Kings College – CCJS: Tough on the statistics of crime - Government claims of success in improving the performance of the criminal justice agencies and tackling crime since 1997 are ‘overstated' and ‘misleading', according to an independent audit of Labour's record on law & order published by the King's Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.
The Report, Ten years of criminal justice under Labour: An independent audit, says that despite nearly ten years of reforms and record expenditure, success has been far less clear cut than the Government has claimed and its key findings include:
· Nearly all crime reduction targets have been met, but in reality, they were relatively straightforward to achieve, having been set on the basis of existing trends continuing regardless of government action
· Overall there are only three convictions for every 100 estimated offences
· Re-offending targets have all been modified, missed or dropped
· Little or no progress has been made against targets to reduce the number of children in custody.
Press release ~ Ten years of criminal justice under Labour: An independent audit (1.8Mb) ~ Centre for Crime and Justice Studies ~ Home Office Crime Statistics ~ Home Office - Data Quality Assurance ~ National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) ~ Home Office Counting Rules ~ Local Policing Summaries ~ Evaluation of the National Reassurance Police Programme (a model of neighbourhood policing) (scroll down) ~ National Statistics – crime figures
DCLG: ‘Super government websites’ may be the new fashion, but ‘super departments’ are on the way out - The Government has announced proposals for a new agency to deliver regeneration & housing in a shake-up of the way it supports the delivery of new homes and develops mixed, sustainable communities in England.
The proposed agency - Communities England - will bring together the functions of English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and a range of work currently carried out by divisions of the DCLG, including delivery in the areas of:
· decent homes
· housing market renewal
· housing PFI
· housing growth, and
· urban regeneration
Communities
A separate review of the regulation of affordable housing (the Cave Review – reporting Spring 2007), which was announced last December, is looking at how the regulatory system should be reformed to better support tenants, reduce burdens on social housing providers and to reflect current & future Government priorities.
Press release ~ DCLG website ~ English Partnerships ~ Housing Corporation ~ The Cave Review of Social Housing Regulation
CSPL: Taking politicians out of the electoral process - In its eleventh report 'Review of The Electoral Commission' the Committee on Standards in Public Life sets out a package of inter-related recommendations to radically refocus & reform the Commission to ensure that in future there is effective regulation of the electoral process and of political party funding.
Sir Alistair Graham and Committee accused the Electoral Commission of having ‘a lack of courage, competence and leadership in its regulatory and advisory approach and recommended measures to ensure elections are free fair and secure, including the introduction of individual voter registration.
Other recommendations in the 11th report include:
· Changes to its two core roles - as regulator of political party funding and as a regulator of electoral administration - with the aim of ensuring integrity & public confidence in both
· The creation of statutory regional electoral officers (REOs)
· Moving to individual voter registration
· Boosting its legal role as a proactive regulator of political party funding rules
· A new 'compliance unit' to investigative action on party funding and campaign expenditure issues
· The introduction of financial penalties for breaches of party funding rules regulations
· A package of supporting measures to improve the governance & accountability of the Commission
To ensure proper focus on these two core regulatory roles the Committee also recommends that the Commission be stripped of responsibility for:
· any electoral boundary setting work
· electoral policy - which should now go to the Department for Constitutional Affairs, and
· encouraging participation in the democratic process
Press release ~ Committee on Standards in Public Life ~ Eleventh Report – Review of the Electoral commission ~ Electoral Commission ~ DCA Elections Bill website ~ Absent voting in Great Britain: report and recommendations ~ Delivering Democracy? The future of postal voting - Summary ~ Do Politics ~ Youth Voting Network ~ BBC news item ~ Code of conduct for handling of Postal Ballots ~ Electoral Administration Act ~ Registering to vote ~ The review of the funding of political parties – Interim assessment ~ Party Funding Forum ~ Public Perspectives: The future of party funding in the UK Interim report - Research Study Conducted for The Electoral Commission/COI 2006 ~ Electoral Commission - Loans ~ Electoral Commission - Donors ~ Hansard – Principles of party funding ~ EC paper from 2004
Defra: Prevent urban flooding becoming money down the drain - Fifteen new pilot projects will consider how to reduce the impacts of urban drainage flooding in towns & cities across England and how best to adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change, which include more intense & frequent rainfall events.
