CRE: Bamboo ceiling still filters out BME applicants for management posts? - A formal investigation into the Department of Health (DH) to uncover the extent to which it is failing to meet its statutory duty to promote race equality under the Race Relations Act (RRA) 1976 has been announced by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE).
The CRE has on several occasions urged the DH to address inequalities at all levels, but found that Race Equality Impact Assessments (REIAs) were not satisfactorily being carried out on the Department's policies.
As the regulator of the RRA, the CRE will be using its legal powers to investigate the Department's approach, attitude & commitment, by how it assesses the impact of race equality on its new policies.
Press release ~ Statutory general duty to promote race equality ~ The CRE's powers to conduct formal investigations ~ Race Equality Impact Assessments (REIAs) ~ Race equality impact assessment: a CRE step-by-step guide ~ DH Race Equality website ~ DH Race Equality Scheme 2005-2008 ~ Race Equality Audit ~ Healthcare Commission – equality, diversity and human rights ~ Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 ~ Commission for Racial Equality ~ NHS – Equality & diversity ~ DH – Equality & diversity ~ DH policy & guidance ~ CRE – Race equality guide for SHAs ~ CRE - Primary health care code of practice ~ Race for Health ~ Acas Equality & Diversity website ~ Delivering a Diverse Civil Service - A 10 Point Plan ~ Civil Service 2008 Diversity targets ~ The Diversity Champions’ Network ~ Civil Service Fast Stream diversity networks ~ National Links: Equality and Diversity in the NHS Workforce
DH: Great Policy but can NHS Trusts afford it? - Dr Sheila Shribman, the UK's National Childrens' Tsar, claimed that the way maternity & children's services are delivered is going to have to change if we want to provide the best possible care for mothers, babies & children, when she published two reports into the future of maternity services and children: Making it Better for Mother and Baby and Making it better for children and young people
The first report details how all women should be offered a choice of services - a home birth, a midwife led birth or consultant led birth. Any women giving birth at home should have the assurance that if something goes wrong, she can be transported to a consultant led unit safely & quickly. The guiding principle for maternity services will be that ‘all women will need a midwife, but some need a doctor too’.
The second report claims that advances in treatments for seriously ill children have benefited from centralisation of specialist expertise. Also, as recent medical advances have improved the life expectancy of children with complex, long term conditions, services need to adapt to ensure the transition of the young person to adult services is supported, planned & coordinated.
Services cannot be seen in isolation. The whole patient pathway needs to be considered - in particular in conjunction with maternity and wider children's services.
Press release ~ Making it Better for Mother and Baby ~ Making it better for children and young people ~ National Service Framework for children, young people and maternity services ~ Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) ~ RCOG ~ DH – Children’s services ~ DfES ~ Children and families ~ Care Services Improvement Partnership ~ Amicus press release
NAO: Is there a link between making efficiency gains and fitness for purpose? - Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has reported that, halfway into the 3-year efficiency programme, government departments have claimed £13.3bn in annual efficiency savings, 62% of the £21.5 billion target.
Progress ranges from the Home Office and the DWP reporting the achievement of more than 90% of their efficiency targets by September 2006, to the DfES reporting only 28% of its target. There is clear evidence of positive change across the public sector, such as the £1.2 billion saved annually by the Department of Health in procuring pharmaceuticals.
However the NAO’s assessment does highlight some cautionary evaluations including that:
· 51% represent efficiency but carry some measurement issues & uncertainties, and
· 23% may represent efficiency gains but the measures used either do not yet demonstrate efficiency or the reported gains may be substantially incorrect
The report concludes that the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is fulfilling its role in co-ordinating the Efficiency Programme well. However, the problems in measurement identified by the NAO show that efficiency gains require greater review before they are reported.
Responding to the report, Mark Serwotka, general secretary of PCS, said: "It is completely unacceptable that departments are dashing headlong to meet abstract numerical targets on efficiencies and job cuts without a clue of how the quality of service delivery is affected. …… Added to which you have departments such as HMRC looking to save £105 million through staff cuts, but spending £106 million on consultants all in the name of efficiency”.
