In the News
OFT: We cannot afford to waste this resource - The OFT has issued recommendations designed to encourage increased competition & greater efficiency in the treatment of organic waste.
In its market study into the treatment of organic waste in England & Wales, the OFT identified a number of barriers to competition related to aspects of economic, environmental & planning regulation, and to the apparent corporate culture of some water & sewerage companies.
The report makes a range of recommendations aimed at promoting competition, hence driving efficiency & innovation in the sector. At the heart of the recommendations are proposed changes to the economic regulation of water & sewerage companies and recommendations for greater harmonisation of the environmental regimes applicable to sewage sludge and other organic waste.
PC&PE: Time for Sir Humphrey to be replaced? - In a new report, the Commons Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) says that ‘unless the government can rapidly develop and implement a comprehensive plan for cross-departmental reform in Whitehall, the Government's wider ambitions for public service reform, the Big Society, localism and decentralisation will fail’.
The analysis & recommendations in the committee’s report, ‘Change in Government: the agenda for leadership’, highlight the lack of specialist expertise and other key skills, institutional inertia & complacency which they say have justified the Prime Minister's complaint about ‘the enemies of enterprise’ within Whitehall.
The traditional model of Civil Service reform through gradual change is not sufficient for circumstances where the Government proposes rapid decentralisation and a structural reduction of one-third in departmental budget.
The committee have set out 6 principles of good governance & change management against which Civil Service reform should be managed over the course of this Parliament. They will be monitoring Civil Service leadership, performance, accountability, transparency, coherence and engagement as reform programmes are implemented.
STFC: Motivating the motivators - The STEMNET Awards aim to recognise the UK's most inspirational people for motivating young people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). The Science and Technology Facilities Council is supporting the awards with a trip to CERN for the winners! T here is no limit to the number of categories you can nominate in (closing date Monday 3 October 2011).
BIG: Villages need to get active to share in lottery cash - Villages across the UK have one month left to apply for a share of £5m Lottery cash to create exciting community enterprises that will help to revitalise their area and meet the needs of local people. Projects have until 5pm on Thursday 20 October 2011 to apply for up to £30,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Village SOS Active competition, which follows hot on the heels of the primetime BBC One series: Village SOS.
HPA: Tragically several young lives end just as they should be beginning - The Health Protection Agency is reminding students about the importance of receiving the MMR and Men C vaccinations before they return to university campus, where outbreaks can occur. In a leaflet available on the HPA website, students are also advised on how to spot the early signs of these serious infections.
Directgov: Want to help the country to recover from its current depressed state? - The competition for places in the prestigious Civil Service Fast Stream has now opened. If you see yourself working at the heart of the issues which shape society, on the front line of service delivery, or helping to change how the Civil Service operates, the Fast Stream offers a unique opportunity to do so. Applications by 30 November 2011.
Consistently ranked in the top 10 of the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, the Fast Stream is a talent management programme for graduates with the potential to become the future leaders of the Civil Service. You could be working in areas such as education, health, justice, employment, defence, transport and many more.
MoD: Support for our troops is welcome, but please use charity route - Generous members of the public who show their support for the Armed Forces by sending welfare parcels to Afghanistan are being urged to stop & think and consider alternative & more effective ways they can back the troops at Christmas time.
NICE: A chance for professionals to influence the future NHS - NICE is looking for influential professionals such as NHS managers, Trust Chief Executives, Medical & Finance Directors, and GP commissioners to join its prestigious Fellows & Scholars Programme, which aims to foster a network of NHS health professionals committed to improving the quality of patient care within their local health & professional communities, as well as supporting the core values that underpin NICE's work. If you are interested in applying, please submit your application by Friday 25 November 2011.
Whitepaper: Think Your Antivirus is Working? Think Again – Government workers regularly download software from the Web onto your organisation’s endpoints. Many of these apps are unwanted, malicious and designed to remain hidden from view - exposing data, slamming productivity, and wreaking havoc on your network.
But traditional antivirus (AV) simply can’t keep up with the rising sophistication of malware and zero-day attacks. In fact, it only detects 19 percent of new threats , which is why important government standards mandate that the execution of unauthorised software must be prevented.
A new whitepaper examines the decreasing effectiveness of reactive security approaches such as antivirus and how application whitelisting provides a proactive approach that will improve your endpoint security. ‘Think Your Antivirus is Working? Think Again’ looks at the current threat environment and how proactively whitelisting executables can most effectively reduce the risk of unwanted and malicious applications – without impacting your IT operations or end users.
Click here to receive a free copy of this whitepaper and find out more about improving your endpoint security.
Please note that previously published newsletters can be accessed from the Newsletter Archive
- Date Posted
-
26/09/2011