Society daily: 19.07.10

Today's top Society Guardian news and comment Four authorities chosen to pilot Big Society plan Drug treatment agency shifts towards "absention" policy Councils merge education departments in "high risk" cuts drive Gary Younge: cuts born of ideology All today's Society Guardian stories Other news • The communities secretary Eric Pickles has provoked a furious reaction in Whitehall over his vigorous promotion of the public's right to throw away as much rubbish as it likes, reports the Financial Times. • Home building levels could fall below 100,000 for the first time since 1923 as a result of the Colaition's abolition of housing targets, reports the Independent. More on the NHS white paper • Former Blair/Milburn NHS policy special advisor Simon Stevens, now president of Global Health at US healthcare firm UnitedHealth welcomes the NHS white paper as a natural extension of the Blairite agenda : The proposals come 10 years after Tony Blair, then prime minister, took the first steps down this path. What makes the coalition's proposals so radical is not that they tear up that earlier plan. It is that they move decisively towards fulfilling it – in a way that Mr Blair was blocked from doing by internal opposition within his own "virtual coalition" government. • Blogger Rich Watts on patient voice in the white paper • Polly Toynbee on how the Coalition is wiring the NHS for destruction • The Observer's editorial on the Coalition's laissez-faire approach to public health In case you missed them: The weekend's Society Guardian stories All Sunday's Society Guardian stories All Saturday's Society Guardian stories A sticking plaster for social problems The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) awards last week provided a fascinating insight into where the direction of Coalition social policy is heading. After all where Iain Duncan Smith's think tank leads, the Conservatives seem to follow. First it was "Broken Britain" – a term first coined by the CSJ to describe everything wrong with our society then marriage which would help repair the said BB and the new government pledged financial help for married couples, and now it seems, from the theme of the 2010 awards that fatherless families are the latest cause of social malaise. No surprise then to see the government's poverty tsar and self-styled champion or enemy (depending how you view these things) of shirking fathers, Frank Field, present an award. And the evening kicked off with the audience being subjected to four people's detailed and emotive accounts recalling the negative impact their absent father had on their lives. The awards were given to: "Outstanding grass roots organisations that are bringing about significant positive change in communities around Britain". The judges included a mixof social reformers, churchmen and business people, from former Apprentice winner and social entrepreneur, Tim Campbell, to minister for welfare reform, Lord Freud, the Rev Professor, Luke Geoghegan, who runs Toynbee Hall in the east end, and Christian socialist, Bob Holman. They were looking for "excellence, effectiveness, compassion and innovation". And in addition, "charities that are lifting people out of poverty and enabling them to stay that way". The winners were: • IntoUniversity , an educational charity that offers after-school tuition and mentoring to 7-18 years olds; • Frontiers , providing education through outdoor learning activities for troubled young people; • Family Links , a parent-support charity that impressed Margaret Hodge when she was children's minister; • Caring for Ex-Offenders , whose church-based volunteers meet prisoners at the gates on release and offer them training and support; • MAPS , a peer mentoring charity for looked-after-children; • The Whitechapel Mission , a homeless day centre in east London; • The Ley Community , an abstinence-based residential drug rehabilitation programme. Surprisingly, given the religious convictions of the CSJ founders and some of this year's judges, few of this eclectic mix of small, local charities seem to be faith-based. Yet they do share certain characteristics that are telling – a dynamic leader; a self-help approach and many rely on a loyal band of volunteers. They are in fact brilliant examples of Cameron's "big society" in action. The type of community-based, cheap alternatives to state-provided welfare services that this government wants to see to flourish as it rolls back the state. But as Sir Bob Geldolf pointed out during his heartfelt "families need fathers" plea during the night's proceedings, these organisations, while each doing fantastic work, are not the answer to our social problems – they are acting as a sticking plaster, tackling the symptoms rather than the cause. Only government, says Bob, can solve the causes. On the radar ... • Karl Wilding of NCVO thematises the Treasury's 31 Cuts Challenge exemplar ideas • Mike Chitty on the "dead badger" outsourcing scandal (see also last Friday's Society daily ) Society Guardian blogs Joe Public Sarah Boseley's global health blog Guardian awards Guardian Public Services awards 2010 Guardian charity awards 2010 Society Guardian social enterprise summit We are starting to plan this year's Society Guardian Social Enterprise Summit. Last year's summit was a great success - you can read about it here . Once again we are looking to showcase inspiration, innovation and practical ideas on how social enterprises can deliver public services. Whether you are from the public sector or from a social business, we want you to tell us who you'd like to see and what you would like to see discussed. Email to [email protected] . You can Follow Guardian Social Enterprise on Twitter Society Daily blog Society Daily blog editor: Patrick Butler Email the editor: [email protected] Follow Patrick Butler on Twitter Sign up to Society Daily email briefing Society Guardian Links SocietyGuardian.co.uk Follow Society Guardian on Twitter Enter the Guardian Public Services Awards 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]