Cancer doctors have told the BBC they fear the NHS will not be able to afford the new generation of cancer drugs. Specialists are already arguing that patients may have to pay for more drugs themselves, with the issue becoming pressing as new drugs are developed.

A new method of calculating the number of migrants entering the UK has been challenged by local authority leaders. In a letter to the Treasury seen by the BBC, four leaders say the numbers in their areas have been underestimated, meaning public services will be hit.

The number of Britons prescribed antidepressants is at a record high, despite official warnings that many patients may not need them. More than 31 million prescriptions were written by doctors for antidepressant drugs last year with the use of drugs such as Seroxat and Prozac increasing by 10%.

Mental health services must work more closely with employment and housing agencies and cut waiting lists for talking therapies in England, the mental health tsar says.

Hundreds of thousands of elderly people have had their social care cut in the past decade. Seven in 10 councils in England have been forced to “ration” services since Labour came to power, according to the Local Government Association.

{mosimage}Most town halls now provide services – including meals on wheels, trips to day centres and home visits from social workers – only to pensioners with “substantial” or “critical” needs.

Lack of funding means many councils now help only those who are seriously ill or incapacitated. In some cases, pensioners have had to sell their homes to help pay for private care, or ask their families to pick up the bill.

The revelations follow last week’s admission by Ivan Lewis, the minister responsible for care services, that provision for the elderly is “one of the great challenges facing our society”. He called for “a new settlement that is fair and -sustainable”.

A man who was cleared of rape after a complaint that a judge fell asleep at his trial later raped two other young women, a court heard. Lee Woodward subjected two teenage girls to violent attacks almost identical to that described by the woman he was cleared of raping in 2001.