social care | LocalGov

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.

Integrated care systems show ‘signs of progress’ but need flexibility

16/07/2024

Integrated care systems (ICSs) are showing ‘signs of progress’ but pressures on health and care services could derail positive gains, health think tank warns.

Leaders call on Labour to act on social care

05/07/2024

Local government leaders have called on Labour to act to save social care following its thumping General Election victory.

Leicester urged not to close half its family hubs

26/06/2024

Parents have launched a petition calling on Leicester City Council to drop plans to close six of its 12 children, young people and families centres.

Conservatives pledge business rates retention expansion

11/06/2024

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to create business rates retention zones as he launched the Conservatives’ General Election manifesto today.

Millions of unpaid carers took on role due to lack of care options

11/06/2024

Two-thirds of unpaid carers said they had no choice but to take on an unpaid caring role due to a lack of alternative care options, a new study has found.

EXCLUSIVE: Whitehall warning over 'heightened' care provider failure risk

06/06/2024

The risk of adult social care provider failure is ‘currently heightened due to additional pressures in the market,’ a Whitehall document has warned.

Government acknowledges Blackpool children's services improvements

05/06/2024

Blackpool Council has welcomed the lifting of a government directive requiring the local authority to improve its children’s services social care.

Lib Dems pledge free personal care for elderly and disabled

04/06/2024

The Liberal Democrats have pledged to make free personal care available at home for older or disabled people if they win the election.

Autism care plans in North Yorkshire rise by almost 400%

31/05/2024

The number of children and young people in North Yorkshire who have autism as a primary need on their care plan has risen by 387% since 2015.

The Carer’s Allowance scandal

22/05/2024

Government has a choice, says Kirsty McHugh of Carers Trust: continue to rely on the unpaid labour of millions or take action to give a fairer deal to carers.

Unpaid carers forced to repay DWP over £250m

20/05/2024

The Government requires unpaid carers to pay back more than £250m after thousands were unknowingly overpaid their allowance.

Nearly 30,000 elderly people die waiting for social care

20/05/2024

Almost 30,000 elderly people died last year before ever receiving the social care for which they were waiting, a new analysis has revealed.

Third of councils fear being unable to meet Care Act duties

14/05/2024

Only around two thirds of local authorities are confident they will be able to meet all their legal duties under the Care Act next year, council chiefs warn.

SEND experience in Bury has been ‘poor for too long’

09/05/2024

Ofsted has found ‘widespread and/or systemic failings’, its lowest rating, in Bury’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.

Watchdogs call for long-term funding for Start for Life

08/05/2024

A scheme to support new parents should be given a minimum level of long-term funding to enable councils to plan provision for longer periods, watchdogs say.

Community-Based Testing: Easing Pressure, Improving Outcomes

30/04/2024

David Wells, chief executive of the Institute of Biomedical Science, discusses the advantages of diagnostics-driven healthcare innovation.

Elderly forced to wait over six months for home adaptations

30/04/2024

Elderly and disabled people are being forced to wait over six months for the installation of home adaptations due to poor administration at the local level.

Years-old study into Carer’s Allowance to be published

25/04/2024

Research into how unpaid carers are impacted when they are forced to repay benefit overpayments will be published ‘shortly’, a minister has pledged.

New ADASS president calls for community focus

25/04/2024

The new president of the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADASS) has called for a community, rather than a hospital, focus for the sector.

MPs call for Carer’s Allowance review

23/04/2024

MPs have called for a review of Carer’s Allowance as new figures showed rising numbers of benefit overpayments going undetected, The Guardian has reported.

ICSs enabling progress on dementia diagnosis, says think tank

18/04/2024

Integrated care systems (ICSs) are enabling the improvement of dementia diagnosis but more needs to be done, health experts say.

Social work development programme 'pulled' by Department for Education

16/04/2024

A Government decision to end a training and development programme for social work managers has been branded a ‘kick in the teeth’ for the sector.

Essex council agrees to rethink alternative education changes

04/04/2024

Essex CC agrees to investigate why changes to its alternative education provision for children who are unable to attend school have not improved the service.

Social care satisfaction hits record low

25/03/2024

Public satisfaction with social care services has dropped to the lowest level ever recorded, a new survey has revealed.

PAC: Government has ‘no roadmap’ for fixing social care

20/03/2024

The Government has ‘no roadmap’ for fixing the failing social care system and ‘nothing meaningful’ in place that might demonstrate progress, MPs warn.

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.

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