Society daily 08.05.12

Sign up to Society daily email briefing Today's top SocietyGuardian stories • Elderly care funding should focus on poorest, says Duncan Smith thinktank • Cabinet in confusion over NHS risk register publication • Cameron and Clegg go on offensive over cuts, the coalition and growth • Livingstone tells Miliband: don't pander to 'discredited Blairites' • Boris Johnson sets out agenda for second term as mayor of London • Owen Hatherley: The holes in Britain's cities need imagination to fill them • Aditya Chakrabortty: Academics can't answer criticism that there's too little analysis of current crisis • 56 Up: 'It's like having another family' • Children start dieting as young as 10 • The rapper who became a Labour councillor All today's SocietyGuardian stories The pick of the weekend's SocietyGuardian news and comment • Cameron's 'big society' undermined by cuts and distrust, says study • Debts 'threaten fire engine company's ability to tackle high-rise blazes' • Terra Firma care homes takeover triggers MPs' calls for tighter regulation • Ritalin use for ADHD children soars fourfold In tomorrow's SocietyGuardian section • The NHS is set to start using cameras in hospital wards to monitor staff behaviour in a bid to reduce hospital-acquired infections, drive up the quality of care and improve patient safety. Denis Campbell reports • London is the only city in England that gives its mayoral administration the power and prestige it needs to perform its role successfully. The other cities must follow suit, writes Peter Hetherington • Elected mayors may not have reached the critical mass that many supporters of the model had hoped for, but they have clout, argues Simon Parker • An inner-city project gives men feeling divorced from their community a chance to get together to boost their confidence • Helping troubled families is all very well but to really eradicate the need for state intervention later, social policy must tackle the inequality that makes families 'troubled' in the first place, says Anna Minton • The tax on prescriptions means many patients are not taking the medicines they need, which costs the NHS in the long run, warns Peter Dawson On the Guardian Professional Networks • Live Q&A from 1pm: the benefits of community buying for voluntary organisations • A new programme is helping family doctors identify and support carers in their area. Ciara Leeming reports • New documentary follows learning disabled man Tom Spicer as he leaves his Devon care home on a quest to meet his hero, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich • Tom Gard and Sean Wheeldon explain how an analysis of social return on investment could increase community interest company SoberLink's appeal to investors On my radar ... • Bradford , which according to a new IPPR report, is the most economically polarised place in England. The thinktank's report, Alike in dignity? Housing in Bradford , says the city has the biggest gap between its most and least deprived areas, and calls for more local power over housing spending, including housing benefit. The IPPR projects that by 2025, Yorkshire and Humberside faces a housing shortage of 151,000 homes. The IPPR has also published a report on housing in London . On the Red Brick blog, Steve Hilditch analyses the two reports: The focus on Bradford is welcome following the recent controversial by-election. IPPR shows how it is England's most economically polarised district, with the biggest gap between its most and least deprived areas, including between housing 'haves' and 'have nots'. Those on the lowest incomes and living in the cheapest areas still face the worst affordability constraints, measured as the proportion of their income taken up by rent. The areas with high concentrations of low income households are also associated with the poorest quality housing stock, overcrowding on the one hand and empty properties on the other. There are a couple of points in the London report that are worth highlighting as well. IPPR says that London is different – although not detached – from the rest of the country and that its uniqueness as a world city requires unique policies. Despite the mayor's new powers and control over public housing investment resources, the London housing strategy is largely just a restatement of the dogma of national policy. • Eye-opening statistic of the day: households are spending an average 38% of their take-home income on rent , with those in London spending 71%, according to new figures from FindaProperty.com . • Austerity . New French president François Hollande may have vowed to fight back against austerity measures, but the young of the UK, predicts Michael Carty on the XpertHR blog, will have an inheritance of perpetual austerity to look forward to : Rather than winding down in time for the 2015 general election (as had originally been planned, or shortly after the election, as the revised timetable sketched out in Osborne's 2011 Autumn Statement suggested), the age of austerity could have only just begun. Indeed, as we noted last year, permanent austerity could be in prospect, at least in our lifetimes. This is because increased longevity and consequent increased pension burdens and other costs arising from an ageing population could force additional austerity measures over the coming decades. • A great idea from my colleagues on the Guardian housing network. Inspired by the revelation that housing minister Grant Shapps' karaoke turn is Rapper's Delight, the network challenged members to come up with rap-related puns, using the Twitter hashtag #shappsraps . Other news • BBC: Groups demand social care reform • Children & Young People Now: Youth offending team budgets take seven per cent hit • Community Care: College of Social Work defends early membership figures • FT: Cameron vows 'no going back' on deficit • Independent: Dentists 'inventing work to defraud NHS' • Inside Housing: Think tank calls for London welfare changes • Telegraph: Top surgeon says 48-hour week damages doctors' training • Third Sector: Victim Support campaigns against major Ministry of Justice policy Events and seminars 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. Digital engagement surgery Thursday 17 May, Kings Cross, London This engaging and participatory workshop will look at real-life scenarios and how charities are using digital techniques to collaborate and communicate. Attendees will be asked bring challenges in with them (submitted advance), which will be shared in a workshop format to collectively tackle common themes running through the sector. 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. 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]