Society daily 18.05.12

Sign up to Society daily email briefing Today's top SocietyGuardian stories • Parenting lessons: this is not the nanny state, says David Cameron • Child support charges could increase poverty, warn MPs • Remploy bidders offered wage subsidy • Payday loan borrowers 'trapped in debt spiral' • Barristers may strike over legal aid • 83-year-old gives away one of his 'Formula One' kidneys • Last night a DVD saved my life • London housing crisis: should we build on the green belt? • How David Cameron's cuts strategy is losing him the support of Tory women All today's SocietyGuardian stories On the Guardian Professional Networks • Live debate from noon: leading a changing NHS • Carrie Wilson explains how support and encouragement could help those leaving care achieve success in life • Co-operative councils ask residents to design the public services they need • Why the waiting list is black gold for housing professionals On my radar ... • The continuing debate over the future of the Remploy factories. Disability Rights UK has launched an unsigned piece calling for "rigorous and analytical look at the situation, in the context of our struggle for rights and independence". On its site it says : There are plenty of voices advocating – quite rightly – for the disabled people who currently work at Remploy to not lose their jobs. But we believe the call to keep the factories open is potentially damaging: what is missing from this debate is the determination to be rid of the sheltered employment model that the Remploy factories represent, and that the disabled people's movement has always criticised. Comedian Laurence Clark describes a school visit to a Remploy factory and explains why he turned down an invitation to perform at a benefit for Remploy staff. He adds: ... as much as I'm in favour of inclusion in the workplace, the inescapable, uncomfortable truth of the Remploy closures is that most of the disabled workers being made redundant will probably not find other jobs in the current climate. Furthermore, impending cuts and other changes to support systems will only make it harder for disabled people to survive and thrive in work. • The Institute of Education's new education and social sciences blog , which looks like it's going to be a really interesting forum. Subjects already covered include the pupil premium, "sexting" and performance related pay for teachers. • A despairing post on the Being Here blog, in which a mental health social worker explains how her team is being disbanded and redeployed : There simply isn't going to be such a thing as mental health social work within a multidisciplinary team. Upset personally, terrified politically. This Biopsychosocial model we'd all worked towards collectively, the idea that a person existed within a socio-political context, that a person was created from events as well as biological material, the knowledge of different social roles, power-differentials within caring relationships, the question of meaning and identity, all of these are lost. While nursing staff have some training in these ideas, necessarily it is not the bread-and-butter of their training, nor should it be. No professional can be completely holistic in the true sense. That is why the multidisciplinary approach was conceived, and has been the backbone of Community Mental Health for over forty years. It has now been undone in a matter of months and there appears to be no reverse gear. Already service users are experiencing the loss of care coordinators they have known for years in some cases and are responding as you'd expect. There is chaos. There are increased referrals and presentations. People are highly distressed. Wards are closing. Community resources are shutting down. Assessments for benefits are being done with harsher (nonsensical?) criteria. And to add to this current situation an already demoralised and exhausted workforce are being hauled out of the jobs they have done some of them for decades. I feel as if my MSc is now void. My specialist post-qualifying award is now void. As if I never had any business being in mental health in the first place as I'm not a medical member of staff. As if these problems people experience are all purely medical and nothing else and there is no need to look at bigger, broader pictures that come with the social model. (thanks to Ermintrude for the link) • A new post on the New Statesman blog by Frances Ryan on disability and the return of blame culture : ... the real disableds don't scream about the blame culture, the one that's been given new life by dire economic conditions. They sit by as it grips and excludes and pushes them outside, only brought back in when something on the inside needs to be declared their fault. The true disabled take whatever's done or said to them, dutifully lifeless in body and the mind. When they get a little vocal though, when they dare object and campaign and speak the truth – that's when they become a different type of disabled, the type that [Cristina] Odone took the time this week to warn us against. This type are "savvy activists", she told us; having the potential to succeed appears to be a reasonable ground on which to criticize the opposition. They favour "manipulation and shock value", she distorted, citing the menacing vision of a few campaigners wearing a symbolic glove. True disableds fit the box that's been made for them. Passive, needing and accepting. Just not enough to make Odone or the compassionate conservatives start to feel guilty; then it's probably time to take your offensive need and go indoors. Luckily that's starting to happen anyway, thanks to cuts to the benefits and services that enable many disabled people to leave the house. Taking a human's dignity and freedom is all well and good of course, but one doesn't want to have to look at it whilst it occurs. • A local government "bucket list". Inspired by a post on the We Love Local Government blog listing things to do before you leave local government , the Systems Thinking for Girls blog has put together its own list , including: List the restructures you have been through over the years and describe to your manager any impact you think these had on the service you provided for the citizen/customer and on staff morale. Other news • BBC: Aberdeen dementia patient 'had 106 carers' • Children & Young People Now: Refugee children missing out on legal advice, says report • Community Care: Working Together consultation and Munro due in weeks • Independent: Police forces put £1.5bn privatisation plan on hold • Inside Housing: Landlords to float on stock exchange • LocalGov.co.uk: Whitehall warned about the perils of social media • Public Finance: Whitehall will hang on to 50% of business rate income • Telegraph: Government puts its faith in gardening to tackle elderly care crisis • Third Sector: Bad volunteers are like a cancer, says Scout Association director Events and seminars Social media for health and social care Thursday 31 May, Kings Cross, London With massive changes facing health and social care provision the need for clear, open and accessible communication channels is greater than ever. Whether you are looking to improve engagement with patients, clients and peers, promote your services or increase media coverage, this practical, interactive seminar tailored for health professionals will show you how social media can help you do it. Identifying, measuring and demonstrating social value Tuesday 12 June, Kings Cross, London The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 highlights the need for the public sector to ensure suppliers can demonstrate social, economic and environmental concerns are at the heart of public sector contracts.This seminar looks at the importance of measurement and assessment techniques, embedding social values through tendering and contract management, and a variety of evaluation and monitoring tools. Scrutiny: making an impact Tuesday 26 June, Kings Cross, London This interactive seminar challenges traditional approaches to scrutiny, demonstrating in-depth questioning techniques and exploring the use of video evidence. It also considers the difference between a finding and a recommendation, how to word recommendations so they can't be ignored and work through good practice to evaluate each scrutiny process. Making the most of social media for social housing Friday 29 June, 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 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 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]