Society daily 05.12.11

Sign up to Society daily email briefing Today's top SocietyGuardian stories • Cameron accused of putting NHS on sale • Income inequality growing faster in UK than any other rich country, says OECD • Nick Clegg vows to get tough on excessive executive pay • Almost 4m children in Britain do not own a book, poll finds • Why is British public life dominated by men? • Shana Pezaro: Time-limiting disability benefits makes no sense • Adoption diary: Little treasures, they were not All today's SocietyGuardian stories The pick of the weekend's SocietyGuardian news and comment • Ian Birrell: The demonisation of disabled people is a chilling sign of the times • Public sector pensions 'heading for the rocks' • What might Britain look like after six years of austerity? All Sunday's SocietyGuardian news and comment All Saturday's SocietyGuardian news and comment Other news • BBC: GPs 'denied freedom to make NHS reforms work' • Children & Young People Now: Discrimination against disabled children still widespread, study finds • Community Care: 'Mystery tour' social worker struck off for sexual misconduct • Independent: Single-parent plan 'will hit poor' • Inside Housing: Charities forced to reject homeless young people • Localgov.co.uk: DCLG unveils community budget shortlists • Public Finance: NHS cuts will inspire innovation, says HFMA chief • Telegraph: Council 'put child, 5, into care for being obese' • Third Sector: FRSB launches warning campaign on fraudulent clothing collectors On my radar ... • Reading the riots , the landmark Guardian and London School of Economics collaboration, which uncovers the main motivations behind the summer's unrest. The biggest study in to the causes of the riots has found that widespread anger and frustration at the way police engage with communities was a significant cause of the summer riots in every major city where disorder took place. Find out more about the study and watch the rioters' video accounts of why they were involved. My colleague Paul Owen is live blogging the reaction to the study . • An incredibly moving post on the Where's the Benefit blog by Lisa, who writes a raw account of how her mental health has been affected by the government's proposed welfare reforms : The Welfare Reform Bill is only one Lords reading short of Royal Assent. Then that's it, all hope is lost and I have that deadline of 2013 when my life will actually become unliveable. I don't want to die; I may not have grand dreams any more but there are simple things I still want to do in life: I want to learn to sing, I want to go to Comic Con. Things I can't afford to do even now. Like I said earlier, I've got a feeling of this ominous deadline when I lose my DLA in 2013. All those times in the past when I was low and I knew it would get better seem like a distant memory. It's almost impossible for me to even visualise 2014; I look into the future and instead of seeing hope I just see darkness. The current feeling of sadness is compounded by the fact that it doesn't need to be this way. People could have fought against the Welfare Reform Bill but they chose not to. I've always been acutely aware of how much society hates me because I'm disabled; the disablist-motivated abuse when I was in primary school made sure I had it drummed into me for life that I am a second-class citizen. I had thought things were getting better in recent years with things like the Disability Discrimination Act, but clearly I was a gullible fool. This year has seen a cornucopia of anti-cuts activity, but most of it has been geared towards saving libraries and trees. I don't see it as a zero sum game, I've campaigned about issues other than the WRB. But apparently the mainstream left does see it that way: The anti-cuts movement chose to fight to save libraries rather than lives. There's nothing quite like that knowledge to really make you feel despised. In an update on the post, Lisa writes: I beg of you, please don't just read, be horrified and pass on. Please do something. More than 6,000 have signed "Pat's petition" , an e-petition calling for a halt to cuts to services and benefits for disabled people; you can also follow the campaign on Twitter: @patspetition • An eye opening account of life on a council house waiting list from the Broken Single Mum blog: I hadn't realised how sure i was that we would get it, i mean it was perfect for us - 4 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, plus a downstairs wc (privacy for me and no more horrid commode) plus a separate dining room that i could have used as a temporary bedroom. I Google mapped the street, it was one street over from a good primary school, a distance i would have been able to manage in the wheelchair, meaning i could have taken the children to school myself. It was an older property so it would have reasonable room sizes, we wouldn't feel all cramped up together as we do now. It was in a nice road too, wide grass verges, trees, nice. We didn't get it and i was pretty crushed. I mean, proper tears, feeling hopeless and helpless and destined-to-be-stuck-here-forever, crushed. I mean, i had three social workers, a health visitor and my disability advocate contact the council to weigh in in our favour. If that isn't enough, what is? • Grandmas. The charity Grandparents Plus is warning that the government's pension reform plans will create a 'care gap' crisis for working families. Around 7 million grandparents are helping look after their grandchildren, often to enable parents to work, says the charity. One in five grandmothers provide at least 10 hours care a week, its analysis shows, and half of mothers rely on grandparents to look after their babies when they go back to work after maternity leave. The charity says that as the state pension age rises, more grandmothers will be expected to stay in work until they reach 65 or older, creating problems for their children and grandchildren. • Sorry it's a no , a new song by musician Tim Hain, featuring some "X-Factor rejects", which is raising money for the Whizz-Kidz charity On the Guardian Professional Networks • Live Q&A from noon with shadow housing minister Jack Dromey • Cash-strapped local authorities are increasingly looking towards social enterprises as a way of getting new social care funding, reports Debbie Andalo • Two public internet access schemes have been scrapped due to costs and failures, but councils are still battling to offer local networks open to all Events and seminars The Guardian Public Services Summit 2012 2 and 3 February, Sopwell House, St Albans A new landscape for public services Debate new models, challenge opinions and celebrate innovative thinking with a range of esteemed speakers, including Sir David Normington, Geoff Mulgan, Ben Page, Dame Mary Marsh and many more… Register before 31 December for 15% early bird discount SocietyGuardian blogs Patrick Butler's cuts blog Joe Public 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 links SocietyGuardian.co.uk Guardian cutswatch - tell us about the cuts in your area Public Leaders - the Guardian's website for senior managers of public services The Guardian's public and voluntary sector careers page Hundreds of public and voluntary sector jobs SocietyGuardian editor: Alison Benjamin Email the SocietyGuardian editor: [email protected] SocietyGuardian.co.uk editor: Clare Horton Email the SocietyGuardian.co.uk editor: [email protected] Interested in education policy and news too? Sign up for the daily Cribsheet round-up