Today's top Society Guardian news and comment
Labour likely to delay plans for a 'death tax' to pay for long-term care
Introduction of £12.7bn NHS patient record software package close to collapse
Government plan to save libraries with Sunday opening and free internet access
Soham murderer Ian Huntley attacked in jail
Profile: community microfinance pioneer Faisel Rahman
Madeleine Bunting: you have to be 'mad, desperate or heroic' to be a social worker
All today's Society Guardian stories
Other news
- Scotland's chronic alcohol problems keep crime rates high according to the Financial Times
- For the first time ever Government spending now accounts for over half of GDP, reports the Daily Telegraph
- Flaws in Ofsted's childcare register means nannies with no experience or first aid skills are being approved for work, claims the Times.
- The comedian Ruby Wax has been hired to provide lessons in "leadership and communication" to Whitehall mandarins, reports the Times.
In case you missed them ... the weekend's top Society Guardian stories
Sunday's Society Guardian stories
Saturday's Society Guardian stories
Signing off
Dr John Crippen, founder of nhsblogdoc, one of the first doctors to blog about the world of general practice and the NHS - and always one of the most readable and amusing - has announced his retirement from blogging, and, it appears, the health service. He writes:
"To stop any speculation, may I just say that there has been no serious precipitating event; no crisis, no illness, no threats and no pressure from anyone. I have now retired from active practice within the NHS and am turning my mind to other things. The imperative to keep blogging about medical matters is no longer there."
His regular Guardian column is ceasing too. He will be missed.
Breath of healthy air
If you enjoyed a stroll in your local park this weekend you will know instinctively what new research confirms: that good urban green spaces make local people feel good about where they live. Council investment in green spaces often translates into votes, says the study, Urban Green Nation, by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. The historic decline in our parks has been reversed, says the study, and they are used and valued more frequently, by more people. But not everyone is benefiting: the 20% most affluent wards have five times as much green space as those in the poorest 10%, and areas with high enthinc minority populations have fewer parks.
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Email the Society Daily editor: Patrick.Butler@guardian.co.uk
Email the SocietyGuardian editor: society@guardian.co.uk