NAO press release ~ PCS press release ~ The Efficiency Programme: A second review of progress ~ Opinion Pieces on improving government Efficiency ~ Executive Summary ~ OGC – Efficiency programme
DCLG: White, Male and probably over 50 - Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has announced a new Commission to look at how local democracy can be revitalised and made both more representative & more responsive to local people. It will look at ways to better support councillors and encourage more people from a wider range of backgrounds to play a leading role in their communities. The Commission will report by November 2007.
It comes as a new IDeA survey reveals that:
· 96% of councillors are white, compared to 2.7% Asian and 0.5% black
· the average age of a councillor is 58 with more than 50% over 60 compared with just 8.3% under 40
· 100 years since women won the right to stand for town hall elections, fewer than 30% are women
Research has found a clear link between public satisfaction and opportunities for involvement in public services. Those who were satisfied with their opportunities to participate in local decision making were significantly more satisfied with their council overall.
Press release ~ Best Value User Satisfaction Surveys 2006-07 ~ Best Value User Satisfaction Surveys Consultation 2006-07 (scroll down) ~ Local Government Analysis and Research (LGAR) ~ IDeA - The impact of the Local Government White Paper on councillors ~ Local Government Association (LGA) ~ Strong and prosperous communities - The Local Government White Paper ~ Implementation Plan - The Local Government White Paper ~ Amendments to the Model Code of Conduct for Local Authority Members
Planning Portal: Heathrow’s noise footprint set to get much larger - Large areas of north and west
Town & villages in
In a related development, airport operator BAA has unveiled plans for a second runway and terminal at
Press release ~ Get involved - 2M Group (scroll down for runway maps) ~ BAA – Stansted Expansion ~ Public experiences of and attitudes to air travel ~ DfT – Airports ~ Air traffic forecasts ~ Stop Stansted Expansion Campaign ~ Pledge Against Airport Expansion ~ HACAN ClearSkies ~ Airport Regions Conference ~ Heathrow Expansion Lobby Group ~ London Assembly view ~ AirportWatch
DfES: More changes to the curriculum - The government says that teachers will ‘be given more power to help children master the basics, greater flexibility to enliven classes, while retaining core elements of the National Curriculum’ in a review of the secondary curriculum for 11-14 year olds published by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
The review of the curriculum in six years and is published for consultation (closes
Some of the key changes & retained elements see pupils:
· English: continuing to study Shakespeare as well as literary classics including Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and George Eliot, but aslo contemporary authors such as Benjamin Zephaniah and Bill Bryson
· History: continuing to learn about the importance & impact of events in the last century, such as the World Wars and the Holocaust, with the addition of the history & impact of the slave trade
· Languages: being able to study more ‘economically useful’ languages such as Mandarin and Urdu
· Citizenship: studying national identity & the diversity of living together in the
· Geography: having more focus on sustainable development & environmental change
· Cooking: being taught how to cook simple healthy meals from basic fresh ingredients
· Personal Finance: being taught essential financial life skills including: enterprise & financial capability, risk & reward, investment & trade, personal budgeting, mortgages, interest rates, and balancing credit cards.
· PE: combining physical activity with learning how exercise affects fitness & health
All 11-14 year old pupils will continue to study all 12 subjects of the National Curriculum covering, in addition to English and mathematics, science, design and technology; ICT, the humanities; a foreign language; art, music, PE and Citizenship.
Press release ~ QCA secondary review website ~ Keith Ajegbo's Diversity & Citizenship review ~ QCA Curriculum ~ DfES SC Review ~ Teachernet, the 14-19 curriculum ~ The Standards Site: Secondary National Strategy
DWP: If they don’t know about it how can they use or buy it? – The government has launched a five point guide that will help public sector organisations to improve the way that they provide information to disabled people.
The guide, written by the Office for Disability Issues (ODI), follows research which shows that a third of disabled people have difficulty accessing goods and services, all too often because the way information is being provided is not good enough.
