Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
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’. |
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. |
Matrix Workforce Management Solutions Appoints Andrew Curry as Client Engagement Director for Health and Social Care
09/04/2025 Matrix, a leader in Workforce Management Solutions, has announced the appointment of Andrew Curry as Client Engagement Director for Health and Social Care. |
Care leaders call for NIC bridging fund
04/04/2025 Care leaders have called for the creation of a ‘bridging’ fund to mitigate the impact of the rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs). |
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. |
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. |
Care providers launch legal action over NICs rise
25/03/2025 Care England has launched legal action over the Government’s rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for care providers. |
Cuts to disability benefits could cost councils £1.2bn
24/03/2025 The Government's cuts to disability benefits could lead to £1.2bn of extra costs for social care services and the NHS, according to a think tank. |
Streeting pledges to spend more on social care through NHS
24/03/2025 Social care will receive more funding through the NHS in this spring’s 10-Year Health Plan, the health and social care secretary has revealed. |
Council inaction left disabled woman scared she would die
20/03/2025 A disabled Islington woman said she was scared she had been left ‘to die’ after the council took too long to decide what support she should receive. |
Government votes to reject health and care NICs exemption
19/03/2025 The Government has voted to reject a Liberal Democrat amendment to exempt health and care providers from a rise in NICs. |
Care home plans approved with £57m backing
14/03/2025 Gloucestershire councillors have approved plans to build three new care homes over the next four and a half years thanks to a £57m cash injection. |
Prevention services 'at risk'
12/03/2025 Prevention services are ‘at risk' because of rising social care spending, a local government leader has warned. |
Health and social care facing £457m funding gap in Scotland
06/03/2025 Health and social care finances in Scotland are facing a £457m funding gap in 2024/25, a new report has revealed. |
Report finds fall in provision of long-term care
28/02/2025 Councils provided long-term care to fewer people last year than they did a decade ago, according to a new report. |
Care at home programme to save council £10m
27/02/2025 A programme designed to support people and carers to live healthier and more independent lives is on track to save Somerset Council over £10m. |
Lords vote to exempt social care from NIC hike
26/02/2025 The House of Lords voted yesterday to exempt social care providers from a National Insurance hike set to come into force in April. |
Hospices set to benefit from £100m boost
26/02/2025 Hospices across England are set to receive £25m of funding for facility upgrades and refurbishments, the Government has confirmed. |
Fife Council reaches £46m ‘turning point’
25/02/2025 Fife Council has reached a ‘turning point’ and will now have to save £46m, according to a new report by the Accounts Commission. |
Parliament rally calls on Government to tackle social care crisis
25/02/2025 Campaigners are gathering at Parliament today to call on the Government to address the social care crisis. |
Funding floor for Welsh councils
24/02/2025 Councils in Wales are to see an average funding increase of 4.3%, following the announcement of the Welsh Government's Budget. |
Putting people at the heart of AI adoption
20/02/2025 Dean Collins, AI expert at PA Consulting, says we need to re-think the ‘people aspect’ if AI’s benefits are to be felt by care providers and communities. |
Make a dent in the £100m compensation claim bill
19/02/2025 With stairs being the most common hazard in the home, AAT is giving local authority social care teams a best value tool to manage safety, fast. |
Unions brand reunification service closure ‘callous’
19/02/2025 Cambridgeshire CC’s decision to close down a service helping children in care would harm vulnerable children and cost more money, unions warn. |
Step Change in Improving Delivery of Home Adaptations
12/02/2025 Occupational Therapists can achieve a step change in the speed with which they resolve home adaptation need by capitalising on processes put in place by AAT. |
Report ‘lays bare significant challenges’ caused by CQC inspection model
12/02/2025 A Care Provider Alliance report has revealed the ‘significant challenges’ services have faced since the adoption of the CQC’s Single Assessment Framework. |
Hundreds of children forced ‘out of area’ for mental health care
10/02/2025 Hundreds of children are forced to travel out of their local area for mental health treatment, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP). |
Children’s Services need support to deal with increasing complexity
