• Hundreds of council staff facing redundancy could be seconded to major retail, manufacturing or telecoms employers to plug industry skills gaps and save jobs, under a new social enterprise scheme, reports the Telegraph. More than 20 councils including Manchester, Surrey and Hertfordshire have apparently begun uploading the details of their most talented staff facing job cuts on to a new "skills exchange" website.

• The government is to complain to a financial watchdog over council adverts it calls a "blatant misuse of public funds", according to the BBC. Labour-controlled Lambeth in south London has put up posters showing a pair of scissors cutting into a blue-coloured pound sign saying: "The government has cut our money so we are forced to cut services." The government says they are politically motivated and should not be taxpayer funded, but the council insists the posters "state fact".

• Charity Leonard Cheshire Disability has appointed one of the world's largest tobacco manufacturers as a corporate partner and has accepted a substantial donation from the firm, reports Third Sector. Japan Tobacco International, which owns brands including Silk Cut, Benson & Hedges and Camel, will fund an IT programme run by the charity.

• American private healthcare giant Humana plans to pull out of the NHS commissioning support market and wind down its UK business within six months, according to the Health Service Journal [paywall].

• Police in Scotland have launched a fraud investigation into an appeal that raised £80,000 but spent £500,000, reports Third Sector. Elaine McGonigle was sacked last year as director of the New Pyjamas appeal, run by the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, which was intended to bring in £15m for a children's hospital but spent six times more than it raised.

On my radar ...

• NHS reform. There's lots of analysis of David Cameron's speech from yesterday, including a warning from Polly Toynbee that the health and social care bill will turn a unified health service into a purchasing agency. This very thorough post from Alice Hood on the TUC's Touchstone blog predicts:

"The financial pressure on hospitals and the removal of the cap on how much private income a hospital trust can make presents the frightening scenario of a two (or more) tiered system, with NHS patients pushed to the back of the queue in favour of patients who can pay for care."

Meanwhile, the Fighting Monsters blog offers a take on what the reform plans mean for social care.

• This "plain English" guide to the localism bill - which had its second reading yesterday. See also this post from Anna Turley on the New Local Government Network blog, who cautions that "it is in the nitty-gritty that this bill could lose its way".

• Getting the bankers giving, as proposed by Martin Brookes on the New Philanthropy Capital blog:

"There is an opportunity for investment banks to make greater efforts to promote giving among their staff and, in the process, perhaps deflect some criticism. This would also help tackle the problem of low levels of giving among rich people in the UK. This is one of the causes of low overall giving ... Responsible organisations which employ people on above-average salaries should think how they can contribute to increasing giving, and should be encouraged in this by government."

• This great blogpost by Ben Goldacre on the pseudoscience behind "Blue Monday".

• Celebrity supporters. This guest post from David Mentiply on the Liberal Conspiracy blog argues that the Broken of Britain campaign against disability living allowance cuts needs some star backers to raise its profile:

"Whether we like it or not, we live in a world where celebrity endorsements hold real sway. The Gurkhas have Joanna Lumley. Older people have Joan Bakewell. Alastair Campbell is a high profile supporter of mental health charity, Mind. Stephen Fry, JK Rowling and Eddie Izzard all contribute a great deal of time to charitable organisations."

And the Diary of a Benefit Scrounger asks why the media and campaigners have become so obsessed by library closures, while ignoring other areas where the cuts will bite:

"If you go blind, you won't have much use for printed books. If you can't get out of the house and become bedridden, then discover they've cancelled care packages for someone like you, a library won't be much good to you. If you break your back, but find there's no rehab or hospice care any more, I can't imagine you feeling libraries were the most vital thing in your day. Disability can call for any one of us at any time in a heartbeat and life changes instantly. A good book to read might make it better, but a physio or adapted wheelchair would probably be more useful!!!"

• The newly-published shortlist for the LGiU and CCLA C'llr Achievement Awards 2011. The winners will be named at an awards ceremony on February 8.

• Grandparents raising disabled children, who are a "hidden army", according to this new report from the Family Fund.

In tomorrow's SocietyGuardian supplement

• Peter Hetherington on the battle between "Robomayor" Ray Mallon and the communities secretary, Eric Pickles.

• Mark Johnson reflects on a friend's death and calls for a greater input from ex-offenders in services.

• How a Sheffield project has helped improve provision for African-Caribbean mental health patients.

• Moving responsibility for public health to councils could be disastrous, reports Rachael Jolley.

• David Brindle on a new study that uncovers why incapacity benefit claims have soared.

• Savage cuts to housing support will leave people on the streets, warns Patrick Butler.

• Universal credit will not simplify benefits, claims Paul Spicker.

• Graham Allen tells Amelia Gentleman that his report on early intervention could end the focus on future failure.

• What's the point of data if managers can't use it, asks Jane Dudman.

Latest on the Guardian Professional Networks

• How health and social care have become a key battleground in this year's Scottish parliamentary elections.

• Why charities should be investing in the mental health of their staff this year.

• The Department for Education is considering a replacement for the ContactPoint database of all children that it scrapped in August, reports Kable.

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 24 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.