Publications

The Employer Standards survey, also known as the ‘health check’, gives a voice to registered social workers, occupational therapists and non-registered social care professionals. The key purpose of the survey is to better understand critical questions about the experiences of the social care workforce in England.

The role of the audit committee is normally to seek assurance that the council’s financial reporting, internal controls, governance, and risk management are effective and can be relied upon by councillors and citizens. The audit committee is the committee of the council to which has been delegated the task of looking into such matters in detail.

The following summary sets out the sector support offer available to local authorities in 2024/25.

Local councils across the country are embracing a variety of innovative strategies to promote children's healthy weight. These case studies offer valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with promoting children’s healthy weight at the local level.

These top tips, and key actions, have been co-developed to support effective collaborative partnership working in the planning and delivery of community mental health services. They recognise that every heath and care system will experience challenges in relation to partnership working given the statutory and cultural differences of organisations working across the mental health pathways and that there will be different arrangements to frame local partnership working, including for example a Section 75 agreement.

The aim of this document is to provide a briefing for commissioners of social care services for people with a learning disability and autistic people, on the recognition of restrictive practices and the requirements for social care providers to work towards reducing their use of restrictive practices. It also explains the Care Quality Commission (CQC) requirements that when arranging training on the use of, and reduction in, restrictive practices, social care providers must use accredited trainers, and explains what this involves. It is relevant for services for all ages, where they are registered and inspected by CQC.

This guide is a tool for public sector practitioners and their associated stakeholders in their commitment to good governance. It provides a reference point for those beginning their journey and seeking to establish their combined authority and offers a detailed checklist for pre-existing combined authorities aiming to improve their leadership, governance, and corporate structures.

This guide is intended to assist combined authorities in demonstrating sound financial management arrangements and to support good practice. It provides a foundational basis for those beginning their journey and seeking to establish a combined authority and offers a checklist for pre-existing authorities aiming to review and improve their approach to financial management.

Six key indicators are used to measure residents’ views of their local council. Respondents are also asked to indicate their level of satisfaction with nine council services. Other questions focus on perceptions of safety, trust in politicians and government, and media coverage of councils. Additional questions are occasionally asked.