeguarding children boards being abolished, Neil Merrick finds out what new arrangements councils are setting up in their local areas. |
Tackling youth gambling
11/09/2019 Ian Butler explains why local government needs a range of interventions and resources to combat gambling for young people. |
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. |
Agencies ‘let down’ Down’s Syndrome woman with scabies
26/07/2019 A safeguarding report has concluded that local agencies in Hackney ‘could have worked better together’ after the death of a woman with Down's Syndrome. |
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. |
Javid commits to resettling 5,000 refugees next year
18/06/2019 Sajid Javid has announced that the UK will resettle 5,000 more refugees under a new, expanded resettlement scheme that will come into force next year. |
Call for leader to quit after 'repeated failures'
05/06/2019 Shadow local government secretary Andrew Gwynne has called for Northamptonshire CC leader, Matt Golby, to quit after ‘repeated failures’ in the council’s children’s services. |
Nearly 600 people arrested to tackle county lines drug gangs
21/05/2019 Nearly 600 people have been arrested in a single week for their suspected involvement in drug dealing across county lines. |
London Councils welcome drug dealers being jailed in ‘landmark’ slavery case
15/05/2019 Three ‘county lines’ drug dealers have been sent to prison in a landmark case using the Modern Slavery Act. |
Housing policy putting young women at risk, study warns
14/05/2019 Young women are being forced into unsafe housing due to the government’s housing benefit policy, a new study has concluded. |
Government launches £2m programme to tackle child exploitation
09/05/2019 The Department for Education has launched a new programme designed to provide specialist support for children at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation. |
Forty people investigated over child abuse in Rotherham
09/05/2019 Forty people have been arrested or interviewed over child sexual abuse in Rotherham in the past two months. |
Councils receive extra £30m to care for asylum seeking children
09/05/2019 The amount of funding councils receive to look after unaccompanied asylum seeking children is set to rise by £30m. |
Thousands of children being taught in illegal schools
12/04/2019 Up to 6,000 children are being educated in illegal schools across England putting their safety and education at risk, a watchdog has warned. |
Protections for people who lack mental capacity must be 'robust', MPs say
02/04/2019 A new definition of what constitutes 'liberty' will be included in the Mental Capacity Act to help protect vulnerable people, the Government has announced. |
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 ‘not being protected’ by Stoke-on-Trent Council
19/03/2019 Children’s social care services are ‘inadequate’ at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, according to the findings of a new Ofsted inspection. |
Children left vulnerable to abuse due to focus on Brexit, report warns
12/03/2019 Councils are failing to protect children from abuse in England due to ‘systematic’ safeguarding failures, a new report has warned. |
Councils ‘failing’ children exploited by gangs, report reveals
28/02/2019 The same mistakes that led to child sexual exploitation failings are being repeated with gangs, the children’s commissioner has warned. |
Nine men convicted of child sexual exploitation
27/02/2019 Bradford council has insisted that safeguarding young people is its ‘top priority’ after nine men were convicted of child sexual exploitation. |
Whitehall’s ‘hostile environment’ puts children in danger, charity says
19/02/2019 The Government’s commitment to creating a ‘hostile environment’ for migrants outweighs their commitment to children’s rights, a charity has warned. |
Council denies ‘litany of failures’ in Shamima Begum case
19/02/2019 The lawyer representing the family of Shamima Begum has accused the borough of Tower Hamlets of a ‘litany of failures’ leading up to the teenager's decision to join ISIS. |
Government failing to treat children as victims of domestic abuse, warns charity
11/01/2019 Nearly a quarter of a million children should be classed as victims of domestic abuse, the NSPCC has said today. |
One in four trafficked children reported missing from care
21/12/2018 Nearly a quarter of trafficked children were reported as going missing from care in 2017, a new study has revealed. |
Child cruelty and neglect crimes double in past five years
04/12/2018 The number of child cruelty and neglect cases recorded by police have doubled over the last five years, a children’s charity has warned. |
‘Substantial shortcomings’ found in local safeguarding guidance
29/11/2018 Freedom of information requests have uncovered ‘substantial shortcomings’ when it comes to the use of safeguarding guidance by county councils. |
Inspectors praise Peterborough’s ‘thriving’ children’s services
07/08/2018 Inspectors have praised Peterborough City Council for creating the conditions for the city’s children’s services ‘to thrive’. |
Law simplifying safeguarding measures to save councils £200m
03/07/2018 A new law designed to streamline the system which safeguards vulnerable people in care is set to save local authorities an estimated £200m a year. |
‘Racially motivated’ murder could have been avoided, safeguarding review says
22/06/2018 The murder of an asylum seeker while living in supported living accommodation in Bristol could have been avoided, a safeguarding adult review has concluded. |
Councils ‘struggling’ with increase in children on protection plans
20/06/2018 More than 180 children are placed on child protection plans every day to keep them safe from harm, local government leaders say. |
