National Care Service, cash for graduates

Andrew Lansley: Government plans would hit 700,000 family carers

As ministers and care charities gather at an “emergency summit” to discuss proposals for a new National Care Service, figures released by the party show that hundreds of thousands of people give up more than 50 hours a week to care for elderly relatives.

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, warned that this group would be “unfairly penalised” if they were forced pay a compulsory levy on any inheritance when their relative died, even though they had not relied on the state to provide care.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

Graduates offered cash to retrain as social workers

Graduates in England will receive at least £15,000 to retrain as children’s social workers under a new government-funded scheme.

The “Step Up to Social Work” programme has been developed in a bid to attract high-flyers into the profession.

Read more on this story on bbc.co.uk

Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ to part privatise planning service

The Conservative leadership of the London borough of Barnet is to shrug off criticism of its “easyCouncil” reforms with the part privatisation of its planning service.

Barnet unveiled its budget airline-inspired cost-cutting measures last year but has since suffered repeated setbacks from the high court and council-tax ­payers. Now it is planning to sell off its planning function to managers and staff or establish a joint venture with the private sector in an attempt to slash costs. The council will retain a controlling share.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

Care system timebomb: By 2017, more elderly Britons will need help than there are family members to look after them

Britain faces a care time-bomb within seven years, with the number of elderly needing full-time help outstripping the number of carers, a report has found.

The charity Carers UK yesterday said that without reform the care system is in danger of collapse.

Read more on this story in the Daily Mail

 

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