WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

DIFD:  Remember also the ‘silent killers’ that rarely make the headlines, as they are not classified by the media as ‘Disasters’ - Mr Cameron has called on other donors to back the Global Polio Eradication Initiative as he announced the UK's commitment that will see an extra 45m children fully vaccinated against the disease. 

In 20 years, polio cases have been reduced by 99% and the disease is now close to being only the second in history (after smallpox) to be wiped out.  In 2010, India & Nigeria – historically the toughest challenges to eradication – cut cases by 95%, but polio still exists in more than a dozen countries, crippling & killing children.  

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bill Gates announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed an additional $102m to support efforts to stamp out the disease.  Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization, which leads the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), joined the PM and Mr Gates for the announcement. 

Polio remains endemic in 4 countries (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria & Pakistan) and there were outbreaks of the disease last year in Angola, DRC & Tajikistan.  The new funding will help the GPEI purchase vaccines and conduct immunisation activities.  In the next 2 years, more than 3bn doses of oral polio vaccine will be needed to immunize young children.  Funding is also required for activities such as surveillance & technical assistance.
Press release ~ Global Polio Eradication Initiative ~ Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ~ GAVI Alliance ~ NHS Choices: Polio ~ HPA: Polio ~ Global Health Council ~ Health portfolio review 2009 ~ DH – International Health ~ ODI briefing paper: Making Partnerships work ~ 'Health is Global: a UK Government Strategy' ~ Global health partnerships: The UK contribution to health in developing countries ~ Oxfam: Cutting the Cost of Global Health ~ WHO - Global Health Atlas ~ Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) ~ World Health Organisation’s ‘Health as a Bridge for Peace’ programme ~ Global Health Workforce Alliance ~ WHO – Health workforce ~ DFID: Malaria ~ DFID: Reproductive, maternal and newborn health ~ One International: Living Proof ~ PLoS Medicine ~ Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity (SHARE programme) ~ Closed consultation: Malaria - breaking the cycle ~ Watch the World Mosquito Day video ~ How DFID is helping to tackle the disease ~ MDGs in focus – MDG 6: Combat HIV, AIDS, malaria and other diseases ~ Malaria Hotspots ~ Malaria Centre ~ Related press release ~ Support to National Malaria Programme (SuNMaP) project ~ Nigeria's 5-year National Malaria Programme ~ Malaria Consortium ~ Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria ~ UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation & Drinking-Water (GLAAS) ~ LIFT case Studies ~ DFID: Water & sanitation target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ~ Meeting the MDG drinking water & sanitation target : the urban & rural challenge of the decade ~ Water Aid ~ BBC Analysis: Why water can be a path to peace rather than wars

CSJ / HO:  A ‘Social’ as well as a ‘Criminal’ problem - The Centre for Social Justice has responded to the launch of ‘gang injunctions’ by the Home Office. The CSJ is encouraged that the Coalition Government is beginning to take steps to try to address the rising problem of street gangs, however, it is concerned that there does not seem to be a unified & coherent strategy across the Coalition Government.  There is a risk that a continued drip feed policy approach will fail to deal with the root causes of street gangs.

In addition, whilst the CSJ supports encouraging & supporting young people away from street gangs into positive activities (such as mentoring) as part of a strategy to tackle the problem, it does not believe that they should be forced into them, as required by the Coalition Government.

The CSJ published its report on street gangs (Dying to Belong) in February 2009, which sets out a blueprint for tackling the problem, and contains a number of policy recommendations: for the immediate-term, medium-term, and long-term.

Also last week - More than £18m to tackle knife, gun & gang crime was announced by the Home Secretary, responding to a report on knife crime projects published by Brooke Kinsella. The funding will be given to police, local agencies and the voluntary sector to tackle serious youth violence and prevent young people entering a cycle of crime.

The Home Office will also provide up to £20m towards the Early Intervention Grant (via the Department for Education) which local areas can use for crime prevention and up to £18m for Youth Offending Teams (via the Ministry of Justice) to deliver frontline work, including knife crime prevention programmes, for young offenders.
CSJ press release ~ Related Home Office Press release ~ Gang injunctions ~ HO: Related Links ~ "Dying to Belong: An In-Depth Review of Street Gangs in Britain" ~ Executive Summary ~ Breakthrough Britain. Ending the Costs of Social breakdown ~ Related ScotGov press release ~ Troublesome Youth Groups, Gangs and Knife Carrying in Scotland ~ Research Findings ~ Information on the CIRV scheme ~ SCCJR: Researching Gangs in Glasgow (Presentation at the British Society of Criminology Conference) ~ Girls, gangs and violence: Assessing the evidence ~ No knives, better lives ~ Related HMIC press release ~ The management of gang issues among children & young people in prison custody and the community ~ Directgov: Gangs ~ Gangs: You and Your Child ~ It Doesn’t Have to Happen’ campaign ~ Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines – knife crime ~ Mothers Against Violence ~ Talk about Knives ~ Family and Parenting Institute ~ An Anatomy of Youth ~ Music video ‘Don’t Shank Just Skank’ ~ Safe Colleges Guidance ~ Tackling Knives Action Programme ~ JRF: Parenting and children's resilience in disadvantaged communities ~ Young people and territoriality in British cities ~ Community leadership approaches to tackling street crime ~ Neighbourhood security and urban change ~ Riots report warns of continuing social breakdown on estates ~ REACH role modelling ~ Tackling Race Inequality: A Statement on Race ~ National Black Boys Can Association ~ Childline: Gangs ~ Teachers TV videos ~ Safeguarding children and young people who may be affected by gang activity ~ HO Kinsella press release ~ Tackling knife crime together - a review of local anti-knife crime projects ~ Positive Futures ~ Ben Kinsella Community Cash Awards fund