Flooding from surface water and urban drainage in towns & cities currently costs the national economy £270 million on average each year, according to the Government's own research, but this could increase by up to £15 billion by the 2080s, if action is not taken.
The flooding of homes & businesses in towns and cities is typically due to a range of factors, including high river levels, concentrations of overland flow following heavy rainfall, limited capacity of drainage systems and blockage of waterways & drainage channels. Some problems can be isolated to a single cause but more often it is a combination of factors which causes the worst flooding.
Urban flooding is particularly challenging to manage - partly because several different organisations are responsible for different aspects of the problem. The Integrated Urban Drainage pilot projects will see the various bodies working together to develop solutions and will help Government consider the best arrangements for reducing flood risk in our towns and cities.
The pilots will also provide new tools & techniques for mapping & managing surface water following heavy rainfall events and bring more clarity on responsibilities for those managing urban flood risk.
Press release ~ Details of pilot projects ~ Foresight study on Food & Coastal Defence ~ UK Climate Impacts Programme – Scenarios Gateway ~ Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk (PPS25) ~ DCLG: Planning for flood risk: the facts ~ Sewer Flooding - Your Questions Answered ~ Sewer Flooding Best Practice Register ~ Defra Flood management website ~ 'Making Space for Water' ~ ABI Flooding & Insurance website (includes principles) ~ Flooding in Scotland ~ National Flood forum ~ National Appraisal of Assets at Risk of Flooding and Coastal Erosion in England and Wales ~ Flood Ranger ~ Direct Gov Flooding website ~ Defra Flood management website ~ Institute of Civil Engineers – Engineering skills for flood risk management
Scottish Executive: Scotland declares its support for measures to combat Global Warming - The Executive, through Learning Teaching Scotland and Scottish Power, is to develop & deliver a package of education materials, based around screenings of former US Vice President Al Gore’s climate change film An Inconvenient Truth. The aim of the package is to maximise the teaching & learning opportunities presented by this important documentary.
In a separate but related press release, it was announced that
· prepare & publicly declare a plan (with targets & time-scales) to achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from local authority operations including energy use, transport & waste, and
· publish an annual statement on progress in addressing climate change
Education press release ~ Declaration press release ~ Scotland's Climate Change Declaration ~ Sustainable Development Education website ~ Changing Our Ways: Scotland's Climate Change Programme ~ Choosing our Future: Scotland's Sustainable Development Strategy ~ A Survey of Local Authority Activity on Climate Change ~ Sustainable Scotland Network ~ Improvement and Development Agency Benchmark & Toolkit ~ Learning Teaching Scotland ~ Scottish Power ~ Sustainable Development and Education Liaison Group (SDELG) ~ Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER) – Climate Change
Land Registry: Register to protect ownership - As part of a major programme, almost all of the land owned by Lincolnshire County Council, including
Lincolnshire County Council believes that the voluntary registration of its land holdings represented an opportunity to manage land assets more effectively & efficiently. Even more importantly, it facilitates the consolidation of complex legal information or historic data about their land and offers protection against third parties being able to claim ownership through adverse possession, thus safeguarding the public interest.
Following the 2002 Land Registration Act, Land Registry pioneered the delivery of modern electronic government services. In addition to its Land Registry Direct service for property professionals, it launched Land Register Online, where members of the public can download copies of registers, title plans and other documents referred to in the register.
Land Registry is now working to deliver e-conveyancing, which will replace the current paper-based system, throughout
Press release ~ Land Registry ~ e-Conveyancing ~ 2002 Land Registration Act ~ Land Registry Direct ~ Land Register Online
Forthcoming Event - Innovation in all its forms – This is the theme of the Second Annual 4ps PPP Conference, which will cover project development, design, financing, procurement, operational and contract management – from both the public & private sector perspective.
The Competitive Dialogue Procedure (CDP) gives local authorities the opportunity to work more closely with the private sector to identify innovative solutions to their procurement needs prior to finalising a specification that they put out to tender.
