A foodbank in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian
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Today's top SocietyGuardian stories
• Foodbank handouts double as more families end up on the breadline
• Elected mayors not wanted by two thirds of voters
• Ken Livingstone: 'This isn't a race to elect a chat-show host'
• Oona King joins Ken Livingstone team a week before London mayoral election
• Contraception study says 13-year-olds should get the pill in certain scenarios
• Two-fifths of UK trafficking victims are male, survey reveals
• Police face deeper cuts after spending watchdog finds £500m 'black hole'
• M&S launches 'shwopping' scheme
• Zoe Williams: So you think the fight for the NHS is over? Wrong
All today's SocietyGuardian stories
On the Guardian Professional Networks
• One of the housing associations approached by Newham council writes about how it discarded its letter in disgust at the 'lazy' approach to tackling policy change
• 900 clinicians at Blackpool trust get tablets to enable mobile working and cut travel time
• Stonewall's survey reveals serious failings in NHS services for gay and bisexual men, but improvements would mean better health outcomes, says James Taylor
• Scorecards devised by the commercial sector to measure charity efficiency are being criticised because of their perspective and the fact that they can be manipulated, writes Alison Maclennan from Stevens & Bolton LLP
• Integration should be social care white paper's watchword, says John Adams of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group
• We need to extend business guidance to social entrepreneurs so they become more efficient without losing their core values, writes Paul Turner from Lloyds Banking Group
On my radar ...
• A must-read post by New York Times columnist and Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman on the double-dip recession:
Britain is also unique in having chosen the Big Wrong freely, facing neither pressure from bond markets nor conditions imposed by Berlin and Frankfurt.
Now, the defense I hear from Cameron apologists is that the austerity mostly hasn't even hit yet. But that's really not much of a defense. Remember, the austerity was supposed to work by inspiring confidence; where's the confidence? Basically, the expansionary aspect should already have kicked in; it's all contraction from here.
Needless to say, Cameron and Osborne insist that they will not change course, which means that Britain will continue on a death spiral of self-defeating austerity.
(thanks to the Creative Crip for the link)
• An interesting post on the Green Benches blog, which claims the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is planning to change the way NHS funding is allocated:
Instead of awarding funding based upon the level of deprivation that exists in the various parts of England, the Health Secretary is to in the future award funding based upon the age profile of the regional populations. So, in Kensington where women live to their 83 they can expect a greater priority of health funding than poorer parts of Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester where the average age of men in some postcodes can dip into the mid-50s. Lansley claimed that there was no evidence that poorer areas of England had greater spending needs on health. See Lansley's words reported (here). This is an absolute tragedy for the poorer parts of England where they age profile of the population is markedly younger than the wealthy SE. It is likely that the Tory rationale for this horrible deed was apparent in Anne Milton MP's words, when the Minister for Public Health mocked northerners as binge drinkers and bed hoppers.
• A debate on the charity tax cap, taking place this evening. The Oasis charity trust is hosting the "emergency debate", the charity tax: a big society or a bad move? The debate, at the Oasis Centre, Westminster Bridge Road, is being chaired by Oasis founder Steve Chalke and the panellists are Charities Aid Foundation chief executive John Low, a key player in the 'Give it Back George' Campaign, and tax expert Richard Murphy.
• Give More, a new UK-wide campaign launching today, aiming to encourage people to give more money, time or energy to good causes.
• A fascinating-sounding debate taking place at the Royal Institute today on how creativity plays a pivotal part in society and the creativity of people affected by mental illness or neurological disease. The event is part of the Sussex Conversations series of debates being held to mark Sussex University's 50th anniversary. The expert, chaired by Dr Mark Lythgoe, director of the Centre for Advance Biomedical Imaging at University College London, includes artist and a synaesthete Carol Steen, who sees letters and numbers as colours and sublimely captures her combined senses in her paintings, and Professor Chris Frith, of University College London, who helped found the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL. Questions can be submitted via Twitter live and beforehand via @SussexUni using the hashtag #SussexConvo
• A really interesting snapshot of changing times, as revealed by trends in baby names. Anna Powell-Smith has analysed 15 years of ONS data on what families call their children.
Other news
• BBC: Couples face child benefit quiz
• Children & Young People Now: Young person launches legal challenge against youth cuts
• Independent: Landmark ruling over right to retire older workers 'should not be seen as a green light'
• Inside Housing: Public housing starts set to fall 22 per cent in 2012
• Public Finance: LGA consults on procurement principles for councils
• Telegraph: Home Office has yet to account for half of budget cuts
• Third Sector: Most people oppose legal restrictions on lottery proceeds, says consultancy
Awards
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Enter the Innovation Nation awards – deadline for entries is 30 April.
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Events and seminars
Managing volunteers
Tuesday 15 May, Kings Cross, London
Engaging with volunteers is an increasingly challenging task. This half-day seminar will help you explore what 21st century volunteers want and what you need to do to involve them effectively. Delivered by leading expert Rob Jackson, this session is a must for anyone building a long-term volunteer engagement strategy.
Digital engagement surgery
Thursday 17 May, Kings Cross, London
This engaging and participatory workshop will look at real-life scenarios and how charities are using digital techniques to collaborate and communicate. Attendees will be asked bring challenges in with them (submitted advance), which will be shared in a workshop format to collectively tackle common themes running through the sector.
Successful bid writing
Friday 18 May, Kings Cross, London
Bid writing is an essential skill in voluntary sector organisations. This interactive seminar will help you create applications and bids that demonstrate your organisation's strengths and priorities, how you differ from other projects, what the benefits are for your clients and the community and how you'll be able to measure them.
Social media for health and social care
Thursday 31 May, Kings Cross, London
With massive changes facing health and social care provision the need for clear, open and accessible communication channels is greater than ever. Whether you are looking to improve engagement with patients, clients and peers, promote your services or increase media coverage, this practical, interactive seminar tailored for health professionals will show you how social media can help you do it.
Identifying, measuring and demonstrating social value
Tuesday 12 June, Kings Cross, London
The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 highlights the need for the public sector to ensure suppliers can demonstrate social, economic and environmental concerns are at the heart of public sector contracts.This seminar looks at the importance of measurement and assessment techniques, embedding social values through tendering and contract management, and a variety of evaluation and monitoring tools.
Scrutiny: making an impact
Tuesday 26 June, Kings Cross, London
This interactive seminar challenges traditional approaches to scrutiny, demonstrating in-depth questioning techniques and exploring the use of video evidence. It also considers the difference between a finding and a recommendation, how to word recommendations so they can't be ignored and work through good practice to evaluate each scrutiny process.
Making the most of social media for social housing
Friday 29 June, Kings Cross, London
This overview of social media channels will show you how to use them to maximum effect, with clear, practical examples of ways to save money, improve your communications and form a social media campaign
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