DfE:  ‘Never again’ is yet once more a case of ‘here we go again’ - Professor Munro has signalled a new approach in her interim report on child protection which focuses on helping children, rather than on the regulations, inspections & procedures that have thrown the system out of balance.  The interim report examines the areas of the child protection system where reform needs to take place.  Currently the amount of prescription & bureaucracy in the system has meant that social workers are not able to do the jobs they came into the profession to do. 

The report highlights the importance of having multi-agency services based in the community to help keep children safe and support their wellbeing, identify the children & families most in need and give them help as early as possible.

In her interim report Professor Munro identifies that too much time & effort is being spent by all the professionals working in child protection preparing for inspections and meeting the bureaucratic requirements for Ofsted evaluations of serious case reviews (SCRs).  This has meant that too often SCRs have not offered enough analysis of why things have gone wrong and the lessons that can be learnt.
Press release ~ ‘The Munro Review of Child Protection: Interim Report, The Child’s Journey’ ~ Munro Review mini-website ~ Ofsted response ~ The irony of its publication date as another baby is ‘failed’ ~ Related ScotGov press release ~ Child protection guidance ~ ScotGov: Child Protection ~ DfE: Safeguarding and social work reform ~ Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children ~ Local Safeguarding Children Boards: Practice guidance for consultation (closed) ~ A call to action: refreshing the vision and renewing the call to all organisations to safeguard children and young people in and through sport ~ NSPCC – Child Protection in Sport Unit ~ Safeguarding & looked after children: national results for children’s social work practitioners survey 2010 ~ Safeguarding and looked after children: national third sector organisation survey 2010 ~ Independent evaluation of the Child Protection Line ~ Children 1st ~ Safeguarding Children - A review of arrangements in the NHS for safeguarding children ~ Review of the involvement and action taken by health bodies in relation to the case of Baby P ~ Care Quality Commission (CQC) – Safeguarding Children Review ~ AC: Better Safe than Sorry ~ Learning Lessons: Taking Action  ~ Learning lessons from serious case reviews: year 2 ~ Joint Area Review of Safeguarding in Haringey ~ RCPCH & RCN response to the review ~ Safeguarding Children and Young People - Roles and Competencies for Health Care Staff ~ Getting it Right for Every Child ~ The protection of children in England: Action plan

DH:  But will the funding be enough? - New plans to transform the mental health & well-being of the nation and ensure that mental health is given the same importance as the nation’s physical health were announced last week.  The No health without mental health Strategy outlines how a new emphasis on early intervention & prevention will help tackle the underlying causes of mental ill-health.  It sets out how the Government will work with the NHS, local government and the third sector to help people recover & challenge stigma.

Central to these plans is an additional investment of around £400m to improve access to modern, evidence-based psychological therapies over the next 4 years.
Press release ~ No health without mental health Strategy & related documents ~ Future Vision Coalition press statement ~ Future Vision Coalition ~ NHS Confederation Mental Health Network ~ Audit Commission ~ Mental Health ~ Centre for Mental Health and Mental Health Network conference (3 March 2011) ~ KF: Paying the price - The cost of mental health care in England to 2026 ~ KF: Mental health and the productivity challenge ~ Mental Health Foundation ~ NICE press release ~ CAB response

Forthcoming event: Save Building Costs with Exchange-integrated Room & Hot Desk Booking - FREE BRIEFING, Microsoft HQ, Reading, 3rd March, 10AM – 1.30PM + lunch - This free, half-day event aimed at IT & FM professionals, looks at practical ways of working with Microsoft Exchange to optimise the usage of expensive resources such as meeting rooms and conferencing facilities; simplify booking procedures for catering, AV equipment, car parking etc, and manage the often controversial introduction of ‘hot-desking’.

Featuring an entertaining presentation from Manchester PCT on how they managed the human challenges behind introducing a desk sharing initiative, this event will bring you up-to-speed on the issues surrounding new resource management initiatives.
 

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Click here for more information & registration

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