Jobseekers have been made to do compulsory unpaid work for up to eight weeks after refusing to take part in the voluntary work experience scheme. Photograph: Rex Features
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Today's top SocietyGuardian stories
• Jobseekers who shunned voluntary scheme forced to do unpaid work
• NHS reforms: Labour granted emergency Commons debate
• Older patients let down by shortage of nurses, says Royal College of Nursing
• Sickness benefit: 'They try their damnedest to avoid paying'
• Campaigners call for new homicide law for inciting suicide
• Boris Johnson lays into Ken Livingstone's 'loony left' record
• Unions lose CPI pensions appeal
• Civil service union seeks national strike over pensions
• Former law lord to question clause 117 amendment on sentencing
• Polly Toynbee: It's full-steam ahead for George Osborne's inequality drive
• Budget 2012: as a single mum, I'm scared for my children's future
• Will the minimum wage freeze really help the young back into work?
All today's SocietyGuardian stories
In tomorrow's SocietyGuardian section
• When it comes to government grants, the voluntary sector must take its place in line behind businesses, railway companies and housing associations, writes David Brindle
• If a person living on the streets decides to spend your money on drugs or alcohol, it's none of your business, argues Mark Johnson
• Where are the managers and elected leaders thinking great thoughts about changing the way services are delivered, asks David Walker
• One in five local authorities don't know the impact of cuts to black and minority ethnic community groups
• Could playing in a team encourage people across the UK to build new ties with their neighbours and create an enduring legacy for the Games?
• Rehabilitation charity joins forces with British fashion designer Daniel Blake
• Targeting benefits at the very poorest people won't effectively reduce poverty, the US sociologist David Brady tells Alison Benjamin
• We need to provide greater dignity in care for older people and address alcohol misuse to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, says Daniel Poulter
On the Guardian Professional Networks
• Live Q&A from 1pm: Gamification for charities
• What should local government expect from the budget?
• In the first of a new series inviting social care professionals to share their inspirations, social worker and blogger Ermintrude explains what she learned from Anna Sewell's classic book Black Beauty
• A new report challenges the notion that public services driven by a top-down centralist ideology translate into good value for money, writes Stephen Duckworth
On my radar ...
• NHS reforms. The health and social care bill returns to the Commons today after it completed its last stages in the upper house on Monday night after Tory and Liberal Democrat peers defeated two last minute challenges. Andrew Sparrow will be following the day's developments - including an emergency debate calling for the publication of an internal assessment of the risks posed by the proposed reforms - on the Politics live blog . Dr Kailash Chand, the GP whose e-petition calling for the government to drop the bill attracted more than 150,000 signatures, writes for the Total Politics site that protecting the health service is more important than any political aspiration:
I was concerned about the lack of democratic accountability of the coalition government and I wanted the Bill to have its 'day in court'. The e-petition broadened the debate amongst all sections of society. It has inspired other activists, spread knowledge about the reforms, it has stimulated Liberal Democrat factions within the coalition to question their own beliefs and forced the Labour Party to raise its game. Opposition to the Bill has come from a wide spectrum including organisations such as the BMA, most Royal Colleges, as well as trade unions and patient groups. The epetition did have its day in court despite attempts by some MPs on the Business Backbench Committee to block it, salvaging a few strands for the democratic rights of those who use epetitions to force parliamentary debate over an issue that evokes public outrage.
The Bill may become law, but those like me who cherish the NHS will continue to fight for the right to universal healthcare as a basic human right regardless of whether they live in flourishing suburbs or inner city deprived areas.
• World Social Work Day, which takes place today. Shirley Ayres writes for the Social care network about how social media helps care professionals make connections , and on the General Social Care Council blog, Steph Munro explains how the recent BBC2 documentary Protecting Our Children changed the way she views social workers:
The programme gave me a (minute I imagine) insight into the things social workers have to deal with day in day out, such as the father giving Annie abuse and telling her outright he did not like her. People just did not understand how hard she was trying for this family. I guess, in this line of work, it's sad but true that many people will not appreciate any effort that had been made.
Annie crying in the car after she had informed Marva that her little boy was to be taken away and the news that she had needed two weeks off sick made my own tears flow. It was clear that she was truly upset by the news she had just had to give and had so wanted it to work out. I never knew that it was possible for a social worker to actually care. This truly shows more about my own ignorance than anything else.
I have to say, I am really glad I watched the BBC's Protecting our Children documentary and I can now say with certainty that our social workers do an amazing job, are vastly under appreciated and, if even a handful of social workers are like Annie, our country is extremely lucky to have such people in place to look out for our children.
Meanwhile, social work academic Martin Webber has suggested a social work formula inspired by his inspiration, Bob Holman: Social work = values + evidence + action
For more blogs, links and resources, see the Twitter hashtag #WSWDay
• The Stanley Centre for people with learning disabilities in Knutsford, Cheshire, which has been saved from closure. SocietyGuardian reported last year on the threat to the centre, which is in chancellor George Osborne's constituency. One of the local people involved in the campaign against closure has hailed the decision as a victory for people power, but Bexton Court, a specialist dementia centre in the area, has been closed permanently.
• A really interesting post on Mike Bennett's Public Intelligence blog, Seven principles of public service reform. Bennett put together a review of services for people living with cancer, and found that the principles he formulated could be applied on a wider scale. He's inviting debate on his findings.
Other news
• BBC: NI 'has most neglected children'
• Children & Young People Now: Ofsted childcare ratings 'unreliable measure of quality'
• Community Care: Scrapping national pay deal could prompt social worker shortages
• Independent: Lack of Gypsy sites makes a future Dale Farm 'inevitable'
• Inside Housing: Olympics could provide tenancy fraud headache
• LocalGov.co.uk: More parish councils to pay no audit fees following outsourcing
• Public Finance: Abandon one-track cuts policy, Unison tells Osborne
• Telegraph: Budget 2012: taxpayers to be told how Government spends their tax
• Third Sector: Voluntary organisations expect social investment tax relief changes in Budget
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Local Government Leaders Quarterly
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This series of evening events has been designed to help public leaders discuss the key issues facing local authorities as they struggle to manage punishing funding cuts while spearheading a revolution in public service delivery. The event, consisting of a debate followed by round table discussion groups, will offer a forum to share problems and find solutions with your council peers.
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