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{mosimage}The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) have published the second round of annual performance assessments (APA) for 102 local authorities. The situation has improved since last year, with 10 authorities judged excellent and 76 judged good for their contribution to improving services for children and young people overall, and within that group, 15 authorities judged excellent and 60 judged good for the quality of social care they offer. Fourteen authorities are making an adequate contribution to improving services for children and young people, with two making an inadequate contribution for services overall. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools, Christine Gilbert, said: “In spite of the many strengths emerging across a number of authorities, it is the provision for some of our most vulnerable children and young people that remains of grave concern.

Services for Norfolk’s 170,000 children and young people are on the up, according to a glowing report by government inspectors. Children’s services and social care for young people were both given the three-point rating “good” – up from the “adequate” two-point assessment last year. The potential to improve is also “good”, as it was in 2005. The performance assessments by the school inspectorate Ofsted and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) are graded from one to four – inadequate, adequate, good and excellent/outstanding.

The long waiting list for home helps in Calderdale has been blamed on a cash shortage. Councillors were told an extra £550,000 would be needed immediately to give the most needy people the help they require. Calderdale Council Health and Social Care Scrutiny Panel was told the entire budget was at risk of overspending to the tune of £2 million and that home care was just a small part of it.

An ultimatum handed to care home staff across Essex has been branded ‘monstrous’ and is fuelling fresh fears for the future of Stanley Wilson Lodge in Saffron Walden. According to the GMB union, employees of five Excelcare facilities for the elderly in the county were told they must accept a cut in wages and working conditions, or lose their jobs. Meetings with affected employees have been followed by letters outlining the new ‘take it or leave it’ contract.

Disability charity MOVE Europe has unveiled its new Charter at the House of Lords, urging government to recognise the huge health and social benefits its unique mobility programme can deliver. The MOVE Programme has been shown to reduce the financial pressures on social care agencies and health services.  Yet despite being available in this country for almost ten years now, only 1.5 per cent of the UK’s 110,000 severely disabled children are able to access the scheme. Only two English local authorities are currently making MOVE available to all those that could benefit, and nine in Scotland.