Cadmus Newsletters

Children and Adult Services Parliamentary Monitor Bulletin 249 - 21 Nov 2008

Children :

  • New Child Trust Board legislation promised

    • New legislation "to ensure that multi-agency Children’s Trust Boards are operating in every local authority area" will be introduced, Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls announced on 18 Nov.

  • Scope of new Laming report

    • The scope of the report that Lord Laming will compile on child safeguarding, as a result of the Baby P case, was detailed by Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls on 17 Nov.

  • Reasons for not publishing Haringey serious case review

    • The Government's reasons for not publishing the serious case review which was commissioned into the death of Baby P in Haringey were set out by Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls in a Ministerial statement on 20 Nov.

  • Vetting and barring system costs £330 Million

    • The vetting and barring system set up under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 will cost £330 Million in its first five years, Home Office Under Secretary Meg Hillier said in a parliamentary answer on 20 Nov.

  • Vetting charges

    • The costs of registering with the new Independent Safeguarding Authority were detailed by Home Office Under Secretary Meg Hillier in a parliamentary answer on 20 Nov.

  • Extra runaway children indicator next Spring

    • A new national indicator to be introduced in Spring 2009 will increase local authorities' responsibilities to collect and use data on runaway children, Children, Schools and Families Minister Beverley Hughes confirmed in a parliamentary answer on 20 Nov.

  • Funding for school behaviour improvement

    • Government central funding for action in schools against disruptive behaviour, bullying and truancy was detailed by Children, Schools and Families Under Secretary Sarah McCarthy Fry in a parliamentary answer on 17 Nov.

Crime :

  • New offence of paying for sex

    • Sex buyers will be liable to prosecution even if they do not know that a prostitute who they pay is controlled by a pimp or has been trafficked, under new legislation promised by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on 19 Nov.

  • Suicide and self-harm in custody

    • Suicides and self-harm incidents in prisons and Young Offender Institutions in each of the last ten years were detailed by Justice Under Secretary Shahid Malik in a parliamentary answer on 17 Nov.

  • Costs of sending to YOI

    • The costs of detention in a Young Offender Institution were detailed by Justice Minister David Hanson in a parliamentary answer on 17 Nov.

Disability :

Homelessness :

  • New strategy 'will end rough sleeping'

    • The Government's new homelessness strategy will help to end rough sleeping "once and for all", Communities and Local Government Under Secretary Iain Wright said in a Ministerial statement on 18 Nov.

Mental health :

Official publications :

Older people :

  • Checking on 'suitable persons'

    • Arrangements for protecting people who 'lack capacity' and who appoint a friend or relative to receive benefit payements for them were detailed by Health Under Secretary Phil Hope in a parliamentary answer on 17 Nov.

  • CSCI warning letters and improvement plans

    • The Commission for Social Care Inspection cannot provide information relating to warning letters or improvement plans given to care homes, Health Under Secretary Phil Hope said in a parliamentary answer on 17 Nov.

Social care funding :

  • Fifty-six people work on policy, three and a half on funding

    • The Department of Health employs more than fifty-six people (Whole Time Equivalents) to develop social care policies and 3.5 people (WTE) "on the key issues related to the funding of social care", Health Under Secretary Phil Hope said in a parliamentary answer on 17 Nov.

Voluntary sector :

  • Debate refused on charities' funds frozen in Iceland

    • A request by Basingstoke MP Maria Miller (Con) for a full Commons debate on UK charities' funds now frozen in Icelandic bank accounts was refused by the Commons Speaker on 19 Nov.

  • Charities' £44.6 Billion annual income

    • British charities received a gross total of £44.55 Billion in 2007 according to figures given by Communities and Local Government Under Secretary Kevin Brennan in a parliamentary answer on 17 Nov.

  • Numbers volunteering

    • Estimated totals of formal and informal volunteers in England and Wales in each of the last four years were given by Cabinet Office Under Secretary Kevin Brennan in a parliamentary answer on 18 Nov.