DfES: The government tries harder with schools – The government has published its latest & much trailed Education White Paper - Higher Standards,
According to the government, Trust schools will own their own assets, become their own admissions authority (within the National Code of Practice and with no return to selection by ability), become the legal employer of their staff and have the potential (via a single application from the Trust) for all the schools within a Trust to vary the National Curriculum to suit their circumstances & ethos in order to ‘drive up educational standards’.
A newly created "Schools Commissioner" will get Trusts up & running, identify backers & match them with schools.
Local Authorities will change from being a direct provider (what happens to the staff?) to a more strategic commissioning role, while Parents will be able to ask for new schools to be set up to reflect local need & demand.
Press release ~ White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools for All: More Choice for Parents and Pupils ~ Steer Report (Very large File) ~ School Admissions code of practice
DH: Partially Scottish – The government has decided not to follow the example of Scotland when it comes to the degree it is prepared to ban smoking in public places. If the partial ban in the new Health Bill for
As it is Patricia Hewitt announced that the Health Bill will exempt licensed premises that do not serve or prepare food and private members’ clubs (qualifying clubs include the British Legion, working men’s or cricket & rugby clubs). The partial measures will take effect from the summer of 2007 and their impact will be monitored from the outset and a review completed at the end of three years.
The Health Bill also contains legislation for action on Health Care Associated Infections (HCAIs) in
According to their own press release the consultation on these proposals was launched on
Press release ~ The Health Bill ~ Public Health White Paper containing proposals on smoking in public places ~ Health Care Associated Infections ~ Countering fraud in the NHS ~ Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) ~ Ash website ~ Standard for training in smoking cessation treatments ~ Clearing the Air {in Scotland]
NAO: Planning for Convictions - The NAO has reported that the Home Office’s National Offender Management Service should improve its contingency arrangements in case the number of prisoners in custody continues to rise. There were 77,300 prisoners in
Overcrowding can also impact on efforts to educate & train prisoners, however, as the high prisoner population can result in some offenders spending their entire sentence in a local prison (where there are fewer opportunities to attend classes) and others being moved around the prison estate more frequently (with consequent disruption to their work).
As the government spends billions on new schools, one wonders why just a small fraction (the odd billion) couldn’t be diverted to facilitating the re-education & re-introduction of prisoners into society by building more prisons.
Press release ~ National Offender Management Service: Dealing with increased numbers in custody: ~ Full Report ~ Executive Summary ~ National Offender Management Service ~ Carter Report - Managing Offenders, Reducing Crime: A New Approach ~ Sentencing Guidelines Council and Sentencing Advisory Panel ~ Prison Reform Trust ~ Education in Prisons ~ Forum on Prisoner education
ODPM: Government stops being ‘mean’ to disabled children - Families in
The Government’s decision makes it easier for families to apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) to get funding for help to provide access ramps, stair lifts, level access showers and home extensions if extra living accommodation is required.
The change, which ensures families are entitled to apply for the maximum grant available without having to go through a means test, will mean they can now apply for up to £25,000 for disability improvements to their home.
Press release ~ Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) ~ Bristol Univ. report: Reviewing the Disabled Facilities Grant Programme and related documents ~Housing Rights Service – Processing DFGs ~ Disability Alliance campaign ~ Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People
UK Trade & Invest: Aspiring Female ‘Flyers’ - Trade & Industry Secretary Alan Johnson has urged high flying UK business women to have their achievements recognised and at the same time inspire other women to the top of the workplace ladder by entering the Women in Business Award 2005. Application forms must be in by the
Press release ~ UK Trade & Investment ~ British exporters Association ~ Women’s Business Network (North West) ~ Higgs Report ~ Tyson Report ~ Building Better Boards ~ Brighter Boards for a brighter future ~ Female FTSE Index ~ Diversity Best Practice in the corporate world: A guide to business (VLF 5.3Mb v slow to load)
BCS: The new world of work was recently the subject for a special presentation to the BCS Effective Leadership in IT (Elite) Group by Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chairman, chief software architect and a British Computer Society (BCS) Distinguished Fellow.
