Society daily 04.04.12

Sign up to Society daily email briefing Today's top SocietyGuardian stories • David Cameron launches £600m 'big society' fund • High court stalls council's attempt to introduce volunteer-run libraries • Labour urges new heart screening guidance after Muamba collapse • A4e in line for major government contract • Boris Johnson in foul-mouthed rant at Ken Livingstone over tax claims • Do Boris and Ken hate each other? • Scientist reveals how he made bird flu that could spread between people • Philippa Perry: Why children kill parents • A kinder way to tackle truancy All today's SocietyGuardian stories In today's SocietyGuardian section • Call for adoption drive to focus on support over speed • Early action could save NHS millions • Peter Beresford: The 'overclass' is the real threat to society • Clare Allan: You don't have to live alone to be depressed • When three hospital trusts become one • Why the government sees Letchworth as a model community • Peter Hetherington: Mayors won't solve regional inequality in England On the Guardian Professional Networks • Live discussion from noon: will the NPPF deliver growth ? • The passing of health and social care bill is just the beginning, the real test lies in implementing the changes, says Anna Dixon • Private landlords are trapped by archaic lending and insurance rules that prevent them from meeting tenants' needs , says Ben Reeve-Lewis • To help people understand how their local health services are performing, a new website is about to get a national rollout . Richard Gleave explains. • Caroline Shead, volunteer centre manager at the Harrogate & Area Council for Voluntary Service, advises local voluntary organisations on how to engage with local business • Social media can help eliminate the artificial distinction between health and social care , says Jasmine Ali • As Impact Arts begins its search for a new chief executive, Susan Aktemel explains why despite a tough economic climate, social enterprises will continue to thrive • Paul Burstow : Do nothing on telehealth and you let down your local community On my radar ... • The Undateables . I missed the first episode of the new Channel 4 series following people with disabilities who are looking for love (hoping to watch it on catch-up tonight). Frances Ryan has done an excellent job of rounding up the responses to the programme on Twitter . "It featured the full spectrum of stereotypes and a couple of new ones for good measure," she notes. Guardian TV reviewer Lucy Mangan mentions the pre-broadcast debate around the channel's publicity for the show, as mentioned in yesterday's Society daily , but concludes the programme was beautifully done: Those who watched the programme had any fears of exploitation allayed. The aftershave moment was emblematic of the kindly, thoughtful air that suffused the whole without denying that, as with any human endeavour, moments of inadvertent comedy would occur. It had the intelligence and confidence to recognise that excising them would have been more patronising than keeping them in. Richard went on two dates. The first he blew by starting to eat off his companion's plate. The second was more successful but he declined to follow it up after deciding that there was no physical attraction between them. Penny, a primary school teacher trainee by day and – brittle-bone disease notwithstanding – circus aerial artist by night, went on the first date of her life, with a fellow wheelchair user, but thought she would prefer to go out with someone able-bodied so that "they'd be a bit livelier". And lovely Luke, one of the 10% of people with Tourette syndrome whose symptoms include violent swearing, went on two wholly successful dates with the equally lovely Lucy, who took him ice-skating and the tics in her stride ("You slag!" "Oh," she said, tossing her hair gaily over her shoulder, "thanks!") It left implicit the questions raised about intra-disability prejudice, the manifold problems of exposing yourself emotionally when you are already, in many ways, more vulnerable than average. And Richard's mother's longing for him to find someone special spoke volumes, without a word being said about the stresses and sorrows of caring for a grownup child who cannot and yet at some point in the future must manage without you. On her Benefit Scrounging Scum blog, Kaliya Franklin compares the dates shown in the programme with her own experiences : What really shone through the whole show was the innate charm and warmth of the disabled people it followed. I laughed til I almost choked when Richard started to help himself to his date's discarded dinner....but that's mostly because I have a many cringe worthy food/drink related dating moments myself. Like Luke, my condition is exacerbated by nerves...so on a first date I'm much more likely to do something stupid. Drooling a bright red smoothie down my front and onto the table was one early attempt to charm a man as was trying to be 'oh so sexy' eating lunch with another. Who very charmingly pretended he hadn't seen me miss my mouth completely with a fork full of food and smear it across my face. I've found this to be an extremely effective screening technique; if they aren't bothered by my at times toddler like eating, drinking and falling over behaviours then they're definitely worth getting to know. If unsure this selection criteria has worked then I find that failing to breathe and turning blue is also a particularly good way of sorting the good from the not so good blokes. Campaigner and blogger Nicky Clark was on Radio 5 this morning to debate the programme with Channel 4 diversity officer Alison Walsh , and the Same Difference blog has posted a joint statement from the UK Disabled People's Council and the European Disability Forum , which declares the series is unwatchable. • Big Society Capital , the government's new big society bank, unveiled by David Cameron today. My colleague Andrew Sparrow has covered the prime minister's speech on his Politics live blog . On the New Philanthropy Capital blog, Dan Corry warns that the social sector should not "get too over-excited or expect too much too soon" . He writes: So who exactly is going to benefit from BSC? To be clear on this, we need to be clear about who can benefit from social investment more generally. Charities have been falling over themselves to see if they can be beneficiaries of BSC largesse. But our work with charities suggests a lot have not totally understood that what BSC offers is loan finance. In short, to benefit from BSC or any kind of