03/02/2025 The Government must introduce long-term funding mechanisms for Children’s Services to address increasing complexity and rising demand, a new report says. |
Tax hike threatens to add to nursing home costs
27/01/2025 The Government has been urged to reverse its NICs hike on care providers as figures reveal how much nursing costs for pensioners have increased in a decade. |
Scotland scraps core element of National Care Service
24/01/2025 The Scottish Government has scrapped plans to deliver structural social care reform through a National Care Service. |
Social care delays leading to ‘dangerously long’ hospital stays
17/01/2025 One in seven hospital beds were occupied last week by patients who were medically fit to be released, but who were forced to wait for care packages. |
Committee chair 'shocked' by CQC shortfalls
16/01/2025 The chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Layla Moran, has said she is ‘shocked’ at ongoing shortfalls at the Care Quality Commission (CQC). |
ADCS: Cuts have led to poor safeguarding outcomes for children
14/01/2025 The combination of poor-quality housing and the cost-of-living crisis is contributing to ‘family distress and breakdown’, safeguarding report concludes. |
Social care cannot wait for 2028 reform, report warns
14/01/2025 Social care is on the brink of collapse and cannot wait for Government reform in 2028, a report has warned. |
Social care reform requires 'political courage'
09/01/2025 The Government's three-year timetable for reforming social care has been labelled ‘completely unnecessary' by Sir Andrew Dilnot. |
Social care ‘likely to deteriorate’ during wait for review
03/01/2025 Councils have warned that the social care sector is ‘likely to deteriorate’ during the three-year wait for the findings of a new independent commission. |
Councils to be 'accountable' for care improvements as commission launched
03/01/2025 The Government intends to hold councils ‘accountable' for improving care in their areas as part of its social care reforms. |
Derbyshire plans cuts amid £18m shortfall
03/01/2025 Derbyshire County Council has proposed a series of cuts in the face of an £18.6m shortfall for the next financial year. |
Care sector faces ‘most difficult’ months in years
16/12/2024 Organisations working in social care have warned that without new funding the coming months will be ‘the most difficult we’ve seen in recent years.’ |
Frustration mounts over lack of care workforce strategy
06/12/2024 Frustration in the sector is growing as the Government fails to produce a workforce strategy for social care. |
Child put in care after councils fail to adapt home
05/12/2024 Errors made by two councils left a child with significant and complex needs living in an unsuitable home for ‘far too long’, an ombudsman has found. |
South East councils on brink of ‘crisis’
04/12/2024 The local government system in the South East of England is on ‘the brink of looming crisis’, according to a think-tank. |
Toddler who drowned victim of ‘gross’ social care failure
02/12/2024 A two-year-old girl who drowned in a bin containing 9cm of water was a victim of ‘gross failure’ mostly by social workers, coroner says. |
500% rise in unregistered and illegal home use
28/11/2024 The number of vulnerable children in care placed in unregistered and illegal homes has shot up by 500% in three years, data released by Ofsted has shown. |
NIC hike ‘will be insurmountable’ for some care providers
27/11/2024 A social care leader has warned that the Government’s decision to increase employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will be ‘catastrophic’ for millions of people who need care. |
Councils will need 13,000 new social workers over next decade
27/11/2024 Councils in England will need to hire 13,000 more social workers over the next 10 years amid growing need for the care and support of young people, according to new research. |
Council ‘being slowly bankrupted’ by social care charges
26/11/2024 Labour MP Jonathan Brash has told the Commons that Hartlepool Borough Council is ‘being slowly bankrupted’ by private children's social care providers. |
‘Alarming’ rise in OT waiting lists
25/11/2024 Waiting lists for occupational therapy (OT) services have surged by 139% across the UK since 2019, new research has found. |
Petition calls for social care national insurance hike exemption
18/11/2024 Care England has called on its members to sign a petition calling for an exemption from the Government’s employer national insurance (NIC) tax rise. |
Eight in 10 unpaid carers consider quitting work
15/11/2024 Eighty percent of unpaid carers with a health condition have considered giving up their jobs amid a lack of support from their employers, study reveals. |
Worcestershire set for £12.5m overspend
14/11/2024 Worcestershire County Council must act to avoid a projected overspend of £12.5m this year, a report has warned. |
Social care and the alarming impact of the NIC rise
12/11/2024 The Budget leaves the social care sector alarmed about the rise in national insurance contributions, says Rachael Dodgson, chief executive of Dimensions. |
