Staff at residential homes ‘must have jab’
People working in care homes in England will need to have had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine by October unless they have a medical exemption, under new laws to protect residents.
£160 million for low-income families
A further £160 million will be made available to families in England until the end of September, in the final extension of the Government’s COVID Local Support Grant.
Adult social services’ ‘deluge’ of requests
Adult social services are facing a ‘deluge’ of requests for care and support from older people and disabled people of working age as society opens up after COVID-19, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has warned.
Framework for integrated care published
The NHS has set out how it will ask NHS leaders and partner organisations, including councils, to operate in integrated care systems from April 2022.
Children’s services overspend due to demand
Eight in 10 councils in England had to overspend on children’s social care budgets to a combined total of £832 million in 2019/20, LGA analysis shows.
Looking to the future
The vaccination programme is preventing thousands of deaths, as councils support the safe lifting of pandemic-related restrictions.
Social care ‘needs reform’ to support children
Children’s social care is under significant strain with more families being investigated, higher numbers of children in care and spiralling costs as money is increasingly spent on crisis intervention, an independent report has found.
1.1m planned homes ‘still to be built’
New analysis by the LGA has revealed that more than 1.1 million homes granted planning permission in the last decade are yet to be built.
Ofsted review into sexual abuse in schools
Ofsted has launched a review into school safeguarding policies to support victims of sexual abuse and the establishment of a dedicated helpline.
Sexual harassment ‘normalised’ in schools
An Ofsted review has found that sexual harassment, including online sexual abuse, has become ‘normalised’ for children and young people in schools.