Society daily: 20.09.10

David Cameron cut his salary to £142,500 when he took office. Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

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Today's top Society Guardian stories

More than 9,000 in public sector earn more than David Cameron, survey claims

DPP apologises to woman failed by courts after sexual assault

One in four youngsters 'not using contraception

Cut welfare and public sector pensions, CBI urges Osborne

Sarah Brown: maternal health gap 'one of the greatest injustices'

Report shows almost 50% of girls under 18 feel unsafe in UK cities

All today's Society Guardian stories

Other news

• Government plans to ease health and safety regulations would see a whole raft of regulations on police, teachers and ambulance workers lifted so they no longer face the threat of being sued for "making common sense decisions", according to the Daily Mail.

• Patients receiving the winter flu jab will also be inoculated against swine flu, in a bid to prevent the virus returning, the Daily Telegraph notes. The vaccinations will be combined so that people cannot refuse the swine flu jab without missing out on protection against winter flu.

On my radar ...

• Diary of Civil Servant's powerful depiction of fear and loathing in Whitehall as the reality of cuts begins to dawn:

Ministers are starting to realise just how unpopular they are going to be. Civil servants are surprised at how long it has taken them.

• A frank and thoughtful discussion by social entrepreneur and blogger Craig Dearden-Phillips of material reward and risk in social enterprise - and why his new business venture will be a private, not a social, business

• Blogger Richard Wilson has seen the Big society light. In Biggleswade.

"I'm willing to embrace change – supported a policy shift or two. But the profundity of this point that's been there for so long was hidden to me. Though I've been advocating decentralisation of power for my entire adult life, I couldn't see it – perhaps because I'd never seen it before."

• An excellent analysis by blogger David Floyd, unpicking the gap between Coalition rhetoric and reality on social enterprise.

• The Centre for Cities' economic growth report which argues that England's cities must be more realistic about their ability to attract and sustain so called "bandwagon" industries - green, creative, life science and hi-tech manufacturing. The report concludes:

"They will not be the generators of the majority of England's future jobs."

• Mark Hellowell in Public Finance on tensions in the government's plans to build new hospitals, schools, roads, and rail links, at a time when the UK is experiencing "is a faster rate of reduction in capital expenditure than has occurred at any point in modern history."

• Victoria Johnson of the New Economics Foundation, on how to make cycling more popular and safer. The demand is there: the UK, she argues, is:

"A nation of repressed cyclists."

In case you missed them... weekend Society Guardian highlights

Cuts threaten Jamie Oliver's pioneering ministry of food scheme

Decriminalise cannabis, says police chief

John Harris: Oxbridge's class divide raises food for thought

All Sunday's Society Guardian stories

All Saturday's Society Guardian stories

Guardian and Observer Christmas Appeal 2010: help us decide which youth charities to support

This year our Christmas appeal will support charities working with vulnerable teenagers and young adults. That bit we've decided on. What we don't know yet is which ones to support. And that's where you come in. There are around 8,000 UK charities out there who operate in this area. We are looking for 10 projects which do innovative, effective work with young people at risk aged 13-24. So if you work for a charity, and you fit the bill, please apply (you can find the link to the pdf download on this page). If you know of a charity which you think we ought to support, then encourage them to apply or nominate them on this blog, and we'll contact them on your behalf. Applications close on 8 October, the appeal will kick off in December.

Events

Driving efficiencies in public sector ICT, 30 September, London: a one-day conference for senior IT professionals to re-examine the way they work, cut costs and deliver vital efficiency savings.

Public sector online, 4 October, London: a one-day conference examining how public sector professionals can engage with their audience to deliver services more effectively and strategically online.