Society daily 06.09.12

Sign up to Society daily email briefing Today's top SocietyGuardian stories • Cameron and Clegg unveil planning reforms • TUC chief: fear of unemployment is being used to lower pay • Breakthrough study overturns theory of 'junk DNA' in genome • Lord Krebs criticises government emphasis on 'nudge' tactics • Library closures attract little sympathy from Ed Vaizey • UN stresses positives of urban growth with new tool to track city prosperity • Scottish reshuffle: Salmond appoints Sturgeon referendum supremo • Eric Allison: The scandal of seriously ill prisoners denied basic healthcare • Charlie Swinbourne: The Paralympic Games are letting down deaf athletes • Zoe Williams: Atos is doing a good job – as the government's flakcatcher • All today's SocietyGuardian stories Jobs of the week • Head of black and minority ethnic communications , the Cabinet Office: "The Cabinet Office communications directorate seeks to appoint a specialist communicator to advise, co-ordinate and deliver better government communications for black and minority ethnic audiences." • Head of membership , Woodland Trust • Market research manager , British Red Cross The Guardian's public and voluntary sector careers page Hundreds of public and voluntary sector jobs On the Guardian Professional Networks • Andrew Lansley was a disaster who deserved demotion, argues Richard Vize • Public sector staff should be paid locally to boost employment where it is needed most, argues Ed Holmes • A4e is an organisation with a social purpose, but we need to define the term , says Jonty Olliff-Cooper • Do people pay a price for working in caring jobs ? • Does crowdfunding hoover up charities' online donors , asks Andy Hamflett • Local authority carbon emissions: the story behind the data • Housing association offers £10,000 to release spare bedrooms On my radar ... • Recommended reading from the Inequalities blog, which asks Do people overestimate the levels of benefits? Ben Baumberg writes: ... my assumption has always been that most people have very little idea how much benefits are worth. And in a climate where the 'luxury' level of benefits is a staple of many newspapers ... I also assumed that people would overestimate them. But the actual evidence on this is more mixed. (thanks to Nancy Kelley for the link) • A heartfelt post on the issue of screening for Down's syndrome . Olivia Nixon, responding to news that doctors have developed a new blood test that is more accurate and safer for babies, has written a plea to the NHS . She says: With a medical hat on I can see that yes, any advancement in medicine is always a positive thing on some level, and giving mothers to be the chance to screen without risking miscarriage is, I suppose, as the article above states, 'exciting' and a 'major advance'. True. But speak to any parent of a child with Down's Syndrome and this sort of screening is being deemed to be the beginning of the end for children with Down's Syndrome. Which is most definitely NOT a major advance. There are so many myths around D/S. People believe a child with special needs would be a drain on their family, or take their attention away from their 'normal' children. They believe it takes a special type of person to be able to raise a child with special needs. Well that's just bull. My little boy does nothing but bring me complete utter joy in every imaginable way. I feel pride every second of the day, so much so sometimes I feel I could burst. I'm not a special type of person... I'm just a mum. And she adds: please NHS, let's start offering parents to be some real constructive advice around having a child with special needs. It isn't any more draining or challenging than having any other child. It's just parenting, pure and simple, and it's driven by love. • New research by the drugs information service Frank, which reveals that parents have little knowledge of legal highs - a fifth say they'd never heard the term, while three-quarters of parents of teenagers say they've never spoken to their children about legal highs. • Further thoughts on the cabinet reshuffle from Akash Paun for the Institute for Government blog, who writes that reshuffles can highlight a prime minister's weakness as much as his power . He concludes: Judging the effectiveness of a reshuffle (especially the day after the event) is a difficult and perhaps pointless business. The process seemed to work fine, there was a logic if no grand strategy to the changes, and few noses were unnecessarily put out of joint. But the big challenges facing the government are the state of the economy, successful implementation of its major public service reforms, and growing tensions between Conservatives and Lib Dems. A quick game of cabinet musical chairs is unlikely to solve such huge issues, though these, ultimately, are the yardsticks against which the coalition will be judged. (thanks to Dave Briggs for the link) • Charity Mencap , which is tweeting details of the calls to its telephone helpline. Find out more via the hashtag #mencapdirect • A moving tribute from the Guardian's Other lives series to radiologist Helen Dornhorst , who served the NHS well into her 70s. Her daughters write: Helen's life and values reflected the complex pressures on bright women of her era. She revered Tony [her husband] and would usually defer to his opinion, yet she carved out an independent professional life and travelled the world unescorted; she would iron all his shirts and then sit down to read Ulysses; she would cook the evening meal before doing DIY. Like Tony, who died in 2003, Helen was totally committed to the NHS and baffled by the current government's dismantling of the system. • A piece of social history rescued from a skip. The Time & Place project was prompted by the discovery of a series of portraits taken at Bradford's Belle Vue Studio, a place where South Asian migrants had their pictures taken for decades. It aims to find out what happened to the people featured in the photographs. Other news • BBC: Police chief vote awareness 'low' • Children & Young People Now: Early years leaders throw down the gauntlet to new minister Elizabeth Truss • CivilSociety.co.uk: Salesforce will stop 'social enterprise' trademark attempts • Community Care: Could social workers have prevented toddler's death? • Independent: Balls - I want a proper wealth tax • Inside Housing: Planning charges pose threat to green deal • LocalGov.co.uk: MPs attack 'poor' public appointments system • Public Finance: County councils should be given 'city deals', says Essex • Telegraph: Domestic violence pilot scheme to begin • Third Sector: Candidate for chair of Charity Commission was told it was a 'poisoned chalice' SocietyGuardian blogs Patrick Butler's cuts blog Sarah Boseley's global health blog SocietyGuardian on social media Follow SocietyGuardian on Twitter Follow Patrick Butler on Twitter Follow Clare Horton on Twitter Follow Alison Benjamin on Twitter SocietyGuardian's Facebook page SocietyGuardian weekly section SocietyGuardian editor: Alison Benjamin Email the SocietyGuardian editor: [email protected]