Patrick Butler

4 days ago | theguardian.com | Ben Quinn |Patrick Butler

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is now in charge of a number of councils across England, including 10 where it has overall control. Its haul of 677 council seats also means it is on the brink of power in at least four others where it emerged as the largest party. It also has two regional mayoralties – Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire – with budgets and powers.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Patrick Butler

A cross-party group of MPs has warned attempts to reform adult social care are doomed to fail unless ministers accept major investment is needed to overhaul a “broken” system that was failing millions of people. Reform of social care was typically seen by governments as a “burden” on the taxpayer, and a “drain on resources” rather than a positive boost to people’s lives, the NHS and the economy, said the health and social care select committee.

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Patrick Butler

A pensioner with severe learning disabilities who was a victim of one of the most notorious care home abuse scandals of recent years has been told he faces eviction over a dispute about who pays for the costs of his state-funded care. The family of Hugh Kirsch, 66, said they had been warned he would have to leave his supported home because the council that funds his care refused to increase fees in line with costs and his care provider could no longer afford to subsidise the price.

3 weeks ago | aol.co.uk | Patrick Butler |Kiran Stacey

The government has been accused of “delay and drift” after it emerged crucial cross-party talks aimed at building political consensus for large-scale changes to adult social care have failed to get off the ground. The Liberal Democrats said not a single all-party meeting on the issue had taken place in the four months since the government announced ambitious plans to build a national care service to fix the UK’s growing social care crisis.

4 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Patrick Butler

Ministers have announced an overhaul of the way carer’s allowance overpayments are checked in a bid to fix the failing system which has left thousands with life-changing debts,fines and criminal records. In a significant policy change, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been ordered to hire extra staff to investigate 100% of the carer’s allowance earnings breach alerts it receives and swiftly notify carers if they are at risk of falling into debt.