Local Elections: What voters really want from their councils
With voters heading to the polls tomorrow, a recent YouGov survey reveals what local issues matter most — and the answers are not always what you might expect.
Social work funding must match nursing and teaching, says LGA
24/04/2026 More than half of adult social workers are experiencing increasingly complex caseloads while resources fail to keep pace with demand, new LGA survey reveals. |
Call for stronger governance of AI transcription in social work
12/02/2026 AI transcription tools are being rapidly adopted across social work but evaluation frameworks are ‘limited’, raising governance concerns, researchers warn. |
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. |
Social worker in Kirstie Allsopp referral ‘did nothing wrong’
29/08/2024 The council worker who responded to a social services referral involving the teenage son of celebrity presenter Kirstie Allsopp has been defended by a major social work association. |
Harehills: Disorder 'normal' for Leeds social workers
13/08/2024 Leeds City Council has been urged to improve support for social workers after an employee was injured amid disorder in Harehills last month. |
Safeguarding panel calls for register of home-educated children
15/05/2024 An expert child safeguarding panel has joined calls for a statutory register of children who are electively home educated. |
Social workers’ concerns not addressed, union warns
02/04/2024 Welfare concerns raised by social workers are not being dealt with, putting vulnerable people at risk, a union has warned. |
Cost of living crisis to lead to ‘catastrophic’ winter
07/09/2022 The cost of living crisis will have a ‘catastrophic’ impact with an increase in the number of children entering care and a rise in domestic violence. |
LGPS funds plan to increase local social investing
07/06/2022 Nearly nine out of ten (89%) Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds are planning to increase their allocation to local social investing in the next few years, a new survey has revealed. |
The key role local authorities play in the mental health of young migrants and refugees
07/05/2021 Amy Spiller explains how accessing mental health support through their local authorities can have a transformative effect on young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. |
Social work failings stopped parents visiting dying baby
08/11/2018 A council has apologised for the ‘distress’ of a family who were unable to spend time with their dying baby due to social work failings. |
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Judge calls for end of ‘inhumane’ separation of elderly couples in care homes
10/05/2017 Separating elderly couples when one or both of them go into care is ‘inhumane’, a senior judge has said. |
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Accreditation scheme will make job harder for social workers warns union
04/04/2017 The Government should scrap plans for an accreditation scheme for social workers because it would take up time that could be spent helping vulnerable families, a union has demanded. |
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Social workers removed vulnerable teen from family ‘without warning’
09/03/2017 Social workers in Essex removed a vulnerable teen from the care of her family ‘without any warning’, ombudsman finds. |
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Councils criticise amendment calling for safeguarding and welfare capacity register
07/03/2017 Council chiefs have criticised a new amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill which requires local authorities to maintain and report a local safeguarding and welfare capacity register. |
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Government scraps controversial 'innovation' clauses from Social Work Bill
06/03/2017 The Government has scrapped controversial clauses from the Children and Social Work Bill that would have exempted select local authorities from their statutory duties to young people. |
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New legal protection for whistleblowers announced
09/11/2016 Whistleblowers applying for jobs in the children’s social care sector will be covered by new legal protections, the Government has announced. |
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Social workers reject 'unsafe' reforms
03/11/2016 Plans to allow councils to set up social work trusts could prove dangerous for children, according to a new report from Unison. |
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Government soothes children's services privatisation fears
19/10/2016 The Government has made changes to the Children and Social Work Bill in a bid to sooth fears that private organisations could profit from social services. |
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Whitehall should abandon its social work reforms, committee urges
13/07/2016 Government proposals for social work reform have ‘significant weaknesses’ and should be scrapped, says Education Committee. |
