Regular News - 22 January 2024
Written by Lucy Nichol - Edited by CACHE Alumni
Sector news update
Hello and welcome back. We’ve a real mix of updates this week, with news on government appointments, new approaches to police and social care partnership working and of course explorations on the impact of cuts and policy changes. There are also two ‘and finally’ stories this week as we heard of two positively inspirational stories to end on a high note!
General social care news
The Guardian’s social affairs correspondent has written a piece on the increase in modern slavery in social care since the relaxation of visa rules.
⇨ Read more here
The Government has appointed Amerdeep Somal as the next Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. She will oversee the process by which complaints are submitted by members of the public in relation to local councils and social care providers.
⇨ Read more here
An interesting approach to social care support in terms of drug and alcohol addiction is being carried out by Essex Police. Those who are arrested for ‘acquisitive’ crimes (e.g. shoplifting, theft) are being drugs tested at the point of arrest. If found to have a drugs problem, they are then referred to specialist support services to help them turn their lives around.
⇨ Read more here
New research reveals ‘alarming’ social care service closures, with 43% closing services.
⇨ Read the full story here
Social care cuts ‘serve spreadsheets not communities’ according to this article on LGC Plus.
⇨ Read the full story here
The Labour Party has been criticised for its failure to mention disability, social care or accessible transport and housing in its new ‘campaigning bible’ according to an article on the Disability News Service website.
⇨ Read the full article here
Health and housing
A new report published by the health and social care committee calls on the government to urgently update the Decent Homes Standard for social housing tenants due to the ‘catastrophic’ impact of poor housing on health.
⇨ Read the full story here
Staffing, training, recruitment and retention
A social worker is receiving support after the tragic death of Branson Battersby (NB please take care reading this article and any others about this tragic case as it is an incredibly traumatic story).
⇨ Read more here
Fifteen authorities are being sought to scrutinise and test ideas to increase the time practitioners have for direct work with children and families.
⇨ Read more here
Children’s care
The Disabled Children’s Partnership calls on UK Government to better fund children’s social care, with more than 110 charities and parent groups signing up to the campaign.
⇨ Read the full update here
And finally….
Inspirational British Bobsleigh athlete, Leon Greenwood, who overcame significant physical injuries to return to sport, surprised a group of people in need of social care services in an exclusive Winter Olympics experience led by national charity Community Integrated Care.
⇨ Read more here
PLUS
A new bike workshop that provides adults with disabilities with the opportunity to develop skills in bike mechanics has been launched as a new social enterprise in Ipswich.
⇨ Read more here
We’ll be back in touch in a fortnight with more updates, news and views.
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