Calderdale Council has successfully filled 23 social worker vacancies as it attempts to turn around the performance of its under-fire children’s services department.

WIRRAL Council’s Director of Social services has apologised after the publication of a highly critical report. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Wirral Council’s performance on safeguarding adults and increasing choice for adults with learning disabilities was “poor”.

ORGANISATIONS which help children and young people in York are facing grant cuts of up to 50 per cent as the Government’s spending cuts begin to bite.

The agency was created to place greater value on the people who work with the vulnerable. It should not be lost because of a wobbly beginning, says Nick Johnson

The government has binned plans to offer the Tribal Group a contract to deliver a support and improvement programme for children’s homes.

Research from a national charity published on Monday showed that eight out of 10 people did not feel they were informed about care options for older people.

The Fostering Network is calling for clarity on the requirements of carers amid plans to revise guidance on the training, support and development standards for foster care.

Social care, which proved so divisive when Labour sought cross-party consensus in the face of ‘death tax’ hysteria, is back on the table. Andy Burnham teases out the divisions between the cohabiting Lib Dems and Tories on this crucial issue.

A coalition of charities claims that a controversial health test being pushed by ministers to decide who will get long-term sickness benefits is not working. There is mounting evidence, say the charities, that people with serious illnesses are being judged fit for work when they are not.

A retired academic from Suffolk who specialised in child care has admitted a string of child pornography charges.