Tuberculosis at ‘lowest levels’ since records began
Health body announces £6m for alcohol treatments
Council refers hospital ‘shake up’ plans to health secretary
Council chiefs call for ‘urgent investment’ in children's health visitors
What is the future of adult social care?
Camille Leavold reviews the findings of the LGA green paper and ponders the future of adult care services.
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. |
Around 15,000 patients with neurological conditions ‘let down’ by care system
18/03/2019 Councils are not routinely recording whether someone they are providing services for has a neurological condition, making these patients ‘invisible’. |
Ombudsman publishes guide for handling social care complaints
15/03/2019 Directors of adult social services have welcomed the publication of a good practice guide for helping adult social care providers improve complaints handling. |
Councils forced to slash stop smoking services
15/03/2019 Government cuts mean only half of local authorities now offer smokers the best support to quit, according to campaigners. |
Charity warns people at risk of suffering poverty, ill-health and hardship in later life
13/03/2019 Action must be taken to create communities that enable older people to stay active, campaigners have urged. |
Women ‘bear the brunt’ of social care crisis, charity warns
08/03/2019 Women are paying the highest price for the Government’s continued inaction on social care, an elderly persons charity has warned. |
Public satisfaction with the NHS falls to lowest level in a decade, survey reveals
07/03/2019 A poll of nearly 3,000 people found that 53% of the those surveyed in England, Scotland and Wales were satisfied with services last year. |
Care home quality ‘worsens’ in a third of council areas
06/03/2019 The quality of care homes has worsened in more than a third of local authority areas over the last year, according to an elderly persons charity. |
Council tax rises will not fix ‘chronically underfunded’ care system
06/03/2019 Increases in council tax will fail to fix the ‘chronically underfunded’ social care system, local authority leaders have warned. |
Council chiefs call for funds to tackle tooth decay
06/03/2019 Cuts in public health funding must be reversed to tackle tooth decay in children, local government leaders have demanded. |
Councils have delivered on public health despite cuts, report reveals
04/03/2019 Local authority delivery of public health is ‘effective, accountable, efficient’ despite losing millions in central Government cuts, data reveals. |
Benefits system causing ‘serious psychological distress’
04/03/2019 The benefits system is causing people with mental health problems ‘serious psychological distress’, a charity has revealed. |
Expansion of PrEP Impact Trial given the go-ahead
01/03/2019 Trials of the anti-HIV treatment PrEP are set to expand after local authorities agreed to commission extra places. |
Planners ‘must do more’ to protect people from pollution
28/02/2019 The Government's health advisers say planning authorities must make sure new building projects protect people from air pollution. |
Exclusive: Government must 'step up' on adult social care
28/02/2019 The council ranked the best at delivering most for the money it spends on adult social care has called on the Government to ‘step up’. |
Very few young people regularly vape, report finds
27/02/2019 Only a small proportion of young people are regularly using e-cigarettes, according to the findings of a new report. |
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. |
MPs call for an ‘early years revolution’ in child care
26/02/2019 Members of Parliament have called on local authorities to develop plans to help improve support for children during the first 1,000 days of life. |
Primary schools to teach about mental wellbeing
26/02/2019 The Department for Education has announced that primary school children are to be taught how to look after their mental wellbeing and how to recognise when classmates may be struggling. |
Counties urge Whitehall to ‘look again’ at social care funding formula
22/02/2019 County councils have voiced concerns over the Government’s proposed formula for funding adult social care saying they fear it fails to recognise the demand for services in shire areas. |
One in 13 young people suffer from PTSD
22/02/2019 One in 13 young people have had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before reaching age 18, new research has revealed. |
Whitehall to expand access to personal health budgets by 200,000
21/02/2019 Hundreds of thousands more people will be able to access personal health budgets, the Government has announced. |
UK youth ‘let down’ on long-term health issues
20/02/2019 Youth in the UK are being ‘let down’ when it comes to treating long-term illnesses such as asthma, according to an independent health think tank. |
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. |
Watchdog warns people regret not raising concerns about their care
19/02/2019 Nearly seven million people who have accessed health and social care services in the past five years have had concerns about their care but never raised them, according to new research. |
Double the number of providers handing back care contracts to councils
12/02/2019 The number of social care providers handing back contracts to councils has more than doubled in 2018, new research has revealed. |
Whitehall launches social care recruitment drive
12/02/2019 The Government has launched a new national recruitment campaign to help fill the 110,000 vacancies in the adult social care sector. |
