WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

No one can say it was ‘boring’!
The Chancellor has presented his Summer Budget to Parliament.  Here follows links to the speech in full, along with all related announcements and documents.
Researched Links:

Chancellor George Osborne's Summer Budget 2015

Summer Budget 2015: key announcements

HMRC:  Summer Budget 2015

July 2015 GDP Estimates: GDP growth of 0.7% in 2015Q2

HM Treasury:  BBC to fund provision of free television licences for over-75s

ScotGov:  Austerity budget attacks low paid

Wales Office:  Welsh Secretary - Budget secures sustainable economic recovery

Villiers - Northern Ireland will continue to benefit from UK’s recovery

WAG:  Jane Hutt responds to UK Government Budget

BIS:  Higher education: student finance changes

Summer Budget: LGA response

Summer Budget: LGA responds to £30m adoption funding announcement

LGA responds to higher income earners in social housing having their rent raised to market value

‘Case for wider devolution is clear' – LGA on devolution deals

LGA Responds to budget roads fund announcement

NHS Confederation response to yesterday's summer budget

FDA:  Budget excludes public servants from benefits of economic recovery

FDA:  ARC President Tony Wallace welcomes Chancellor’s re-investment of £750m in HMRC

CIPD:  Government’s Summer Budget puts productivity plan firmly in the spotlight

Arts Council England:  Our summary of the budget documents - what does it mean for the arts & culture?

CBI response to Budget 2015

TUC:  Chancellor is giving with one hand and taking with other

TUC welcomes apprenticeship levy

Homeless Link:  Removal of housing benefit could leave vulnerable young people with nowhere to turn

Citizens Advice response to summer Budget 2015

IPPR:  The cuts to come - What will Budget 2015 mean for departmental spending?

techUK responds to the 2015 Budget

WWF-UK Summer Budget response

HM Treasury:  BAE Systems announces plans to recruit 2,000 new apprentices

Policy Exchange response to the Summer Budget

NEF:  Budget 2015 - what next for the UK economy?

Work Foundation:  Introduction of a National Living Wage is a bold intervention

CBI:  Tax roadmap best for businesses

KF issues stark warning ahead of the Budget as new survey shows 9 out of 10 hospitals forecasting deficits

TUC warns Chancellor over resurrecting plans for regional pay

UK Budget to “hit Scotland’s poorest children” – FM

ScotGov: DFM urges UK budget refocus

 
How Safe is UK Data?

 

Educational Roadshows Showcasing 
Home Office Agile Delivery 

Free Event: London 16th July 2015 

How can public sector organisations use Agile at scale to quickly improve service? How can public sector suppliers meet buyer expectations? Two educational roadshows on Thursday 16th July in London will explain. A morning session for public sector buyers includes a case study from Neil Butler, Programme Manager at the Home Office on how they have adopted Agile delivery and new technologies to transform the services they deliver.

The afternoon session will appeal technology suppliers and presentations will provide valuable insight into customer expectations and how to meet them. 

Public sector buyers can register here to attend the morning session and technology suppliers can register here to attend in the afternoon.

 
Should the default SVT be the cheapest rate on offer?

The Competition & Markets Authority has published its provisional findings after a comprehensive year-long investigation into the energy market.  In a summary of its provisional findings, the CMA has highlighted a range of problems hindering competition in the market, including the extent to which consumers are engaged in the market & shortcomings in regulation and the ability to deliver change across the market.  The CMA has set out an initial list of possible measures which could increase competition and ensure a better deal for customers.

An extensive survey of 7,000 people in Great Britain found that over 34% of respondents had never considering switching provider.  As a result, the report has found that dual fuel customers could save an average of £160 a year by switching to a cheaper deal.  About 70% of customers are currently on the ‘default’ standard variable tariff (SVT) despite the presence of generally cheaper fixed-rate deals.

Researched Links:

CMA sets out case for energy market reform – (DECC:  Secretary of State response to the CMA's provisional findings

CAB:  CMA investigation must address failures of energy market

CBI responds to CMA initial findings

 
How do you say ‘Settle Down Now’ in 20+ languages?

New analysis from the Demos Integration Hub shows that ethnic minority children, who now represent 26% of all school students in England, are substantially more likely than White British children to attend schools in which ethnic minorities are in the majority:

The findings come as the Demos Integration Hub has identified that the level of segregation in English schools has remained stable or only somewhat declined as the nation’s diversity has increased substantially. This means that new population growth is not being spread equally throughout the country (Not really a surprise finding to most people – Editor).

Researched Links:

DEMOS:  61% of ethnic minority kids in England - and 90% in London - begin Year 1 in schools where ethnic minorities are the majority of the student body

Telegraph:  At least 1.1m pupils speak English as a second language

NALDIC:  EAL pupils in schools

British Council:  How can UK schools support young children learning English

The Education of Non-Native Language Speaking Children

RES:  Non-native English Speakers in Primary Schools in England

Guardian:  Immigration is changing character of UK schools

BBC - Schools Parents - English as an additional language

Bilingual pupils not top of class but not bottom either - BBC

Guardian:  The school where they speak 20 languages a day

Supporting children and young people whose first language is not English

English no longer first language for 1700 UK schools – report

Language barriers? The impact of non-native English

NIESR:  Immigration: what's it doing to our schools?