It may be hard to believe but ‘new industry’ Microsoft itself has hit its 30th anniversary and, as Bill Gates pointed out many people in IT now don’t know a world without PCs.
He looked back over that period to 1975, when a computer had 4Kb of memory, commenting that, since then, it has seen a 1,000,000 fold increase in memory capability to today’s machines.
Looking to the future he saw a time when students in school won’t need text books because they’ll all have web-attached devices where the teacher can refer them to specific books, while in the wider world, mobile phones that can browse the web and send email will soon find further uses.
For example, if you’ve just had a lunch on expenses you’ll be able to take a photo of your receipt and electronically file it straight into an expense reporting system. If you’re overseas and can’t read a sign in a foreign language you can photograph it and then get it translated directly over the web. Or you could run your camera phone over a barcode in a shop and have instant access to reviews and the best purchasing information.
Full article ~ BCS website ~ BCS Effective Leadership in IT (Elite) Group ~ Microsoft – Going Beyond
NHS
NHS
Once again, primary care is facing a period of massive change, as the Commissioning for a patient led NHS and the forthcoming White Paper on out of hospital services herald a new world for primary care and enormous challenges for all those working in it.
Amidst the maelstrom, perennial challenges remain, such as long-term care, improving the health of the nation and involving the public in their care, which will all be discussed in leading edge sessions.
Further details ~ Commissioning for a patient led NHS ~ Out of hospital services – Minister’s speech ~ DH Fair access to care website ~ Emerging Findings ~ Citizen’s summit in Birmingham - highlights
Defra: Local Environmental Quality Minister
Ben Bradshaw has confirmed that Defras Waste Implementation Programme will run for a further two
years. In addition, the Waste and Resources Action Programme
will continue running the Recycling and
Organics Technical Advisory Team (ROTATE), which is available to all local
authorities in
Press release ~ Waste
Implementation Programme ~ Waste and Resources Action Programme ~ Recycling and Organics Technical Advisory Team
(ROTATE)
Defra: A new Defra webpage updates the steps taken by Government
and the private sector to offset emissions and it also offers basic
explanations of different approaches being taken in the offsetting sector. It contains details of the UK
Governments commitment to offset carbon dioxide emissions from central
government air travel from April 2006 as well as the offsetting of the UK
Presidency of the G8 and EU.
Press release ~ Carbon offsetting ~ Carbon Tax calculator
OGC Buying Solutions: A group of NHS trusts have
achieved potential savings of nearly 30% on this years bill
for IT Hardware via an on-line auction.
In conjunction with Collaborative
Procurement organisations, a two-hour e‑auction, organised by the OGC’s Co-ordinated Procurement Division
and run by TradingPartners saw
11 IT hardware suppliers battle to get the business of 137 NHS Trusts, grouped
into six regional consortia.
Press release ~ Collaborative Procurement hubs (and scroll down) ~ OGC’s
Co-ordinated Procurement Team ~ TradingPartners
DfES: Andrew
Adonis, Minister for Schools has published a languages framework which is
claimed to be backed by an additional £49.5 million for schools and Local
Authorities for 2006 - 2008, so as to ensure that the programme can be
delivered through the provision of resources, local coordination and training
for existing teachers & teaching assistants. Additional funds will support initial teacher training with
a language specialism.
Press release ~ National Languages
Strategy ~ Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages ~ The National
Advisory Centre for Early Language Learning website ~ Evaluation report of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinder
programme (VLF) ~
Government 2010 commitment
Scottish
Executive: Healthcare services across Scotland are to focus
more on preventative & continuous care in local communities and resources
will be targeted on those with the greatest risk of ill
health.
