Ending the ‘care cliff’
11/03/2024 Katharine Sacks-Jones, CEO of Become, explains what local authorities can do to prevent young people leaving care from experiencing the ‘care cliff'. |
Blind people left waiting months for support, charity warns
11/03/2024 Vision rehabilitation is a ‘forgotten’ and ‘under-resourced’ social care service that operates ‘without scrutiny’, according to a new report. |
National care service overhaul fails to charm councils
28/02/2024 Councils in Scotland remain unconvinced by proposals to create a national care service. |
14 councils ‘likely’ to issue s114s next year
28/02/2024 More than half of councils are likely to issue a section 114 notice within the next parliament unless funding is reformed, senior local authority figures have warned. |
Two-thirds of councils to cut neighbourhood services
27/02/2024 Community services will have to be ‘drastically scaled back’ or cut altogether without further funding for councils, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
Union urges prospective MPs to back national care service
21/02/2024 Election candidates in the forthcoming general election are being urged to support the creation of a new national care service in England. |
Almost all areas set for maximum council tax rise
20/02/2024 Virtually every local authority with responsibility for social care in England plans on raising its council tax by the maximum 4.99% this April, according to new analysis. |
Keep carers in work to save £6bn, Government urged
19/02/2024 The UK economy will lose billions this year because of unpaid carers who are unable to work, a think-tank has warned. |
Putting personal assistants at the heart of care
19/02/2024 Ben Weatherall, co-founder and director of Curam, discusses the skills deficit in the social care system and what to do about it. |
Welsh government announces £25m for councils
07/02/2024 The Welsh government has announced an additional £25m to support cash-strapped local authorities in 2024-25. |
Council financial crisis ‘out of control’
31/01/2024 MPs have issued a stark warning on the ‘very real’ prospect of more councils in England ‘effectively going bust’ if the Government does not address a £4bn funding gap. |
Migrant care worker family ban ‘reckless’, union says
31/01/2024 The Government’s decision to ban migrant care workers from bringing family over to join them in England could ‘spell disaster for social care’, union warns. |
Council leaders cautiously welcome £600m boost
24/01/2024 Council leaders have welcomed the announcement of a £500m boost to social care budgets but caution they still face ‘difficult decisions’. |
Housing crisis forcing poorer older renters to move
22/01/2024 Older renters living on low incomes are being forced to move to more deprived areas with fewer services due to the housing crisis, new research suggests. |
New local government Ombudsman appointed
18/01/2024 Amerdeep Somal will be the next Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, the Government has confirmed. |
Abuse main driver of children’s social care demand
17/01/2024 Domestic abuse and violence is the most prevalent category of demand for children’s social care services, a groundbreaking new study has revealed. |
Care providers closing due to ‘perilous’ environment
16/01/2024 Social care services are facing a situation that is ‘more perilous than ever’ with 43% of providers closing services or handing back contracts, study reveals. |
Social care career reforms ‘only scratch the surface’
10/01/2024 The Government today announced new measures to improve the career prospects of social care staff but concerns remain that this ‘may only scratch the surface’. |
LGA calls for family hubs extension
10/01/2024 Council bosses have called for an extension of the family hubs programme after the Government announced that all local authorities involved in the scheme offer access to a centre. |
Regulator praises Bolton care service
08/01/2024 An inspection of Bolton Council’s home support reablement service has found it is effective, caring, and well led. |
Groundbreaking LGBTQ+ housing proposed for Manchester
04/01/2024 A pioneering LGBTQ+ extra care housing development has been proposed for the site of a former hospital in Manchester. |
End-of-life care issues ‘still far too common’
21/12/2023 Issues faced by people receiving end-of-life care 70 years ago, including poverty and isolation, are ‘still far too common’, according to a new report. |
Court provides clarity on duties owed to children at home
21/12/2023 Court rules that Wolverhampton did not have a duty of care to protect a child because it could not be established they had assumed responsibility for them. |
Parking meters face disruption from 2G switch off
18/12/2023 Parking meters, alarm systems and telecare devices risk facing disruption when 2G and 3G mobile networks are switched off, council chiefs warn. |
Middlesbrough proposes job cuts as it warns of ‘tough choices’
14/12/2023 Middlesbrough Council has proposed axing 75 full-time equivalent posts and cutting social care costs as it scrambles to set a balanced budget for next year. |
Gov’s migration plans threaten ‘recruitment crisis’
