Recently in local authorities Category

by Steve Liddicott

Anybody who has tried to make sense of paper-based records for a child who has been receiving social care services over a number of years will agree that they should be consigned to the past as quickly as possible. But to do that, the electronic systems that replace them have to be fit for purpose.

by Geoff Ettridge

Over many years as a local authority manager I often saw examples of savings proposals put forward by other directorates or agencies that had financial consequences for social care. Whether intentional or not, these decisions seldom delivered savings for the public purse because those made in one service often caused pressures in others.

by Hilton Dawson

A college for social work could provide the means to raise the profession's standing and status to that of medicine and law

The report from the Social Work Task Force, Facing up to the Task, accurately reflects the serious issues facing social workers and proposes a number of ways to respond. Above all, the British Association of Social Workers is delighted that the taskforce has listened to us and is exploring the case for a new organisation to support social work which can play a role similar to that of the royal colleges that support the medical and allied professions.'
This is excellent news: a college for social work goes far beyond education; it is the means by which our profession can raise our standing and status to that enjoyed by medicine and law.

 by Allan Norman

Many civil court cases boil down to arguments over money. Even those with origins in arguments about injury to person or reputation end up with arguments about the financial value of the harm. When a case is genuinely about - for example - the welfare of a child, we can feel warm and fuzzy. But how acceptable is it, in other contexts, to be arguing about money? It happens all the time, and for a variety of reasons. It happens because we believe someone else should be footing the bill, or no-one should be footing the bill. What exactly is the law on avoiding responsibility?

There have been several recent social care cases to point.

by Simon Heng

In the old days, adult social care was easy. People with a disability, or mental illness, or anyone over 65 who looked as if they weren't coping on their own, were rounded up into institutions where their physical needs could be met as humanely and cheaply as possible. Anyone who might be able to cope at home could be cared for in day centres.

By Penelope Gibbs, Prison Reform Trust

 

He who pays the piper calls the tune. Or at least has greater influence over the tune. If local authorities paid for child custody, they would surely gain more control over where children are placed and the quality of regimes. And have a greater incentive to stop children being imprisoned. The government's new Youth Crime Action Plan has flirted with the idea of delegating the custody budget but not championed it. It proposes making the costs of custody more visible to inform debate "on whether, in the long term, local authorities should be responsible for the placement and funding of custodial placements".