Two more council residential homes for the elderly were today earmarked for the axe to complete a hit-list of six closures.

More than 5,000 extra foster carers need to be recruited in the UK this year to stop children being shunted from home to home and split from their siblings, a charity warned today.

The minister for care services has announced new funding for research into adults with autism. Ivan Lewis announced the £500,000 research will inform the first ever government strategy on the disease among adults and their specific needs.

A judge has criticised social workers for not helping a young mother who killed her two-year-old daughter.

Tens of thousands of vulnerable old people are suffering appalling abuse in homes for the elderly, experts are warning.

A Charity which helps childhood victims of sexual abuse is to restart operating in Nottingham thanks to a £10,000 anonymous donation.

A looming £6bn black hole in the funding of social care for older people in England was acknowledged last night by Alan Johnson, the health secretary.

He said the cost of maintaining the current, often inadequate level of personal care services was set to double to more than £24bn in 2026 as a result of rapid growth in the number of frail older people. Without new sources of funding, the government expects “a £6bn funding gap for social care” to emerge within 20 years.

Johnson will today launch a six-month public consultation on how individuals, families and taxpayers might be expected to share the costs of providing a satisfactory service.

The problem is understood to be regarded in Whitehall as possibly the most serious challenge to public services over the next 20 years, during which the number of people over 85 is likely to double and the cost of disability benefits is expected to increase by 50%.

Ministers are warning that England’s social care system is heading towards a £6bn funding gap unless there is radical reform, the BBC has learned.

Health experts predict the ageing population means state funding for the care of the elderly and disabled will face a huge shortfall within 20 years.

The warnings come as ministers are about to begin a major consultation on how social care is funded. Currently, most people in England have to pay for home help themselves.

State support is means-tested and most people have to pay for any home help, including washing, dressing, cooking, themselves.

Health ministers say they are aware of a widespread feeling that this system is unfair. Also, rapidly growing demand means social care is already being heavily rationed and ministers predict that is set to worsen.

The number of people with dementia in the UK could soar to over 20 million in less than 20 years, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.

A PSYCHIATRIC patient escaped from her carers during a visit to a dentist in Bury. Police are now urging members of the public not to approach Carrie McCarten who, without her medication, could become violent.