Press release ~ Delivering for Health ~
Scotland’s Health on
the web ~ Scottish NHS Confederation ~ NHS Health
Scotland
Defra: Local
Environmental Quality Minister Ben Bradshaw has launched, for consultation (closes
Press release ~
Consultation on options for local authority statutory
performance standards on recycling and composting in 2007/08 ~ Waste Strategy 2000 ~ Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 ~ A guide to making
compost ~ The Composting Association ~ Recycle More Website ~ Pointless but
fun animation
DCMS: New Guidelines published by the
DCMS, urge cultural institutions to ask for evidence, or provenance, of the
objects history before acquiring it; refuse to accept anything when there
are doubts about its origins; and seek expert advice when they are unsure of
how to progress
Press release ~ Combating Illicit Trade: Due Diligence Guidelines for Museums,
Libraries and Archives on Collecting and Borrowing Cultural Material
~ Museums
Association ~ Museums, Libraries and
Archives Council
HSE: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published new free
guides to help raise awareness of the risks associated with ladder use and to
give advice on how to use ladders safely. Last year 13 people died from falls while working on a
ladder, and more than 1,200 people suffered major injuries.
Press release ~ Safe use of
ladders and stepladders - an employers guide ~ A toolbox
talk on leaning ladder and stepladder safety, for employers giving refresher
training to ladder users ~ Top tips for
ladder and stepladder safety, a pocket card for workers, giving key messages on
ladder use ~ HSE Falls from Height
website ~ Work at
Height Regulations 2005
guide ~ Ladders
Week (14 - 18
November 2005)
HSE: The Health & Safety Executive (HSE)
has published its annual Pesticide
Incidents Report. HSE inspectors investigated 150 pesticide related
incidents - 55 incidents involved allegations of ill health, while the
remaining 95 incidents involved environmental and other non-health complaints
about the use of pesticides.
Press release ~ Annual
report ~ HSEs
Pesticide Incidents Appraisal Panel ~ Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Pesticides on Farms and
Holdings (The Green Code) ~ Storage of
pesticides ~ Reporting
incidents ~ Voluntary initiative ~ Farmers and Growers
MOD: The Ministry
of Defences Annual Report and Accounts have been published giving details
of the MODs and the Armed Forces achievements against Public
Service Agreement targets.
Press release ~ MOD Annual Report and Accounts 2004-05 ~ Delivering
Security in a Changing World; Future Capabilities
Press release ~ Annual report ~ The Project to Reduce the Bureaucratic Burdens
on Schools in Wales
Defra: The second annual Progress Report on Transmissible Spongiform
Encephalopathies in Great Britain has been published and shows that the
number of BSE cases in domestic cattle continues to fall steeply, at a rate of
about 40% per year.
Press release ~ Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) in Great
Britain 2004 – A Progress Report ~ Defra BSE
website
Defra: The Biomass Task Force has concluded that biomass (fuel from forestry,
crops and waste) could reduce the nation’s carbon emissions by almost three
million tonnes a year if used to provide heating. The carbon saving would be the equivalent of taking 3.25 million cars
off the road.
Press release ~ Final Biomass report ~ Defra Bio-energy website ~ Bioenergy
Capital Grants (scroll down) ~ Clear Skies ~
Ecotricity website ~ National Energy Foundation
Defra: The results of a Defra-funded study on gene flow (cross-pollination)
between GM and non-GM oilseed rape were published in the October edition of the
scientific journal Transgenic Research.
Press release ~ Crop-to-crop gene flow using farm scale
sites of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) in the UK ~ Central Science Laboratory
(CSL) ~ National
Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) ~ Government’s Farm Scale Evaluation (FSE) trials ~ Defra GM website
LSDA: In a new research report, commissioned
by the Learning & Skills Council (LSC), the LSDA set out to judge whether
the aspiration that young people should have the ‘best in the world’ knowledge
& skills matching by 2010 is realistic and achievable.
Press release ~ Can we compare post-16 performance with the ‘best in the world’:
an empirical assessment ~ LSC ~ Frontier
Economics ~ OECD’s Education at a glance
(2004)
LSDA: The
Learning & Skills Development
Agency has been investigating the most effective way of reaching the
government’s target of an additional half a million adults achieving Level 2 qualifications – 100,000 a year
from now until 2010 - roughly doubling current trends.