Given its importance, the CDP will be a major focus of the section of the conference devoted to innovation in the pre-contract phase, alongside a review of the latest financing techniques & strategies for accelerating the development and procurement process.
In addition, there will be a series of practical case studies, each illustrating a particular aspect of partnering, in which both the public and private sector partners will give their perspective.
Further Details ~ 4Ps ~ 4Ps – Competitive dialogue publications ~ Glossary of Terms ~ Procurement Options ~ BSF guidance note - How to Conduct a Competitive Dialogue Procedure ~ OGC guidance on Competitive Dialogue ~ Barclays Capital ~ Amey ~ Bevan Brittan LLP ~ Rotherham Brought Together ~ Colas ~ Mott MacDonald ~ NAO PFI & PPP/Privatisation Recommendations website ~ General News
Defra: The Department of Health, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs and the Health and Safety
Executive advise that pregnant women who come into close contact with sheep
during lambing may risk their own health and that of their unborn child, from
infections that can occur in some ewes.
These include chlamydiosis (enzootic abortion of ewes - EAE),
toxoplasmosis and listeriosis, which are common causes of abortion in
ewes. Pregnant women should seek medical advice if
they experience fever or influenza-like symptoms, or if concerned that they
could have acquired infection from a farm
environment. Press release ~
Infection at work: Controlling the risks ~
HSE Information sheet: Common Zoonoses in
Agriculture ~ HSE:
Agriculture ~ Control of
Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002
~ Management of Health and Safety of Work Regulations 1999 ~ Defra - Animal By-Products
DH: The Government, the Association of British Pharmaceutical
Industry and the British Generic
Manufacturers Association have joined forces to tackle medicine supply
problems experienced in The guidelines recommend that companies
communicate with the DH about impending shortages that are likely to have an
impact on patient care as soon as possible so as to enable the DH and the
industry to work together and make contingency arrangements where
necessary. Press release ~
Notification and management of
medicines shortages - Best Practice Guidelines ~ British
Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) ~ Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
DfES: A unique garden to show teachers the
benefits of taking learning outside the classroom and bring the environment to
life for young people is to be exhibited at this July's Hampton Court Palace Flower
Show. The school garden aims to show how first hand
experience of growing plants (including fruit & vegetables) can enhance
learning of the national curriculum by inspiring young people and deepening
their understanding of the natural environment and the importance of healthy
eating. It will be moved to a permanent location (to
be selected in the north of England) as a long-term resource to train teachers
and advise them on new ideas and a realistic vision of what can be built in
school grounds. Press release ~
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show ~
Growing Schools programme ~
Teachernet - Education outside the
Classroom Manifesto ~ Learning through
Landscapes (LTL) ~ Farming and
Countryside Education (FACE) ~ Year of Food and Farming - September 2007 to July
2008 MoD: St Athan, in the Vale of Glamorgan,
The Defence Training Review will provide specialist training by
creating new National Centres of
Excellence, through a programme of investment, rationalisation and
modernisation. In most cases,
training will be delivered on a defence-wide, tri-service basis, rather than by
single Service, as this will better support joint operational deployments and
allow the training estate to be rationalised. The DTR programme comprises six specialist
training streams, which have been separated into two contractual packages to
optimise synergies and economies of scale: ·
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Package 1 involves
provision of training for engineering and
communications ·
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Package 2 will
provide training for logistics, security, policing and
administration Some 3,400 military and 3,000 civilian
instructors & support personnel and a standing population of some 11,000
Defence trainees are potentially affected by the DTR Programme.
