Child protection services leaders in England are warning of a “perfect storm”, with expected funding cuts coming as numbers of referrals rise.

A care worker in the Black Country lost his temper with an 85-year-old patient, slapping him around the head twice and pulling his collar so it choked him, magistrates were told.

Seven in ten social workers say they have experienced situations where they have been unable to protect a child because of the constraints of the job they do, according to the findings of a major BASW survey of the profession.

UK employers are being stopped from hiring much-needed staff from outside the EU following the introduction of a temporary immigration cap.

Thirty-four care homes and eight agencies providing care in people’s homes have closed in the past 12 months following regulatory action and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) says the system is about to get tougher.

The oldest people in society will be hit hardest by cuts in public spending – losing almost a sixth of their household income by 2014, according to a leading charity.

The health and social care workforce is being given the chance to have their say on autism training.

A social worker who was given a job with her local council’s child protection unit after she was convicted of plotting to murder her husband will face a misconduct hearing in November.

A radical use for farms and smallholdings in the UK could provide major healthcare, social and education benefits for vulnerable people and give a boost to the rural economy.

The maximum savings that council adult services departments are capable of delivering is 3% a year by 2015, according to a Spending Review submission to the Treasury.