Large numbers of prisoners are spending longer in jail than necessary due to the increasingly risk-averse attitude of the public and politicians, according to the chair of the parole board.

BASW chief executive Hilton Dawson has written to education secretary Michael Gove urging him to set out his plans for social work.  In a letter sent this week, Mr Dawson notes that the Department for Education has yet to publish plans on social work reform and has concentrated its focus on its manifesto pledge on schools.

A government-funded holiday scheme has been accused of discriminating against looked-after children by excluding them from paying discounted rates.

CHESHIRE West and Chester Council has appointed Mark Palethorpe as its new director of adult social care.

A MOVE to create four new smaller children’s homes in Nottingham is set to save the city council £100,000 a year – mainly by making staff redundant.

People with HIV aged 50 and over are now set to live into later life, thanks to medical advances, but are substantially more disadvantaged than their peers in the general population.

CHILDREN at the highest risk of sexual and physical abuse continue to be let down by Birmingham City Council’s failing social services, a highly-critical government report has concluded.

The government has not ruled out introducing a compulsory payment scheme for social care, sources say.