Outside Left

The burka debate crosses the English Channel

2010-01-19T09:23:32Z

It was only a matter of time before the burka debate spread across La Manche. And so at the weekend UKIP, the United Kingdom Independence Party, seized its chance. Read More......(read more)

Asbo queen Louise Casey for mayor?

2010-01-14T03:21:50Z

Boris Johnson beware: your nemesis in London's mayoral election in 2012 could turn out to be Asbo queen Louise Casey. Read More......(read more)

Nick Clegg commits to tackling homophobia in schools

2010-01-13T09:34:20Z

It is 22 years since that dismal piece of legislation, Section 28 , was passed by a Conservative government to ban the "promotion" - whatever that was - of homosexuality in schools. Read More......(read more)

Where will Cameron find the money to reduce inequality?

2010-01-12T09:29:04Z

A little more is emerging about David Cameron's commitment to reducing social inequality, should his Conservative Party be elected to power this year. Yet his proposals, spelled out to the independent think tank Demos yesterday, seem incompatible Read More......(read more)

Lord Carey's immigration stance is not very Christian

2010-01-07T09:39:35Z

If the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, is to be believed, the anger felt by many people regarding immigration is so great that violence could result . Read More......(read more)

Will social care policy become an election issue?

2010-01-06T09:26:40Z

The unofficial pre-general election campaign got under way this week with both Labour and the Conservatives targeting specific groups, suggesting that social care could have a more visible presence over the months ahead. Read More......(read more)

One way to relieve poverty: shoplift

2009-12-22T09:29:12Z

In a cracking interpretation of redistribution of wealth, a Church of England vicar has recommended shoplifting for those who are living in poverty. Read More......(read more)

Vanessa George: The press can't make up their minds

2009-12-16T09:06:45Z

What a contrast in the reactions of this morning's newspapers to the sentence handed down to paedophile nursery nurse Vanessa George. Read More......(read more)

Is smoking in front of children abuse?

2009-12-15T09:14:50Z

Could this really happen? There is a move to introduce a law - or at least Whitehall has refused to rule one out, according the Daily Telegraph - to ban parents from smoking in front of their children. Read More......(read more)

If only social workers could be taxed on a £25k bonus

2009-12-10T15:14:29Z

Social workers looking forward to a whopping 1% pay rise in each of the next two years must be apoplectic as our irresponsible, gung-ho bankers threaten to quit the UK because their ill-gotten bonuses above £25,000 will be taxed at 50%. Read More......(read more)

Those CQC ratings are less than adequate

2009-12-09T09:25:16Z

The word "adequate" is proving a controversial one after the publication of the Care Quality Commission's annual performance assessments . Read More......(read more)

Care UK loses another contract

2009-12-08T09:54:58Z

Private provider Care UK may have been celebrating its rise in profits three weeks ago but this week marks the end of yet another contract, this time in Islington. Read More......(read more)

MPs club together for a drugs run

2009-12-03T14:27:03Z

This is the best excuse yet for a night out. MPs, led Labour's Keith Vaz, are looking for the "best club" in London for cocaine use. Read More......(read more)

David Cameron's marriage proposal ridden with flaws

2009-12-03T09:08:58Z

We hadn't heard much about marriage from the Tories until David Cameron was interviewed by our old friends at the Daily Mail this week and accused Labour of being "pathologically" opposed to supporting the institution. Anyone would think Read More......(read more)

Young people display old misconceptions about HIV/Aids

2009-12-02T09:25:37Z

British Red Cross marked World Aids Day 2009 by releasing the findings of a survey of young people's attitudes towards the virus - with some paradoxical results. Read More......(read more)

Depression: When rugby turned all black for legend John Kirwan

2009-12-01T09:32:37Z

I missed BBC One's Inside Sport investigation into depression among sportspeople , but it featured the former All Black John Kirwan who fronted an advertising campaign in New Zealand to destigmatise the condition. Read More......(read more)

David Cameron's own goal on Islamic schools

2009-11-27T09:31:58Z

A perturbing hint on how next year's general election campaign might pan out emerged this week when David Cameron attempted to outsmart Gordon Brown on the funding of two Islamic schools. Read More......(read more)

Cast Offs was more real than reality TV

2009-11-25T10:25:30Z

Cast Offs , Channel Four's risky mockumentary on disability, got under way last night and turned out to be more authentic than most reality television. It centred on a group of people with various disabilities supposedly marooned on a desert island Read More......(read more)

NHS and relationship counselling make perfect partners

2009-11-24T09:35:52Z

Which is the best way to spend public money: by developing treatments for dementia and cancer or in counselling couples at breaking point? Read More......(read more)

Even Panorama cannot hold back Care UK

2009-11-19T07:05:53Z

Congratulations to service provider Care UK for posting a £1.6m rise in profits to £21m on revenues up from £316m to £410. They must be doing something right. Read More......(read more)

Dementia: We need a hospital exit strategy

2009-11-18T09:17:18Z

It is a poor indictment on the quality of care when a patient leaves hospital in worse shape than when they went in. Read More......(read more)

Crowded house: Politicians playing chicken with children

2009-11-17T09:38:46Z

A book I have focuses on deprivation in Hackney in east London. In a chapter entitled Schooling for Failure, the author discusses the cramped conditions in which rather too many children live and the effect on their development both at play and in study Read More......(read more)

Poverty: Can voluntary sector deliver David Cameron's pledge?