Councils should prioritise strength training to prevent falls
12/02/2019 Local authorities are not prioritising programmes which can help people at risk of falling strengthen their muscles and improve their balance, new research has revealed. |
Treatment cut despite ‘soaring’ alcohol-related A&E admissions
11/02/2019 Councils are reducing spending on alcohol and drug treatment services despite ‘soaring’ numbers of hospital admissions due to alcohol misuse, FOI data reveals. |
Health experts warn about impact of toxic air on children
06/02/2019 Nearly nine out of ten child health experts are warning air pollution is already having a negative impact on children's health in their region. |
More than 50,000 older people have died while waiting for social care
06/02/2019 More than 50,000 older people have died waiting for care since the Government first announced it would publish a Social Care Green Paper, a charity has warned. |
Fire safety failures revealed in care homes
05/02/2019 Serious fire safety failures have been found in nearly 100 care homes across London, the capital’s fire brigade have said. |
Scottish health and social care must ‘happen faster’, report says
05/02/2019 The integration of health and social care is progressing well but needs to ‘happen faster’, a ministerial group for health and community care has concluded. |
Foster carers feel ‘undervalued’, report reveals
04/02/2019 Foster carers do not feel treated as an ‘equal and valued’ member of the social care team looking after fostered children, a new report has revealed. |
Schools to try ‘mindfulness’ in new mental health trials
04/02/2019 Hundreds of children and young people are to take part in trials testing a range of ‘innovative techniques’ designed to support good mental health in schools, the education secretary has announced. |
Councils urged to bid for digital social care funding
31/01/2019 Local authorities which are developing social care projects using digital technology are to be given a £1m boost. |
Front-line workers ‘must get better’ at tackling child exploitation by drug gangs
30/01/2019 Front-line professionals ‘must get better’ at spotting signs that children are being exploited, a children’s charity has said in response to an annual assessment of county lines drug networks. |
Whitehall commits to reaching zero HIV transmissions by 2030
30/01/2019 Council chiefs have welcomed Whitehall’s announcement that it is committed to reaching zero HIV transmissions by 2030, but they urged the Government to reverse public health cuts ‘as a matter of urgency’. |
Three areas pilot schemes to get care leavers into work or education
29/01/2019 Three areas have been chosen to pilot schemes to help care leavers access education and employment. |
Councils chosen to develop childhood obesity plans
28/01/2019 Practical plans to tackle childhood obesity are to be developed by 13 councils after they received funding from the government’s Trailblazer programme. |
One in five councils have not increased spending on care home fees
28/01/2019 One in five councils have not increased the fees they pay care homes in the past year despite costs rising by up to 5%, new research has shown. |
Care homes spend less than £3 per resident on food
25/01/2019 Elderly care homes are spending an average of just £2.44 per resident on food, according to new research. |
Whitehall urges councils to put ‘effective’ suicide prevention plans in place
23/01/2019 Every local authority is required to put an effective suicide prevention plan in place under a new Government drive to tackle suicide. |
Council to provide free sanitary products in all its buildings
18/01/2019 Free sanitary products are to be provided in all buildings owned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council after it joined forces with a charity to tackle period poverty. |
Somerset council’s ‘help at home’ scheme saves NHS £2m
17/01/2019 Somerset County Council’s ‘help at home’ scheme has helped patients avoid 7,500 nights in hospital and has saved the NHS at least £2m. |
Report warns children's screen time has replaced outdoor play
17/01/2019 Children should spend a maximum of two hours in front of a screen during their recreational time to encourage them to play outside more, a new report has urged today. |
Disability employment gap ‘narrows’
15/01/2019 Disabled people have accounted for about a third of the increase in employment in the UK over the last decade, think tank finds. |
One in four ‘sandwich carers’ suffer mental health problems
15/01/2019 Over a quarter of ‘sandwich carers’ report symptoms of mental ill-health and are struggling financially, according to the latest statistics. |
Council chiefs welcome decision to expand PrEP trial
14/01/2019 Local authority leaders have said they are ‘pleased’ with NHS England’s decision to expand the trial of a drug that could ‘significantly’ reduce levels of HIV. |
Children with mental health conditions are being 'failed' by NHS say MPs
14/01/2019 Young people with a mental health condition are being failed by the NHS as they are not receiving the treatment they need, MPs have warned. |
The December issue of Local Government News looks at the consequences a council may face if it is unable to provide statutory services, the launch of Liverpool’s housing company and how councils can best manage roles in local authority companies.
It also has a special section on green building and energy efficiency including what funding is available to enable councils to deliver heat networks and how councils can pay for ‘smart buildings’.
