Social services departments have seen a rise in the numbers of vulnerable adults referred to them because they are at risk of physical and sexual abuse, as well as financial fraud, a study has found.

The children’s secretary Ed Balls today brushed off being labelled “a bully” by a senior backbencher to drive through a controversial appointee to the role of children’s commissioner.

Skills Minister Kevin Brennan welcomed the launch of the National Skills Academy for Social Care, saying the scheme will “transform” the sector.

The former head of Haringey children’s services Sharon Shoesmith was sacked because she was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, her lawyers said today.

CUMBRIA County Council is backing the Evening Mail campaign to save Barrow’s NSPCC centre from closure. The council is calling for an urgent meeting with NSPCC representatives in a bid to keep it open.

A SOCIAL worker gave cash to a vulnerable mother because God wanted her to visit a Nigerian prophet. Paul Collett, 45, from Southampton, has admitted writing to the woman, after her five children were taken into care, telling her she “needed a miracle, probably several”.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is inviting people to join a panel of experts to discuss the future of adult social care in England. Two seminars – What do community and family mean in the 21st century? and The future and funding of adult social care in England – will discuss key points from seven reports recently commissioned by JRF and will offer an opportunity for delegates to help influence and shape the debate on the government’s recent Green Paper, Shaping the future of Care Together.