• New mayors will be forced to take on chief excutive powers, according to the Local Government Chronicle [paywall]. The changes could affect some of local government's biggest names.

• The Royal College of Nursing has attacked proposals to halt annual increments on top of a general two-year pay freeze, in return for a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, reports the Independent.

• The number of homeless families in London could increase by 5,000 as a result of changes to housing benefits, according to the BBC. The City Hall document sent to the Work and Pensions Committee says about 9,000 families could be forced to leave their homes, with many pushed outside London by 2012.

On my radar ...

• Two must-read pieces on cuts to disability living allowance: Amelia Gentleman's new austerity series today focuses on the families campaigning against the cuts. As one mother puts it:

"They are targeting a section of society who are unable to defend themselves in any way at all. That seems to me immoral and cowardly."

While Kaliya Franklin (@BendyGirl) has this rallying call on our Joe Public blog, Get out of your comfort zone, disability living allowance cuts are relevant to all:

"Disabled people simply are not capable of demonstrating en masse in the same way students have done, so we need to be more creative in the ways we protest; encouraging people to petition against the flawed consultation being used to try to justify the removal of DLA and using events such as this weekend's One Month Before Heartbreak and more to ensure that the 'not yet disabled' understand these are your benefits too, there to protect you when life is irrevocably altered by ill-health or an accident.
It might seem too dull or difficult to think about but, remember, we disabled people are the same as you, it's just that we've already experienced our life-altering situation and you are yet to do so."

• Children's services - a special case? This provocative post on the We Love Local Government blog thinks the claim is made all too often:

"This department rarely participates in corporate initiatives, always manages to bat away budget cuts, often rejects even the most kindly put improvement suggestion and never ever compromises on any issue. If one is so bold as to question this behaviour the mighty department simply turns round and responds with a sigh:
Do as I say or a child might die."

• The health and social care bill, which is expected early next week. Jane Sillett, on the Local Government Information Unit's blog, argues it could matter more to town halls than the localism bill:

"The reforms present councils with big opportunities – particularly those to public health – but there are risks here too. If councils are to be given a stronger role in overseeing the health and wellbeing of their communities and in providing more democratic accountability to what is presently undemocratic and opaque, and to deliver in the worst public spending climate for decades. then they will need to be smart and innovative, bold and focused."

• This great post from Mark Brown on the One in Four magazine blog, Just where is the frontline in mental health?

• The north-south divide, as debated by Julian Dobson in the latest post on his Living with Rats blog, A fair deal for the north?, in which he counsels against relying on "miracle cures" such as creative industries or the knowledge economy:

"That's not to say we don't have firms and sectors that are world leaders. We just don't have enough of them - and we certainly don't have enough to offer worthwhile work and opportunities to our millions of jobseekers."

• Gay-friendly employers, as ranked by Stonewall in its annual Top 100 list. But you have to wonder whether police forces will continue to rank so highly once they start to shed diversity officer posts.

• This new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on housing market volatility, which has found that local and regional house price gaps are bigger than ever and calls for an innovative policy response.

• This unusual approach to fighting the cuts from community regeneration group Church Street Neighbourhood Management in Paddington, north-west London, which has set up its own pet supplies shop to help bring in revenue.

Latest on the Guardian Professional Networks

• Live Q&A today from 1pm: Localism bill - what social enterprises need to know

• Why doesn't the NHS use email to communicate with patients, rather than send them vital information by post, asks the Patient from Hell.

• Following the collapse of the proposal to merge the chief executive post with neighbouring Camden, Islington council has launched recruitment for a head who won't balk at the finances, reports Public.

Do you work in public sector HR?

The XpertHR benchmarking survey of public sector HR practitioners and employment professionals wants to hear from you about the employment implications of the coalition's public spending cuts. It will look back to what happened in 2010, and forward to the implications for 2011, covering topics including

• Cutting wage bills, use of outsourcing to reduce wage bills, use of shared services to reduce wage bills;

• Voluntary and compulsory redundancies;

• Closure of offices or sites;

• Relocation of staff or offices;

• Schedules and outcomes of cost-cutting measures.

The survey, in association with SocietyGuardian, is running on the XpertHR benchmarking surveys website until 18 January.

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.

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.