BBC News
By Michael Buchanan and Judith Burns
BBC News
image caption Obviously we will find a way to survive, because we have to, but it s a lot lot harder, said single mum, Rebecca
Failing to extend a £20 lockdown benefit boost will harm the health of millions of people for decades, leading health organisations have told Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a letter.
Introduced last year, the £20-a-week uplift is due to end in April.
Claimants say it has been a lifeline and dread losing it.
Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey has hinted the government could be moving closer to extending the rise but says there is no decision yet.
Social work is buckling under the pressure of lockdown: government – and the public – must respond
Practitioners are feeling greater stress as need rises and their ability to respond reduces. Ministers must give them the resources they need to keep their communities - and themselves - safe, says Gerry Nosowska
February 3, 2021 in Coronavirus, Workforce
Photo: Mike/Adobe Stock
By Gerry Nosowska, chair, British Association of Social Workers (BASW)
Social workers and people who need their support across the country already know it: lockdown has made it harder to safeguard adults and children. More people need help. It is more difficult to access essential support services. It’s harder to seek and get help when not everyone has digital technology and face-to-face access is so limited.
BBC News
Published
image captionSocial work is aimed at helping people who are suffering from social deprivation
A social worker says police with Tasers escorted him to see a family during lockdown because the risk is so high .
The man said he had seen levels of abuse I have never seen before during the Covid pandemic.
He is worried there is not enough help for families struggling in isolation and children at risk of abuse.
The Welsh Government said it was working with councils to tackle any future impact from the pandemic.
Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services Julie Morgan acknowledged these are unprecedented times and said there was a great deal of strain on services .
BBC News
By Tomos Morgan & Beth Edwards
BBC News
image copyrightGetty Images
Social workers say they are braced for a tsunami of needs as the UK recovers from the pandemic.
The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) expects workloads to increase as restrictions are lifted.
One worker described a big surge in referrals after the first lockdown and the fears of missing something wrong.
Officials in all four nations praised the efforts of social workers and highlighted schemes to help vulnerable children set up in the pandemic. Cementing over cracks
A survey conducted by the BASW at the end of last year, seen by the BBC, suggests the majority of members had seen an increase in referrals since schools returned in the autumn.
Closing schools has been one of the most painful consequences of the pandemic - the action Boris Johnson described as his last resort .
Charities have warned that it could wipe out a decade of progress closing the gap between less privileged pupils and their peers.
New research from the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) has found that half of students from disadvantaged backgrounds believe they won t get the grades they deserve after this year s examinations were scrapped.
In a poll of 863 social mobility students - shared exclusively with Sophy Ridge on Sunday - 73% said they are worried about being able to study enough in lockdown with schools closed.