The new guide outlines five principles for producing better information for disabled people:
· Ensure that disabled people are involved from the start
· Provide information through a range of channels and formats
· Ensure your information meets users' needs
· Clearly signpost other services
· Always make it clear who is responsible for the information provided
Press release ~ Improving Information for Disabled People ~ Five principles for producing better information for disabled people ~ Office for Disability Issues (ODI) ~ 'Adjusting for Better Business' campaign ~ LSC – Disability Equality Scheme ~ Directgov – Disability Equality Duty ~ Images of Disability ~ DRC – Services and Transport ~ RNID: The Disability Discrimination Act - a guide for service providers ~ Local online information for disabled people ~ Dial UK ~ DisabledInfo.co.uk - Disabled Information For the Disabled From the Disabled ~ Disability Information Service ~
Postwatch: Last chance to prevent Post Office Closures - Postwatch has written to Postal Services Minister Jim Fitzpatrick setting out its concerns with the Government's proposals for the closure of 2,500 post offices, including that:
· local community needs should be taken into account when deciding the future of individual post offices
· the timetable for the restructuring programme be flexible enough to secure the right outcome for customers
DfES: Education and Skills Secretary Alan
Johnson has announced proposals for changes to teachers pay & conditions to
‘ensure they remain competitive and
attract the best candidates’.
The proposed changes, based on the
recommendations from the independent
School Teachers' Review Body include the
following:
·
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financial
incentives for completion of accredited qualifications in priority
subjects
·
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increasing use of
existing local flexibilities to reward & address local teacher shortages in
priority subjects
·
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detailed review of
the labour market and current practice in the provision of SEN
services
·
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production of new
statements of teachers' professional roles &
responsibilities
Press release ~
STRB: Sixteenth Report – 2007 ~
Teachernet – Teachers Pay ~
School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) ~ Excellent Teacher Scheme
(ETS)
DH: All babies in
If the disease is not identified at an early
stage, around a quarter of affected children will die from the condition, with
one third of survivors sustaining significant neurological damage. Once babies are identified and given
simple treatment, the risk of acute, life-threatening episodes needing
emergency & intensive care and of death is substantially
reduced.
Press release ~
UK National
Screening Committee (NSC) ~ UK Newborn Screening Programme Centre ~
Screening Specialist Library - PowerPoint
presentation ~ National Information and
Advice Centre for Metabolic Diseases
Scottish Executive: A school which
makes & sells its own bags to discourage people from using plastic bags has
been announced as one of the winners of the It's Our Future schools competition, thus scooping £2,000 for
their school by showing how they are helping to save the
planet
The bags were showcased as part of an in-school Eco day during Enterprise Week and have since been on
sale at a local farmers' market - selling 800 bags in the community.
The competition, run by the Executive in partnership with ScottishPower, rewards projects which
raise awareness of the environment and show pupils how they are affecting the
world around them. It has been
developed in conjunction with Eco
Schools Scotland, Learning and
Teaching Scotland, and WWF
Press release ~
It’s Our Future website ~ Eco-Schools Scotland ~ ScottishPower ~ Our Dynamic Earth ~ Learning and
Teaching Scotland ~ WWF Scotland ~ Determined To Succeed
CEHR: The Chair of the Commission for Equality & Human Rights (CEHR), Trevor Phillips
has welcomed the announcement that the study of Britain’s involvement in the
slave trade (including the roles of reformers such as Equiano & <
FONT color=#0000ff>Wilberforce) is set to become a compulsory
history topic for secondary school pupils.
The proposal to make the current optional topic a compulsory one
instead, as part of a QCA Secondary Curriculum review, coincides with the 200th
anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.
Press release ~
CEHR ~
QCA
Secondary Curriculum review ~ Directgov: Slavery bicentenary ~ Calendar of
events ~ National Archives ~ UNESCO day for the
remembrance of slavery and its abolition ~ UK Human Trafficking
Centre ~ Every Generation Foundation ~ Who do you think you are? – Colin
Jackson
Cabinet Office: Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell
has announced a further three departments undertaking 'Capability
Reviews' - the Crown Prosecution
Service, Department of Health
and Department for Transport. The findings will be published in
summer
2007.
The reviews will consider capability in three
key areas - leadership, strategy and
delivery. Each review aims to identify where departments need to
improve and will include key actions which will address these
areas.
Press release ~
Capability Reviews
website ~ Crown Prosecution
Service ~ Department of Health ~ Department for
Transport ~ National School of Government ~ Civil Service Reform:
Delivery and Values ~ WAG: From public
sector to public service
DfES: A new subject association – the Personal, Social and Health Education
(PSHE) - has been launched to champion the quality of teaching &
learning that can have a big impact on the health and well-being of children
and young people.
