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Funds gained from hospital closures have not necessarily been spent on community care, according to the director of mental health charity MIND, Judi Clements. Clements answers a variety of questions on the subject of community care, together with John Bowis, health minister in charge, in order to investigate the differences between the views of both parties.

The provisions of the English Criminal Justice Act 1991 are outlined and discussed in six linked articles focusing on: the general aims of the Act; new options for abused children to submit video evidence; the replacement of juvenile courts by youth courts whose jurisdiction extends to 17-year-olds, whose sentencing policy now gives greater emphasis to community sentences and which can make parents liable for means-tested fines; joint responsibility for 16- and 17-year-olds to be shared between probation and social services; the future of secure accommodation; and options for community sentences.

The UK government is coming under pressure to incorporate the principles of the Children Act 1989 into the provisions for children with special needs in the Education Bill at present before the Commons. Charities and interest groups want to ensure that the legislation makes provision for taking disabled children's wishes into account and for close liaison between social services departments and education authorities in assessing and statementing children with special needs.

Social workers Wendy Dunnett, Charlie Beaumont and Fiona Swift would all like an incoming government to restore social security benefits to 16- and 17-year-olds. Beaumont wants guaranteed quality training for young people while youth justice social worker Chris Evans believes that there should be education and training for all ages. Social worker Jerry Crehan wants an increase in public spending to raise standards, while Beaumont calls for more resources for schools. Dunnett believes that long-term care should be the responsibility of the National Health Service.

The UK government has been attacking social workers in a number of different ways in the run-up to the forthcoming general election, appearing to believe that this will be a way of gaining votes. Social workers feel that they are an easy target for politicians, and also resent the way in which any mistake by a social worker is highlighted by the media. However, they feel that ordinary people do not necessarily share these negative views of social workers. Indeed, they believe that the general public is aware of the many challenges they face.

UK social workers employed in many different environments have failed to gain a clear message from the Labour party and remain very concerned about the future of social care provision. There seem to be few significant differences between the Conservative and Labour parties on social policy, and social workers feel that social services are not an issue of national concern. Many believe that central government will continue to neglect social services, whether the Conservative or the Labour party wins the forthcoming general election.

Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell's White Paper on social services will mean new potential for privatisation. Kent social services is to privatise its home care provision making savings of 8 million pounds sterling a year in the process, and has already contracted out two thirds of its domiciliary care. Figures from consultants Laing and Buisson show a strong potential independent sector market for residential, nursing and domiciliary care, and independent provision can often be more efficient.

The term think tank is often linked with Margaret Thatcher, although it was first used in 1971 to describe then Prime Minister Edward Heath's new group of policy advisers. The Centre for Policy Studies was one of the first think tanks set up, in 1974. The 1990s has seen a resurgence of think tanks, some who reject free market ideas and whose development has operated in parallel with New Labour. Four think tanks are highlighted including the Adam Smith Institute, Politeia, the Institute for Public Policy Research and Demos.

In the UK, a court judgement on a recent case of child abuse may force more social service departments to involve themselves in costly family assessments, even if they are not needed. The case, in which a social services department refused to allow an abused child to return to its parents, was referred to the House of Lords, which ordered the authority to allow the parents to be given the chance of rehabilitation in a family assessment centre. The judgement effectively shifts the balance of power from social workers to judges.

The Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW) is twenty-five years old this year, 1996. The question of whether the CCETSW is a white elephant is debated as some see it as remote and unnecessary. Dick Clough, General Secretary of the Social Care Association claims the Council has been slow to change and is seen as remote. He wants a training council for social care workers which he feels would regulate the profession.

Former senior residential social worker Alison Taylor expects to give evidence shortly in a public inquiry into abuse in children's homes in north Wales, some ten years after her first accusations were made. Taylor suffered ill-health as a result of the stress and was unable to continue in her career. Susan Machin also suffered following accusations against Ashworth special hospital, she is now chairperson of Freedom to Care, a group which campaigns for whistleblowers.

