• Bradford council has sent letters to every employee warning them that their jobs are at risk of redundancy, says local paper the Telegraph and Argus. According to unions, councillors will decide by Christmas where the axe will fall.

• Stoke-on-Trent council has been rebuked for losing an unencrypted memory stick containing the personal details of 40 children in care, reports the Independent.

• A care home operator has come under fire for refusing to pay its staff extra for working on Christmas Day, according to Inside Housing. Guinness Care and Support has told staff it will only pay extra money for bank holidays, which rules out Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year because they fall at the weekend.

• The sale of cheap alcohol could be banned under a new by-law drawn up by a group of local councils in Greater Manchester, reports the Telegraph.

• Also in the Telegraph, new research shows rural families need to spend hundreds of pounds per month more than city dwellers for even the most basic acceptable standard of living.

On my radar ...

• The scandalous treatment of Idayah Miller, a disabled 11-year-old girl, who was told she can't have a place at the supposedly "inclusive" Harris academy in Crystal Palace, south London, on the grounds that her wheelchair poses a "health and safety" risk to other children. The school's sponsors have now apologised. Here's the original Croydon Guardian news report, and here's some thoughtful blogging on the case by Guerrilla Mum, and by Charlie McMenamin

• Allister Hayman's excellent blogpost which asks if ministers have "lost the plot" on council cuts. A thorough examination of ministerial spin, whimsy and wishful thinking.

• Rich Watt's excellent post setting out five reasons why the government's big society awards "seem peculiar". To which I would add a sixth peculiarity, that the awards, which wil go supposedly to projects nominated by the public, launched with a "first winner", Central Surrey Health, the NHS social enterprise spin out. And therein lies a seventh: Central Surrey Health is, if anything, a New Labour success story, being the brainchild of former Labour health secretary Patricia Hewitt, who enabled it to happen four years ago long before big society was even a gleam in David Cameron's eye.

seven character tests for the Labour leader

"Labour must rediscover its appetite for public service reform, even if it does not support the detail of the coalition's plans in every area. Strategically, it must place its big bets on services that matter most to achieving full employment and raising family living standards - childcare and care of the elderly in particular - rather than simply spin the wheel again on schools and the NHS, the big winners of the New Labour era. Fortunately, collective services like the NHS stand out as the most efficient and fair ways of meeting rising social needs in an ageing society, as long as they are personalised and responsive, and costs are controlled."

• Marcus Trescothick, who was last night presented with a Making a Difference award at the Mind Mental Health Media Awards, for helping to change attitudes towards mental health. The BBC was the night's big winner, with awards going to EastEnders, the World Service and the Headroom project, while Shameless was named drama of the year.

• This superb blog analysing social housing policy, Red Brick, edited by Steve Hilditch and Tony Clements. Includes great posts on tenure, local housing allowance, the "council housing for life" myth, and the new homes bonus. (thanks John Perry).

• A new report from the National Mental Health Development Unit, which says that local authorities have a role to play in promoting wellbeing.

• Empty homes. This neat widget from the organisation formerly known as the Empty Homes Agency allows users to report vacant properties in their area, details of which will then be passed on to the local council.

• Online fundraising. Rachel Beer has answers to some frequently asked questions in the NCVO's ask the expert series.

• British Medical Journal careers editor Edward Davies, who mulls over NHS job cuts in this blogpost (thanks @nataliewh):

"Whether medical or more likely management you hear people throwing round semi-substantiated employment cutbacks from 5% to 35%. A lot of other public sector services are facing similar cuts and it's easy to get slightly inured to what that actually means. So ... every 1% change in NHS employment represents 10,000 jobs. At the lowest estimate of the cutbacks, that is 50,000, and the other end that is as many as 350,000 livelihoods on the line."

In tomorrow's Society Guardian supplement

• Jackie Kemp reports from Glasgow, where hundreds of asylum seekers face having to move home at a moment's notice.

• Publishing house Hansib marks its 40th anniversary

• Faisel Rahman on why people opt for high-cost credit

• Mary O'Hara on a new report that finds children with learning disabilities or mental illness are more likely to end up in prison

• Saba Salman reports on a study that finds allowing drug and alcohol addicts to help shape their treatment would be more effective

• Peter Hetherington on the small carrot and bigger stick facing local government

• Eviction closes in on social housing tenants, says Penny Anderson

• Stuart Etherington tells David Brindle about the voluntary sector's role in the big society project

• Public managers face criticism and ridicule over their every spending move, writes Jane Dudman

• Plus full coverage of all the winners of the Guardian Public Services Awards

Guardian and Observer Christmas Charity Appeal 2010

Nominations are now closed for our Christmas appeal 2010, which will support 10 charities working with vulnerable teenagers and young adults. Many thanks to everyone who applied.

The appeal will launch towards the end of November and run until mid-January.

Events

Transforming Blue Light Services Innovating ICT for the emergency services, 24 November, London - Free places available. Discover how the innovative use of technology will improve performance and response in difficult financial times. Speakers include Dr Timothy Brain, former chief constable of Gloucestershire; Andy Marles, chief fire officer from South Wales fire and rescue; Jason Killens, London ambulance service's deputy director of operations; Steve Whatson, director of ICT for the Olympics at the Metropolitan police service and Olympic security directorate.

"Big Society" and its role in local government 7 December, London. This is an essential seminar for managers and leaders looking for a practical definition of big society and how it will work within local government. As well as a keynote speech from the government's adviser on big society, Lord Wei, delegates will also hear first hand accounts of how other local government managers are implementing big society in their councils and the best practice they have developed.

Transforming Social Care through IT Finding your way in a changing service environment 8 December, London.

This conference brings together best practice examples, policy leaders and industry experts to discuss the challenges facing social care providers and IT support teams. Our line-up of expert speakers includes Terry Dafter, service director adult social care, Stockport metropolitan borough council; Jennifer Bernard, consulting director, SCIE; Nick Johnson, chief executive, Social Care Association; and Sian Walker, service director, Adult Care Operations, Wiltshire council.

Public Services Summit 10 & 11 February 2011, St Albans.

New models, new relationships, a new era

Join leading thinkers, practitioners and policy makers for discussion and debate about the future of our public services

15% early bird available at