Launching the association, Schools Minister
Andrew Adonis said that employers are increasingly emphasising the value of
young people learning "soft skills" such as the ability to relate to colleagues
and customers. With over 1,000
members, the new association's website provides a readily accessible
resource available to anyone involved in PSHE.
Press release ~
PSHE Subject
Association ~ QCA - About
personal, social and health education ~ Parents Centre ~ Teachernet ~ National Curriculum in Action - PSHE ~ Web links
for Personal, Social and Health Education and
Citizenship
Defra: On the 3 February Defra imposed
protection, surveillance & restricted zones around the infected premises in
Farming Minister Jeff Rooker has now signed a
derogation allowing the area's free range status to be maintained for a 12
week period despite the ongoing isolation requirement. It is important to point out that under
the Compendium of UK Organic
Standards housing organic birds will not lead to a loss of organic status
provided all other requirements under the compendium are
met.
Press release ~
Compendium of UK Organic Standards
~ Derogation Order ~
Latest
situation
DCLG: Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has
unveiled details of an international challenge for housebuilders to design
& build flagship zero-carbon and low carbon communities.
The Carbon Challenge, which will be run by English Partnerships, calls on
developers to ‘raise standards of
design, construction, energy & water use and waste disposal so that these
techniques can be used in the future as a benchmark for mainstream
development’.
The Challenge spearheads government plans to
move towards zero-carbon development, including the Code for Sustainable Homes and the planning policy on climate change and
builds on the Chancellor's announcement that in future most new zero carbon
homes will be exempt from stamp duty.
Press release ~
English Partnerships ~ Carbon Challenge ~ The Carbon
Challenge e-magazine ~ Carbon Challenge factsheet ~ Design for Manufacture (DfM) ~
Code for Sustainable Homes ~ Building a Greener Future consultation ~ Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change on climate
change consultation ~ Water Efficiency in new Buildings consultation ~ Energy Efficiency of Dwellings - Initial Analysis ~
Energy Performance
Certificates ~ Sustainable development: operational strategies ~ Sustainable development action plan ~ Combined heat and power Association ~
District heating and cooling systems ~ Aquifer Thermal Energy ~
DCA: A campaign to encourage police and
other public sector workers to adopt a common-sense approach to human rights
has been launched by Lord Falconer.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs and Ministers will work with a
range of organisations including police, probation, education and health to
ensure common-sense solutions to human rights
problems.
Making
sense of human rights - A short introduction is designed for officials in public authorities to assist them in
working with the Human Rights Act 1998 and to raise their awareness of human
rights.
Human
Rights: Human Lives - A Handbook for public authorities has been designed to raise staff awareness of the
different rights and freedoms protected by the Human Rights
Act.
Press release ~
DCA – Human Rights ~ Making sense of human rights - A short
introduction ~ Human Rights: Human Lives - A Handbook for
public authorities ~ Other publications (scroll down) ~ FCO – Human
Rights ~ Human Rights Act 1998 ~
Planning portal:
Roger Milne of the Planning
Portal highlights publication by English Heritage and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment of a
consultation draft (closes
As well as calling for a development-plan led
approach, the advice identifies opportunities offered by recent changes to the
planning system to plan strategically for tall buildings and to control the
quality of new developments.
The advisers have stressed that because of
their high profile & local impact, tall buildings should set exemplary
standards in design and that proposals should exceed the latest regulations for
minimising energy & reducing carbon emissions over the lifetime of the
development.
Press release ~
Planning Portal ~ Guidance on tall buildings: Consultation draft January
2007 ~ English Heritage ~ Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment
~ Tall Buildings : Regeneration & Design : HELM ~
CRC: The Local Government Bill currently
going through Parliament proposes a stronger role for local councillors, but
while 88% of councillors feel they are effective or very effective in their
role, recent research by the Commission
for Rural Communities (CRC) has revealed that 46% of rural people do not
believe that they can influence decisions and only 25% of rural people would
channel their views through their local councillor.
