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.

BASW has warned that the College of Social Work could become dominated by trade union interests if it links up with Unison to offer joint membership to social workers.

RIOT police armed with tasers raided a secure Midland hospital after patients went on the rampage. Mental health inmates at the Brooklands Hospital site in Marston Green, Solihull, smashed windows, doors and furniture as terrified nurses locked themselves in the office out of danger.

Massive growth in the number of Cambridgeshire children in care has opened a £3.5 million budget black hole.