A vulnerable teenage boy told a conduct hearing that he began running away from home after his Bradford social worker swore violently at him down the phone.

Youth services are being overlooked in local area inspections and not subjected to the same scrutiny as schools and social care settings, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has warned.

The political parties must commit to making youth services statutory in order to protect them from the stinging impact of local authority cuts, the leader of the Community and Youth Workers’ Union (CYWU) has urged.

A Bradford children’s social worker found guilty of a catalogue of misconduct charges that included verbally abusing a vulnerable boy has been banned from practising.

Andy Burnham has warned there are limits to localism in social care provision, insisting users regard fairness as more important than devolution.

A move towards personal budgets for social care offers wide scope for savings and improvement. But, warns Jamie Bartlett, of think-tank Demos, it won’t happen overnight and in the meantime care standards must be maintained

GPs face tough scrutiny of their prescribing for elderly people after the Department of Health ordered a safety review of the use of drugs in care homes.

Multi-million pound plans have been lodged to build a 70-bed care home in Carlisle – bringing 50 jobs to the city.

The crisis with social workers continues as a warning of “an epidemic of stress” is issued and the head of children’s services at Birmingham announced that his staff average around five weeks sick leave every year.

Drug users are being given a rare opportunity to comment on the quality of the services they receive, due to the expansion of Patient Opinion, a social enterprise that has pioneered online user involvement in the health service.