The Labour party shadow home secretary, Jack Straw, has announced stronger and more rigid methods to deal with young offenders in Britain than his opponent Michael Howard. Straw's hard approach towards juveniles is a startling change to Labour's traditional and careful treatment of criminals. His policies are outlined in his latest document entitled Tackling Youth Crime: Reforming Youth Justice. The paper concentrates on preventative methods to reduce crime.

The Government is due to publish a consultation paper on proposals for a general social services council (GSSC) in summer 1996, but it remains to be seen whether this represents a true change of heart on the part of ministers. The idea of a GSSC has been the subject of numerous feasibility studies over the past 15 years. However a series of scandals involving abuses in residential care homes has strengthened arguments for the regulation of social work. National Institute for Social Work director Daphne Statham believes that the prospects for a GSSC have improved.

Th U.K. government's policy on adoption seems to be undergoing a substantial change, with the suggestion by junior health minister John Bowis that single expectant mothers give up their babies for adoption rather than have an abortion. The comments were welcomed by leading right-wing Conservative members of parliament, many of whom believe that single parent families are to blame for society's problems. However, some child welfare groups say that the remarks may be a sign that that the government's future policy on adoption is set to become more radical.

There is a growing volume of evidence that employees in some private residential care homes are being treated very badly. In some cases, they have not been paid for many weeks, while in others they have been forced to undertake tasks for which they are not trained, such as administering medication. They are generally paid around 3-3.50 pounds sterling an hour, which is considerably lower than the minimum wage figure set by the TUC.

Social workers are concerned about the rising number of young people entering the criminal justice system following a Mar. 1994 Home Office directive placing pressure on the police to reduce their use of repeat cautions. Home Office figures show a 34% fall in the number of crimes known to have been committed by youngsters aged from 10 to 17 between 1984 and 1994, yet Dept. of Health figures show that the number of criminal supervision orders in the courts rose by 36% in the year to Mar. 31, 1995. Criminal supervision orders are the form of 'community sentence' most widely used by magistrates.

Many social work educators and academics are questioning whether the Diploma in Social Work (DipSW) can meet the future needs of the social work jobs market just five years after its establishment as the only professional qualification for social workers. Some university social work departments are shifting towards new 'social welfare' courses which offer skills such as counselling, advocacy, financial planning and management which academics say are either absent from or not sufficiently well covered by the DipSW. Social work training council the CCETSW nevertheless remains committed to the DipSW.

The Audit Commission has raised questions about Childcare Enterprises, a private company split off from North Tyneside social services department, specialsing in nursery care. The company has recently won its first contract taking over social services nursery provision in the London Borough of Brent, a Tory-run council. Jackie Doughty is head of children's services for North Tyneside Council, and also chief executive of Childcare Enterprises, and claims that here chief executive post is an unpaid advisory position. The Audit Commission is seeking legal advice although it has not suggested any impropriety

Middlesex Lodge secure unit for young women is to be closed in June 1995. The unit, which is run by Hillingdon Council, is one of only five single-sex secure units for women in England. Hillingdon social services department's application for financial support for the unit had been turned down by the Department of Health. Although some private operators have demonstrated interest in the unit, the borough of Hillingdon is not keen on private sector involvement.

There is already a lack of educational and social support for special needs children and a further wave of budget cuts will increase the problem. A study by the Association of Metropolitan Authorities found that schools are less tolerant towards special needs children. There are concerns that head teachers may exclude disruptive pupils including those with behavioural difficulties because of the increased competition between schools.

A private member's bill calling for the assessment of informal carers will be aired in the House of Commons in early March 1995. Malcolm Wicks, Labour MP, is promoting the Carers Recognition and Services Bill. Informal carers total an estimated 6.8 million in Britain. Assessments would cost local authorities several million pounds sterling.

The High Court has ruled that social services must consult both users and carers concerning their needs particularly when respite care is involved. The ruling was made after a three-year battle between North Yorkshire County Council and Bill Hargreaves care of Beryl Hargreaves his severely disabled sister. Beryl had received respite care in a Winged Fellowship Charity home in Southport, England for a number of years but North Yorkshire refused to finance any more visits and made arrangements to send Beryl to a respite care home in Selby.

