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Personalisation 'wrongly used to devalue social workers'

Adult social work is being 'devalued' by cuts and mistaken ideas about personalisation, The College of Social Work warned today as it launched a campaign to champion adults' professionals.

Improving access to social care for adults with autism

New support from the Social Care Institute for Excellence

Burstow: Social work to be at heart of care White Paper

Social work will be at the heart of the government's forthcoming adult care White Paper, with the profession's role expected to switch from rationing care to community development, Paul Burstow has said.

Social workers need better Mental Capacity Act training

Social workers need more effective training and guidance in applying the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to take decisions on behalf of service users and support them to make decisions for themselves.

Social care funding gap has widened by £500m, says Age UK

The gap between social care funding and need has grown by £500m for older people in England in 2011-12, compounding a situation in which 800,000 pensioners were already going without services. (Image: Rex Features).

How one council boosted social work's quality and status

Social work performance management has become associated with bureaucracy, a negligible impact on quality and poor morale. However, one council says that it has designed and implemented a system that has delivered precisely the opposite.

Social workers urged to support distressed cancer carers

Social care professionals have been urged to increase assessment levels for carers of cancer patients after a survey found half were receiving no support and a similar proportion were experiencing mental distress.

Council staff reluctant to signpost clients to equity release

Council staff have proved reluctant to signpost older clients to equity release schemes to fund low-level support at home, research has found. (Image: Rex Features)

NHS must spend more on adult social care, say MPs

The NHS should spend more on adult social care to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of support for people with long-term conditions, MPs said today.

'The deprivation of liberty safeguards are not dead'

A recent Court of Appeal judgement was described as the death of the deprivation of liberty safeguards. However, best interests assessor Lorraine Currie disagrees, and says Lord Justice Munby's ruling provides useful tools for practitioners.