The CRC has therefore launched a national
inquiry (closes
Press release ~
Call for evidence ~ Commission for Rural Communities ~ Local
Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill ~
LGA –
Local Government White Paper ~ Countryside Agency: Think Rural ~ Achieving Rural Revival ~ IDeA - The impact of the Local Government White Paper on
councillors ~
Rural Development
Service
Land Registry: The Land Registry has announced the
start of the first of two important consultations on
e-conveyancing. The initial consultation, which closes on
·
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the proposed
Network Access Rules, part of the secondary legislation required for
e-conveyancing, and
·
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electronic
Communications rules required for electronic
contracts
The
second consultation, due to start
later
in the year, will discuss the process of
e-conveyancing.
Press release ~
Land Registry ~ consultation ~ e-Conveyancing ~ 2002 Land Registration Act
~ Land Registry Direct ~ Land Register
Online
DH: Mental Health Tsar Louis Appleby has
highlighted guidance - Dual Diagnosis in
mental health inpatient and day hospital settings - aimed at improving the
care received by people with both a mental health and a drug
problem.
In addition, a new
resource pack focused on making patients
more aware of the risks of substance misuse and helping them to get their
problems under control has been produced.
It supports health professionals to discuss drug use with patients and
to give patients the information they need to reduce their use of
cannabis.
The National Service Framework for Mental Health - Five Years On
report, published in 2004, highlighted dual diagnosis as one of the biggest
challenges facing frontline mental health services.
Press release ~
Dual Diagnosis in mental health inpatient and
day hospital settings ~ Pack: How cannabis can affect people with mental health problems -
Information for patients and practitioners ~
National Service Framework for Mental Health
- Five Years On ~ Rethink
website ~ National service framework for mental health:
modern standards and service models ~ DH – Mental Health ~ DH – Substance Misuse ~ CSIP – Dual Diagnosis ~ Children, young people and volatile substance
abuse (VSA) ~ Mind - Understanding dual
diagnosis ~National Treatment Agency for Substance
Misuse (NTA) ~ Dual Diagnosis factsheet ~ Turning Point - DD
Toolkit ~ Information For Patients/Clients and
Carers ~ Substance misuse and mental health
co-morbidity (dual diagnosis) - Standards for
mental health services ~
HMRC: New guidelines have been published to
promote fair treatment of work experience placements in the television
industry, which is oversubscribed by new entrants to the labour market and work
experience is commonplace as a way to secure first
jobs.
The guidelines are intended as
practical advice rather than definitive statements of law and do not constitute an authoritative legal
interpretation of the provisions of the relevant Acts of Parliament or other
enactments and regulations. Organisations providing work experience placements are
strongly advised to seek independent advice before establishing such a
scheme.
Press release ~
Guidelines ~
Defra: A new process for applying to Defra for
waste PFI credits has been
announced. The introduction of
Award Rounds means discrete application windows will replace the previous
'first come first served' system.
The previous Waste PFI system allowed Local Authorities to apply for credits at
any time of the year, which made assessment of the relative contribution of
each case to the overall PFI programme more difficult. It also hindered the development of a
programme level pipeline management strategy.
The key changes are:
·
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The introduction
of a new process of Award Rounds for Local Authorities to use when submitting
an Outline Business Case (OBC) for
PFI credits.
·
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The requirement
for LAs to complete a new Planning
Health checklist when submitting their OBC
·
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Eligibility will
be based in part on compliance with published PFI criteria and in part on
additional criteria which will enable a managed pipeline of investments to be
procured, supporting the acceleration of Infrastructure delivery whilst
offering value for money
Press release ~
Defra - Waste PFI ~
Criteria for Securing Waste PFI Credits ~
Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme ~ Waste Implementation Programme ~
Waste PFI - Final Business Case:
Guidance for Local Authority PFI projects ~ Partnership UK (PUK) ~ 4ps ~ EU Landfill Directive ~
Second Kelly Market - Waste Management
Report
Scottish Executive: The statistical bulletin Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2006, including its
location, previous uses, intended & new uses and the length of time it has
lain vacant or derelict, has been published.
The bulletin reports that there has been a
decrease in the amount of derelict land and urban vacant land recorded in the
survey, from 10,596 hectares in 2002 to 10,386 hectares in 2006. This is partly attributable to land
being brought back into productive use and partly due to land being removed due
to naturalisation.