2009-11-12T09:27:37Z

David Cameron has been turning his thoughts this week to poverty - and also to the voluntary sector which he sees as key to reducing it. Read More......(read more)

Disabilities: More on the words that offend

2009-11-11T09:26:40Z

In yesterday's blog , I referred to an article by Ian Birrell in the The Independent about the casual acceptance of language offensive to people with physical and learning disabilities. Read More......(read more)

More reasons why disability hate crime must be taken seriously

2009-11-10T09:28:49Z

If anyone needs confirmation why the abuse of disabled people is a major issue they need look no further than a court case in Devon. Read More......(read more)

Why disabled athletes could compete in Olympics

2009-11-05T09:19:12Z

There are today 995 days until the start of the London Olympics and 1,028 until the Paralympics get under way. But could the London games become the first where disabled athletes line up against their mainstream counterparts? Read More......(read more)

Social workers must prepare for another big bill

2009-11-04T09:26:57Z

It could become even more expensive to practise as a social worker. Read More......(read more)

Asylum: How can Zimbabwe and Iraq be called 'safe'?

2009-11-03T09:24:25Z

The countries deemed "safe" by the British government now include Zimbabwe, Iraq and Afghanistan. Because they are "safe" it is reasonable for ministers to announce the resumption of the forced return of failed asylum seekers. Read More......(read more)

When work is no route out of poverty

2009-10-30T08:46:00Z

Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published some challenging findings about the relationship between work and poverty. Read More......(read more)

The judges had better be right about baby Peter lodger

2009-10-28T09:18:59Z

Sober as a judge. It's not an expression that springs to mind today, although we are not privy to the information that the three appeal court judges had in front of them yesterday as they decided the fate of baby P lodger Jason Owen . Read More......(read more)

Giant lizards, Scientologists and mental health misinformation

2009-10-27T09:30:41Z

I'm just about 100% certain that I am not descended from two giant lizards that leapt from a visiting spacecraft aeons ago but, then again, I am also certain that autism exists. Read More......(read more)

Question Time and Operation Neanderthal

2009-10-23T09:22:18Z

My, doesn't Nick Griffin sweat a lot? Many of us had feared that last night's edition of Question Time would become an unofficial party political broadcast for the British National Party. Read More......(read more)

Generals turn unfriendly fire on the BNP

2009-10-21T09:39:23Z

The former military generals' denouncement of the far-right's attempts to "tap up" British servicemen and women could turn out to be the most powerful weapon yet against the British National Party. Read More......(read more)

Panorama exposes the 'tolerant society' myth

2009-10-20T08:50:31Z

Sandwiched between communities secretary John Denham's pledge last week to spend £12m on engaging white, working class people and BNP leader Nick Griffin's appearance this week on BBC1's Question Time , last night's edition of Panorama Read More......(read more)

Boris Johnson blocks wheelchair access

2009-10-16T09:17:08Z

Apologies for being M25-centric, but concealed in London mayor Boris Johnson's plans for getting people off the capital's transport system was an item that has almost gone unnoticed. Read More......(read more)

When parental protection becomes maltreatment

2009-10-15T09:14:38Z

I have heard the expression "killing with kindness" but in Italy a mother has appeared in court accused of maltreating her son by mollycoddling . Read More......(read more)

Goading of Gordon Brown is disability bullying

2009-10-14T09:21:49Z

The tragic case of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter highlighted the problem some people in the mainstream have with disability. Recent press and TV reports suggest that the prime minister is not immune. Read More......(read more)

Joint-working can address the rise in child neglect

2009-10-13T09:17:39Z

Action for Children's latest report shows a disturbing rise in the number child neglect cases. Perhaps as many as 1.5 million children suffer a form of neglect - and in England last year nearly 17,000 children were registered on child protection plans Read More......(read more)

When praying is tantamount to neglect

2009-10-08T09:28:20Z

Could this happen only in America? Two parents chose divine intervention over medical intervention as their 11-year-old daughter lay dying of an undiagnosed but treatable form of diabetes at their rural home. Read More......(read more)

A 0% pay deal is fair for some

2009-10-07T08:44:04Z

The prospect of a 0% pay rise for local authority social workers and care staff earning more than £18,000 a year is now a given if - or when - the Conservatives are elected to power next year. Read More......(read more)