Social Care
Social care White Paper ‘set up to fail’
The local government sector has praised the ambition of the long-awaited adult social care reform White Paper, but warned it will not succeed without funding to meet current demand.
Call for fresh powers from ombudsman
England’s local government ombudsman today demands wide-ranging new powers to investigate complaints across town halls, social care and education amid concern current regimes are outdated.
Social care services 'rapidly deteriorating,' directors warn
Social care services are failing to help hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people, a new survey has warned today.
Social care reform plans fall 'woefully short'
The Government has ‘fallen woefully short of the mark’ with its proposals for social care reform, according to shadow minister for social care Liz Kendall.
Long-awaited paper
Care minister Gillian Keegan may have a pivotal role when it comes to the future of local government, but she isn’t really making herself popular.
Spinning plates to balance budgets
How do we reduce budgets that have been baked into service provision forever to pay for a step change in direction, asks Tracie Langley.
Care staff should receive £1,000 winter bonus, directors argue
Social care workers in England should receive a £1,000 winter bonus to protect struggling services, directors have said.
Care England warning over vaccine mandate
Care England has warned councils to expect a ‘big impact’ from the Government’s decision to demand all care home staff be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
More than just blah, blah, blah
As COP26 draws to a close, Heather Jameson reports on a Local Partnerships webinar, where some of local government’s leaders on climate change discussed what they were doing to avoid a crisis.
How to solve a problem like ‘infobesity’
Richard James says a new field of data design involving clever tools and creative approaches offers a way for local government top teams to tackle the ‘infobesity syndrome’ of information overload.
Grasping the thistle
So much of the pandemic’s huge challenges involve workforce issues, as Steven McNab, outgoing president of the Scottish HR directors' society, tells Michael Burton.
The good, the bad and the ugly
If the Government is to hit its goals on integration, prevention and health inequality it needs to fund the NHS, social care and public health properly. But the Spending Review was a mixed picture, says Rob Whiteman.
A bounce back Budget
We got spending – and lots of it – in the Budget, yet its contents reflected conflict within the Cabinet on whether to push ahead with a Milton Friedman-style smaller government. Sir Bob Neill explains.
It looks likely that councils will continue to live on the thin gruel
Councils are expected to be allowed to increase bills by 2.8% per year, says Ben Page. 'The bad news is that all this means the now familiar tale of cuts to council services looks likely again unless more cash is forthcoming'
A mixed fiscal bag for councils
Isn't it ironic that a chancellor devoted to low taxes has funded a bonanza Budget through taxes that will soon reach their highest level since the 1950s, says Heather Jameson.
It is the right time to invest in all of our futures
As we head towards COP26, Paul O’Brien says we should not settle for anything less than a key role for councils in the delivery of the plan for net-zero or the consequences could be catastrophic.
Watchdog warns care services face a 'tsunami of unmet need'
There could be a 'tsunami' of people not having the care they need unless action is taken to address staff shortages in social care, a watchdog said today.
Solving care needs through social change
More money on its own will not be enough to fix social care - and developing the required whole-system approach means local government has to be in the lead, says Polly Mackenzie.
Age UK warns 10% council tax hike would still not fix care
Charity Age UK has warned council tax would need to go up by another 10% next year just to allow social care to ‘stand still’.
A compelling national vision for local government
Becoming part of a ‘medicalised treatment-based model’ is the last thing social care needs, says Professor Donna Hall, as she puts forward the beginnings of a new vision for local government.