Press release ~
Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey
2006
Healthcare Commission: A more coherent approach is overdue at
a local level to help prevent accidental injuries to children, according to a
new joint report published by the Audit
Commission and the Healthcare
Commission.
Better
Safe Than Sorry: Preventing Unintentional Injury to Children, says that each year there are approximately two million
attendances by children at hospital A&E departments as the result of
accidents that might have been prevented.
This costs the NHS approximately £146m p.a. and the most recent figures
show that accidental injuries kill three children in every 100,000 each year –
a similar rate to cancer.
Injuries such as those caused by burns,
falling down stairs at home, slipping on railway embankments and poisoning, are
a leading cause of death & illness in children aged 1-14 and account for
approximately 120,000 admissions to hospital a
year.
Although the overall number of deaths has
fallen, the report shows that there are persistent & widening differences
between socio-economic groups.
Children of parents who have never worked, or who have been unemployed
for a long time, are 13 times more likely to die from unintentional injury than
children of parents in higher managerial and professional
occupations.
There are many ad hoc local initiatives to
help prevent children’s accidents, but they are often poorly coordinated and
rely on committed individuals who frequently work in isolation and sometimes
duplicate what others have done.
There is also an absence of evaluative data on the success of local
prevention initiatives.
Press release ~
Better Safe Than Sorry: Preventing Unintentional Injury to
Children ~ Audit
Commission ~ Healthcare Commission ~ DH – Urgent care
website ~ NAO: Emergency Care in England - Summary Report March 2004 ~
Emergency Care Specialist Library ~ Directgov – emergency healthcare ~ Child Accident Prevention Trust: Child Safety
Week ~ The Framework details recommendations for improving emergency
care for acutely ill and injured children and young people in
Scotland ~ Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
(RoSPA) ~ Emergency Medicine Research Group reports ~ Developing Excellence in Leadership within Urgent Care -
Tomorrow's Nurse Leaders Today ~ Reforming emergency care - practical
steps ~
European Child Safety Alliance
Patent Office: The Patent Office has published the outcome of its Inventive Step Consultation and
highlighted the fact that there is considerable international debate concerning
the level of invention required to justify the grant of a patent and a
widespread view that perhaps some patents are being granted where this is
little invention and that this impedes follow-through innovation.
Examination for inventive step (also called
“obviousness”) has been a feature of
Press release ~
The inventive step requirement in United Kingdom patent law and practice
- A review by the UK Patent Office ~
Government response ~ Gowers Review of
Intellectual Property ~ Patents
NAO: The National Audit Office has reported that the Department of Health and the Information Centre could not
demonstrate to the NAO’s satisfaction that they had achieved value for money in
establishing Dr Foster Intelligence,
a joint venture between the Information Centre and a private sector company Dr Foster
LLP.
The report concludes that, in the absence of
a fair competitive tender process in this instance the Information Centre had
no fair comparisons or benchmarks to demonstrate that the joint venture with Dr
Foster Ltd was the best structure to meet its needs, or that it represented
good value for money.
The report shows that there were companies
providing similar services to Dr Foster Ltd already working in the
Press release ~
Dr Foster
Intelligence: A joint venture between the Information Centre and Dr Foster
LLP ~ Executive Summary ~ Dr Foster Intelligence ~ Information
Centre ~ NHS
Informatics Homepage ~ CHIME ~ GHIFT ~ Child Health
Informatics Centre - CHiC ~ The Health
Informatics Service ~ BCS Health
Informatics Scotland ~ <
FONT color=#0000ff size=2>Health Informatics skills and competencies - A
framework to support NSF implementation
~DH – Information policy
RAEng: A report -Systems Biology: a vision
for engineering and medicine - by The Royal Academy of Engineering and the
It will improve treatments and our
understanding of severe medical conditions such as heart disease, cancer &
dementia, produce stronger & lighter materials for use in transport and
unlock the potential of biofuels.
SB introduces sophisticated computer
modelling and systems engineering concepts into traditional, laboratory-based
research, allowing medical researchers to model, for example, how cells
interact with their surrounding cells & organs and with the rest of the
body, instead of studying them in isolation.