13/12/2023 Hundreds of thousands of non-UK nationals working in London’s health and social care sector are likely to be hit by the Government’s new migration policies, Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned. |
Migration plans ‘spell total disaster’ for social care
05/12/2023 The Government has been accused of ‘playing roulette with essential services’ over its new plans to curb immigration. |
Autistic adults without care entitlement face 'breakdown'
05/12/2023 More than 11,000 autistic adults in England are not receiving the care they are legally entitled to, a group of autism charities has found. |
LGA lays bare ‘astronomical’ care costs
29/11/2023 There has been a 1,000% rise over five years in the number of children’s social care placements that cost councils £10,000 or more a week, the Local Government Association (LGA) has found. |
Care service failed to meet cultural needs
28/11/2023 A woman suffered diet and skin problems because the nursing home her council placed her in failed to meet her cultural needs, a watchdog has found. |
MPs warn local services on ‘knife edge’
28/11/2023 MPs have warned that key local services are on a ‘knife edge’ due to the poor financial health of councils in England. |
Councils need help to tackle care staff exploitation, union says
28/11/2023 The Government must drop plans to cap overseas care staff and act to stop the exploitation of those already working in the UK, the trade union Unison has said. |
CQC issues verdicts in pilot care assessments
21/11/2023 The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has completed assessments of adult social care at five councils under its pilot scheme. |
Investment in local care services could save £2.5bn
20/11/2023 Investment in home-based care, community and reablement services would help free up more hospital beds and improve care for the elderly, council leaders say. |
Councils ‘pushed to the brink’ by children’s social care pressures
20/11/2023 A ‘perfect storm’ of financial pressures and rising numbers of children needing support are putting local authorities at risk of bankruptcy, councils warn. |
Social care leaders forced to find millions in extra savings
16/11/2023 Council social care leaders are having to find millions of pounds of extra savings this year despite winter pressures approaching, a new survey has revealed. |
Homeless children left without care
16/11/2023 Almost 6,500 16- and 17-year-olds presented as homeless to their local authority in England last year, according to new data. |
Young carers let down by system, 'damning' report says
14/11/2023 The first ever parliamentary inquiry on young carers has revealed the ‘devastating impact’ of care responsibilities on their education, wellbeing and prospects. |
New health and social care secretary announced
13/11/2023 Victoria Atkins has been appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care amid Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle. |
Places must adapt for ageing population, says Whitty
13/11/2023 Places and infrastructure must be adapted to support an ageing population, particularly in rural areas, according to England's chief medical officer. |
Government falling 'woefully short' on supported housing
10/11/2023 Vulnerable people are increasingly provided with poor quality supported housing and suffer ‘significant, detrimental’ impacts due to inadequate support, a report has found. |
Somerset declares ‘financial emergency’
09/11/2023 Somerset Council has declared it is facing a ‘financial emergency’ and agreed that ‘urgent actions’ are required to tackle a £100m shortfall. |
South Gloucestershire families not getting agreed respite
08/11/2023 Almost a third of families with children with special needs in South Gloucestershire have not been receiving sufficient respite care, an investigation has found. |
VR training on coercive control rolled out
07/11/2023 An immersive training programme that aims to raise awareness of gender-based violence and support those affected has been rolled out in Greater Manchester and North Wales. |
Concern over hotel use for care leavers
02/11/2023 Too many care leavers live in hotels or other unsuitable accommodation in Devon but oversight at the county council has improved, Ofsted has found. |
Barriers to support impacting carers’ mental health
02/11/2023 Unpaid carers are not receiving adequate support from statutory services and their mental health is suffering as a result, Carers UK has found. |
Children's services 'absolute carnage'
02/11/2023 The state of children’s services has been described as ‘absolute carnage’ after years of underfunding. |
Let’s talk about incontinence: how effective procurement can benefit us all
01/11/2023 Tracy Evans, clinical team leader for the continence service at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, discusses the benefits of effectively procuring incontinence products. |
One in 10 county councils facing effective bankruptcy
01/11/2023 England’s county and unitary authorities are ‘running out of road’ to prevent insolvency, with one in 10 not sure they can balance their budget this year. |
New pilot to monitor care home infections
