The Social Work Blog

The misery of welfare reform

2008-07-23T15:09:12Z

The Welfare Reform green paper was launched this week with work and pensions Secretary James Purnell saying how the green paper would "transform lives". Sounds admirable, but here one person gives their experience of how welfare reform has "transformed" Read More......(read more)

Why are young men killing each other?

2008-07-21T18:01:39Z

By Daniel Lombard The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has issued crime safety advice to men for the first time. All the evidence shows that we need it. Read More......(read more)

Crime is down, brilliant news. Well done, everybody

2008-07-18T12:10:06Z

by Adam McCulloch The reduction in crime in the UK is fantastic news and reflects well on the government, police, social workers, probation officers and, yes, car manufacturers (the days of the 'pooled' Ford Fiesta are well and truly in the past Read More......(read more)

On the march with London local government strikers

2008-07-17T12:13:19Z

by Keith Hassell I was not at work yesterday. Instead I got together with thousands of others who were not at work either. But whereas I was on a day off from my desk at Community Care they were on strike. Read More......(read more)

All political fun and games for children's services

2008-07-17T11:11:44Z

by Bronagh Miskelly The collaboration between the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Schools and Families to improve children's services has given rise to a new great double act in the traditions of British comedy it seems. Read More......(read more)

"Chav" warnings take us back to 2004

2008-07-15T12:22:50Z

By Andrew Mickel News update: the Hutton Report is published; George Bush is re-elected president of the US; and prime minister Blair is hit by a condom of purple flour in Parliament. Read More......(read more)

Child protection a PC monster, says Esther Rantzen

2008-07-11T17:03:27Z

By Natalie Valios Yesterday Esther Rantzen sat on the GMTV sofa and said that child protection had turned into a politically correct monster. This from the woman who created ChildLine! Read More......(read more)

The healing powers of Nintendo

2008-07-10T16:38:38Z

by Anabel Unity Sale It's official: playing Nintendo Wii games is good for your health. According to a study by researchers at Newcastle University's Institute of Neuroscience, children with hemiplegia cerebral palsy can benefit from playing specially Read More......(read more)

Woolly thinking leaves council services at mercy of vocal minority

2008-07-10T11:31:27Z

by Bronagh Miskelly It was with a muted fanfare that communities secretary Hazel Blears launched the white paper on community empowerment - Communities in control: Real people, real power . But then petitions and housing associations probably aren't Read More......(read more)

Review: What happened next: they steal children don't they?

2008-07-10T09:49:08Z

By Keith Sellick When I as a lad my dad used phrases like Romany, diddicoy and tinker to describe three different types of people, now the terms would be seen as being pejorative and we would use Roma, gypsies or travellers. What Happened Next brought Read More......(read more)

Ray Lewis: any regrets?

2008-07-09T15:17:55Z

by Adam McCulloch Ray Lewis had to go, didn't he? The deputy London mayor for youth turned out to have had a chequered history in the Church of England, resulting in him being barred from any further posts in that institution. But his resignation Read More......(read more)

An introduction to the cushions and comedy of social care

2008-07-03T12:16:56Z

by Bronagh Miskelly As the new editor of Community Care I have a steep learning curve ahead of me - especially when it comes to the veritable dictionary of acronyms in social care. Read More......(read more)

Scandinavia: social care Nirvana no more?

2008-07-03T10:45:17Z

By Keith Sellick Social care writers often portray Scandinavia as some sort of Nirvana (or maybe Asgard or Valhalla). A month doesn't go by without an article appearing that ends with the sentiment: "They do it better in Sweden/Denmark" Read More......(read more)

Registration of personal assistants - the great divide

2008-07-02T10:23:17Z

The General Social Care Council has announced that it will consult on whether personal assistants employed by direct payment recipients in England should be registered . This is a very difficult area with many in the service user movement likely to suggest Read More......(read more)

School dinners at heart of child obesity debate

2008-06-30T09:34:28Z

Two stories, two pages apart caught my eye in last Tuesday's issue of the Daily Telegraph. Read More......(read more)

Is a local government strike wise?

2008-06-27T12:19:44Z

by Adam McCulloch On Question Time last nigh t (Thursday 26 June) a social worker in the audience attacked the government over local government pay, lambasting ministers' failure to tax the rich more. But I couldn't help thinking that this is Read More......(read more)

To strike or not to strike?

2008-06-26T17:18:42Z

This summer is likely to be a stormy one for Britain's local government sector. Beneath the ballooning cloud of rising fuel, food and utility costs, the scene is set for a long and torrid battle between cash-strapped workers and belt-tightening employers Read More......(read more)

Fat pills that can kill

2008-06-25T17:21:52Z

by Anabel Unity Sale Fat. The three-letter word that can kill you, now the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has got its way. Read More......(read more)

Will Glasvegas make social workers cool at last?

2008-06-24T18:04:35Z

by Andrew Mickel There's an advert for Community Care's glorious talkboards, Carespace , based on the oft-commented fact that there are no TV show about social workers. This week doesn't see any change in that, but it does see the bizarre Read More......(read more)

Dementia strategy means business

2008-06-24T17:24:56Z

It's pretty rare for us Community Care journos to praise rather than bury the government in our blogs, but I'm willing to break a habit in the case of the draft dementia strategy published last week . It seemed to exemplify what policymaking should Read More......(read more)

Inflation: does it depend on your class?

