Society daily: 31.03.10

Today's top Society Guardian stories Mutualisation is the way forward for public services, Labour tells councils Is Britain "Broken" as the Tories claim? Amelia Gentleman investigates Treasury secretary Liam Byrne on how people power must drive change in the public sector NHS report reveals thousands of life-threatening cancer errors All today's Society Guardian content Reaction to the Social Care white paper Conservatives accuse Labour of hiding "death tax" to pay for care in the small print Editorial: how the search for a consensus has undermined the policy Peter Beresford on the Beveridgean ambition of the white paper How the forthcoming election has compromised the plan by David Brindle Yesterday's live blog: coverage and reaction as it happened Other news Seventeen government initiatives over the past 10 years have failed to raise the standard of hospital food , reports the Daily Mail The maker of Thalidomide is now selling pain-killers to people with birth defects caused by the drug , reports the Financial Times Guardian writers nominated for Orwell awards Congratulations to the Guardian's Social Affairs writer Amelia Gentleman who has been longlisted for The Orwell Prize , "the pre-eminent prize political writing". She has earned the nomination for series of brilliant investigations of so-called "broken Britain" – including this study of child poverty in 21st century Britain , a revealing look at the work of a London child protection unit , a graphic account of the day in life of an old people's home and an exclusive look behind-the-scenes at the Dignitas assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland. The Guardian's Paul Lewis , who last week won the Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards, is also longlisted for his series of pieces exposing the role of the police in the tragic death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests. The shortlist is announced on the 15 April and the winners on 19 May Today's Society Guardian highlights Twenty years on from the Strangeways riot Eric Allison asks if any lessons have been learned Should people with mental health problems be forced to accept help? Amelia Gentleman meets the Birmingham council leader who is determined to deliver "more for less" How smartphones could help local authorities save time and money? Peter Hetherington on the contradictions in the Conservatives' localist agenda Society Guardian events National Commissioning conference 10 Beyond efficiencies, doing things differently, 15-16 June, Lowry Centre, Manchester. Speakers include: Solace chief executive David Clark , former Department of Health lead on social care personalisation John Bolton, new Kings Fund chief executive Chris Ham , and Social Care Institute for Excellence chief executive Julie Jones . The Public Procurement show . The UK's leading event for public sector procurement, 15-16 June, ExceL, London 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 discusssed. Email to [email protected] . You can Follow Guardian Social Enterprise on Twitter Society Guardian blogs Joe Public Sarah Boseley's global health blog Society Guardian Links Sign up to Society daily email briefing Society on Twitter SocietyGuardian.co.uk 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 Email the Society Daily editor: [email protected] Email the SocietyGuardian editor: [email protected]