Quit smoking services under threat from lack of funds
Council chiefs warn vital health services ‘at risk’
A third of care leavers say they left care before they were ready
Cornwall declares critical care incident
Connecting councils and providers to improve care services
Amal Nawarathna explains how Barnet Council is using data and market insight to improve care quality assurance.
Staff shortages are ‘excessively high’, warn care providers
13/01/2022 Homecare providers are warning that they are having to refuse new requests for home care because of Omicron and ongoing staffing problems. |
Council staff asked to provide care services amid workforce crisis
11/01/2022 Derbyshire County Council has asked its employees to help the local authority provide care services amid the UK-wide shortage of care staff. |
New app to help improve children's diet
10/01/2022 A new app to help families improve the diets of their children has been launched today. |
Sandwell calls for action on test shortage
06/01/2022 A council has written to ministers after it was forced to step in to alleviate a shortage of COVID testing kits. |
Care providers call for ‘emergency army of volunteers’
06/01/2022 Independent care providers have called on the Government to create an emergency army of volunteers to help solve the social care staffing crisis. |
Plans to tackle NHS backlog ‘undermined’ by staffing crisis
06/01/2022 Omicron, the emergency care crisis and staff shortages could derail the Government’s plans to tackle the backlog of elective care cases, MPs have warned. |
Number of care homes falls by 10% since 2015
05/01/2022 The number of care homes across England has fallen by 1,700 over the last six years, the Liberal Democrats have warned. |
Extra £60m to support adult social care services
04/01/2022 Local authorities will receive an extra £60m to support the adult social care response to COVID-19 this month, the Government recently announced. |
Social care leaders warn of ‘national emergency’
23/12/2021 Leaders from the social care sector are urging people to take extra precautions to limit the spread of Omicron in order to protect adult social care services. |
Omission of gyms from Omicron relief criticised as ‘shameful’
23/12/2021 The industry association representing gyms and sports centres has criticised the Government for omitting their members from the latest COVID support measures. |
Government sets out plans to tackle gender health gap
23/12/2021 The Government has announced that it will ban hymenoplasty and appoint a Women’s Health Ambassador as part of the effort to close the gender health gap. |
Social care white paper fails to tackle ‘central issue of funding’
22/12/2021 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to ensure more of the new health and care levy is directed towards the social care system. |
Councils to receive over £22m to boost vaccine uptake
20/12/2021 Volunteers are to be deployed across the areas with the lowest vaccine uptake and councils are to receive a funding boost to encourage people to get jabbed. |
Counties' concern at care funding
17/12/2021 County councils have expressed concern at the level of central funding to rebalance care markets. |
Experts urge immigration rules change for care workers
16/12/2021 Restrictions should be relaxed for care workers ‘immediately’, according to experts appointed by the Government. |
Council chiefs welcome new measures to improve children’s social care
16/12/2021 Local authority leaders have welcomed new measures aimed at stopping poor quality supported accommodation providers and rooting out bad practice. |
Shortcomings revealed in second child murder case
14/12/2021 A second court case in a month has revealed serious shortcomings in how local agencies responded to allegations of abuse shortly before a child’s murder. |
Lords call for national plan to tackle inactivity
13/12/2021 Local authorities should have a legal duty to provide and maintain sport and leisure facilities, according to a Lords Committee. |
Council chiefs welcome £300m social care funding
13/12/2021 Council leaders welcome a new package to protect the care sector this winter, but warned that long-term investment was needed to make social care sustainable. |
Demand for mental health treatment pushing NHS to ‘breaking point’
09/12/2021 MPs have called for urgent action to prevent mental health services slipping backwards as a result of the pandemic and the scale of unmet need prior to it. |
Alcohol-related deaths rose by record levels during pandemic
08/12/2021 The number of deaths caused by alcohol misuse increased by nearly 19% in 2020, official figures have shown. |
Councils thanked for ‘integral’ role in fighting COVID
08/12/2021 Local Government Association (LGA) has thanked councils for their role in supporting the COVID-19 vaccine programme one year on from the start of its roll-out. |
Spielman: No silver bullet for children's social care
07/12/2021 Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman has warned there is no ‘silver bullet’ to the long-term problems in the children’s social care sector. |
Enhanced Area Status extended for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire
07/12/2021 The Government has agreed to extend the Enhanced Area Status for an extra three weeks in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire in a bid to drive down COVID-19 rates. |
