It is a time of great change in the adult social care sector, with plans to introduce a new Care Quality Commission assurance framework and integration with health services under way. This moment of change is an opportunity to rethink the approach to improvement in adult social care and the support that is offered.
21
Sep
Sep
The Health and Care Act 2022 and concurrent reforms to the public health system have introduced a range of changes and some simplifications to the landscape of national bodies in the health and care system.
21
Sep
Sep
While the job market continues to look buoyant, some believe that raised interest rates and borrowing costs have led to a 60 per cent increase in planned redundancies in the last quarter.
Redundancies and dismissals in general have been a hot topic in the media recently following the mass sacking of P&O Ferries staff, which highlighted the serious issues that can ensue when an employer gets the process wrong, purposely or otherwise.
While every redundancy process and the circumstances will be unique to each business, there are a few general principles and rules that employers should follow to help them avoid employment tribunal claims when making redundancies.
20
Sep
Sep
This paper explains policy developments in relation to setting social housing rent levels in England since 2002. For five years from April 2020 rent increases are based on the Consumer Price Index +1%.
19
Sep
Sep
The Department will highlight poor practice by landlords including on its social media platforms. This will include published findings by the Housing Ombudsman of severe maladministration, and judgements of the Regulator of Social Housing that consumer standards have been breached.
19
Sep
Sep
In this paper CSJ propose a new package of cost of living support, combining effective ‘tax cuts’ for the poorest working households with a highly targeted welfare boost for households on Universal Credit (UC), legacy benefits and pension credit.
16
Sep
Sep
Changes to the Ombudsman’s service are set to take effect from 1 October 2022, making it easier for residents to access the service if they remain unhappy with their landlord’s final response on their complaint. The ‘democratic filter’ is being removed after a change in the law so residents will no longer have to refer their complaint to a designated person or wait eight weeks before the Ombudsman can consider their complaint.
15
Sep
Sep
This white paper sets out our plans to fundamentally reform the private rented sector and level up housing quality in this country.
14
Sep
Sep
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has issued guidance to councils on the often-complex issue of Deprivation of Capital decisions.
Based on lessons from the complaints it receives, the guidance is aimed at financial assessment practitioners in local authorities. It sets out the Ombudsman’s approach to investigating complaints from people whose local authority has decided they have intentionally deprived themselves of capital when assessing how much they should contribute to their care fees.
13
Sep
Sep
This report examines how material living standards – most commonly measured by households’ incomes – have changed for different groups in the UK, and the consequences that these changes have for income inequality and for measures of deprivation and poverty.