Public, voluntary and private sector organisations are to get more money to help disabled children to take better quality short breaks so they can experience new things while their parents get some time off from caring. Details of a new 45 million pound fund will be unveiled today by the Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families, Ed Balls. 

This year’s settlement for Local Government will put more pressure on the system by which it is financed at a time when the Government has gone silent on the issue of reform of that system, according to the Local Government Information Unit. In its analysis of the settlement the think-tank says there are some positives but the next three years will be tough going for many councils.
The LGIU said the announcement contained no surprises but there were, it said, positive elements. 

This survey probed the attitudes of local government staff on how they view opportunities to be proactive, to innovate and to contribute to improvement. Respondents were divided into those working in councils with ‘beacon’ status and others. Staff in ‘beacon’ councils gave much higher response levels across all areas.