Adoptions are increasingly breaking down due to the lack of support services available to adoptive parents. The Dept of Health has failed to focus on long-term support despite referring to adoption as irrevocable in its White Paper. Older children accounted for 88% of the 7,000 children adopted during 1977-1991, while older children are more likely to suffer long-term problems. Adoption agencies criticise the lack of support for parents adopting severely damaged children. Lack of respite care or therapy is thought by some to lead to disruption.

The voluntary sector has been greatly affected by the introduction of contracting within local authority service provision. Many voluntary organisations are seeking contracts from the social services departments to safeguard their future, as few local authorities are still providing grants. Small advocacy groups have been worst affected by changes in funding, especially groups representing ethnic minorities.

The London borough of Hillingdon has been beset by problems since the 1980s and a succession of reviews and restructuring of the social services. The borough does not currently have a social service chief and is currently being run by two new assistant directors. The new Labour administration is committed to restoring confidence and stability, and council leader Chris Rogers has long term plans to increase front line staff in social services.

The UK government's 1993 report on the Children Act reveals that 3.2% of children on child protection registers have no social worker allocated to them. An independent study of six local authorities and their child protection services has also found that three of them were unable to allocate a social worker to all children on their registers and that some authorities were not adhering to Department of Health guidelines when carrying out assessments. The authorities named in the study were Essex, Barnsley, Oldham, Surrey, Hereford & Worcester and Wiltshire.

Within days of social services investigating allegations against primary school teacher, Robert Lippiatt, he was suspended from his position. Lippiatt had been employed at the school since 1976 and it was only after social services were informed that complaints against Lipiatt were found to go back as far as ten years. Until the recent events, complaints against Lippiatt were not recorded, investigated or referred to social services. Recommendations made as a result of the case are included.

The British public is becoming increasingly concerned about the risks to personal safety from failing to adequately care for mentally ill people in the community. The vast majority of social services directors surveyed believe government policy should change, particularly in light of the killing of Jonathan Zito by schizophrenic Christopher Clunis. The government has called for social and health services to operate at risk registers, but the services are demanding better resources and funding. The families of mentally ill people are demanding better facilities and 24-hour access to specialist help.

Over 300 child care experts attended the Teenagers At Risk in Britain Today - Towards New Policy Solutions held in London, England in Mar 1994, to discuss how government policy is failing young people. Some 68k people under 18 were unemployed and because of government policy were not allowed to claim income support and there is a strong connection between unemployment, poverty and youth crime. There was a call for improved aftercare of young offenders and more assistance for disadvantaged young people.

The United Kingdom government will reduce protection for the homeless if proposals outlines in a Green Paper become law, and local authorities will no longer be obliged to provide permanent homes for such families. They will disappear from waiting lists, rather than being priority cases, and will be allocated short-term housing in the private sector or with housing associations following an assessment. The government argues that single mothers are preventing others from being rehoused, though charities working with the homeless argue that single mothers have become scapegoats.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, convicted for the murder of James Bulger, at eleven years-of-age are among the youngest criminals to be kept in secure units. The events surrounding their conviction have raised various questions, including their needs as young children. Questions posed include effects of the lack of counselling throughout the trial; whether the secure unit will meet their needs, and whether better social service support for their families could have avoided the tragedy.

Speakers at the forthcoming Conservative party conference are expected to criticise the invalidity benefit system, stating that many people are making false claims. However, the Disability Consortium and Disability Alliance believes that disabled people have become victims of government cost-cutting efforts, with the Treasury hoping to save 1.3 billion pounds sterling in invalidity benefit payments by the year 2000. It is thought that the government is considering introducing a test based solely on medical factors, thus preventing doctors from issuing sick notes related to non-medical problems.

The elder abuse campaign being run by Community Care has revealed that local authorities are failing to give high priority to such cases, although social work directors are aware of the problem. Key problems include lack of training and knowledge, few elder abuse guidelines and lack of resources. The three-month investigation of elder abuse has resulted in more awareness and discussion of the problem. Its aims include better training and guidance for social work staff and a review of current legislation.

