News round-up 11/6: Social care cuts 'a false economy'

Social care

Almost nine in 10 GPs warned that patients were being put at risk by a lack of social care support, according to a Red Cross poll of GPs. The Daily Telegraph said doctors had seen increased levels of isolation among the elderly, more falls and accidents at a time of growing pressures on the NHS and quotes the Red Cross’ condemndation of cuts to social care as a “false economy”, claiming they made people more likely to be admitted to hospital or be forced to move into a care home.

Economy

Conservative MPs have warned chancellor George Osborne not to use the eurozone crisis as an alibi after he claimed Britain’s recovery was being “killed off by the crisis on our doorstep”, the Financial Times reports.

The Financial Times also reports that business activity in the north-east and north-west of England dropped last month at the fastest rate in three years. A Lloyds TSB analysis of business activity found the Midlands and south remained in better shape, the paper reports.

Employment laws

The Financial Times reports that the Business Secretary Vince Cable will support plans to make it easier for employers to persuade underperforming staff to leave voluntarily in return for a pay-off. Mr Cable believes so called “compromise agreements” are “smart, fair and pro-business” the paper reports.

Education

Children will be introduced to mental arithmetic, times-tables and fractions in the first two years of school as part of a “back-to-basics” overhaul of the National Curriculum, the Daily Telegraph reports. General secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers Russell Hobby says implementing the proposals will be “demanding”, adding that it is “appropriate to express high expectations”, the Guardian reports.

Meanwhile, a survey by the CBI shows one-third of businesses are dissatisfied with school leavers’ literacy and numeracy skills, according to the Financial Times.

Mental health

Liverpool City Council members have been criticised as “condescending and naive” after they linked pigeon feeding to mental illness, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Whitehall

An exodus of senior civil servants will gather pace unless Conservative ministers end what has been described as a “blame game”, according to the Institute for Government. The Guardian says Steve Hilton, David Cameron’s outgoing director of strategy, has criticised Whitehall’s “lazy aversion to change” while Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the home civil service, is set to publish a civil service reform plan this month.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports that civil servants will be allowed to take part in a nationwide sports day to help improve “staff morale”, despite criticism over their five-day bank holiday break this month.

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