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In the News
DfES: Ten years on and still having visions - A report on personalising teaching and learning, has been published by an ‘expert group’ and presented to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills ‘for consideration’. The report presents a vision for personalising learning in 2020 and makes recommendations for the delivery of its vision.
It says that by focusing on the progress made by each & every child, ‘personalising learning’ will help to address the attainment gaps that still persist between different groups of pupils, for example, between boys & girls and between pupils from different social & economic backgrounds.
Press release ~ Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review Report ~ General Teaching Council response to review’s Call for Evidence ~ Union of Teachers ~ Standards Site – Personalised Learning ~ Leading Personalised Learning in Schools ~ Every Child Matters - PL ~ DfES - PL ~ Teachernet - PL ~ Becta – Planning for PL online
Defra: Ideas for a New Year Resolution to live a greener life - Measures to help individuals tackle climate change and adopt greener lifestyles have been unveiled by the Government including the launch of an on-line ‘guide to greener living’ on Directgov, which is designed to help people who want to find out what they can do in their everyday lives to tackle climate change and other environmental issues.
The guide includes actions that can be taken covering the home, shopping, travel, food & drink, waste & recycling, energy & water saving, gardening, as well as being green in the workplace, school and community.
The Government also announced that EEA Fund Management Ltd has won the contract to fulfil the Government's obligation to offset its own air travel. Around 30 departments, agencies and bodies are participating in the largest of the schemes - the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund.
Over the next three years, EEA will source and deliver 255,000 Certified Emission Reduction credits - with a provision for a further 50,000 credits - from a portfolio of small-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency Kyoto-registered projects in countries such as
Press release ~ Online guide to greener living ~ Defra - Government Carbon Offsetting Fund ~ Defra - Carbon Offsetting FAQs ~ Clean Development Mechanism - Wikipedia ~ Energy Savings Trust ~ Carbon Neutral Company ~ Sustainable Development Commission ~ EU ManagEnergy ~ UK’s Sustainable Development website
DTI: Even old Bangers go free - Government regulations which came into effect on
Car manufacturers have established new national networks of existing facilities that will accept their own brands, when those vehicles reach the end of their lives. For vehicles not produced by any of the manufacturers listed below, please contact the relevant manufacturer or official importer directly to find out details of their arrangements to provide the same service.
The following makes should be returned to www.autogreen.org:
BMW, Daihatsu, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daewoo, Dodge, Ferrari, Honda, Isuzu, Jeep, Maserati, Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Mitsubishi Canter, Porsche, Saab, SMART, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota/Lexus and Vauhhall
While www.cartakeback.com will look after:
Alfa Romeo, Alpine, Aston Martin, Audi, Austin, Bentley, Bugatti, Citroen, Dacia, DAF, Datsun, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Hillman, Humber, Hyundai, Iveco, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lancia, Land Rover, LDV, Leyland, Leyland DAF, Lotus, Matra, Mazda, MG, MG X-Power, Mitsubishi, Morris, Nissan, Perodua, Peugeot, Proton, Renault, Renault Trucks, Riley, Rover, Seat, Simca, Singer, Skoda, Sunbeam, Talbot, Tata, Tatra, Triumph, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial, Volvo and Wolseley
Press release ~ End of Life Vehicles (Producer Responsibility) Regulations ~ EU - End of Life Vehicles website ~ Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders ~ Motor Salvage Operators Regulations
Forthcoming event: Stretch your learning horizons with some e-gazing – While the BBC celebrates 650 programmes (spread over 50 years) of gazing at stars this week, down on earth the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) will be offering a series of one-day e-gazing seminars, in February and March 2007 designed to give leaders a real advantage in understanding the wider context and the possibilities that e‑learning can offer them.
The e-learning and technology agenda is about a future in which there are multiple possibilities & decisions and actions taken now will have long-term consequences. There is no process for making accurate predictions about the future, but envisaging possible future scenarios is an important key skill in leading change and transformation.
Participants will have the opportunity to discuss possible futures with colleagues and an expert in a specific aspect of ICT and its range of applications and to engage in debate & discussion about organisational strategies and investment decisions.
