Staff at a care home exposed by an undercover television investigation used restraint techniques to inflict pain, humiliate vulnerable patients and bully them into compliance, a court heard yesterday.

Wiltshire Council has been told it must improve its care for children at risk of harm or face having the government step in to take over.

A research project in Essex on the impact of personal budgets found they almost always contributed to a positive experience, by Sanah Sheikh

Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude has hailed Surrey County Council for being social work pioneers. He praised the authority for setting up an independent organisation to give deaf people and the hard of hearing more personalised care.

More than 80 per cent of social care workers are in favour of a new ‘power of entry’ so they can protect adults who they believe are at risk of abuse or neglect by family members or carers.

The Government has promised to provide more nursery places for disadvantaged two-year-olds. But is it willing to pay for thousands of extra trained carers?

More than 80 per cent of social care workers are in favour of a new ‘power of entry’ so they can protect adults who they believe are at risk of abuse or neglect by family members or carers.

The Government has promised to provide more nursery places for disadvantaged two-year-olds. But is it willing to pay for thousands of extra trained carers?