Press release ~
Metrix
Consortium ~ Defence Training Review Rationalisation
Integrated Project Team (DTRIPT) ~ Defence Estates Website OGC – BS:
OGCbuying.solutions, trading
arm of the Office of Government Commerce
(OGC) has announced that it has committed to a three-year partnership
agreement with Forum for the Future,
a leading UK sustainable development charity, which is intended to help
OGCbuying.solutions to increase its sustainable credentials and improve the
sustainability aspects of the goods & services made available to the public
sector under its contracts. Forum for the Future is a charity that aims to show that a sustainable
future is both possible & desirable, by
working with forward looking organisations in business & the public
sector to find practical ways to build a future that is environmentally viable,
socially just and economically prosperous. A sustainable procurement toolkit will also be developed for
OGCbuying.solutions category & contract managers, to ensure sustainability
is integrated into procurement processes. Press release ~
Forum for the Future ~ DCMS: Licensing Minister Shaun Woodward today
urged local authorities to sign up to a new register that he claims will help
make it easier to stage live performances & events in public spaces. The central register of licensed public spaces in
It will enable performers and event
organisers to identify where they can stage an event without applying for a new
premises licence or giving a temporary event notice themselves. They will, however, need to get the
permission of the relevant local authority. So far 106 local authorities have entries on
the register, which is being run in association with Local Authorities Coordinators of
Regulatory Services (LACORS). Local authorities who wish to contribute to
it should send details to licensedpublicland@culture.gsi.gov.uk Press release ~
Register
of Licensed Public Spaces in England and Wales ~
Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services
(LACORS) ~ Find your local council HM Treasury: The government has launched its
long-term approach to financial capability and a new taskforce has been asked
to research & design a national generic financial advice service – ‘ensuring that every person, including those
on the lowest incomes, can get quick, easy and simple access to good quality
financial advice’. The taskforce will report to Ministers by the end of 2007 and the
Government will also publish an action plan (end of 2007) setting out how financial capability will be integrated into
existing services, particularly for those most vulnerable to the consequences
of poor financial skills and taking forward plans for a national approach to
generic financial advice. Press release ~
National Strategy for Financial Capability
Resource Centre ~ Schools: Learning money matters ~
AEGON
UK ~ The Money Doctors toolkit ~
FSA Workplace programme ~
Schools Money Week ~
FSA - Money made
clear ~ Financial Healthcheck ~ Building financial capability in the UK
~ National Debt line ~ Report No. 275: Financial Education: A review of existing
provision in the UK ~ QCA – Financial capability ~
TeacherNet ~ Levels of Financial Capability in the
UK: Results of a baseline survey ~ Financial Capability in the UK:
Delivering Change ~ Consumer Research 47 ~ Consumer Research 47a: DfES: A new £10million package of measures to
boost music & singing for young people including a national singing
champion has been announced by Education Secretary Alan Johnson, providing the
Government response to the Music
Manifesto report Making Every
Child's Music Matter. Mr Johnson named composer & broadcaster
Howard Goodall as the Singing
Ambassador leading the Government's new singing campaign and, as part
of a wider response to the Making Every
Child's Music Matter recommendations Mr Johnson also
announced: ·
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The production of
a 21st Century songbook ·
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choir schools are
to work in partnership with local schools ·
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the roll-out of Music Start to engage parents and young
children in music making. Press release
~ The Music Manifesto ~ Making every child's music matter ~
DfES Music and Dance
scheme ~ Teachernet Music
website ~ Music
at School ~ Youth
Music ~ National Youth Music Organisations
(NYOs) ~ Musical
Futures ~
National
Federation of Music Societies ~ Music Colleges ~ Federation
of Music Services ~ Music Start (see page 3) ~ Manchester Music Service's Singing Schools
initiative Ofsted: From September 2007, Ofsted
says that it proposes to reduce inspection of the best colleges, whilst focusing more
attention on colleges where there is inadequate provision and those where
performance is satisfactory but not improving. Satisfactory colleges will
continue to have a significant proportion of their work inspected on a four
year cycle, while Inadequate
colleges will receive a monitoring visit 6-9 months after inspection, followed
by a full re-inspection after 12-15 months. The Quality Improvement Agency
(QIA) will be invited to consider supporting those colleges which are
judged ‘satisfactory but not improving’.
