A social worker who withdrew £300 from the bank account of a cancer patient hours after he died has been cleared of stealing the money.

The social care green paper to be published next week needs to set out real and workable alternatives to the current long-term care funding system, according to community care law expert Cate Searle.

The council at the heart of the Baby P scandal is still failing to protect vulnerable children, a new official report has found, leading to fears that the tragedy could be repeated.
 

An expert has suggested that councils may be capping their care places for cost reasons. Janaki Mahadevan investigates. Residential care homes accommodate some of the most vulnerable young people in the country.

Ofsted has called on the government to improve mental health services and the benefits system to better support care leavers.

The possibility that children at risk of serious harm visiting Kingston Hospital are not being notified to social services properly should be investigated by Kingston Council, a report has said.

EXTRA staff is to be employed by a council to deal with the extra workload following a review into the death of Baby Peter in London. Northumberland County Council is to recruit an additional three social workers and another solicitor to the social services department.