Frank Beck, the residential social worker who systematically abused children in his care whilst working in Leicestershire, England, children's homes, might have been brought to justice earlier but for incompetent management. The report of Leicestershire's inquiry into Beck's conduct reveals a succession of allegations and complaints against him which were not properly followed up and identifies ten senior managers whose inaction allowed Beck to survive in responsible positions for 13 years.

The Warner inquiry into residential child care staff management, set up by the UK Department of Health following the conviction in 1991 of residential worker Frank Beck for child abuse, reported in Dec 1992 and its chairman, Norman Warner, emphasised the practical nature of its 83 recommendations for improvements in the recruitment, training, supervision and appraisal of residential child care staff. The inquiry also recommends government action, including extra funds for promoting a positive image of child care work and for training, as well as the development of national standards.

British Health Secretary Virginia Bottomley has reversed a policy decision that 75% of government funding to local authority community care must be spent in the independent sector from Apr 1993. The revised figure is 63%, or 85% of the funds represented by social security transfers. Local authority social services departments had objected to the 75% rule on the grounds that it would have required them to run down their own domiciliary community care services, thus reducing the choice available to users, a key plank of the new community care legislation.

Community care funding in the UK is to be restructured under new legislation to be implemented in Apr 1993. Details are provided of how funding will be calculated and money allocated from social security transfer payments and community care grant to local authorities, and four local authorities explain how the funding formula will affect them.

Allegations by adults with learning difficulties concerning sexual abuse during residential and day care rarely reach court because the judicial system considers them to be unreliable witnesses. Julie and Ivan Boniface persuaded police and Crown Prosecution Service to take a social worker to court over the sexual assault of their 24 year old daughter in a home for the mentally ill. The worker was convicted and jailed for three and a half years. They were contacted by many other parents who had been unable to get their cases to court and formed VOICE to campaign for changes to the system.

There is an apparent softening of the approaches of both the Labour party and the Tories to youth crime in the run up to the election. The government leaked its latest plans on youth crime which aims to target parents of young children in danger of becoming delinquents through crime diversion groups, comprising social workers, probation officers, police and teachers. Labour is also focusing on parental support, and has floated mentoring for problem children with plans to encourage good parenting programmes. The Liberal Democrats have also proposed parental support schemes.

The UK Labour and Conservative parties have both proposed measures to deal with certain aspects of poverty, unemployment and homelessness. However, many of the long-term unemployed and the poorest families will not really benefit at all from the policies of either party. Social workers are particularly concerned about the new Jobseeker's Allowance, which replaces Unemployment Benefit and Income Support and reduces entitlement from 12 months to six.

Speeches made at the recent 1996 annual conference of the UK Labour party indicate that the party as yet has no satisfactory agenda for social change. Care was taken to avoid dissent about sensitive issues such as pensions and replacing Child Benefit for over-16s. There were no firm commitments in the areas of health and community care, and it seems that the party is unwilling to introduce a timetable for revitalising social services.

The British Labour party's July 1996 document on social security contains little to instill confidence in Labour's ability to improve the state system. The document, which was supposed to contain innovative ways of helping the unemployed, provides no details of clearly needed amendments to taxation. It provides a vague impression of Labour's intentions should they win the next general election. It has been criticised for using political ideas from other political parties, including the British Conservative party.

The UK Home Office has changed the guidelines on electoral registration so that people detained in mental hospitals can have their home defined as their place of residence, enabling them to vote, but it appears that electoral registration officers can still interpret the guidelines against the voting interests of such patients. The changes to the guidelines include other restrictions which would allow officers to claim that patients have no home outside the hospital if they have been in long term care.

The UK Labour party has been unsuccessful in its efforts to force amendments to the Community Care (Direct Payments) Bill. The government has not bowed to pressure to extend eligibility to disabled people aged over 65, but has promised that eligibility could be extended to this age group at a later date. The Labour party believes that a direct payments system should be linked with a 'national framework' for social services charging and assessment procedures.