Press release ~ Modelling progress towards the Level 2 target ~
Skills Strategy White
Paper ~ National Employer Training Programme ~
Level 2 Adult Vocational Learning – a qualitative study of
motivations, experiences and outcomes
Competition Commission: Home Credit customers are
generally happy with the loans they receive but this satisfaction comes at a
high price, according to the latest document published by the Competition
Commission (CC) as part of its inquiry into competition in the home credit
market.
Anyone wishing to submit comments on the Emerging
Thinking document is requested to do so in writing by no later than
Press release ~ Home Credit inquiry website ~ Emerging Thinking document ~ OFT
Debt advice ~ Consumer Credit Bill progress ~ Financial Inclusion
Fund ~ Courts
and Tribunals Bill ~ Debt Test ~ Finance and Leasing
Association
Ofwat: Water companies in
Press release ~ The Security of
supply, leakage and the efficient use of water 2004-05 ~ Water Savings Group ~ Defra water conservation website ~ The Water
family conservation
game
DfES: The Government has belatedly (it was published in June 2005)
welcomed a report from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
investigating the provision of strategic subjects such as science and modern
languages. HEFCE was asked by DfES
at the end of last year to investigate how subjects of strategic national
importance which are vital to the country’s continuing prosperity might be
protected and whether any intervention might be needed.
Press release ~ Strategically important and vulnerable subjects ~
NATFHE response ~ HEFCE – A new approach to
strategic subjects ~ BBC
news item
Attorney General: The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, has launched a 10-point Prosecutors
Pledge, giving victims a
‘clear commitment’ of the role the prosecutor will undertake on their behalf.
They are intended to make the
process clearer & be more responsive of the impact the crime has had on
them and their families.
The prosecutors pledge has been published
alongside the Attorney Generals guidelines on the acceptance of pleas.
Press release ~ 10-point
Prosecutors Pledge ~ Attorney Generals guidelines on the acceptance of
plea ~ Attorney General’s Guidelines web page (not always up to
date) ~ Points for prosecutors (Sept.
2000)
DfES: The Class of 99 - a new study led jointly by Professor Peter
Elias at the University of Warwicks Institute of Employment Research and
Professor Kate Purcell at the Employment Studies Research Unit at Bristol
Business School - details the fortunes of 8,600 graduates from the full range
of UK undergraduate courses, ranging from the oldest to most recently
established UK universities.
The study
follows graduates from course completion to four years after leaving
university. Job outcomes, earnings, debt, training and further learning have
been investigated, as well as general satisfaction with the Higher Education
experience.
Press release ~ The Class of 99 ~ Higher Education Careers Service Unit (HECSU) ~ Education Guardian article ~ Student Debt Action Plan ~ Attitudes to Debt ~ DfES - Student loans and the
question of debt
DCA: Families will be able to discuss sensitive issues more
easily with advice centre staff, health care professionals and counselling
services under new rules which came into effect on Monday 31 October. At present, families are restricted in
sharing information in contact, care and residence cases with a very limited
number of people such as their legal adviser, CAFCASS or welfare
officers.
Press release ~ Changes to court rules on disclosure of information
consultation ~ Guidance on disclosing information about Family Proceedings
involving children which are heard in private ~ DCA Family
matters website ~ False
Allegations Support Organisation ~ Times online ~ Parent Protest
Group
Defra: New measures
to help timber-producing countries prevent illegal logging and protect
threatened forests have been agreed by European governments with the signing of
a new Forest Law Enforcement, Governance
and Trade (FLEGT) deal which will see the EU sign agreements with poor
countries where enforcement is weak to help them guarantee that timber exports
to the EU are legal and licensed.
