Children’s services leaders have been left to agonise over where the axe should fall after the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed councils must decide how to distribute the £311m cuts to the overall area-based grant, leaving school support and Connexions services at risk.

Local authorities could see an increase of more than a third in the number of children going into the care system in 2011-2012 based on predictions from recent increases in child protection referrals, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.

Three old people’s homes are likely to shut and others sold off to private companies under a county council shake-up affecting all but one of its remaining residential care homes.

A social worker has been removed from the social care register for frequently accessing pornography at work during his time employed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London.

A decision by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to end ring-fencing of the AIDS Support Grant means an uncertain future for HIV social care services, the National Aids Trust (NAT) said today.

A PRIVATE firm has been brought in to carry out home care to people in areas of Furness. Cumbria County Council has brought in Ulverston-based Lakeland Care to provide home visits for people needing adult social care across Askam, Ireleth and Kirkby.

Nottingham City Council is struggling to cope with child social services cases because of a lack of staff. It has written to schools, the NHS, voluntary groups and others asking them not to refer cases unless absolutely necessary.

A GROUNDBREAKING project in Lancashire to provide people who have dementia with information and advice on support and care options will be launched in early July.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is to launch a probe into disability hate crimes and harassment after figures revealed that a person appears in court every working day charged with abusing the disabled – often violently.

A child protection boss has resigned ahead of a damning report by government inspectors. Michael Kemp – head of child protection at Salford council for the past six years – has quit his post.