Birmingham social services department used ‘inexperienced staff with insufficient management oversight’ who did not meet the needs of the children in its care, a report has found
Batten down the hatches, the worst is yet to come. Even if the recession is now over, there are mounting social and financial pressures on the UK. Only radical government action can avert disaster,...
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been accused of trying to pull a ‘rabbit out of a hat’ in announcing that the government will offer free personal care so frail elderly people can be cared for in...
Whatever happened to that brave new political dawn? Things really did get better but, as New Labour gathers for its last conference before the election, the public couldn’t be less grateful. Demos’s...
The Welsh Assembly Government has set out further details of an initiative to create a ‘shared responsibility’ across agencies for supporting vulnerable children and families
More children in care believe they have been treated better than other children than feel they have suffered from being in care, a report by the children’s rights director for England has found
The recent green paper on social care was a step in the right direction. But, as well as focusing on the long term, short-term measures still have to be made for those in need now. Sue Collins...
A damning report from a Commons committee has called for radical reforms of the social work profession after finding that training regimes were inadequate
Care services minister Phil Hope has launched a £16m pilot programme to help people who care for family members or friends. It aims to give carers better access to health checks and more chance of a...
The Scottish system of free personal care for elderly people, introduced in 2002, continues to be controversial as doubts rise over whether it is affordable in the long-term
A government green paper setting out proposals for a more standardised national system of social care has been questioned by experts and attacked as pre-election posturing by opposition parties.
The Welsh Assembly Government’s proposals to bring consistency to charges for home care services might mean some people will pay more than they currently do, campaigners have said.
Local authorities and social work professionals have warned that Lord Laming’s proposals to reform children’s services might be unachievable on cost grounds alone.
The new mega-regulator for health and social care has a huge task ahead, licensing a wide range of providers and ensuring standards of care. It will need to avoid mission creep and stay focused,...