Full details ~ Centre for Excellence on Leadership (CEL) – Work-based Learning Toolkit ~ CEL e-learning update (2Mb) ~ Gateways to Learning project ~ Open College Network ~ Harnessing Technology: Transforming Learning and Children's Services ~ The developing impact of ILT ~ JISC e-learning programme ~ Higher Education Academy e-Learning page ~ e-Learning Research Centre ~ Directgov - e-Learning ~ What is e-learning? (scroll down to ‘Resources’)
For information on other forthcoming public sector events please click HERE to visit the WGPlus Events Calendar
For the latest Industry News please click HERE
General News
Defra: Defra has opened a ten week application
window (closes
It is intended to support the installation of
biomass-fuelled heat and combined heat & power projects in the industrial,
commercial and community sectors, including local authorities and schools. There will be a variable rate up to a
maximum of 40% of the difference in cost compared with installation of the
fossil fuel alternative.
Press release ~
<
FONT color=#0000ff size=2>Defra - Bio-energy Capital Grants
Scheme ~ Guidance notes and application form ~
Cabinet Office: A new emblem, which is designed to be
worn on the everyday clothing of those who have been appointed to the Order of
the
The emblem is based on the badge of the
Order, enclosed in a circle of ribbon of its colours of pink and grey and it is
intended to be worn by those who have been appointed GBE, DBE, KBE, CBE, OBE,
MBE or who hold the British Empire Medal.
In total there are around 120,000 living ‘holders’ in the
Press release ~
Emblem ~ Review of the Honours
System ~ Government Response ~ Honours nomination ~ PASC report: ‘Propriety and Honours: Interim Findings’ ~
Previous PASC report on the
honours system
MCA: The Maritime & Coastguard Agency
(MCA) will launch a new and improved Maritime Safety Information (MSI) service on
·
Two additional
inshore forecasts and a new forecast area for the
·
A new condensed
one hour schedule to reduce a delay in delivery
·
New weather
information updated every six hours and available in eight daily
broadcasts
·
New gale, strong
wind and navigational warnings to be broadcast as soon as the MCA receives
them
·
Broadcasts to be
made in local time so that broadcasts are at the same time 'clock time'
all the year
·
New Inshore Forecasts (IF) will now be
provided four times per day (twice previously).
Press release ~
MSI service ~ SOLAS ~ NAVTEX ~ NAVTEX abbreviations ~ Inshore Forecasts (IF) ~ Met Office Marine
Forecasts
Policy Statements and Initiatives
Defra: The role that trees can play in cutting
the risk of flooding is to be investigated in a new Defra funded study aimed at
pushing the boundaries of policy on flooding and coastal erosion. Other projects will consider the
contribution farm land can make in reducing flood risk, as well as how
communities can better adapt to the pressures of coastal erosion
The pilots form part of the Government's Making Space for Water programme - a
cross-Government strategy, launched in 2005, which takes a long-term &
sustainable approach to flood & coastal erosion risk management.
Its aim is to manage risks through a range of approaches,
which reflect national & local priorities that combine a reduction in the
threat to people & their property with the delivery of the greatest
environmental, social and economic benefit.
Press release ~
Making Space for Water programme ~
Development of an Educational Tool for Shoreline
Management ~ Farming Floodplains for the Future – Staffordshire Washlands
~ A Collaborative Approach to Sustainable Coastal Land
Management ~ Restoring Floodplain Woodland for Flood Alleviation ~
Slapton Coastal Zone Adaptation Plan ~ LIFE – Long-term Initiatives for Flood Risk
Environments ~ Defra: Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management
~ Association of Drainage Authorities ~ SUDS -
Sustainable drainage systems ~ Environment Agency - Flooding ~
Foresight Project – Flood and Coastal
Defense ~ National Appraisal of Assets at Risk of
Flooding and Coastal Erosion in England and Wales ~
Flood Ranger ~ Wallasea
Wetlands
Consultations
Defra: The UK Government has published a
consultation paper (closes
The objective is to protect human health and
the environment from a range of 12 chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants that are
toxic, persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in fatty tissues and
biomagnify through the food chain. The National
Implementation Plan contains a Dioxins Action Plan which outlines 13 activities to be taken
forward by the
Views are also sought on the draft
Press release ~
Consultation documents ~
UK NAEI ~ NERC Persistent Organic Pollutants Network ~ Defra – Air quality ~
WWF ~ <
FONT color=#0000ff>Greenpeace ~ BBC
– Arctic Hotspots ~ UN Environment Programme ~ Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants ~ EPA: Pesticides - Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
~ EUROPA - Environment - POPs - Persistent Organic
Pollutants
Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides
Home Office: The Home Office has published guidance
on new ways to tackle homophobic hate crime and help make gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transsexual people (LGBT) feel safer.