CCN calls for rethink of social care funding
11/11/2024 The County Councils Network (CCN) has called on the Government to rethink its approach to distributing local authority funding next year. |
Care for working-age and disabled adults to cost £17bn by 2030
11/11/2024 Social care costs for working-age adults and those with a lifelong disability could reach £17bn by 2030, according to new research. |
Windsor and Maidenhead’s social care must improve, watchdog says
08/11/2024 England’s adult social care regulator has found that services provided by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council require improvement. |
EXCLUSIVE: Care homes will close as a result of Budget, leader warns
31/10/2024 A leader has warned that care homes will close as a result of the hike in national insurance announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget. |
Budget: Cash bonanza not expected for councils
30/10/2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to plough cash into public services in today's Budget – but struggling councils are not expecting a cash bonanza to come their way. |
How to manage the risk of stairs without spending £000s
28/10/2024 With social care budgets under pressure, AAT has put together a complete equipment management package of out-sourcing services to achieve best value. |
Many children not getting the right support, care regulator warns
25/10/2024 Many children and young people are not currently getting the support they need, England’s health and social care regulator has warned. |
Councils facing ‘social care blackhole’, Lib Dems warn
24/10/2024 Councils are facing a ‘social care blackhole’ in their finances, according to the Liberal Democrats. |
Streeting promises 10-Year Plan for social care
21/10/2024 Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has promised a 10-Year Plan for social care that will run alongside the 10-Year Plan for the NHS. |
Solace: Underfunding councils ‘ultimate false economy’
14/10/2024 Failing to properly fund councils is ‘the ultimate false economy’ because it forces them to make ‘repugnant’ cuts which lead to greater problems in the future. |
Last provider of holidays with 24-hour care to close
11/10/2024 The UK’s only holiday provider that offers 24-hour care for people with complex disabilities is set to close over ‘insurmountable’ financial challenges. |
First national guide on kinship care published
10/10/2024 The first national guide on kinship care, designed to help local leaders in children’s services support kinship carers, has been published. |
Why social care isn’t just a discharge service
10/10/2024 Sean Harriss, Senior Advisor at PPL, talks about how viewing social care as a ‘hospital discharge service’ means the value of social care isn’t realised. |
IFS highlights ‘unresolved’ social care issues
10/10/2024 A major new Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report has highlighted the ‘unresolved’ issues in social care funding and reform. |
Lib Dems call for cross-party talks on social care ‘postcode lottery’
09/10/2024 The Lib Dems have repeated their call for cross-party talks on social care after revealing a steep rise in the number of pensioners per care home. |
Care service outsourcing surges despite quality concerns
08/10/2024 The outsourcing of care services to private providers has ‘surged’ over the last two decades despite concerns over quality, a new study has found. |
Time to axe ‘contradictory’ care laws, minister says
07/10/2024 It is ‘high time’ to axe outdated language and contradictory rules from laws on disabled children’s social care, the families minster has said. |
CQC announces new chief executive
07/10/2024 England’s health and social care regulator has announced that Sir Julian Hartley will be appointed as its new chief executive. |
Council’s ‘financial resilience’ in question
07/10/2024 The ‘financial resilience’ of Windsor and Maidenhead is in question after the Cabinet heard this year's forecast overspend had risen from £9.9m to £12.4m. |
ICB opts not to reopen Norfolk reablement centre
01/10/2024 An ICB has decided not to reopen a Norfolk reablement centre despite opposition from local campaigners. |
Council leaders withdraw support for social care bill
30/09/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have withdrawn their support for the Scottish Government’s flagship social care reform bill. |
Two million older people living with ‘unmet’ care need
27/09/2024 More than one in four (28%) people aged over 80 are living with some unmet need for social care, a new report by Age UK has found. |
McKellen praises UK’s ‘first of a kind’ LGBTQ+ care scheme
26/09/2024 Actor Ian McKellen has praised Manchester City Council’s approval of the UK’s ‘first of a kind’ purpose-built majority LGBTQ+ extra care social rent housing scheme. |
Just one-third of council directors able to invest in preventative services
