• Patients are being treated in cramped, unsuitable and badly laid out hospitals as ageing NHS buildings struggle to cope with the demands of the modern health service, according to data obtained by the BBC.

• The BBC is also reporting that Information Commissioner has confirmed that parents should be free to photograph their children in nativity plays, after a number of schools banned photography on their premises to protect pupils who were adopted or in foster care.

• The government is to press ahead with its radical reform to give GPs control of up to £80bn of the NHS budget, despite marked criticism of the scale and pace of the changes, says Andrew Lansley, as reported in the FT.

• Plans to mutualise the Audit Commission's in-house audit practice are at risk of stalling because of waning support from government, according to Public Finance.

On my radar ...

• Sharon Shoesmith, who has talked to Children and Young People Now about the aftermath of the Peter Connelly case and the resulting pressure on children's services. Shoesmith, about to begin a PhD at the University of London, says of the soaring numbers of care referrals for children at risk:

"We haven't got the money to pay for it; we haven't got the residential homes, we haven't got the foster carers so supply and demand are out of kilter. We haven't got enough adoptive parents. I don't think we want to bring twice as many children into care actually. The system can't take it, the finances can't take it and we're not facing up to that."

• A number of bloggers' responses to the Disability Living Allowance reforms announced this week. Broken of Britain reckons the coalition has "continued slowly turning the screws on disabled people, a task started by the previous government", adding:

"The focus on DLA as a disincentive to work is false and disingenuous. People who receive DLA do often have lower work expectations as the reform consultation paper suggests, and rightly so. Regardless of desire, many disabilities and conditions make work impossible. Disabled people are often unable to compete equally in the labour market, even if there is work for them, which too often there is not. People with high rate awards have highest level of disabilities and are least likely to be able to work regardless of benefits. Those who do work and with lower awards are often only able to work because of the aids, support and adaptations DLA allows them to purchase. The focus on move to work has no place in a discussion about DLA other than to make the important clarification that DLA is not work related and exists to assist life with a disability."

While Rich Watts at Arbitrary Constant helpfully compares what the Tories said about disability while in opposition with their current plans. And Disabled People Against Cuts point out that the consultation period on the reform proposals takes in the Christmas and New Year break. The DPAC also have this cartoon take on the story.

• This blogpost from Flip Chart Fairy Tales on the decision against merging Camden and Islington councils, which predicts that future mergers will still go ahead:

"Councils see mergers as a way of saving a lot of money quickly. The evidence from the commercial world, though, suggests that they have, at most, a 50-50 chance of success. Add to that the complications specific to local authorities and the lack of merger experience among their managers and they begin to look like very high-risk bets. The councillors and local authority executives pushing for mergers might be held up as courageous iconoclasts now but, in a few years time, they might end up looking simply naive."

• This video, Why cuts are the wrong cure, from FalseEconomy.

• This interesting post from Ellie Mae O'Hagan on the New Left Project blog, on how UK Uncut is shaping the agenda:

"These protesters can no longer be dismissed as pesky 'trots' and 'anarchists' bent on causing mindless havoc. They are changing the rules of the political landscape by the simple strength of their arguments."

• Thinktanks. What have they ever done for us, asks Craig Dearden-Phillips on his blog. After wading through Tony Blair's memoirs, Dearden-Phillips highlights the trouble New Labour encountered with drawing up public sector reforms:

"[Blair] looked around for answers. He went to the thinktanks, academia and experts. He found plenty of political stuff but very little, in his own words, of practical value. I was stunned by this. London is stuffed with the cleverest, most competitive and politically savvy people around. I have always assumed that, although a lot of what is produced by them is useless shit, there was always enough red meat for policy-makers to feast on."

From the SocietyGuardian supplement

• Is the future bleak for black and minority ethnic housing associations?

• What happened when young offenders took their views to Westminster? Rachel Williams reports

• Crunch time for loan sharks, as MP Stella Creasy forces money-lending review

• Jane Dudman: Council merger proves too big a deal

All the features and comment from today's Society section

On the Guardian Professional networks

• Everything you need to know about starting a consultancy, live Guardian Local Government Network Q&A today 12pm - 3pm.

• And on the Voluntary Sector Network, Beth Kanter 'calls out' Steve Jobs on Apple's iPhone donation policy.

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.

Events

HR Summit, 18 January, London

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Public Services Summit New models, new relationships, a new era. 10 & 11 February 2011, St Albans.

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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.