EMTAS: Pupil interpreters - Hampshire County Council

Thousands to benefit from exciting new ways of learning English

Multiple barriers prevent children and learners from acquiring literacy skills – Ofsted

 
Protecting the liberty of those who are less able to protect themselves
In a consultation, the Law Commission are considering the existing Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), and how they can be replaced with a new scheme that achieves better, more appropriate outcomes for people with care & support needs and reduces unnecessary burdens on local councils and the NHS.   It is also considering the safeguards that are necessary for those receiving care & treatment at home and in other family and domestic settings.
Researched Links:

Law Commission: Providing protective care to people unable to consent to treatment

Personal liberty is a right for everyone not convicted of a crime (& currently serving a sentence)

Increasing numbers of vulnerable people protected

New Mental Health Act code of practice

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) process in Wales needs to be more streamlined

What does Adult Social Care look like across CQC's new ratings?

LGA and ADASS warn changes to safeguarding rules could take £88 million from care budgets

CQC to do more checks on the use of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards

CQC finds Mental Capacity Act not well understood across all sectors and calls for more work by providers and commissioners to improve

Some care homes and hospitals are still not meeting their obligations on liberty safeguards, says CQC

Report on liberty safeguards published  – (consultation closes on 2 November 2015)

 
Good intentions being duplicated?

NPC has published a new guide to systems change in charities to de-mystify the process and help practitioners engage with it.  In the charity sector we bump up against ‘systems’ all the time.  Whether it is a persistent re-offender or a young person about to leave care, individual problems are embedded in networks of cause & effect.

Of course the decisions that individuals make – their capabilities, beliefs & attitudes, are of vital importance. But systems shape & constrain people’s choices and create situations they do not have the power to escape.

Researched Links:

Homeless Link:  A shock to the system

‘Housing’ is not just about ‘home ownership’

One never knows if a sudden crisis will impact on you or a family member

Just throwing money at the problem doesn’t work; co-ordinated action is what gets results

How better’ is often the unasked question when ‘tonight’s homeless’ is the immediate problem

Working together to address the problems of homelessness

‘Drowning’ in problems

No education, no chance of a job (2nd item)

 
That’s a relief!
From 3 July 2015, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provides a £1m protection limit for temporary high balances held with a bank, building society or credit union if it fails.  The change comes from the European Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive.  People with some types of temporary high balances will have FSCS protection up to £1m for up to 6 months.  Things like the proceeds from a house sale or a redundancy payment qualify for this new protection limit.
Researched Links:

FSCS:  New protection from today for temporary high balances

 

 More contributions to the UK constitutional debate

More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims;

Researched Links:

HM Treasury:  Joint Exchequer Committee Communique 7 July 2015

 
Supplier Locator update…

Many of WiredGov’s stakeholder departments within Central Government (including HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, Home Office, BIS and DCLG) have been working hard to deliver on the Government’s pledge that 25% of all direct and indirect central government spend should be with SMEs by 2015 but there is still a great deal more work to be done.  Against this backdrop, our Supplier Locator service has been developed specifically to embrace the SME Agenda and provide the ideal platform for SME’s to promote their services, solutions, accreditation and success stories directly to our ever increasing audience across all government and public sector verticals and Tier 1 suppliers.

The most recent arrivals to the Supplier Locator include:

Service 1st Recruitment Ltd Greenscreen London
 
Please choose from the links below to view individual sections of interest:

Councils may have been spared further budget slashes and the civil service may have to wait until the autumn statement for proper details on spending cuts, but the public sector will still be hit hard by the changes to welfare and housing ushered in with George Osborne's summer budget last week. Not to mention the 1% cap on public sector pay, now set to continue for another four years.
Is the devolution rhetoric and slightly slower pace of deficit reduction enough to offset your fears about the future of public services?

Most Popular
Public service staff face four more years of pay pain

Public service staff face four more years of pay pain
Budget 2015: chancellor turns the screw with four-year pay cap and departments face £20bn in cuts

Local government and the summer budget 2015: the key points

Local government and the summer budget 2015: the key points
After George Osborne’s July budget we follow the money, power and responsibility for councils

Coping with cuts
Are you a civil servant worried about your job or a probation officer terrified about the future of your service? A council chief executive who thinks the workload piled on staff has gone beyond good will? Have you had a harrowing experience with an increasingly vulnerable resident, or a tense exchange with a politician? Are you proud of the determination and perseverance of your colleagues?

In a new, anonymous series, we want to hear about what it's like for those working in public services, coping with cuts. Contacttamsin.rutter@theguardian.com if you have a story to tell. We will not reveal anyone's identity.
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Probation officers feel betrayed by 'shambolic' part-privatisation

Probation officers feel betrayed by 'shambolic' part-privatisation
Survey finds staff unequivocally opposed to government changes, a detrimental assault on public sector values

The European cities moving faster on clean energy than their governments

The European cities moving faster on clean energy than their governments
Copenhagen, Bristo, Växjö and 6,000 other cities have signed up to go further than EU climate targets

News in brief
• Osborne announces new £9 minimum wage in summer budget
• Pace of £12bn welfare cuts to slow
• Social housing rents to fall by 1% a year
• Decc faces 90% staff budget cuts
• Local authorities handed power to decide Sunday trading laws
• Cities and businesses growing impatient over northern powerhouse
Take part
Endangered public parks: share your pictures and stories via GuardianWitness

Endangered public parks: share your pictures and stories via GuardianWitness
As council budgets dwindle, we want to know which parks are sliding towards privatisation