social investment, charities need a solid revenue stream (or valuable secured asset). For some charities this is fine—especially if they have shops or other services that the public pay for directly which generate an income. But it is a more complex issue for most. Some, who rely on government contracts, think social investment initiatives, like BSC, could help them deal with the increasing fashion for payment by results. Since in these contracts payments only come after the successful delivery of outcomes, most charities need to get someone else to put up cash at the start—this is one of the motivations for the much-heralded Social Impact Bonds. But this market is growing very slowly, with only one live SIB so far, and it is unclear how big the market will turn out to be. In any case, social investment cannot make up for the fact that there is simply less money around for public sector contracts of any type. Perhaps those most eager about BSC will be social enterprises, since by definition, although driven by a social purpose, they are out to make profit and so are suitable places to put risk capital. Scalable social enterprise—like bus company HTC or leisure centre operator GLL—may see the biggest benefits from BSC funding. • An excellent post on the local elections from the We Love Local Government blog. The writer has studied Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg's speeches launching their parties' election manifestos , and finds scant information about the main issues facing town halls: How can we expect the people of our local communities to focus on their local area when voting in local elections when our politicians can't? How can raise the esteem in which our local politicians are held when they, and the good work they are doing at a local level, is ignored? I find this all a bit sad to be honest. What's even sadder is that the politicians are probably acting rationally. Local government is not well enough understood in this country; it serves for easy narratives for politicians to focus on national issues. We have a very centralised state. Taken together the room for wriggle at the local level is small enough that maybe it is entirely rational to vote based on national priorities. In the UK, I think it might be safe to say that all politics is national. • Recommended reading from Sarah Campbell's Rolling with the Punches blog on welfare reform . In an open letter to the opposition, she asks why they have failed to speak out against the Welfare Reform Act : As a result of the Welfare Reform Act, a working family who has to support a disabled adult unable to work now receives £100 per week less compared to an equivalent family supporting a child. This is despite the disabled adult having faithfully paid their National Insurance contributions throughout their working lives. Families with disabled children have just seen their benefit almost halved. This was done despite the fact that a third of disabled people already live in poverty. Where are you? Why are you abandoning working disabled families and disabled children to sink even further into poverty? ... Seriously ill people with cancer, MS, parkinsons, strokes and heart disease, not to mention debilitating mental health conditions are being found fit for work and face a jammed backlogged appeals process. Where are you? Why are you not insisting the system be fixed before rolling it out to all claimants? • A fascinating "Twitter speech" on social work , professionalism and stress, delivered by author trainer and consultant Dr Neil Thompson . Among his key points are: It is all about recognising that we are doing an inherently difficult job made even harder by wider political factors and Other professions seem to do a much better job of supporting one another and protecting their interests. We can learn from them. • My colleagues on the Guardian Money desk, who have been conducting a Twitter experiment this week. Yesterday, the #livejustice thread followed events at an industrial tribunal, today's it's telling the stories behind repossession court cases . Guardian journalists will be reporting from courts around the UK throughout April. Other news • BBC: Dentists urged to check drinking • Children & Young People Now: Sarah's Law protects 200 children in a year • Community Care: Social worker struck off for £145k housing benefit fraud • Independent: Calls for 'dead laws' to be repealed • Inside Housing: Fed calls for time limit on right to buy replacement • LocalGov.co.uk: Opinion split over directly elected mayor for Manchester • Telegraph: Dame Vera Lynn says national service will fix broken society • Third Sector: Mind rebuts DWP version of resignation row Events and seminars Digital communications and campaigning for charities Thursday 19 April, Kings Cross, London This half-day seminar will enable you plan, implement and manage your online campaign to maximum effect. It will give you practical advise on how to get the most out of popular social media websites as well as help you define your target audience. This event is a must for anyone needing to plan a campaign to create relationships with supporters to champion your long-term aims. The Green Deal - A real opportunity? Tuesday 24 April, Kings Cross, London The Green Deal offers opportunity for both the social housing sector and local authorities to reduce carbon emissions. How can your organisation maximise the benefits of the scheme for both tenants and your finances? Making the most of social media for social housing Friday 4 May, Kings Cross, London This overview of social media channels will show you how to use them to maximum effect, with clear, practical examples of ways to save money, improve your communications and form a social media campaign Managing volunteers Tuesday 15 May, Kings Cross, London Engaging with volunteers is an increasingly challenging task. This half-day seminar will help you explore what 21st century volunteers want and what you need to do to involve them effectively. Delivered by leading expert Rob Jackson, this session is a must for anyone building a long-term volunteer engagement strategy. Successful bid writing Friday 18 May, Kings Cross, London Bid writing is an essential skill in voluntary sector organisations. This interactive seminar will help you create applications and bids that demonstrate your organisation's strengths and priorities, how you differ from other projects, what the benefits are for your clients and the community and how you'll be able to measure them. 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