Outsourcing giant Serco signed a deal today to run a new London jail — despite concerns that public spending cuts could mean less work for support services firms.

Services for older people need to be radically rethought if the needs of an ageing population are to be balanced with budget cuts, campaigners said today.

Professionals must be better trained to spot the signs of children being exploited, it has been claimed.

ENFIELD Council celebrated achieving a top award for its care of the disabled last week. The borough was awarded Beacon status for its work helping disabled adults live independently last year.

A social worker who admitted taking on two full-time jobs simultaneously, but denied she had been dishonest in not telling both employers, has been cleared of misconduct by a General Social Care Council conduct committee.

Social workers in Derby have lost their battle with the city council to keep allowances for the use of private cars, with Unison agreeing to call a halt to industrial action.  

A CARE worker who claimed benefits totalling over £60,000 has been jailed. Joy Rukyemampunzi, of Saint Dunstan’s Close, Hayes, was sentenced to six months imprisonment and ordered to pay £10,000 in compensation to Hillingdon Council after admitting to five counts of benefit fraud.