2008-06-24T11:20:26Z

By Keith Sellick Yesterday the Daily Telegraph led with "Double blow for middle class families" pointing to rising household bills and the Chancellor's call for pay restraint. It said that inflation for the middle classes was running at Read More......(read more)

Council bans words

2008-06-23T16:31:58Z

by Anabel Unity Sale Councils always get a bad rap in the papers. If it's not one thing it's another. This time Tunbridge Wells Council is in the frame for attempting to make sure it uses inclusive language by banning the word 'brainstorming' Read More......(read more)

Baby love

2008-06-19T18:19:06Z

by Anabel Unity Sale My heart sank when I read that the number of girls aged under 16 having abortions in England and Wales increased by 10% last year. Not because I disagree with abortion, I don't. I am very much pro-choice and believe abortion should Read More......(read more)

Bitter pill

2008-06-17T16:55:37Z

By Derren Hayes The news that scientists in the US have developed a pill that can soothe childhood aches and pains was greeted with predictable scepticism by doctors this side of the pond. Read More......(read more)

Child obesity is not child abuse!

2008-06-16T13:16:08Z

by Adam McCulloch Fellow Community Care blogger Simon Stevens wonders - not entirely seriously - if we'll see the day when you could be arrested for eating a Big Mac or ordering fish and chips . I laughed out loud on reading this but then I noticed Read More......(read more)

Personalisation: what's it all about?

2008-06-13T16:59:34Z

By Daniel Lombard Social care is "no longer the Cinderella of public services", Ivan Lewis proudly declared in a House of Commons committee room this week. Read More......(read more)

Public sector pay

2008-06-13T14:25:25Z

By Keith Sellick Unison meets next week for its annual conference as its local government membership ballots for strike action over pay. The councils have offered 2.45%, which has been rejected by the union's national leadership as being in effect Read More......(read more)

Post office closures

2008-06-11T15:36:05Z

By Keith Sellick I was in Somerset at the weekend, enjoying the sun and scenery. I visited the local library and perused the local newspapers. Apart from stories about failing street lamps, Britain in bloom, and car scratching, the main issue was post Read More......(read more)

Fuelling the child poverty debate

2008-06-11T11:39:11Z

Whether it is tanker drivers going on a national strike, motorcyclists holding a mass rally on the M6 or lorry drivers blocking the roads of central London, those who rely on petrol for their livelihoods certainly know how to get the message across that Read More......(read more)

Child poverty up. And pensioner poverty too

2008-06-10T10:21:50Z

by Mithran Samuel So child poverty has risen again. And pensioner poverty as well . To put it in context, the figures on household incomes published today relate to 2006-7 since when the government has announced tax and benefit changes in successive Budgets Read More......(read more)

Educating the Big Brother way

2008-06-06T17:21:37Z

by Anabel Unity Sale Yes, it's that time of year again: Big Brother's back on Channel 4. Before you groan at the thought of every television screen, newspaper - and don't think it's just the red tops that go gaga for the latest bunch of Read More......(read more)

Excellence Network social care awards 2008

2008-06-04T15:02:58Z

by Simeon Brody TV newsreader Dermot Murnaghan was the host for the inaugural Excellence Network 2008 awards. Read More......(read more)

Forget me not

2008-05-29T15:51:10Z

by Anabel Unity Sale We all have days when we forget things we have said and done - or at least we want to. There was the time when I walked into a meeting at a local authority - which shall remain nameless to protect the innocent - in order to interview Read More......(read more)

Community Care Live 2008 - Question Time: the video

2008-05-29T11:30:51Z

by Simeon Brody Community Care Live 2008, was one of the biggest and best conferences Community Care has ever organised. And as ever, one of the highlights of the event was the Question Time session chaired by BBC journalist Jeremy Vine. Read More......(read more)

Jumping the gun on child's death

2008-05-22T08:27:35Z

How many vulnerable children will die before these lessons are finally learnt? Thus speaks a Daily Mail comment piece today in relation to the tragic case of Khyra Ishaq, a seven-year-old girl who died in hospital over the weekend in Birmingham. This Read More......(read more)

Cameron gets Tories back to basics

2008-05-21T11:04:40Z

by Mike McNabb Just when we thought that David Cameron had broken with tradition he does us all a favour and reverts to Tory type. Read More......(read more)

Anti-Gypsy violence in Italy is warning for UK

2008-05-20T11:42:52Z

by Mike McNabb If Nero fiddled while Rome burned, one wonders what form of inaction the old emperor would have taken in Naples in the past week. Read More......(read more)

Social care conference catering: curried parsnip v jammie dodgers

2008-05-19T15:11:05Z

by Daniel Lombard Ask any reporters who've covered conferences, particularly the ones involving overnight stays, and they'll tell you that most of the time, they can't wait to get away. Last month came one glorious exception: the Association Read More......(read more)

Iceland, single mums, happy families

2008-05-19T11:29:20Z

by Adam McCulloch High divorce rate, high birth rate, a large proportion of single mothers... I must be writing about a place beset with crime, poverty, delinquency and misery. But no, this is a description of Iceland, apparently the happiest place on Read More......(read more)

CC Live: Risk Factor - violence against social workers

2008-05-15T14:31:49Z

By Mike McNabb Violence against social care staff has been in the news again so if I were a tad worried about my chances of surviving a home visit intact, Ray Braithwaite would be a useful mentor to have. Read More......(read more)