By Nina Biehal The number of children looked after by local authorities has risen steadily since the mid 1990s and resource pressures are focusing attention on the risks and benefits of re-uniting them with their families. The author offers a critical appraisal of the available research evidence on patterns and outcomes of reunion.

A new report from the think tank the New Local Government Network sets out a series of proposals it believes would lead to a transformation in the relationship between central and local government, including a fundamental reform of the way local authorities are funded, though Council Tax would be retained.The report, “Pacing Lyons: a route map to localism” calls for the abolition of the national target regime and the introduction of a system using citizens and other local public services to drive improvement. The author, Dick Sorabji, the head of policy at NLGN, also urges measures to improve democracy and to encourage people to stand as councillors as well as encouraging devolution from town halls.

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The structure of the National Health Service is described as a ‘worm-infested sham’ in a hard-hitting comment article in today’s issue of ‘The Lancet’. The article says the service is a shadow of what it once was and goes on to call for politicians and mandarins to step aside so that problems can be tackled with clarity of thought and planning that is independent of personal conflicts of interest.Under the heading “Mismanagement as a prelude to privatisation of the UK NHS,” William Jeffcoate, a contributing editor at the magazine, pins the blame for the steady decline of the NHS on the failure of those in control to understand the difference between a business and a service.

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