Society daily 04.10.10

Follow Society Guardian on Twitter Follow Patrick Butler on Twitter Sign up to Society Daily email briefing Vote for Guardian Public Servant of the Year Today's top Society Guardian stories Child benefit to be scrapped for high earners Eric Pickles declares 'home-rule' for England's 12 biggest cities David Cameron promises extra £164m to NHS for treatment of cancer Martin Narey: Time to end child benefit CBI calls for tougher legislation on right to strike George Osborne: cuts must be fast and deep to avoid decade of debt Will Hutton: Eight steps to make Britain a fair society All today's Society Guardian stories Stories you may have missed over the weekend Spending cuts: Think the Thatcher years were bad? You ain't seen nothing yet Interview: Kenneth Clarke relishes life back at the centre of government Doctors and nurses launch campaign for right to help terminally ill to end their lives Special report: Amelia Gentleman investigates whether nurseries harm children 10,000 Birmingham council homes to get solar panels New mothers 'let down by NHS postnatal care,' report says Equality Act – a health warning for the sick and disabled Obituary: Disability rights leader Rowen Jade, who has died aged 40 Other news In the year to April 2009, eastern European workers paid £1.37 in taxes for every £1 of services they received, according to the Financial Times' investigation into the impact of immigration . In contrast Britons paid just 80p for each £1 of services. But cheap foreign workers keep public sector wages down such as those employed in social care and the NHS. The Independent reports a breakthrough in Britain's war on drugs and crime . A study of long-term success rates for treatment programmes by the Home Office and the National Treatment Agency found nearly half of addicts completing drug courses remained drug free after four years. Guardian and Observer Christmas Appeal 2010: help us decide which youth charities to support This year our Christmas appeal will support charities working with vulnerable teenagers and young adult s. That bit we've decided on. What we don't know yet is which ones to support. And that's where you come in. There are around 8,000 UK charities out there who operate in this area. We are looking for 10 projects which do innovative, effective work with young people at risk aged 13-24. So if you work for a charity, and you fit the bill, please apply ( you can find the link to the pdf download on this page ). If you know of a charity which you think we ought to support, then encourage them to apply or nominate them on this blog , and we'll contact them on your behalf. Applications close on 8 October, the appeal will kick off in December. Events Public sector online , 4 October, London: a one-day conference examining how public sector professionals can engage with their audience to deliver services more effectively and strategically online. Capital Ambition Delivering services for London in an age of austerity, 15 November 2010, London. Join leading practitioners across London to re-think, re-design and re-assess the way services are delivered Guardian Social Enterprise 2010 , 16 November, London. An interactive conference for anyone delivering public services or supporting social enterprises. Speakers include: minister for civil society Nick Hurd; Peter Holbrook, chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition; Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive, Social Enterprise London; Lord Victor Adebowale, chief executive, Turning Point; Rod Schwartz, chief executive, Clearly So; Dai Powell, chief executive, HCT; Alastair Wilson, chief executive, School for Social Entrepreneurs. Transforming Blue Light Services Innovating ICT for the emergency services, 24 November 2010, London. Discover how the innovative use of technology will improve performance and response in difficult financial times. Society Guardian blogs Joe Public Sarah Boseley's global health blog Guardian awards Guardian Public Services awards 2010 Guardian charity awards 2010 Society Daily blog Society Daily blog editor: Patrick Butler Email the editor: [email protected] Society Guardian Links SocietyGuardian.co.uk Guardian cutswatch - tell us about the cuts in your area Public - the Guardian's website for senior public sector executives The Guardian's public and voluntary sector careers page Hundreds of public and voluntary sector jobs Society Guardian editor: Alison Benjamin Email the SocietyGuardian editor: [email protected]