BBC survey suggests North-South social care divide
A BBC report into how government spending cuts are affecting local authorities across England has revealed a north-south divide in the provision of adult social care in some authorities. The Council Spending: Making it Clear campaign surveyed 268 councils and asked how much they plan to spend on services this year. The results suggested that spending on adult social care is falling in the north but rising in the south although some councils have complained that grant allocation changes have skewed the figures.
Pickles tells councils how to save over £2bn
Communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles has told councils they could save £2.1bn per year by tackling fraud in housing, procurement, pay, pensions, council tax and grants. Pickles has announced a 10 point blueprint to help councils make savings without cutting services. The blueprint which has been created by the National Fraud Authority, suggests using credit rating agencies to cut down on fraud in benefit and tax cases, as well as increasing background checks on staff to avoid corruption.
Minister to overhaul public sector employment law
Employment minister Edward Davey has announced government plans to review key employment rules within the public sector to remove red tape. The rules being reviewed include collective redundancy consultation periods, transfer of undertakings protection of employment regulations (TUPE), and levels of compensation awarded in employment tribunals. Ministers believe the rules are bureaucratic and expensive.
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