Council secures £1m investment to support vulnerable children
Councillors hold minute’s silence for girl killed by tree
Measles death prompts call to improve vaccine uptake
Reform UK council leader raises social care visa alarm
Building Healthier Communities: The Case for Investing in Public Health
Explore how targeted, community-based public health strategies can improve lives, reduce NHS pressure, and deliver cost savings for local authorities.
EHCPs ‘under threat’, campaigners warn
07/07/2025 Campaigners are urging the Government not to cut education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
Council leaves abuse survivor homeless
04/07/2025 The London Borough of Waltham Forest has apologised after a survivor of domestic abuse was left street homeless for five weeks. |
LGA calls for new coalition to fix health and care system
01/07/2025 Local authority leaders have called for a new ‘national-local coalition’ that puts prevention at the centre of a modern health and care system. |
Care workers face violence ‘day in day out’, GMB says
30/06/2025 More than half of care workers suffer violence at work including being bitten, headbutted and chocked, a survey has revealed. |
EHCPs jump up 11% in a year
27/06/2025 The number of children on Education, Health and Care Plans has increased by 11% in a year, official statistics have revealed. |
Call for proactive social care to support pensioners
27/06/2025 Researchers have recommended proactive social care to support pensioners’ ‘right[s] to live and age well’. |
Scrap council tax for terminally ill people, charity says
24/06/2025 An end-of-life charity has called on councils across England to scrap council tax for people living with a terminal illness. |
Number of family hubs down by a third
24/06/2025 The number of family hubs and children’s centres in England has reduced by more than a third since 2009, freedom of information (FOI) requests have revealed. |
Council chiefs welcome home cervical cancer screening kits
24/06/2025 Local authority leaders have welcomed the Government’s announcement that self-sampling kits used to check for cervical cancer will soon be available. |
Scale not key to social care disaggregation
23/06/2025 Adult social care disaggregation should not focus on scale, according to research published today. |
Council places boy in unregistered children’s home
19/06/2025 A High Court judge has condemned the Isle of Wight Council’s ‘inadequate’ placement of a boy in a £500,000 children’s home. |
Social care commission shelves cross-party talks
17/06/2025 Leader of the Government’s social care review of social care, Baroness Casey, has shelved plans for cross-party talks, it has been reported. |
Council seeks advice after Botox hospitalisations
16/06/2025 Fourteen people who received cosmetic injections in County Durham and Darlington were recently admitted to hospital following ‘adverse reactions’. |
Spending Review: Silence on SEND reform
11/06/2025 Councils will have to wait until the autumn for details of reforms to services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). |
Council chiefs call for boost to occupational therapist workforce
09/06/2025 Council leaders have called on the Government to invest in occupational therapists (OTs) to improve health, care, and prevention strategy outcomes. |
‘Urgent’ call for sustainable homecare funding
06/06/2025 New research reveals local authorities are ‘consistently failing to fund homecare’, with 27% of contracts falling below minimum wage. |
'Burning platform' warning on early years' services
05/06/2025 Early years’ services are on a ‘burning platform’ with UK outcomes among the ‘worst in the civilized world’, a leader has warned. |
Council told to apologise for mishandling of school transport
05/06/2025 Derby City Council has been told to apologise to three families for mishandling their school transport applications. |
Call for 10-year sexual health strategy
03/06/2025 The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for a 10-year sexual health strategy as services face unprecedented pressure. |
Abuse audit delayed
03/06/2025 A nationwide audit of child abuse has been delayed, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has confirmed. |
School meals posing ‘worrying’ health risks, charity warns
29/05/2025 Schools must do more to support children’s long-term health by reducing the quantity of processed meat served at mealtimes, charity says. |
Children face ‘catastrophic’ care waiting times
22/05/2025 Hundreds of thousands of children are being left waiting for vital community care services, children’s health care professionals warn. |
Care coalition calls for significant social care funding in Spending Review
22/05/2025 A coalition of stakeholders has called for significant investment in social care in the Spending Review on 11 June. |
Public health officials ‘disappointed’ by junk food ad ban delay
22/05/2025 Local authority directors of public health have voiced their disappointment in response to the Government’s decision to delay the ban on junk food advertising. |
Auditors call for action on delays to children’s care cases
21/05/2025 The proportion of children subject to care proceedings who have had to wait over a year to have their cases resolved has increased, report finds. |
