The last 30 years have seen a dramatic change in British attitudes toward homosexuality and other social issues Photograph: Nicolas Chinardet/ Nicolas Chinardet/Demotix/Corbis
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• Jeremy Hunt told to stop claiming NHS is failing
• Social Mobility Commission reveals plans to tackle low pay
• Abuse of Asian girls missed because of focus on white victims, says report
• Baby food from shops half as nutritious as homemade meals, study finds
• Free school dinners all round, regardless of income
• John Podmore: Sex in prisons – why we need to find out what's going on
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• New research reveals that the first generation of older people living with HIV feels ashamed and isolated. Kate Murray reports
• On the eve of Frontline's launch, Josh MacAlister tells David Brindle why he urgently wants a 'Teach First for social work' to attract more high-flyers to the profession
• Student Nicole Gordon describes the fear and distress caused by the bedroom tax, after she and her mother had to leave their home of 17 years
• About 60,000 families unfairly charged for out-of-hospital care are pursuing refunds topping £660m. Paul Dinsdale reports
• Appraisals for GPs are vital, but the new assessment is cumbersome and far from fail-safe, says Zara Aziz
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• How Brighton has boosted tourism with Pride, marathons, rugby and Turner
• Localism is failing to boost housebuilding, says Henry Pryor, a residential property expert and commentator
• The government must not oversell the 'cap' on care costs – it might provoke a backlash, warns James Lloyd
• Sam Myers, head of strategic science and innovation communications at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, says the UK is leading the global race in science and research
• How working with open data can help charities to do incredible things
On my radar ...
• The annual British social attitudes report, which has just been published. Guardian social affairs editor Randeep Ramesh reports that the survey reveals that Britain has changed beyond recognition in the three decades since it first began examining society, with people now much less bound by class, gender and sexuality. Britain has become a "live and let live" society over the last 30 years, he writes, with a striking desire for less interference in people's personal choices and sweeping changes in how the country views homosexuality, religion and almost every institution in the land.
The study, by NatCen Social Research, surveys a representative sample of more than 3,000 people annually; it also noted a recent shift towards a "more sympathetic stance on welfare benefits and recipients".
A datablog quiz asks whether readers can guess changing attitudes, and you can find the data here. See also the @NatCen Twitter feed and the #bsa30 hashtag.
Writing for Comment is free, Ally Fogg says the report shows a nation countering the recent propaganda demonising those on benefits. He writes:
Those of us who despair of the vicious war of words being waged on the poor by the coalition government can take some comfort from these figures. At least for now, it would seem to be ineffective or even counter-productive. However, the fluctuations in the figures should also remind us of just how influential such political messages can be, and how important it remains to resist and counter the tide.
Meanwhile, on the Conversation site, Edwin van Teijlingen, a professor of reproductive health research at University of Bournemouth, writes that despite changes over the past three decades, we are generally satisfied with the NHS.
• Dementia. For the Guardian, health correspondent Denis Campbell reports on a prediction that two-thirds of people aged 80 or over could be diagnosed with dementia in future because doctors are subjecting patients to needless investigation for and potentially damaging treatment of the disease. writing in the British Medical Journal, specialists in dementia, geriatric medicine and public health claim the growing trend towards older people having their risk of dementia assessed could lead to considerable over-diagnosis. They say:
The current prevalence of dementia is thought to be 10-30% in people over the age of 80, but the adoption of new diagnostic criteria will result in up to 65% of this age group having Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and up to 23% of non-demented older people being diagnosed with dementia.
Meanwhile, Paul Dinsdale reports for the Social Care Network on Dudley metropolitan borough council's dementia gateway service, which aims to integrate early diagnosis and medical intervention for people with dementia with social care. And on the Healthcare Professionals Network, Tony Jameson-Allen, a director of the Sporting Memories Network, explains how football is helping to unlock dementia patients' memories.
• A new report (pdf) calling for the relationship between affordable housing and philanthropy to be reignited. Published by Peabody and the thinktanks NPC and the Smith Institute, the report, Rebuilding the Relationship Between Affordable Housing and Philanthropy, also suggests a working group to support the two sides coming together.
• A new poll for charity Carers UK, which finds that while most adults routinely use technology for banking, shopping and communications, only three in 10 are embracing health and care technology to help care for older or disabled relatives.
• World Suicide Prevention Day. In a piece for the Department of Health website, Professor Louis Appleby, who chairs the national suicide prevention strategy advisory group, says that while asking about suicide can be uncomfortable, it may save a life. He writes:
Suicide is the leading cause of death in young men but we can all play a part in bringing the tragic figures down. So be alert if someone you know is going through a difficult time, remember you can save a life by asking the difficult question about suicide. And don't be convinced that they are fine even if they say they are.
Other news
• BBC: Blind people 'hit by social care crisis'
• Children & Young People Now: Social work leaders criticise landmark child protection ruling
• CivilSociety.co.uk: eBay for Charity raises £62,000 from celebrities auction
• Independent: Doctors and nurses say they feel 'bullied and under pressure'
• Inside Housing: Census analysis shows UK needs 145,000 more homes supplied per year
• LocalGov.co.uk: Casey hails councils troubled families success
• Public Finance: Ex-care minister in call for old age commissioner
• Telegraph: Give elderly proper care, GPs told
• Third Sector: Sue Ryder appoints Heidi Travis as its next chief executive
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