31/10/2023 A national surveillance study initially set up in response to Covid-19 has received government funding for a pilot scheme to monitor infections in care homes. |
Public services ‘in a dire state’
31/10/2023 No public services are performing better than before the pandemic and satisfaction with councils has dropped, a report has found. |
Meals on wheels ‘heading for UK-wide collapse’
30/10/2023 The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) has called for meals on wheels to become a statutory responsibility for councils after it found provision of the services continued to fall. |
S114 ‘almost inevitable’ for Leicester
30/10/2023 Leicester City Council is ‘rapidly running out of options’ to cut costs and faces financial crisis ahead of its 2025-26 budget, its mayor has warned Michael Gove. |
£42m boost for social care innovation
25/10/2023 The Government has announced £42.6m to fund innovative local approaches that improve the quality and accessibility of adult social care. |
Reports of exploitation in care sector surge
23/10/2023 There has been a dramatic rise in the number of workers in the care sector contacting a national helpline for victims of modern slavery, charity reveals. |
Council chiefs call for workforce plan after ‘unfair care’ warning
20/10/2023 Council leaders have repeated their call for a dedicated social care workforce plan in response to a CQC warning that councils are struggling to meet demand. |
Extra cash for Welsh social care in emergency spending revisions
17/10/2023 Council budgets will remain largely unchanged, but there should be more cash for social services, following the Welsh Government’s emergency public spending revisions. |
Almost 400,000 carers leave workforce
12/10/2023 A new report offers an insight into the care sector’s struggle to retain staff after almost 400,000 carers left their jobs in a year. |
Care workers in Wales feel undervalued, poll reveals
05/10/2023 Social care workers in Wales feel undervalued by the public and underpaid for the work they do, a new survey has revealed. |
LGA claims ‘so much more could have been done’ in pandemic
04/10/2023 Councils were held back from effectively tackling the challenges of the pandemic by central Government, it has been claimed. |
Havering Council facing insolvency, warns leader
03/10/2023 The leader of Havering Council has warned that the London borough was facing insolvency due to increases in social care and homelessness costs. |
Public support more focus on poor health causes
02/10/2023 The Government should invest more in public health to address the roots of poor health, according to a poll for the charity Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). |
Social care should be top of manifestos, forum says
28/09/2023 Adult social care reform should be prioritised on the agendas of all political parties, the National Care Forum (NCF) has said. |
Over £8bn needed to stop care ‘deteriorating’
25/09/2023 Sustainable planning for the care sector must replace short-term cash injections, the Health Foundation said as it published projected costs for adult social care. |
Call for national mental health support team rollout
21/09/2023 A top children’s services director has called for the ‘very highly regarded’ mental health support teams (MHST) model to be rolled out across the country. |
Brighton settles 10-year equal pay issue
20/09/2023 Brighton and Hove City Council will adjust bank holiday pay for more than 800 staff in response to calls from Unison. |
Mental health top reason for social care absences
20/09/2023 New research has claimed mental health and stress is the most common reason for social care staff sickness and absence in more than 77% of councils. |
Providers set out ‘pragmatic’ social care plan
19/09/2023 A plan for adult social care with recommendations for the next Government has been put forward by Care England. |
£10m extra for most under pressure councils
19/09/2023 The Government has provided an extra £10m for social care for those councils most under pressure as winter approaches. |
Care sector ‘stifling’ the economy, report says
18/09/2023 Properly funded social care would power growth and unlock jobs, according to a report published today. |
Glasgow to pilot drug consumption facility
15/09/2023 A safe drug consumption facility is set to be trialled in Glasgow after the lord advocate said she did not believe it would be in the public interest to prosecute users of drug consumption rooms for simple possession offences. |
Cuts see ‘children’s services run like A&E’, charities warn
14/09/2023 Councils are spending more on crisis intervention in children’s services, a group of leading charities has warned today. |
£40m winter boost for social care
14/09/2023 The Government has announced £40m to improve social care capacity with an aim to relieve pressure on hospitals over the winter. |
Council apologises after man with dementia left unsupported
08/09/2023 Calderdale Council has apologised after a man with a rapidly progressing form of dementia was left in unsuitable hotel accommodation for too long. |
Suffolk’s essential service funding ‘not sustainable’