Woodlands save £185m in mental health costs
06/12/2021 Visits to the UK’s woodlands boosts mental health and is estimated to save £185m in treatment costs annually, a new report has found. |
'Crumbling' fostering system failing vulnerable children
06/12/2021 Urgent action is needed to fix the 'crumbling and failing' fostering system, a charity has warned. |
Wolverhampton to pilot new anti-obesity scheme
02/12/2021 Residents in Wolverhampton could receive vouchers and tickets if they adopt healthier lifestyle choices, under a new scheme being piloted in the city. |
Social care White Paper ‘set up to fail’
01/12/2021 The local government sector has praised the ambition of the long-awaited adult social care reform White Paper, but warned it will not succeed without funding to meet current demand. |
Figures show 688 homeless people died in 2020
01/12/2021 Councils have called for a cross-departmental government plan to tackle homelessness after figures showed 688 homeless people died in England and Wales last year. |
Over £23m plan to end HIV infections launched
01/12/2021 The Government has announced a new multi-million-pound action plan aimed at ending new HIV infections and deaths by 2030. |
Think tank warns of 'invisible crisis' in home care
01/12/2021 The social care sector in England has lost up to 50,000 workers in the past six months, new analysis has revealed. |
Councils urged to invest in public toilets
30/11/2021 The majority of UK adults want more investment from local councils to ensure that public toilets are clean and safe, a new survey has revealed. |
Social care services are 'rapidly deteriorating' directors warn
29/11/2021 Social care services are failing to help hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people, a new survey has warned today. |
Two councils to pilot new approach to children’s care
26/11/2021 Two local authorities in Wales will pilot a new approach to helping families where there are concerns about substance misuse. |
Care staffing levels are ‘dangerously low' survey warns
24/11/2021 Nearly a third (31%) of care workers have warned staffing levels are ‘dangerously low’, according to a new survey. |
LGA warning over soaring care costs
23/11/2021 Soaring adult and children’s care costs mean councils could ‘soon fail to support everyone they need to,’ town halls have warned. |
Commuter train line exposed to ‘extreme levels’ of pollution
22/11/2021 Three councils have warned that residents living near the commuter train line running through the Chilterns are being exposed to dangerous levels of pollution. |
Local knowledge essential for boosting vaccine take-up, study finds
19/11/2021 Local knowledge and leadership could be key in efforts to improve COVID-19 vaccine take-up across different communities, new research has found. |
Index reveals 40,000 unnecessary road deaths
18/11/2021 There have been an estimated 40,000 unnecessary deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads over the past decade, new research has revealed. |
Many of the poorest pensioners will face 'catastrophic' care costs
18/11/2021 Many of the poorest pensioners will pay the same for their care as richer people after the Government released more details of the new cap on home and care costs. |
UN acknowledges children have right to clean air
17/11/2021 The United Nations (UN) has acknowledged that children have the right to breath clean air, a move which should help councils in their efforts to tackle pollution at the local level. |
Childhood obesity ‘one of the greatest public health challenges’
17/11/2021 Local authority leaders urge Government to do more to tackle childhood obesity as the NHS warns of a ‘significant increase’ in obesity rates among children. |
Southwark first council to back Fund the Hubs campaign
17/11/2021 Southwark Council is calling on the Government to fund a network of early mental hubs for young people across the country. |
England's first specialist clinics to help severely obese children
16/11/2021 More than 1,000 severely obese children will receive specialist treatment and targeted support every year as part of a new pilot project. |
Housing with care and support needs an ‘overhaul’, commission says
15/11/2021 Councils are being urged to form partnerships with local providers to produce a single plan for improving housing for older people within a local place. |
Figures paint 'bleak picture' of foster care
12/11/2021 A lack of foster carers means vulnerable children are not getting the support they need, Ofsted has warned. |
New partnership will roll out anti-spiking tests across Greater Manchester
10/11/2021 Anti-spiking tests will be rolled out across major venues in Greater Manchester as part of a new partnership to tackle drink spiking. |
Plans to make Wales smoke-free by 2030
08/11/2021 A new plan to make Wales smoke-free by the end of the decade has been unveiled. |
Peers reveal COVID's impact on children's mental health
05/11/2021 The mental health issues of vulnerable children already receiving support have become more severe due to the pandemic, councils have warned in a new survey. |
Children's mental health workforce rises by 39% in past three years
05/11/2021 The number of people working in children and young people’s mental health services has increased 39% over the past three years, new data has shown. |
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.
