• Most child offender suspects aged 10-17 should not face crown court but have their case dealt with in "restorative justice" conferences where victims help decide the outcome, according to a study reported by the BBC.

• The original aims of Big Society are being sidelined in favour of the "contradictory" pursuit of involving communities in public service delivery, according to a study reported by New Start.

• The Social Enterprise Coalition has warned that a "funding black hole" is blocking social enterprises from replicating their work on a franchise basis, reports socialenterpriselive.

On my radar ...

• This howl of pain from blogger and charity worker Publicsectorman, the end of a charity hooked on government funding:

"They [the grant funders] skimmed over £500,000 in the past year off the grant we got from central government to do our charitable work. The term used was 'management fee'. And yet, not a single person will be made redundant from the centre. All the rest of us - gone. The centre is left standing."

• Blogger Dan Martin on Ted Williams, the homeless man with a golden voice, who has become a minor star through Youtube. A great video clip attached.

• Another great blog on the NHS reforms by Paul Corrigan:

"Like so many 'revolutionaries' before him, [health secretary Andrew] Lansley has had to ask the people who were responsible for running the despised old regime to run his shiny new one. And like most of those revolutionaries before him he and his followers will be very disappointed in the long term when the new closely resembles the past for which he had his revolution. This usually happens when politicians who really have no understanding of revolutions start to play with them. They don't – as the cry will ascend in the coming months – know what they're doing."

• Public Libraries News, a very interesting site which keeps track of UK libraries under threat of closure. It records that over 400 libraries and mobile libraries which have either shut or are at risk - usefully pinpointed on this google map.

• The Philanthrocapitalism bloggers, who set out some thought provoking predictions for the world of charity giving in 2011, The Year of Fighting Over What Works. Including this one:

"The most interesting country to watch in 2011 is going to be Britain. Prime Minister David Cameron's 'Big Society' vision for reform and renewal of how the UK tackles social problems is going to need to deploy all the tools of philanthrocapitalism if it is to succeed. Over the next 12 months he'll have to start turning rhetoric into reality."

• Kate Bell of Community Links, who has written this excellent, thoughtful blogpost on the importance of "deep value relationships" in public service delivery:

• Social enterprise football club United of Manchester, whose fans and admirers have collected 5.5 tons of clothing to be distributed among the city's homeless residents

• GP blogger and journalist Neil Durham, who manages to find 10 reasons for family doctors to feel good about 2011.

• Bloggers We Love Local Government, who bemoan the government's "small-mindedness and headline grabbing" over the issue of council chief executive pay.

• Social entrepreneur David Floyd, who takes a wry look at the Big society bank in this piece for the Guardian's social enterprise network.

• Blogger Flip Chart Fairy Tales, who argues powerfully that the NHS reforms will kill all hope of increasing health service productivity:

"I have seen some crazy things imposed on organisations but this one reaches a new level of foolishness. If the NHS were a commercial organisation, these proposals would have shareholders running for cover.
The government's NHS reform is unnecessary, has no evidence base to support it and runs counter to its other stated aims of improving patient care and the efficiency of the health service. If the Coalition is going to u-turn on anything during its time in power, it should be this."

• This tweet from Kevin Baughen:

"Just had a first. Barclaycard fraud team called to tell me someone has used my card to make a donation to @Shelter! #Thievingphilanthropy"

Guardian and Observer Christmas Charity Appeal 2010

Charities working with disadvantaged young people in the UK will be the beneficiaries of this year's Guardian and Observer charity appeal.

Read profiles of our 10 chosen charities, see our pick of their photographs and make a donation in the Christmas Charity Appeal area of our site. The appeal ends on Sunday.

Events

HR Summit, 18 January, London

Creating the workforce you need to meet the challenges ahead. 2 for 1 delegate place offer available.

Public Services Summit New models, new relationships, a new era. 10 & 11 February, St Albans.

Join leading thinkers, practitioners and policy makers for discussion and debate about the future of our public services. 15% early bird discount available.

Mobile and Wireless Healthcare Enabling access to care at the point of need. 16 February, Birmingham.

This conference is aimed at ICT and service delivery teams in the NHS to give them practical advice and guidance at a time where all we can be certain of is a reduction in public sector budgets. 2 for 1 delegate place offer available.

Public Sector Procurement 17 February, Manchester. Only £99 to attend.

A one-day conference for public sector buyers and suppliers, exploring new policy and innovation from across the north of England. Book two delegate places and get 10% off.