A care leaver who is co-director of an organisation that helps young people involved in gangs told delegates that social workers are viewed in the same light as the police in some areas.

The coalition government today outlined more than £6bn of immediate spending cuts, most of which will be used to reduce Britain’s £156bn fiscal deficit, which is now the highest in the EU.

Ministers today pledged to urgently overhaul Britain’s “unsustainable” social care system and tackle a growing problem which the Labour government did little to address during its time in office.

Momentum for reforming the adult social care system is waning after the issue was not mentioned in last week’s coalition agreement, campaigners have said.

Birmingham’s director of children’s social care Colin Tucker, has laid out the extent of the challenges facing his team at the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) annual conference.

PLYMOUTH has been praised as one of the best cities in the country for looking after vulnerable children. With social services nationwide under increasing pressure in the wake of a number of high-profile child abuse cases, Government watchdogs have rated the city as “good” or “excellent” in all areas assessed.

Dementia patients could suffer when three day care centres in Cambridgeshire are closed, councillors have said.

Six Peterborough City Council workers had their contracts terminated after a blunder which potentially put the safety of hundreds of children at risk.

Social workers responsible for looking after a severely disabled girl found hanged in her bedroom after weeks of neglect were poorly trained and overworked, a report found today.

News that the Youth Justice Board (YJB) will become the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has provoked concern within the sector.