06/09/2023 Suffolk County Council has forecast it will spend £22.3m over its budget this year, with the costs of school transport and looking after children in care making up two thirds of the overspend. |
Council hiring mental health officer following high suicide rates
31/08/2023 Essex County Council is hiring a public mental health and suicide prevention officer with an advertised salary of up to £37,357. |
‘Cinderella’ care sector staff facing poverty
29/08/2023 Most care workers are earning less than the real Living Wage and left ‘struggling to survive’, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned today. |
Coventry faces issuing s114
25/08/2023 Coventry is at risk of having to issue a section 114 notice, the city council has warned Michael Gove. |
Families sue over Covid care home deaths
25/08/2023 Thirty families are launching legal action against the Government over the deaths of their relatives from Covid-19 in care homes when the pandemic began. |
Service costs ‘unmanageable’, city council warns
21/08/2023 Coventry City Council has projected a £12.1m overspend in its budget and warned that service costs are becoming ‘unmanageable’. |
Ofsted warns against placing children in unregistered homes
15/08/2023 Ofsted has warned councils against placing vulnerable children, including those subject to deprivation of liberty orders, in unregistered children’s homes. |
Social care workforce survey launched
14/08/2023 Staff working in the adult social care sector are being asked to share their experiences in a new Government survey. |
The power of Volunteer Responders
11/08/2023 Sam Ward, deputy CEO, Royal Voluntary Service discusses how Volunteer Responders can enhance people’s experiences of care in care home settings. |
Improving support for pregnant women
03/08/2023 Kirsty Kitchen, head of policy at Birth Companions, emphasises the need for a better approach to working with women during pregnancy and early motherhood. |
Health policy research hubs get £100m funding
01/08/2023 Policy Research Units (PRUs) across England are set to receive more than £100m from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). |
Government confirms £600m social care fund
28/07/2023 A health think tank has welcomed confirmation of £600m to boost the social care winter workforce but warn it may not fix the problem ‘after years of neglect.’ |
Councils chosen for family-focussed social care trials
27/07/2023 The Government has announced the councils that will test two new children’s social care programmes, which aim to support families through early help. |
Third of children in care face exclusion
27/07/2023 Pupils who have a history of receiving social care or support from special educational needs services are much more likely to be excluded, UCL study reveals. |
Holyrood announces £3.2m fund to tackle loneliness
25/07/2023 More than 50 projects that are tackling social isolation and loneliness in Scotland have received a share of a new multi-million-pound fund. |
Workforce concerns raised in social care survey
25/07/2023 Workforce concerns in children's social care have been brought to light in a new poll, in which 20% of council social workers said they planned to leave. |
Charities accuse Government of social care 'wild goose chase'
24/07/2023 More than 60 charities in England have urged Rishi Sunak to fulfil the Government’s 2019 pledge to ‘fix the crisis in social care once and for all’. |
Scottish council staff will not move to care boards
12/07/2023 Holyrood says that staff will still be employed by councils rather than being transferred to care boards when the National Care Service (NCS) is established. |
Over-65s suffering due to lack of joined up local care
11/07/2023 Better care at the local level could have prevented more than 850,000 hospital admissions a year among the over-65s, a new study has found. |
Union warns of ‘significant rise’ in social care exploitation
10/07/2023 Unison has warned of a ‘significant rise’ in the number of migrant workers who are being exploited in the social care sector. |
Getting tech-savvy Gen Z into the social care sector
07/07/2023 Rajiv Tanna, co-founder and CPO of birdie, looks at how technology can help the social care sector appeal to younger generations. |
Social care crisis threatens to ‘bury’ NHS
06/07/2023 The ‘extreme pressure’ on social care is now ‘turning into an avalanche, and it’s going to bury the NHS', Lib Dem leader Ed Davey tells LGA annual conference. |
NHS leaders call for social care workforce plan
03/07/2023 NHS leaders have written to the Prime Minister calling for a social care workforce plan to boost recruitment and retention in the social care sector. |
Can technology solve the care crisis? We certainly think so.
28/06/2023 Jody O'Neill, CEO of Curam, the UK's largest online platform for care workers, looks at the role of technology in solving the care crisis. |
Kent to vote on devolution deal
27/06/2023 Kent CC councillors will vote this week on plans for a devolution deal in a bid to secure more power and resources for the area. |
100 care homes lying empty, according to Lib Dems
26/06/2023 An estimated 100 care homes are lying empty despite 40,000 people waiting for care, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.