Society daily 30.09.10

Follow Society Guardian on Twitter Follow Patrick Butler on Twitter Sign up to Society Daily email briefing Today's top Society Guardian stories Oldest people will be hit hardest by spending cuts, charity warns Pregnant women urged to have winter flu jab for the first time Bottle-feeding babies can lead to adult obesity, says study Hyperactive children may suffer from genetic disorder, says study Child protection services becoming "overwhelmed" NHS plans put Tories in Labour's line of fire Society Guardian's guide to quangos being culled All today's Society Guardian stories Other news • Coalition plans to scrap the Audit Commission and let councils choose their own auditors have come under fire from some of the accounting bodies that the government hopes will oversee the new regime. The FT reports that the Association of Chartered Certified Accounts said the plans appeared " costly, compromised and prone to conflicts of interest ". • The FT also says that Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, is considering streamlining the procurement process so that companies supplying the public sector deal with central government as a single customer rather than a range of different departments. • Surrey county council is considering using a herd of bulls to deter drivers stopping at a lay-by for casual sex, according to the Daily Telegraph. On my radar ... • The Association of Directors of Children's Services report on the pressures on child protection . Confirms the post Baby P crisis in safeguarding, sets out the startling financial difficulties facing children's services departments, and lays down a political challenge to the Coalition. • For further evidence of Britian's overheating child protection economy see the latest official figures on looked after children . More and more entering care, with a huge influx last year, at the height of the Baby Peter crisis. • "Why the revolution will not be Tweeted". Malcom Gladwell's New Yorker piece questioning assumptions that Twitter and Facebook have "reinvented social activism". • A piece by Times columnist Camilla Cavendish about this shocking court case involving Coventry city council children's services , and the wider implications for social justice if legal aid budgets are cut. Such a shame the article is behind a pay wall. • This post, in which the NHS gets it right. A pensioner pays tribute on the excellent Patient Opinion site. • More diverse signs that the charity and voluntary sector economy is struggling: a charity finance directors group poll which shows most charities have been affected by the recession , some badly; an NCVO report which reports charity leaders' confidence at an all time low ; and this report of budget cuts of 50% at umbrella body NAVCA • Doom and gloom in NHS primary care trusts and strategic health authorities. Eight out of ten staff expect to lose their jobs or fear for the future , according to this poll • The Big society in action: Swansea tennis enthusiasts take control of the municipal tennis centre after the council says it can no longer afford to run it. • Reports that the charity commission's guidance that public schools must prove public benefit to gain charitable status is to be reviewed by the courts. • Martin Brookes' RSA lecture on the morality of charity giving. You can read it here . 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]