Ofsted would like to hear from all those interested in the development
of the further education inspection system (consultation closes
Press release ~
Proportionate
inspection of further education colleges: a consultation
document ~ Quality Improvement
Agency (QIA) ~ Independent review of the future
role of FE colleges (2004) ~ Ofsted The Annual
Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools 2005/06 ~ FE sector: Jump in success rates
~ Raising Skills, Improving Life
Chances ~ Excellence Gateway a
portal to share best practice ~ White Paper: 14-19 Education and
Skills DCMS: Local authorities and other interested
parties are being urged to comment on revised guidance on the new licensing
laws which has been published for consultation (closes The revised draft is the second & final
stage in the process of updating it and changes
include: ·
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greater emphasis
that there should be no presumption in favour of longer opening
hours ·
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an expanded
section on incidental music ·
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a recommendation
that personal licence holders should provide written, rather than verbal,
authorisations for the sale of alcohol in their absence,
and ·
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a clarification of
the role of councillors in the licensing process Press release ~
Revised draft guidance to the Licensing Act 2003
~ DCMS - Licensing Act 2003 ~
Scrutiny Councils
evaluation of licensing regime HMRC: A consultation document (closes 13 March
2007) setting out how the Government
proposes to update HM Revenue & Customs' criminal investigation powers
and accompanying safeguards has been published. An earlier consultation paper, published in
August 2006, set out a new approach on HMRC criminal powers following its
merger with Inland Revenue. This
consultation document includes draft clauses that give effect to that approach
- modified in the light of consultation - and invites comments on them. The document also contains a summary of
responses to the August consultation. Press release ~
Modernising
powers, deterrents and safeguards: Criminal Investigation Powers ~
Review of HMRC Powers
DCLG: The government is consulting (closes
The Government's DFG programme provides
nearly 35,000 grants each year in Press release ~
Consultation paper: 'Disabled Facilities Grant Programme: The Government's
proposals to improve programme delivery' ~ Local authorities' allocations of DCLG grant to be used for
DFG ~ Reviewing the Disabled Facilities Grant Programme ~ WAG - DFG ~
Inclusion Scotland ~ Office
for Disability Issues ~ National centre for independent living ~
Independent Living Institute ~ Independent Living
Funds ~ Care
Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) ~ DWP Research Report No.137 - Independent living in
later life: a literature review ~
Supporting People
website ~ Telecare: Using Information and Communication Technology
to Support Independent Living by Older, Disabled and Vulnerable
People ~ Telecare Collaborative ~
Foundation for Assistive Technology
(FAST) DfES: Reforms announced in the
Government's Further Education White Paper last year, endorsed by Lord
Leitch's report on skills, committed to a demand-led system to put
‘purchasing power for learning’ in the hands of the employers and individual
learners. The government now seeks views on what this
will mean in practice for the FE system, claiming that its key measures
will: ·
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enable employers
to determine the content of qualifications and advise on curriculum design, and
·
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that funding will
follow employers' demand and they will be able to choose their preferred
suppliers. Funding for adult and employer provision will depend on numbers of
learners providers can attract. Press release ~
<
FONT color=#800080>Consultation: Delivering World-class Skills in a demand led
System
Lord Leitch's report on
skills ~
Learning and Skills Council ~ Learning
and Skills Council - Apprenticeships ~ White Paper, Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life
Chances ~ Prospectus for the second round of the National Skills
Academies programme ~ Sir Andrew Foster's report 'Realising the Potential: A review of
the future of FE colleges' ~
Train to
Gain ~
Automotive
Academy ~ DTI - National Manufacturing Skills
Academy ~ DTI – Manufacturing Forum
~ E2E – New horizons DH: Health Minister Andy Burnham has
announced a consultation (closes The HTCS provides financial assistance to
patients on a low income who do not have a medical need for ambulance
transport, but require financial assistance to meet the cost of travelling to
hospital based services for NHS treatment under the care of a
consultant. A
separate consultation (which ends on
Press release ~
HTCS
consultation ~ Hospital travel
costs scheme ~ Non-emergency Patient Transport Services (PTS)
consultation ~ White Paper Our Health, Our care, Our
Say ~ Macmillan Cancer Support ~ Driving change: Good practice
guidelines for PCTs on commissioning arrangements for emergency ambulance
