WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

‘Side effects’ of diabetes can be life-threatening

The postcode lottery of diabetes-related amputations in England is getting worse, according to new figures released by Diabetes UK and what is more unacceptable is that the gap between the worst & best performing areas has got bigger.  Overall, people with diabetes are over 20 times more likely to have a lower limb amputation than people without the condition.  These amputations have a devastating impact, with half of those having them dying within two years.

Evidence shows that up to 80% of diabetes-related amputations could be prevented, but Diabetes UK is concerned that, while some hospitals and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have improved aspects of diabetes foot care in the last 2 years, there are still too many amputations happening because people are not getting the care they need.

A CPA report - The management of adult diabetes services in the NHS (Nov. 2012) – found that "24,000 people die prematurely every year because their diabetes has not been managed effectively, and many more develop avoidable complications such as blindness and kidney disease.

The NHS spends at least £3.9bn a year on diabetes services and around 80% of that goes on treating avoidable complications.  The number of people with diabetes is set to rise from 3.1m to 3.8m between now and 2020 and unless care improves significantly the NHS will face ever-increasing costs”.

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How can standards and accreditation help to deliver government policy objectives?

Find the answer to this and other questions about the use of standards and accreditation from an e-learning module available on the Civil Service Learning website. The module explains:

  • What standards and accreditation are
  • How they can be used to support self-regulation, co-regulation and earned recognition
  • The role of the British Standards Institution and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service 
  • How to decide when to use standards and accreditation.

The module has been developed specifically to assist those in policy roles within central Government departments and agencies but will be of interest to anyone working in the public sector.

Click here to access the e-learning package and learn more about how standards and accreditation can help you deliver your policy objectives.

 
For some, Debt becomes a ‘Black Hole’ sucking in all income

With 1 in 4 people coming to Citizens Advice with a debt problem, the charity highlights the financial struggles families are facing.  CAB Chief Executive Gillian Guy said:  “Payday lenders have set a debt-trap for struggling households.   In the battle to make ends meet people are turning to short-term loans just to get by.   A lack of checks, high interest rates and fees means what is supposed to be a quick fix turns into a long term nightmare.

“It’s not just payday lenders that are preying on the worst off.  Citizens Advice expects up to 60,000 log book loans to be taken out this year – 61% more than in 2011.  The industry brings together the worst of payday lenders and bailiffs with its threatening tactics, high interest rates and failure to check if people can afford to repay loans.

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Working with Government.....find out more image.
An independent Scotland could require more than the ‘benefits of £24bn’ to both pay for the extension of HS2 and the subsidies of the existing railway(s)

In a St George’s Day speech, FM Alex Salmond told an invited audience of business people that ‘a successful Scotland will become a new beacon of growth to the north, shifting the centre of economic gravity of these islands and preventing the flow of power, wealth & talent flow downhill to the south east’.

He said independence for Scotland would cause an economic rebalancing of Britain and the Scottish Government would refuse to wait 30 years for high speed rail to be delivered by Westminster and instead will commission a feasibility study on work on HSR beginning from the north heading south.  The Scottish Government will also ‘push forward its responsibility to make improvement to the West Coast rail line north and improve the transport connectivity between Carlisle and the south west of Scotland, creating a ‘a conurbation of connectivity’.

During the speech, the First Minister told a gathering of business people that a railway line from London to Manchester and Leeds would bring £3bn benefit to Scotland – but a full High Speed Rail connection would bring £24bn and lead a major shift from air to rail.

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Innovative Agriculture remains critical to the future of the UK

Outline proposals are being sought from consortia interested in setting up & running a world-class centre for agricultural informatics and sustainability metrics.  Government is investing up to £10m in the venture and expects that this will be matched by a further £10m from industry.  The Technology Strategy Board is managing the process of identifying and selecting the consortium.

It will be the first in a series of centres for agricultural innovation, following publication last year of the UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies, which aims to encourage businesses to develop, adapt & exploit new technologies.  The outline proposal stage has a deadline of noon on 18 June 2014.  A briefing event for potential applicants will be held in London on 19 May 2014.

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Help prevent winter A&E pressure ‘scare stories’ in the media

A new £2m fund will help community & volunteer-led projects provide extra support to older people next winter.  The fund will support volunteer-led projects to play a vital role in helping older people stay healthy or recover quicker from illness.  These projects can in turn help avoid unnecessary pressure on A&E services or delayed discharges from hospital.  The fund is now open for applications, and the programme will run this winter until March 2015.

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Could your community project win?

The deadline for communities across the UK who want a chance to win a Big Lottery Fund grant of up to £50,000 is fast approaching.  There is just over 2 weeks left to enter The People’s Millions TV competition with the aim of securing funds to help make a difference to the lives of people and communities.  Entries to the TV contest must be received by noon on 16 May 2014.

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Unfortunately only enough to ‘fill’ only a small part of the pothole funding problem

Councils are being invited to bid for a share of a £168m Pothole Fund to repair local roads, making them safer & smoother for motorists, cyclists and other road users.  Successful local authorities will sign a pothole pledge as a condition of the funding, setting out the number of potholes they will have repaired by March 2015.

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Another knock to police integrity

In accordance with the Statistics & Registration Service Act 2007, statistics based on police recorded crime data have been assessed against the Code of Practice for Official Statistics and found not to meet the required standard for designation as National Statistics. The full assessment report can be found on the UK Statistics Authority website.

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Please choose from the links below to view individual sections of interest:

ETHOS
Exploring the debates that shape public services.
Published by Serco


This is what the public wants from services
Ethos
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Time to focus
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Swimming against the tide
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Public services needs new ideas but the sector is resistant to entrepreneurship and those attempting to create social enterprises can struggle. Craig Dearden-Phillips reports


Calling for central change
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Policy-maker for a page
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After the storms
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After the storms
What effect can planning for extreme weather have during an incident and the subsequent recovery? Dr Lucy Easthope, the Emergency Planning College, explores the challenges


Ban the box
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Catherine Sermon of Business in the Community challenges the commonplace use of criminal conviction tick boxes featured on application forms


Salvaging recycling
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How can councils maintain satisfaction rates for recycling services while cutting budgets? The Guardian’s Fiona Harvey investigates