Social care minister asks regulator to investigate after BBC programme revealed systematic abuse at Winterbourne View unit in Bristol

Experts warn that care home provider could soon collapse into administration

The government has pledged to ensure “effective protection” is in place for residents of UK’s biggest care home provider, Southern Cross.

Directors of children’s services have called for the government to clarify the future of their role, in light of the Baby P Appeal Court case and many councils’ plans to merge the post with others.

Britain’s care homes face a deepening crisis as some private-sector companies that piled into the sector struggle with their financial miscalculations amid fresh evidence that they provide worse quality care than their non-profit rivals.

I know we’re all supposed to hate boring old judges who want to stop us posting our witty, scabrous or downright furious observations on Twitter. It’s freedom of expression, innit? But it’s also just conceivable that the judiciary, on occasion, takes a longer and more measured view of controversial cases than the self-appointed tribunes of the people.

Former Children’s Secretary Ed Balls should pay compensation to ex-Haringey Children’s boss Sharon Shoesmith following the death of Baby P, according to the Appeal Court judges.

Government and social services departments are accused of failing to protect victims

Hundreds of thousands of older people in England who need social care are not getting any support from the state or private sector, campaigners say.

Age UK predicts more than 1m will be without support by 2014