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It can be how soft a boiled egg should be, and at whose risk, or how to open a bank account without a passport, utility bill or ability to get to a branch. The issues raised by care home residents seeking the help of an advocacy project run specially for them by Age Concern Leicestershire and Rutland are many and varied. “There is a large and expanding population of older people in care homes who are virtual prisoners, with no contacts in the community, and are considered to be quiet and therefore content,” says the project in its entry in a directory, which claims to be the first attempt to map the availability of advocacy services for older people across England, whether in residential settings or not.

The extent of sexual abuse, including rape, on mental health wards has been unveiled in a shock new report. Following pressure from Mental health charity Mind, the Department of Health has released research conducted by its safety watchdog, the National Patient Safety Agency. It reveals at least 122 reported sexual incidents including 19 rapes, while stating that a  significant number of under-reporting.

Plans for regulating and inspecting childcare for older children could prove too confusing for providers and parents, warn sector leaders. Childcare organisations are currently preparing their responses to a consultation on the new Ofsted Childcare Register, which was published recently. But the plans have already been branded as complicated and unclear. The register will apply to childcare for over fives. Registration will be compulsory for childcare catering for children aged up to eight unless run directly by a school. Childcare run by schools will be inspected as part of school inspections.

Some NHS doctors boost their income by dabbling in private practice, but one psychiatrist has opted for a markedly different approach – selling his medical knowledge on the online auction site eBay. Syed Shah, a community psychiatrist for North East Essex mental health trust, is auctioning an “education” on 36 mental health topics, ranging from schizophrenia and manic depression to post-traumatic stress disorder. At a starting price of £25, eBay customers can bid to email him five questions on their chosen subject.

Specialist teams are being sent into Birmingham primary schools to target inappropriate sexual behaviour, as teachers become increasingly worried about young pupils interacting in a “sexualised” manner with each other. Teachers are concerned that children as young as seven are playing inappropriate school playground games with one another, such as the old-fashioned kiss and chase game. In Birmingham, the city council has been sending experts from its Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour Teams into schools across the city where teachers have raised concerns.

The Government’s Office for Disability Issues (ODI) has published its first Annual Report to the Prime Minister, detailing the progress that is being made towards realising the Government’s ambitious vision for real equality for disabled people by 2025.

The new Post Qualifying framework for social workers comes into force on 1 September 2007. It builds on the new social work degree and takes into account all the changes that have taken place in social work practice in recent years. Service users and carers will be central to social work post qualifying education and training, as they are with the social work degree.

Home Secretary John Reid today announced a wide-ranging reform programme designed to fundamentally change the Home Office. The radical reform plan will transform the Home Office, saving as much as £115m per year by 2010, reducing the size of the Home Office’s headquarters through an unprecedented move of staff from the centre out into communities, and following through with extensive changes and increased accountability at all levels.