Press release ~
Systems Biology: a vision for engineering and medicine
~ UK Focus for Biomedical Engineering ~ Education - Biotechnology Engineering
Initiative ~ Education - Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme
(BYES) ~ Best Community -
Royal Academy of Engineering ~ Academy of Medical
Sciences
DfES: Research published by the National Childminding Association
(NCMA) shows that 87% of Sure Start
Children's Centres are working with childminders in their area and that
Sure Start Children's Centres were a good place for parents to find out
more about the services that childminders provide.
The NCMA found that almost one third of Sure
Start Children's Centres were currently working with childminder networks
and over 80% were providing training opportunities for
childminders.
Press release ~
National
Childminding Association (NCMA) ~ Children’s centres work with childminders ~ Sure Start Children's
Centres ~ Ten year childcare
strategy ~ Strategy guidance for LAs
NAO: A National Audit Office report concludes that the Identity and Passport Service has
successfully completed its project to introduce electronic passports (or
ePassports) on time and to the required international standards. However, longer term risks to value for
money remain because of the newness of the technology and unknown performance
of border control readers in high-volume
situations.
Although the Immigration and Nationality Directorate is, like the Identity and
Passport Service, a part of the Home Office, the two bodies
did not formally liaise over upgrading passport readers at
In addition, the NAO estimates that at least £3.5
million could be saved over five years by
using civil servants instead of consultants in non-technical roles if proved
possible to recruit them.
Press release ~
Identity and Passport Service: Introduction of
ePassports ~ Executive Summary ~ Identity and Passport Service ~ Immigration
and Nationality Directorate ~ FCO -_US Visa
Waiver Program ~ International Civil
Aviation Organization ~ Policy to
successful delivery website ~
Twelve Key Questions
~
Professional Skills for Government
programme ~ Delivering successful IT-enabled business
change – Volume I ~ Vol II Case Studies (VLF)
Defra: Defra claims a new report gives a
better understanding of the potential impact of GM herbicide tolerant crops on
farming practices and the environment. It looks in particular at how farmers might deal with
'volunteer' weeds that are herbicide
tolerant.
The study does not suggest that weeds might
be created that could not be controlled, but it says that, depending on the
circumstances, farmers may need to change their normal practices to ensure they
don't get a weed problem. The
report considers a number of possible changes farmers might implement to manage
herbicide tolerant weeds, such as using a different
herbicide.
Press release
~ 'Agronomic and environmental implications of the
establishment of GM herbicide tolerant problem weeds' ~
Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment
(ACRE) ~
OFT: The Office of Fair Trading has referred the
In reaching this decision OFT has taken
account of the work which the Financial
Services Authority (FSA) is doing to remedy the problems relating to
selling standards and to ensure customers are treated fairly, as well as the
various industry initiatives which are underway in response to the FSA's
work.
Press release ~
'Payment protection insurance - the
OFT's reasons for making a reference to the Competition
Commission' ~ OFT – PPI market study ~ FSA - PPI ~ Citizens Advice
(CitA)
HMRC: Customs officers
investigating a suspected £250m VAT missing trader fraud made 10 arrests last week in UK-wide raids. Codenamed Operation Euripus, the action followed
a five year investigation, which included one of the biggest swoops ever
undertaken by Customs.
In July 2003, 350 officers raided 93 premises
across the
Those arrested are believed to be part of a
sophisticated network of companies that 'carouselled' large quantities
of mobile phones, buying them VAT-free from the continent to supply to
businesses in the
Press release ~
Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) VAT
fraud ~ HMRC – How to spot
it ~
VAT missing trader intra-Community
fraud: the effect on Balance of Payments statistics and UK National
Accounts ~ Article on identifying MTIC ~ Chartered Institute of Taxation
paper
DCMS: Leading industry players in the
ticketing market have met with Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell to discuss
progress & further action to protect fans from unscrupulous ticket
touts.
Ms Jowell welcomed action by event
organisers, box offices and internet auction sites to protect consumers and
improve the ticketing market place, including:
·
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putting in place a
new ticket exchange mechanism allowing fans to swap tickets among
themselves
·
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ensuring
information such as the cost price & seat location is present if a ticket
is being sold on internet auction sites
·
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finalising terms
& conditions for tickets which are fair both to the consumer and the event
organiser, and
·
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putting in place a
"shop a tout" hotline
A
new European law, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive
(which will come into force on 12
December 2007), will ban unfair
practices in the ticket market and will require all ticket sellers to provide
the consumer with all relevant information - allowing the buyer to make an
informed choice.
