This programme is now available to view on localgov.tv the online television channel for public service modernisation. It shows how councils can save up to £1 million each year by reducing benefit fraud and improving the efficiency of enquiry handling by bringing together data from different sources to create a single view of the customer.

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New research has found 80 per cent of people feel do not have enough information about options for caring for older people. The study, published by Counsel and Care, revealed a serious lack of public understanding of the care system and of information about it. 
 
In a survey of more than 1,300 adults, aged from 18 to 90, the charity found that only five per cent believed the social care system was easy to navigate.

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Council staff are to visit Mosques as part of a drive to find more people to adopt Muslim children of mixed ethnic backgrounds. Birmingham City Council is taking the step after its adoption and fostering service reported a growing number of children from what it calls ‘super diverse’ backgrounds coming into care.
 
They say the trend is a reflection of the way cultures within the city are merging and of Birmingham’s evolving demographic. They want potential parents to come forward to adopt children who, according to officials, are being overlooked by families who are interested in adoption.
 
Helen French, the Council’s operations manager for adoption said the city was becoming increasingly diverse and added: “This diversity is one of the city’s strengths, but it also presents challenges for the Council’s adoption and fostering service. Children we increasingly have difficulty matching applicants to are Muslim children of mixed ethnicity.”
 
She said ‘super diverse’ children waiting for adoption had birth parents with a combination of African, Caribbean, South Asian, European and British backgrounds.  Potential adopters who are Muslim and of mixed ethnicity or who live with a spouse or partner of different ethnic background to their own are particularly needed but the most important attributes are understanding and willingness to promote different cultures and religions.
 
Officers from the adoption and fostering service will be visiting Mosques and community groups across the city as part of the recruitment drive.

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