Minister warns councils must adopt child protection system as 'priority'
07/06/2018 Councils and NHS organisations which have not yet adopted a system for sharing information on vulnerable children have been told they must do so as a priority. |
Councils take key Prevent strategy role
30/05/2018 Councils have been handed administrative control of the controversial Prevent counter-terror strategy, The MJ has learned. |
Investigation launched into serious failures at specialist school
06/04/2018 An investigation has been launched into a charity for the blind following ‘serious concerns’ over the safeguarding of vulnerable children and young people. |
Islington appoints first ‘Women and Girls Champion’ in the UK
08/03/2018 Islington Council has announced it will appoint a ‘Women and Girls Champion’, the first appointment of its kind in the UK. |
Taxi licences granted to drivers with criminal convictions, campaigners warn
30/01/2018 Taxi and private hire vehicle licences are being granted to drivers with criminal convictions because there are no national minimum standards to enforce sufficient safety checks, campaigners say. |
Nearly 1,000 children's centres not inspected for five years
22/01/2018 The Government has been accused of dragging its feet over inspections of children's centres, which have been frozen since 2015. |
Bristol council to investigate failures after racist murder
16/01/2018 Councillors in Bristol have agreed to launch an investigation into how the council failed to support Bijan Ebrahimi who was murdered in a racist attack. |
Councils dealing with 500 child protection investigations every day
12/12/2017 The number of child protection investigations being started by councils has risen at an ‘alarming’ rate of more than 500 a day, according to new figures. |
Welsh council under review after toddler murdered by adoptive father
07/11/2017 A review into whether the Vale of Glamorgan Council could have intervened to save toddler Elsie has been launched after her adoptive father was found guilty of her murder. |
Child sexual exploitation case reveals ‘missed opportunities’ to intervene
03/11/2017 A serious case review into the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in Somerset has found ‘missed opportunities’ for earlier intervention by the council. |
Council ‘failed’ to protect children from dangerous sibling
04/10/2017 Northumberland County Council failed to protect vulnerable young children at risk of harm, the local government ombudsman has ruled. |
Councils urge Whitehall to avert ‘tragedy’ in youth offending facilities
22/09/2017 Councils have called on the Government to protect young offenders as inspectors say conditions in youth offending facilities make future tragedy ‘inevitable’. |
Anti-radicalisation programme accused of Islamophobia
30/08/2017 The Government has criticised a report into its controversial anti-radicalisation programme for spreading what it describes as ‘falsehoods’ and ‘myths’. |
Taxi laws ‘outdated’ and pose safeguarding risks, council chiefs say
25/08/2017 Council chiefs have called on the Government to reform ‘existing outdated’ taxi laws in order to strengthen safeguarding measures. |
Vulnerable people being 'failed' by deprivation of liberty law
13/03/2017 Thousands of vulnerable people are being detained in care without sufficient checks, a new report has warned today. |
Councils criticise amendment calling for safeguarding and welfare capacity register
07/03/2017 Council chiefs have criticised a new amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill which requires local authorities to maintain and report a local safeguarding and welfare capacity register. |
Academies need ‘transparent’ safeguarding arrangements to prevent child abuse
02/02/2017 A West Berkshire serious case review has reported there is a need for ‘clear and transparent’ governance arrangements of safeguarding, particularly in academies, to protect children from abuse. |
Worcestershire criticised for 'serious failures’ in children’s services
25/01/2017 Worcestershire County Council has apologised after inspectors found ‘widespread and serious failures’ in its children’s services. |
Aiding an unprotected species
19/01/2017 The pressures facing local authority statutory officers are now greater than ever. Simon Goacher argues that tinkering with protection rules in recent years has undermined these vital positions. |
Government ‘complacent’ over child protection issues warn MPs
16/12/2016 The Government has been accused of being too slow to improve child protection services, a report from MPs has warned today. |
Health visitors warn budget cuts are putting safeguarding at risk
07/12/2016 Health visitors are struggling with unsafe workloads and concerns over safeguarding due to cuts in local authority health budgets, a new survey has warned today. |
Whitehall’s ‘dangerous scheme’ puts children at risk, say campaigners
05/12/2016 The Government is pursuing a ‘dangerous scheme’ to force child protection opt outs into the Children and Social Work Bill, says human rights group. |
Child protection services judged 'unsatisfactory' by watchdog
12/10/2016 Six years of reforms to child protection services have failed to make significant improvements, a damning report from the National Audit Office has said. |
Review highlights 'governance' failures in South Ribble
20/09/2016 There were ‘major corporate governance failures’ in the way South Ribble Borough Council handled a safeguarding review. |
School safeguarding leads ‘necessary’ to deal with harmful sexual behaviour
20/09/2016 Each school should have a named safeguarding lead who can assess concerns about the sexual behaviour of a child or young person, new guidelines say. |
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.
