The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has revealed its priorities for Gordon Brown’s first 100 days in office. There has been a great deal of speculation about what the Chancellor is planning, if he replaces Tony Blair as Prime Minister in the coming months.

Social care and the vital need for partnership to deliver the goals of the Department of Health’s White Paper, “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say” will be the focus at the annual Skills for Care national two day conference in Nottingham next week.

The number of deaths linked to a hospital bug called Clostridium difficile has outstripped those due to MRSA, latest figures show. Between 2001 and 2005 MRSA was mentioned on one in every 500 death certificates in England and Wales. For C. difficile it was one in every 250.

The future of Britain’s biggest charities is being put at risk by their growing dependence on poorly-funded contracts to deliver public services, the chair of the Charity Commission will warn today.

{mosimage}Dame Suzi Leather’s stark assessment comes after a survey revealed that fewer than one in eight charities running services was confident it was being paid enough to cover its costs.

An “all-party love-in” between the voluntary sector and politicians who see the sector as offering a more effective and user-friendly way of delivering public services is also threatening charities’ independence, she will say.

In the survey carried out by the commission only 26% of charities providing services said they felt free to make decisions without pressure to conform to the wishes of their funders.

The findings and Dame Suzi’s comments will ignite a long-smouldering debate about the proper role of charities in the 21st century and the right balance between service delivery and campaigning.

Almost two-thirds of nurses would take industrial action if they received an unsatisfactory pay deal this year, according to a poll. Almost a third (29%) would consider quitting the NHS, with 16% leaving for the independent sector and 13% leaving altogether.

Nine criminals held in jail for extra time during last year’s foreign prisoners crisis have been handed pay-outs totalling £55,000 by the Home Office.

The government is to unveil its New Deal for Carers which will see £33m used for measures to help people who care for elderly or disabled relatives. Most of the money – £25m – will go to local authorities to fund emergency respite care for people who need a break from the demands of their role.

Responding to today’s launch of the Government’s New Deal for Carers, Age Concern’s Director General, Gordon Lishman, said: “The New Deal for Carers is very welcome. Thousands of older carers across the country struggle daily to juggle work and care, yet receive little recognition or support.

A raft of proposals which together add up to the loss of professionally-led medical regulation have the potential to muzzle doctors in their role of speaking out for their patients, warns the British Medical Association (BMA).

Unaccompanied teenagers claiming asylum could be forced to have dental x-rays to prove their age, immigration minister Liam Byrne has told MPs. Children’s charities have criticised the practice which was banned in 1982.