In addition, a DCMS-commissioned consumer
survey has found that people who go to sporting & music events do not want
the resale of tickets to be banned.
They feel that this is not an issue that requires legislation.
Press release ~
Secondary
Market for Tickets: Qualitative Research Summary ~ Unfair Commercial Practices Directive ~ Principles for Primary & Secondary ticket selling in the
UK ~
Join The
Campaign Now To Stop Ticket Touts! ~ Ticket touts are good for spectators - Samuel Brittan: Financial
Times ~ Glastonbury take on ticket touts with photo-IDs - from
ITN ~ Society of Ticket
Agents and Retailers ~ OFT - Ticket Agents in the UK ~ Summary
version
Charity Commission: The
OSCR, the Charity Commission and the Department for Social Development in
Northern Ireland have published 'Doorstep Collection - Making an Informed Choice', which
gives householders key pointers to help them sort charity collections from
commercial ones.
Press release ~
'Doorstep Collection - Making an Informed
Choice' ~ OSCR ~ Charity
Commission ~ Department for
Social Development in Northern Ireland
HMRC: Practitioners who submit stamp duty land tax (SDLT) returns
electronically are benefiting from an enhancement to HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC)
online service. They now get
their SDLT certificates (SDLT5)
electronically by return, without having to wait for paper copies to be
sent by post.
Since Stamp Taxes Online was introduced in August 2005, over 370,500 SDLT
returns have been submitted electronically across the
Press release ~
HMRC Stamp Taxes Online ~ HMRC - Electronic SDLT5 certificate ~ HMRC - Software and online forms
HMRC: A new trade & national advertising
campaign was launched last week advising landlords who let a room in their home
or run a business, of the need to declare their earnings and pay tax on any
profit.
Landlords who let multiple properties could
be considered to be running a rental business and they should go to the HM
Revenue & Customs website to check if they are liable for tax. If they are, they should contact HMRC
for a self assessment and a land & property form, or register as
self-employed by calling the Self-Employed helpline on: 0845 915
4515.
Press release ~
Conditions for Landlord status ~
Make cash letting a room - This is
Money ~ Letting rooms in your home -
Directgov ~ Factsheet
HMRC: A new internet-based guide, accessible
via the HM Revenue and Customs
(HMRC) website for people who trade online has been launched, which
outlines the rules for people who trade online for a profit, as opposed to
others who are just clearing low value items ‘from the attic’.
E-traders who are starting a new business
need to let HMRC know within three months of starting trading and HMRC has made it easy to register over the phone via
the Self-Employed helpline: 0845 915 4515.
If people are selling the odd item (such as
unwanted presents or possessions) and are not buying goods to trade for profit,
they are considered to be a non-e-trader and do not have to pay Income Tax or
NI.
Press release ~
Conditions for e-trader status ~
NAO report VAT on eCommerce ~ Additional Background
information ~ OFT Internet auctions ~
BBC - h2g2
- Safe Trading on eBay UK ~ BBC
News - Making It Big on eBay
HMRC: A special scheme to help cashflow in
small firms will be extended. The
Cash Accounting Scheme (CAS) allows
eligible businesses to defer paying their VAT until they have received payment
from their customers - as opposed to accounting for & paying VAT when they
issue and receive invoices.
From
Press release ~
Cash Accounting Scheme
(CAS) (second link) ~ Business
Link
HMRC: Revenue
& Customs Brief 12/07
This Brief gives details of
an article concerning: VAT: changes to the cash accounting
scheme
HMRC: Revenue
& Customs Brief 11/07
This Brief gives details of
an article concerning: VAT schemes for luxury
yachts
HMRC: Revenue
& Customs Brief 10/07
This Brief gives details of
an article concerning: VAT: liability of private
tuition
HMRC: Revenue
& Customs Brief 08/07
This article explains the
VAT treatment of ‘cash backs’ and what businesses should do if they pay or
receive ‘cash backs’, or have paid or received them in the
past.
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