• The government has promised an independent review on the effect of housing benefit cuts in the face of opposition from peers, reports 24dash.com.

• Gosport council in Hampshire has defended a fact-finding trip to look at bin collection in Madrid, reports the Local Government Chronicle [paywall]. The council is currently looking to save £2m through job cuts.

• The number of young drinkers ending up in hospital with a serious liver problem has risen by more than 50% in the last decade, reports the BBC. NHS figures show that 351 people aged 30 and under were admitted to an English hospital with alcohol-related liver disease in 2009-10, up from 230 in 2000-01.

On my radar ...

• Hywel Williams, who has tabled an early day motion on the disability living allowance reform consultation, which reads:

"That this House expresses concern at the presentation of the case for reform of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in the public consultation published on 6 December 2010; believes that the consultation incorrectly confuses correlation with causation between DLA claimants and employment levels or motivation to work; notes that DLA claimants tend to be older, less well-qualified, on benefits for longer and in poorer health than other disabled people; is of the opinion that many of the claims made in support of changing DLA are unsubstantiated in the consultation text or the supporting evidence; does not accept the argument that the identified problems with the present format of DLA are insoluble without the introduction of a costly new benefit; further believes that the presentation of the case for these reforms is highly flawed; and further expresses concern that the language used in the consultation may mislead readers when drawing conclusions from the evidence presented, and may therefore influence their response to the consultation."

Meanwhile, Dafydd Wigley promised to be a champion for disability rights as he took up his seat in the House of Lords yesterday. According to the Broken of Britain blog, Wigley "has a long record of campaigning on disability issues".

A new survey by Disability Alliance has found that half of disabled people who claim disability living allowance and have jobs would be forced to stop working or reduce their hours if they lost their entitlement to the benefit.

• Sir David Nicholson, the NHS chief executive, who is today giving evidence to the Commons public accounts committee as part of its "health landscape review".

• These 10 top tips on social council decision making from the Localopolis blog, including making discussions and decisions taggable, shareable and commentable. And the We Love Local Government blog is also debating the "endless possibilities" of social media:

"In the dark days of the distant past, Councils were made up of normal, everyday people who were good at organising things and seeing the bigger picture. As time wore on, this skill set seemed to become more focused, until people actually worked for the council full-time rather than just doing it as needed. A barrier appeared between them and the population, resulting in a 'them and us' culture which has only been reinforced over time.
In my opinion, social media is one of the first things to come along which has the ability to effectively break this down. Using tools that were never really intended for this use, anyone off the street could theoretically easily track down the people in the council who they need to speak with and do it directly, eliminating the need for hours spent in queues or being sent from phone extension to extension.
The trouble is that we in the council don't seem to like this."

• This blogpost from the RSA's chief executive Matthew Taylor on the future of the big society:

"As long as the big society continues to be everything, it is in danger of becoming nothing."

• The latest victims of the cuts – lollipop ladies. It appears that a number of authorities are considering axeing school crossing patrols to save money. Many councils – such as Lambeth, where 30 crossing posts may be scrapped, in a move the authority hopes will save £150,000 a year – point out that the patrols are not a statutory service. Stockport council is cutting its school patrol budget by a third and in Northamptonshire, a woman named the best lollipop lady in the East Midlands, who is in the running for the national prize, could see her job disappear. And in Lowestoft, lollipop men and women demonstrated earlier this month against Suffolk council's proposal to abolish its school lollipop crossing service, with the loss of 62 jobs, to save £174,000 a year.

• Low pay. John Harris wants to hear about the effects of low pay in the public and private sectors for the next film in his excellent Anywhere but Westminster series.

In tomorrow's SocietyGuardian supplement

• Matthew Ford reports on the health and care challenges faced by older drug users.

• What can the UK learn from the "meltdown" facing the microfinance sector in India, asks Faisel Rahman.

• Jo Adetunji reports on a project in Birmingham exploring young and older people's experiences of racism.

• Can two rival social work colleges both survive? David Brindle reports.

• Why is the government obsessed with executive mayors, asks Peter Hetherington.

• Bad timing has trapped charities needing a lifeline, says Iona Joy.

• Ex-offender Charles Young tells Lynne Wallis how his Laces project is trying to give young people the chances that he never had.

• Christopher Pollitt calls for tailored leadership training for public servants.

On the Guardian Professional Networks

• Lyn McDonald, who runs the Tell Us Once service allowing easier notification of births and deaths, explains why it will improve security as well as save people's time

• Andrew Lansley's plans for NHS reform are not going to lead to a private sector takeover – according to both the health secretary and the private sector, reports the Healthcare Network.

When recruiting, look at your volunteers – you may have potential staff members right under your nose, writes Zoe Amar.

• Live Q&A from noon today: Can bettering a refugee's employment outlook solve a skills gap and help community cohesion?

Events

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 when 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.

Managing Public Sector Information 2011 Making the transparency agenda happen. 1 March, London.

An essential forum for professionals involved in managing, storing, use and governance of information in the public sector, when the push is for increased openness and transparency. Save 20% when booking before 31 January.