26/09/2024 Chief executive of ADASS says the need to make over £900m in savings is ‘squeezing' investment in early support for people at home and in the community. |
Ombudsman calls for mandatory complaints signposting
25/09/2024 The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has called for private care providers to be required to tell people about its service. |
Welsh council chiefs call for end to social care ‘quick fixes’
24/09/2024 Local authority leaders in Wales have called on the Welsh Government to invest more in social care to ease the pressure on the NHS this winter. |
Hampshire CC approves £35m residential care contract
24/09/2024 Hampshire County Council has given the green light to a £35m contract aimed at securing residential care capacity for children in care with complex needs. |
Care homes invited to adopt AI solutions
24/09/2024 Care homes in Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are being invited to take part in an initiative that uses AI to enhance resident monitoring. |
Holyrood warned against adding ‘bureaucratic layers’ to social care
20/09/2024 The Scottish Government should focus more on tackling the ‘ineffective’ funding of social care rather than adding ‘bureaucratic layers’, CIPFA says. |
Supported housing ‘on a knife edge’
20/09/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged the Government to boost spending on supported housing and consider a ring-fenced fund in next month’s Budget. |
Think tank calls for health and prosperity improvement zones
17/09/2024 Local authorities should be empowered to create health and prosperity improvement zones modelled on clean air zones, a cross-party commission says. |
Darzi review: ‘Extraordinary power in getting public health right’
12/09/2024 The Government must invest in public health to ease pressure on a health service ‘in critical condition’, according to a damning new review of the NHS. |
Call to scrap single-word ratings in adult social care
10/09/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for the scrapping of single-word ratings in assessments of adult social care services. |
Social care wage rise call
09/09/2024 Unions have called for wages to rise in social care to resolve the ‘recruitment crisis'. |
Scottish councils face critical workforce gaps
05/09/2024 Local authorities in Scotland are facing critical workforce gaps in multiple areas, in particular in social care and social work, a new report has found. |
Call for national strategy for older prisoners
02/09/2024 The Government must create a national strategy to manage and care for rising numbers of older people in prison, a charity has said. |
Child neglect ‘normalised’, professionals warn
28/08/2024 Child neglect has become ‘normalised’ amid financial strain on families and a lack of early support, a major children’s charity has heard. |
Care providers call for reform of hospital discharge process
28/08/2024 Care providers have called on the Government to reform the hospital discharge process. |
Call for cross-government taskforce to avoid ‘crisis of care’
22/08/2024 More than a million extra people will be providing informal care over the next decade, a charity has said, calling for a government plan to avoid a ‘crisis of care’. |
Six-fold increase in reports of exploitative migrant care worker contracts
20/08/2024 The world’s largest nursing union has reported a six-fold increase in the number of migrant care workers in the UK complaining about exploitative contracts. |
Staff stage fresh strike over pay
09/08/2024 Staff in social care teams across Lancashire have walked out today in their second bout of strike action over pay this year. |
Labour reaffirms commitment to National Care Service
07/08/2024 Care minister Stephen Kinnock has reaffirmed Labour's commitment to a National Care Service. |
Fixing care’s recruitment and retention issue
31/07/2024 Ben Weatherall, co-founder and director of Curam, looks at what local authorities can do to fix the care sector’s recruitment and retention issue. |
Reeves scraps care charging reforms amid spending cuts
30/07/2024 Adult social care charging reforms delayed by the Tories will be scrapped, saving over £1bn by the end of next year, chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced. |
Care home numbers down by 1,500
23/07/2024 The number of care homes in England has decreased by nearly 1,500 since 2018, according to a study by the House of Commons Library. |
Care hit by lack of collaboration
19/07/2024 A lack of collaboration between local government and health services is impacting on people's care, according to a joint report by two watchdogs. |
Analysis reveals £30bn funding hole in care reforms
19/07/2024 Council chiefs have called for a delay in the introduction of the cap on adult social care costs, describing it as ‘unfunded’. |
King's Speech: Waiting lists, prevention and mental health top health agenda
17/07/2024 Reducing waiting times, prevention and improving mental health provision topped Labour's agenda in today's King's Speech but there were no social care reforms. |
