LIVERPOOL was today named and shamed the worst performing council in the country. The city finished bottom of the national list.

Bury has been demoted to a two-star council in national tables published today. Lower marks in the vital area of adult social services have sent the council back down the league.

Campaigners, backed by popular actor Tony Robinson, are calling for all care home staff to receive specialist training in dementia.

A survey carried out by the Alzheimer’s Society found that 97 per cent of people looked for well-trained staff when choosing a care home. However, a quarter of people admitted that they did not really know how to tell what constitutes a good care home.

As this data is released, the charity is launching a new guide to help those looking for a care home for family or friend with dementia, the Press Association reports.

The Putting Care Right guide includes advice on what people should ask care home staff when choosing where their relative or loved one should live.

Downing Street today appeared to back away from proposals floated by the housing minister Caroline Flint for social housing residents to seek work as a condition of their tenancy.

Lord Laming’s report after the death of Victoria Climbié called for a multi-agency approach to children’s care, with adult services split from children’s. Do the key players feel progress has been made?

Carer Elaine McCarthy was given a ten-month suspended jail sentence in October after stealing almost £10,000 from adults with learning difficulties.

A defiant Caroline Flint last night stood by her controversial plan to make new council tenants seek work as a condition of their tenancy, even though the proposal was greeted with widespread condemnation by housing experts.

Popular agony aunt Claire Rayner is to act as the patron for a Harrow charity’s appeal to raise funds to build a new centre for carers who look after older people and those with physical and learning disabilities.

A CARER accused of kicking a 19-year-old with a mental age of two was found not guilty on Monday.

More home care workers must be recruited to look after the elderly, according to a public sector union.