Up to 200 learning disability units will be inspected after the health watchdog found examples of “institutional abuse” in one NHS trust.

Not enough is being done by the Government to help disabled people get jobs and keep them, an influential group of MPs has said. More than a million people on incapacity benefit say they want to work, but only 160,000 take advantage of state-funded support schemes.

Conditions in holding centres for immigration offenders awaiting deportation still need to be improved, the jails watchdog has said. Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers published reports on four immigration short-term holding facilities at Colnbrook near Heathrow Airport, Sandford House in Solihull, and Liverpool’s Reliance House and John Lennon Airport.

Tony Blair tried yesterday to allay fears that the Government is planning to create a Big Brother-style “super-database” after criticism from civil liberties groups. The Prime Minister told a seminar at Downing Street that “perfectly sensible” plans to share information held by government departments had been misrepresented.

A damning report has highlighted the plight of families faced with caring for loved ones in Harrow, while the council makes swingeing cuts to social care services. Since last May, the new Conservative administration has racked up home care charges by raising the weekly cap to £250 per week and charging residents a maximum of £15 an hour for care.

The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities (FPLD) has called for more help in developing a “good local support” network to help children and adults with learning difficulties. Its co-director, Barbara McIntosh, also called for more research to be carried out into ways to promote social inclusion

The Government is exacerbating GP shortages and damaging patient care through “indefensible” cuts to valuable programmes aimed at guiding experienced GPs back to work, the British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have said.

In addition to medicinal support, mental health charities like Rethink and the Mental Health Association are campaigning for more emotional support and practical advice to be provided for young carers. Jo Loughran, head of media and campaigns at Rethink, said:

{mosimage}The government is to issue new guidance for social care commissioners to help make telecare more mainstream, it was revealed today.

The parliamentary under secretary for care services, Ivan Lewis, announced that new guidance on telecare was to be issued to commissioners within the next two months.

Lewis told E-Health Insider Primary Care that the guidance would help commissioners work together to consider future developments in social care. Lewis said: “We have a moral obligation to look at the quality of care available for older people, and that isn’t just the state’s responsibility.

“There has to be more advice and protection made available to anyone who wants independent life, and we need to be able to clearly define what social care is. That is why we are releasing new social care guidance.”

He added: “Assistive technology and telecare have a great role to play, and government grants such as the Preventative Technology Grant have triggered innovation and change, but more needs to be done for everyone to recognise these advances as mainstream.”

A Penrith man who runs a support group for carers across Britain is trying to attain charitable status for his organisation. Clive Arnold, 48, set up UK Carers in mid-2005 and has so far received almost a million hits on the group’s website.