Sure Start financial benefits could double costs, finds IFS
21/05/2025 The financial benefits of the Sure Start early years programme could be twice as high as its costs, according to new analysis. |
NHS and local government partner on gonorrhoea vaccine
21/05/2025 The NHS and local government have partnered on the roll-out of a world-first vaccine programme to prevent gonorrhoea. |
Rise in drug-related deaths reveals ‘stark’ inequalities
20/05/2025 A recent study by the Health Foundation reveals a drastic increase in the number of drug-related deaths in the UK and striking geographical inequalities. |
Think tank calls for early intervention for children’s mental health issues
19/05/2025 Children with mental health issues are facing long-term health conditions and employment barriers, says new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). |
Health organisations call for smacking ban
16/05/2025 An open letter signed by 13 leading health organisations has been sent to Government demanding that the ‘reasonable’ defense of physically punishing children is abolished. |
EXCLUSIVE: Family decision making model keeps children out of care
15/05/2025 A new charity report highlights how an evidence-based model of family-led decision making can help keep children out of care. |
International recruitment of care workers to end
12/05/2025 The Government is set to end the recruitment of care workers from overseas to bring down the migration figures, but critics call the move a ‘crushing blow’. |
Blueprint document sets out changes to ICB functions
08/05/2025 A blueprint document has set out changes to integrated care board (ICB) functions with a number being transferred to neighbourhood providers and NHS regions. |
NHS backlog not driven by surge in benefit claims
02/05/2025 The increase in NHS waiting lists is unlikely to be connected to the recent surge in health-related benefits claims, according to the IFS. |
Casey Commission: 2036 deadline for social care reform ‘too late’
02/05/2025 The terms of reference for the Casey Commission’s review of adult social care have been published, but critics remain concerned care is 'back of the queue’. |
Record number of children in temporary accommodation
30/04/2025 A record 165,510 children are now homeless and living in temporary accommodation, according to the latest homelessness figures. |
Hunger costs put severe strain on public services
29/04/2025 Public services are under £13.7bn worth of pressure due to the Government’s negligence in addressing hunger and hardship, according to anti-poverty charity. |
Councils could be forbidden from using destructive pesticides in parks
25/04/2025 MPs will today debate a proposal that could see the use of 'toxic' weedkillers by councils banned. |
Social workers warn of rising risk of unsafe housing
23/04/2025 Over 21% of social workers have had to remove a child from their family in the last three years due in part to unsafe housing conditions, new research reveals. |
LGA: Children’s social care buckling under budget pressures
17/04/2025 Council chiefs have urged the Government to invest more into early intervention to support the children’s social care system as it reaches ‘crisis point’. |
Swindon barbers to help boost mental health support
16/04/2025 Swindon Borough Council urges local barbers to engage with a new training programme designed to improve and destigmatise mental health issues amongst men. |
Charity criticises 40% adoption funding cut
16/04/2025 Adoption experts have criticized the Government’s decision to cut funding for therapy for adopted children in England. |
NHS contract proposals pledge 'greater control' for ICBs
15/04/2025 New proposals by NHSE pledge to give ICBs greater control over NHS contract activity. |
Streeting: Care staff to be trained in ‘cutting-edge’ tech
09/04/2025 Social care workers will be trained to use the latest ‘cutting-edge technology’ to help improve the social care system, Wes Streeting has said. |
Councils spend £40m fighting ‘ratflation’
09/04/2025 Local authority pest control services made nearly 300,000 visits to people’s homes to deal with pest infestations last year at a cost of £40m. |
Council apologises for failing to assess carer’s needs
03/04/2025 Southend-on-Sea City Council has agreed to apologise to a mother for failing to assess her needs as a carer on two occasions. |
Local area partnership promises urgent improvements
03/04/2025 Bracknell Forest Council and NHS Frimley ICB have promised ‘urgent and sustained improvements’ following a critical Ofsted and CQC report. |
Council to pay family nearly £8k after education failure
03/04/2025 Oxfordshire County Council has agreed to pay £7,900 in compensation after council failures led to a child missing out on four terms of education. |
Croydon woman breaks back after care funding cut
28/03/2025 A woman in Croydon sustained a serious back injury using an NHS bed turning aid after the local authority cut funding for her night-time care. |
Exclusive: Ministers set to reject social care trust plans
27/03/2025 Ministers are likely to reject plans for children’s or adult social care trusts that come as part of local government reorganisation (LGR), The MJ understands |