Tackling Homophobic Hate Crime
highlights good practice from around
·
raising
awareness
·
encouraging
victims to report crimes and
·
providing tools,
such as fixed penalty notices & penalty notices for disorder, which police
and other partners can use to tackle this form of hate
crime
Press release ~
Tackling Hate Crime: Homophobic Hate Crime ~
Ofsted: Independent schools which are currently
inspected by Ofsted are now subject to a new, shorter inspection model. Two-thirds of respondents to Ofsted’s
consultation about the changes were in agreement with the proposals, in
particular the opportunity to participate more fully in the inspection through
contributing their own self-evaluation to the
process.
The key changes from
·
all
non-association independent schools will be inspected every 3 (instead of every
6) years
·
typically 2
inspectors will spend one or two days on site and schools will receive two
days’ notice
·
a new school
information & self evaluation form (SIEF) has been
developed
·
local authorities
will be asked to complete a questionnaire giving their views about the quality
of provision offered by schools where they place & fund pupils with
statements of special educational need or those who are in public care.
By
Easter 2008 Ofsted will have published a
report on all of the 1,400 schools in
Press release ~
Inspection Framework ~ Independent Schools
Council ~ The Independent
Schools Directory ~ Independent
Schools Association ~ Scottish Council for
Independent Schools ~ Independent/state school
partnerships ~ The independent/state school programme
(ISSP)
Annual Reports
Scottish Executive: The
latest Scottish Economic Report - a
twice yearly document that highlights performance and trends in the Scottish
economy – has been published and its findings include:
·
Annual growth
currently at 2.2% - above its long-term annual average of 1.8%
·
The service sector
continuing to experience robust growth - with job creation in this sector
offsetting declines in the production & manufacturing sectors
·
The majority of
business surveys expecting the positive performance of the Scottish economy to
continue into 2007
·
Unemployment
falling to its lowest ever level with the rate below the
Press release ~
Measuring Progress Towards a Smart,
Successful Scotland ~ State Aid Scotland ~ Sustainable Development ~
Taking Stock
Review ~
Scottish Futures Forum ~ Forward
Scotland
General Reports and other publications
Competition Commission: The Competition Commission (CC) has published its final report into the
printed classified directories market. Yell, the
publisher of Yellow Pages, will be
required to comply with a number of restrictions, including a price control of
RPI minus 6% until March 2008 and RPI from that
date onwards.
Whilst BT's entry into the market offers the prospect of stronger
competition to Yell, the pace of its future growth is unclear and the extent to
which its presence will translate into a significant constraint on Yell's
prices remains uncertain. The CC
expects that advertising on the Internet will increase in the future and that
printed directory advertising may decrease.
Press release ~
Classified Directory Advertising Services – Final
report ~ OFT – Reasons for
reference
HM Treasury: The Energy Efficiency Business Support Task Group has issued its
concluding report, which highlights problems businesses have in accessing
advice & support on energy efficiency and details how government can better
support energy efficiency in the business sector.
The Taskforce found
that:
·
over 150
government-funded organisations exist to
provide energy efficiency advice to businesses
·
businesses are
often not aware of the bodies
·
their services are
not tailored to meet businesses' needs, and
·
businesses often
don't realise the potential benefits of energy
efficiency
Press release ~
EEBST Group
Report ~ Carbon Trust ~ Energy Saving
Trust ~ Business Link ~ National Energy Foundation ~
Defra – Sustainable Energy
DH: Premature deaths from coronary heart
disease (CHD) have fallen by 35.9% since 1996 -
on track to meet the target of at least 40% by 2010, according to a new report
- 'Shaping the future' - on
the progress of CHD services.
The report also sets out heart failure,
rehabilitation and end of life care as the areas of focus in the next stage of
the NSF.
