Reserving judgment pending details on the £500m pay boost for care workers (in 2028!) but pleased with this image being used by government

political reporters: "who's to say which side is right? I'm just reporting what they say!" science & health reporters: "me! I can say who's right! can anyone hear me?"

Peerless reporting by Sue Mitchell on File on Four. Might as well call all the 2025 journalism awards now. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Curious consequence (apparently) of VAT imposition on private schools

NHS guidelines stand In the UK, paracetamol (acetaminophen in USA) is the first choice of painkiller if you're pregnant. It's commonly taken during pregnancy and does not harm your baby www.nhs.uk/medicines/pa...

Quite the week for the family

Confirmation today that Exercise Pegasus starts on Thursday to assess the UK’s readiness for another pandemic arising from ‘a novel infectious disease’. Hoping someone remembers care homes this time …

‘I happen to think the prime minister is a decent, honest and competent man. But I’m beginning to wonder if he’s not a little unworldly’ 🎯

‘[I] could no longer lead the sector when the political leadership don’t want to engage with me’ - Claire Murdoch per Health Service Journal (£)

Peter Mandelson Sacking Day seems to come around sooner every decade. My SKETCH of Today in "No! Not Peter! Not again?"

Small point but why ‘Boris Files’ not ‘Johnson Files’? Just fuels the charming rogue myth.

We're looking for organisations to host IMPACT projects in 2026-27 We're looking for sites of all sizes, from individual services to whole regions View the long list of possible topics here: impact.bham.ac.uk/contact-us-2...

Judicious advice for corporates thinking of cosying up to Reform from top comms strategist Rutherford Hall (aka @robertshrimsley.bsky.social) 😁

Happy transfer deadline day to all who celebrate

Viewed from Cowdenbeath, I guess 60 miles might conceivably seem ‘near’ @theobserveruk.bsky.social

Thanks but I’ll take no lectures on restraint from this past master

The govt's commitment to adult social care reform procrastination is truly impressive. First it commissioned Louise Casey to publish a review in 2028, then it decided she should first review grooming gangs, and now it is considering appointing her to a full time role in No.10

It’s clear there are too many charities (170,000 registered in England & Wales) but numbers continue to rise. More than 1,000 applications in July, the highest ever monthly figure. This has to stop. charitycommission.blog.gov.uk/2025/08/26/a...

Superb by Ben Jennings @theipaper.com

On a day when optimism feels in sort supply, check out Hope for All Ages - 50 ideas from ‘changemakers’ that just might leave us in a better place by 2050 www.unitedforallages.com/news

This is what happens when the influence of British Cycling meets one of the UK’s biggest social care charities - a groundbreaking day of inclusion and social impact for people who draw on care and support! 🚴‍♂️✨ 🎥 youtu.be/XkiiK-Yzdvk @britishcycling.org.uk

Profound apologies to the person to whom I have just mailed a letter (sic) with an old 1p stamp found in the back of a drawer thinking it a 1st class. So out of practice …

A great friend and colleague to many people at this Unit: www.kcl.ac.uk/news/in-memo...

Oh - ‘total numbers leaving the country are in line with — or even below — official forecasts’

Tax ‘raid’? Really? Expect better from @theindependent.bsky.social

Tory minister chose Capita director to carry out secret review of #DWP deaths www.disabilitynewsservice.com/tory-ministe...

Wow

Yes he needs to stop this - all too Westminster clubby @financialtimes.com @henrymance.ft.com

‘Increasingly, state-funded or local authority-provided #socialcare is only really a service for people who are in poverty’ - @adass.bsky.social president @jessmcp.bsky.social

… but you’ve barely touched your steak bake, hun @financialtimes.com

Almost 1 in 4 social care jobs now held by non-EU overseas workers @skillsforcare.bsky.social Numbers doubled in just two years. How will sector cope with visa crackdown?

One snag that had not occurred to me @financialtimes.com

Well I never …

👏👏👏 @theipaper.com

Tremendous tribute by John Carvel to my late Guardian colleague Malcom Dean www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...

Courageous reporting. Join me in supporting this fine journalism. www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-l...

Yet again. Do coffee shop chains buy especially unreliable dishwashers?

Malcolm was a social policy guru and my wise mentor as I struggled to grasp the mysteries of SEN, RAWP and SERPS. Greatly missed. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...

This is very good indeed

Rare good news for social care

A letter not from the NHS, as it might appear, but from a private optical services company offering a home visit. They got my details from Sagacity Data Ltd who ‘help consumer facing businesses increase customer engagement and make more money’

Councils will spend just 5.6% of their social care budgets on prevention this year, compared to 8.4% in 2019-20

Oh look - a new 630-place independent secondary school is opening. All those fears about VAT killing off private education and aspiration seem to have receded

This day in social work history⏳ 8-13th July 1928: The first International Conference of Social Work held in Paris, France, involving 5,000 delegates from 42 countries.

Fewer of us died in the first six months of 2025 in England & Wales than in any previous year, actuaries say. Driven by big fall in 75-84 age group (5% lower than 2015-24 average). Heathy ageing or just recovery from pandemic? actuaries.org.uk/news-and-med...

Marvellous @privateeyenews.bsky.social

Loving these pieces by interviewers who knew something wasn’t quite right but didn’t have the space to say so at the time

Re-reading the 1999 report of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care for the Elderly, as you do, and wondering if Louise Casey has much more straw to work with today when it comes to social care data …

Profoundly disappointing - gov’t dismisses economic case for social care growth: ‘The core purpose of adult social care is to maximise people’s wellbeing & personal independence’ www.gov.uk/government/p...

More than 14,000 new places in independent ‘special’ schools in UK since 2022, say analysts LaingBuisson in overview of booming £26.8bn children’s services market