Investigating cuts in children’s social care: an activist's toolkit

The West Midlands Social Work Action Network have produced a useful aid to radical social work practice entitled 'Investigating cuts in children’s social care: an activists toolkit.'

As councils set their budgets for 2013-14 and impose yet further cuts to essential services, this timely guide provides the tools for activists to investigate cuts to children’s social care services. Produced by activists involved in the West Midlands Social Work Action Network, it draws on experience of researching and fighting cuts.

Personalisation: the facts

A new bulletin on personalisation in Scotland has been produced by a coalition of UNISON, SWAN, the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland and several other service user and carer groups. The is a very handy resource and it is relevant to the rest of the UK. While supportive of the concept of personalisation, it gives details of how it has been hijacked and is being used a fig leaf for cuts and removing important community resources directly funded by local authorities.

You can download the resource here.

SWAN Practice Notes series

SWAN is pleased to announce its 'Practice Notes' series. These are campaigning advice leaflets which provide guidance and strategies to social workers for challenging cuts to social care.

Practice notes will be available for download from this page. The first, based on the campaign in Solihull against cuts to the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children's budget, is available below.