Press release ~
'Shaping the
future' ~ National Service Framework for
Coronary Heart Disease ~ DH: Coronary heart
disease ~ National
Defibrillator Programme ~ Heart Improvement Programme ~
NHS Life Check ~ Mending hearts and brains - clinical
case for change ~ Local Exercise
Action Pilots (LEAP) ~ Adult congenital heart
disease ~ Heart Surgery in Great Britain website ~ Reducing Brain Damage: Faster access to
better stroke care: Full Report
(1.4Mb)
Scottish Executive: Three research reports focusing on
public attitudes to public services in
The reports form part of the Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey,
which was launched by the Scottish
Centre for Social Research (part of the National Centre for Social Research) in 1999 and aims to provide an
independent and authoritative source of data on attitudes in post-devolution
Press release ~
Scottish
Centre for Social Research ~ Scottish Social
Attitudes (SSA) survey ~ Attitudes towards Public Services in
Scotland ~ Trust and Involvement in the Governance in
Scotland ~ Awareness and Perceptions of
Government
Legislation / Legal
DCA: The Legal Services Complaints Commissioner, Zahida Manzoor CBE, has
announced the targets she has set in relation to the handling of complaints
about members of the Law Society for the period
The Commissioner has set achievable targets
in three key areas to bring
performance of the Law Society to a level that moves it closer towards
effective & efficient complaints handling, by improving
the:
·
speed with which
complaints are handled by the Law Society
·
quality of
complaints handling by the Law Society
·
Law Society's
financial & resource management and its ability to implement
change
Press release ~ OLSCC –
Law Society Performance ~ Legal Services Complaints Commissioner:
2007/08 targets for complaints handling by the Law Society
~ ’Pushing for
Change’ (scroll down) ~
Legal
Services Complaints Commissioner (LSCC) ~ Consumer complaints service ~ Consumer Complaints
Board ~ Solicitors (Compensation for Inadequate Professional Services)
Order ~ Community Legal Services
Direct
DCA: The government claims that new ‘Community Impact Statements (CIS)’ will
allow local communities to tell the court, before it sentences, about the
effect of crime in their area. The
government says that, when sentencing, courts should take into account the
impact of the crime, but that until now it could only hear from the individual
victim, not the wider local community.
The CIS will tell the court about the
crime's impact on the local community so that it has the full picture of
how it has affected those who live & work in the
area.
In a further initiative, local community
organisations will be asked to tell the court what unpaid work they would like
offenders to be sentenced to, in order to help improve communities affected by
crime. When completed, a plaque
would show that a particular piece of work had been ordered by the local
magistrates' court, in response to a request made by that local community.
Press release ~
Community Impact Statements ~
Community justice courts ~
Respect
website ~ National
Criminal Justice Board ~ National
Offender Management Service ~ Supporting Magistrates to Provide Justice ~
National Community Safety Plan 2006 - 09
~ DCLG Working Together
website ~ Community Justice Roundtables -
reports
Defra:
New regulations which are intended to improve
the welfare of animals during transport and apply to anyone moving live
vertebrate animals in connection with an economic activity, have come into
force. Journeys excluded from
scope include those not in the course of business or trade or journeys
undertaken under veterinary instruction.
The regulation requires those transporting
animals in connection with an economic activity to be authorised. Two types of authorisation exist: one
for short journeys (over 65km and up to eight hours) and one for long journeys
(including eight hours and over). Those travelling over 8 hours may require their vehicles to
be inspected & approved.
Press release ~
Defra: Details of EU regulations and
guidance ~ Farmed animal welfare during
transport ~ Farm
Animal Welfare Council ~ Animal
Transportation Association ~ IATA Live animals regulations ~ RSPCA ~ World Organisation for Animal Health ~ State Veterinary
Service
EU legislation, initiatives, etc.
DTI:
The new measures will tackle cross-border
scams including:
·
email scams &
illegal prize draws
·
misleading
advertising & pressure selling
·
phone scams based
in other EU countries and
·
timeshare &
holiday club rogue traders
Press release ~
Regulation on Consumer Protection
Cooperation ~
DTI: On-site inspection power required by
Competent Authorities under the Consumer Protection Cooperation
Regulation CPC regulation ~ Euroconsumer
from Citizens Advice ~ Consumer
Direct ~ OFT appointed UK liaison office for consumer protection
co-operation regulation ~ OECD Guidelines for Protecting Consumers from Fraudulent and Deceptive
Commercial Practices Across Borders ~ International Consumer
Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) ~ Consumer
Sentinel network
DTI: Even
old Bangers go free - Government
regulations which came into effect on 1 January 2007 see car owners entitled to
"free take-back" of their old vehicles –
(See ‘In the News’ section above).
Charity and Voluntary Sector
Business and other briefings
HMRC: VAT
Business Brief 23/06
Contents:
·
Excise Duty:
Expiry of
·
VAT: Cash
Accounting Scheme -Renewal of
·
VAT: First grant
of a major interest in residential property - attribution of input tax and the
Capital Goods Scheme
·
Final Business
Brief
This is the last Business
Brief that HMRC will issue.
Business Briefs were originally published
by the former HM Customs & Excise and dealt with changes in indirect tax
policy. In the former Inland
Revenue a similar publication 'Tax Bulletin' covered direct tax
matters.
HMRC are taking this opportunity to combine
the two publications into a single online only bulletin - 'Revenue & Customs Brief'
which will appear in the Library
section of their website, and will go live
from
Press release ~
Business Briefs
2006 (it sometimes takes time to appear
here).
Industry News
Forthcoming Event
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