The Latest Bulletin

April 6, 2017

What can the UK learn from how Finland solved homelessness?

A report by EU housing organisation Feantsa has found every country in the EU in the midst of a crisis of homelessness and housing exclusion – with one exception: Finland. So how has the country done it? By giving homeless people permanent housing as soon as they become homeless, rather than muddling along with various services that may eventually result in an offer of accommodation.

It’s an idea is being considered in the UK by communities secretary Sajid Javid. We spoke to Juha Kaakinen, chief executive of the Y-Foundation, which provides 16,300 low cost flats to homeless people in Finland, to find out more.

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April 6, 2017

The health workers that help patients stay at home

Every Monday morning, in a meeting room within earshot of the bells of Wakefield cathedral, a group of healthcare workers help to stage a mini-revolution. Nothing that you read in the next few minutes may strike you as particularly surprising.

Yet the experimental manner in which they are working together in this corner of Yorkshire is being seen as a possible way to improve healthcare across the country, and save the NHS money. At the table is a healthcare assistant, called Kay, Karen the physiotherapist, then Jane the occupational therapist. On the other side sit two mental health nurses both called Rachel, and finally Sue Robson – another mental health nurse who’s been with the NHS for 37 years.

“I’ve seen many, many changes, and this is one of the most exciting,” smiles Sue.

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How to Do Social Work: A basic guide from one of social work’s leading authors

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April 6, 2017

Millicent Fawcett to be first woman statue in Parliament Square

The suffragist Dame Millicent Fawcett is to be the first woman to be honoured with a statue in Parliament Square, the prime minister has announced. The equal rights campaigner who dedicated her life to getting the women’s vote, will stand alongside Sir Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela.

Theresa May said Dame Millicent “continues to inspire the battle against the injustices of today”. All 11 statues in the central London square are currently men. The new statue will be funded using the £5m fund announced in this year’s spring Budget to celebrate next year’s centenary of the first British women to get the vote.

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April 6, 2017

Groundhog day: UK stuck in rut of high inequality

Official Households Below Average Income statistics show that thanks to modest income growth across the distribution, the Gini measure of income inequality before housing costs has increased only slightly from 34 per cent to 35 per cent. While it’s not a statistically significant increase, what is hugely significant is that this is yet another year of failure to create a fairer society. You’ll see a lot of people today stating that inequality is the same as it was 25 years ago. For the avoidance of doubt, this is categorically not a good thing. That our current situation is comparable with inequality levels following a meteoric rise through the late 1970s and 1980s is no cause for complacency, let alone celebration.

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March 23, 2017

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living: Avoid drift

Drift is the term used for when we become unfocused, when we lose sight of what we are doing or what we are trying to achieve. Ever gone upstairs and, when you get to the top of the staircase, you have no idea why you went upstairs; your mind is blank? That’s drift. Ever been on the way to a meeting, got distracted then found yourself wondering where it was you were going? That’s drift.

But there are more serious versions of drift. For example, an important meeting can get bogged down in detail and lose track of what was supposed to be discussed. A worker can lose sight of what they are trying to achieve or what their role is. The result can be, at the least, wasted time and energy or much more serious in terms of important, perhaps crucial, things not getting done…

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March 23, 2017

How poverty affects people’s decision-making processes

As poverty continues to be a feature of the social and economic landscape in the United Kingdom, attention is turning towards the potentially damaging role played by individual decisions made in low-income contexts. This report summarises the most recent evidence on the relationship between socioeconomic status and the psychological, social and cultural processes that underpin decision-making, it highlights:

  • the results of 15 systematic reviews of recent evidence on the relationship between socioeconomic status and psychological, social and cultural processes underpinning decision-making;
  • insights on the impact of poverty on thinking, behaviour patterns, facing challenges and engaging with the social world;
  • a discussion of what these relationships mean for decision-making by those living in or near poverty;
  • how decision-making in contexts of poverty serves important immediate functions, even if it has negative consequences for long-term outcomes; and
  • implications for interventions designed to empower those living in poverty to make decisions that enhance their long-term well-being.

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March 23, 2017

No-one should be denied human rights – scrap the DoLS

The Law Commission is a statutory, independent body set up to reform the law. We want to ensure that the law is as fair, modern, simple and cost-effective as possible. Three years ago, the Department of Health came to us with a problem.

A few months before, a Supreme Court decision called Cheshire West had had a massive impact on what is called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Sometimes people with conditions like dementia or learning disabilities need to be confined or made subject to restrictions in a place like a care home when it is in their best interests. For example, a person with dementia may be kept in their care home to prevent them from wandering off, which could put them in danger. This is known as a deprivation of liberty and an authorisation process – the DoLS – is meant to ensure checks are in place so this is done lawfully.

But Cheshire West changed the definition of who was considered to be deprived of their liberty. Now anyone living in a hospital, care home and even a private or family setting who is under constant supervision and not free to leave is considered deprived of their liberty; they must be given legal safeguards.

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March 23, 2017

Wrexham’s prison opens – A life changing oppportunity?

This is our full film on the opening of Wrexham’s Prison, HMP Berwyn, explaining how things are being done differently locally. With the prison opening, many have voiced a range of opinions over the balance of retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation.

In forthcoming legislation (the Prisons and Courts bill) rehabilitation is for the first time enshrined in law: “…a key purpose of prison is to reform and rehabilitate offenders, as well as punish them for the crimes they have committed.”

We asked a range of questions, from how Governor Russ Trent feels about being in charge of the biggest and newest prison in the UK, about using certain language such as rooms not cells, and even about security around New Psychoactive Substances – also known as ‘legal highs’.

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