Press release ~ Defra illegal logging
website ~ DFID illegal logging website ~ G8 Action Programme on
Forests ~ Illegal
Logging website ~ UK Government’s Timber Procurement Policy: What have the impacts
been? ~ <
FONT color=#800080>Partners in crime: The UK timber trade, Chinese sweatshops and
Malaysian robber barons in Papua New Guinea’s rainforests ~
OGC guidance
Defra: New measures to help prevent the spread
of avian influenza have been agreed by the European Commission and Decision
2005/745/EC requires member states to ban birds at markets, shows, fairs and
similar events. Domestic legislation bringing these measures into effect was
expected to be in force by Friday 28
October.
Press release ~ Decision 2005/745/EC ~ Statement on Avian Flu to Parliament ~
Defra avian flu website with updated
Q&As
DTI: Energy market
liberalisation across the European continent took a step forward last week with
the signing in
The Energy
Community South East Europe Treaty is the first multilateral treaty to
cover all countries in South East Europe and is intended to bring the benefits
of market liberalisation to new customers and create a stable market for
investment.
Press release ~ Energy in South East Europe ~ European Federations of
Public Service Unions ~ Energy Regulators Regional Association
(ERRA)
British Red
Cross:
The British Red Cross has launched an urgent
appeal to help tackle a severe food crisis facing
In
Press release ~ International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement ~ If you would like to
support the work of the British Red Cross in
DWP: New regulations have been published that are
intended to make it easier for employers who are running several smaller
schemes to bulk transfer members with protected rights into one single pension
scheme. Subject to approval from
actuaries that a members rights will be broadly no be less favourable,
protected rights can be transferred in the same way as other pension rights are
currently. This should help reduce administrative cost and burden on
employers.
It is
expected that the new regulations will save pension schemes £10 million over
the next three years and they will come into force from
Press release ~ consultation on the draft
regulations
FSA: The FSA has updated its publication "Promoting Pensions to Employees" which
offers guidance to employers who operate or are setting up Stakeholder or Group
Personal Pensions for their employees.
Employers, who meet certain conditions set out in the guide, are now
able to promote their pension scheme to employees without authorisation from
the FSA or otherwise breaching the Financial Services and Market Act 2000
(FSMA).
Press release ~ Promoting Pensions to Employees ~ FSA website
HMRC: VAT Business Brief – Changes to previously issued
briefs
Contents:
1. VAT -
Implications of the High Court judgment in IDT Card Services Ireland Ltd -
Business Brief
03/05
2. VAT - House
of Lords decision in College of Estate Management (CEM) - Business Brief 22/04 &
27/04
Press release ~ Business Briefs 2005 (it
sometimes takes time to appear here)
CIPS: The Chartered Institute of Purchasing &
Supply (CIPS) has announced the launch of its new qualifications ladder,
which will start at NQF level two (a new Introductory Certificate in Purchasing and Supply) and will stretch
through to a new NQF level seven, the Executive Diploma in Purchasing and Supply.
To study for the CIPS Graduate Diploma, students will
need to study (or be exempt from) levels four, five and six (equivalent of A
Levels through to Honours Degree). Each level on the ladder will now be
recognised independently, with an award being given upon successful completion
of each level.
The new qualifications, which will available for
study from September 2006, have
been developed against the backdrop of the launch of the new National Occupational Standards for Supply
Chain Management.
Full article ~ CIPS web site ~ National Occupational Standards (1.4MB)
For
further information on the above article and others, please click HERE
Date:
Venue: Radisson SAS Portman Hotel,
Organiser: Economist
Conferences - Building on results for
next-generation public services
Government today is engaged in complex business transformation
programmes. A wave of efficiency drives in recent years has seen public sector
organisations make real efforts to streamline operations and cut costs.
Economist Conferences’ Third Annual Public Sector Conference will look at how the
public sector can build on current transformational change (TC) to find
solutions to these issues.
Can leaders fulfil the public’s increased expectation of effective
service provision? Is there a handle on developing an effective service
delivery culture? Help shape the answers at this strategic one-day
conference.
Full details ~ Socitm TC initiative ~ Manchester Business School ~ National School of Government ~ Leadership centre for Local government ~ NHS Leadership Qualities Framework (The Framework)
For information on other events please
click HERE
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