services and non-emergency patient transport
services CC: Charity Commission is consulting on
Annual Returns – See – ‘Charity and
Voluntary Sector’ section DH: Health minister Rosie Winterton has
launched a new commissioning toolkit which is designed to help the local NHS
improve eye care services in a way that: ·
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keeps pace with a
growing demand for eye care services as the number of older people increases
over the next decade, and ·
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makes better use
of community-based ophthalmic services, including high street optometric
practices, that are convenient and accessible for patients, and improves
patient experience In addition, the DH has recently completed a
review of ophthalmic services, which found that there is clear potential for
eye care professionals in primary care to work alongside hospitals in
developing more responsive services for patients with eye conditions such as
glaucoma. There is also scope for greater collaboration
between the NHS, social care and the third sector in providing integrated
services for patients with low vision problems and in taking wider action to
improve eye health. Press release ~
Commissioning toolkit for community
based eye care services ~ General ophthalmic services review
~
DH - Ophthalmic Services ~ NHS EyeCare Services ~ Royal College of
Ophthalmologists ~ Association of
Optometrists ~ Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing
Opticians ~ Association of
British Dispensing Opticians ~ Royal National Institute of the Blind –
Vision 2005 conference ~ Eyecare
trust ~ Eyecare in Scotland ~ Natpac - Optometry FCO: In a Written Ministerial Statement, the
Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, has welcomed the recommendations on the
thirteenth Report by an Independent Monitor. Press release ~
Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance refusals without the
right of appeal 2005 ~ UK Visas response ~ Independent
Monitor ~ Do you need a
UK visa? MoD: Foreign Office Minister Geoff Hoon has
claimed that national and global security has been boosted by international
co-operation to eliminate the legacy of Cold War weapons. Launching the 2006 Annual Report on the Global
Partnership at Chatham House, Mr Hoon highlighted the UK's close
co-operation with Russia & former Soviet countries and announced a further
£2m commitment to enhance physical protection of nuclear and radioactive
materials in Central Asia. Press release ~
2006 Annual Report on the Global
Partnership ~ DTI - Nuclear Security ~ International Atomic Energy Agency ~ Action Plan on nuclear
security Scottish Executive: The Scottish Cabinet will get regular
reports on how looked after children perform at school, as part of new actions
to improve education for these youngsters, and a national 'champion' will also work with councils to
make sure they are providing the best possible education for children in
care. The measures, which were drawn up by a
working group established to examine the education of looked after children,
were announced by Education Minister Hugh Henry, following the publication of -
Looked After Children and Young
People: We Can and Must Do Better – which includes
recommendations for councils, teachers, social workers and health
workers Press release ~ Looked After Children and Young People: We Can and Must Do
Better ~ Extraordinary Lives: Creating A Positive Future For Looked
After Children and Young People in Scotland ~
Working Group 2002 Report ~
Recent statistics ~ Scotland - Barnardo's ~
Convention
of Scottish Local Authorities' (COSLA's) ~
Types of ‘Looked After Children’ ~
National Statistics: Mental health of young people looked after by local authorities in
Scotland ~ Children in
Scotland ~ Who Cares? Trust ~ CAB - Children in need: being looked after by the local
authority HC: The Healthcare Commission (HC) has
released a report detailing how outmoded, institutionalised care had led to the
neglect of people with learning disabilities at Sutton and Merton Primary Care
NHS Trust. The report described some of the environments in which people lived as
impoverished and completely unsatisfactory. Staff were not properly trained or supported to provide an
acceptable level of care and inadequate levels of staff meant that people were
often left day in day out with little to occupy their time. There were
failures in management and leadership at all levels, from managers to the
Trust’s board. The Commission’s report contains 25 recommendations and the Trust is required to prepare an action
plan within nine weeks to address these.
The HC will closely monitor the trust during its
implementation. Press release ~
Sutton and Merton report ~
Cornwall report ~ Draft three
year strategic plan for adults with learning disabilities
2006-2009 ~ On-going National Audit ~ Valuing People Support Team
website Defra: A report setting out the TB Advisory Group's advice to Defra
Ministers and the Chief Veterinary Officer on the practical delivery &
impacts of pre-movement testing has been published by Defra. The Group has made a number of
practical recommendations to improve the delivery of pre-movement testing in
the short term, and for consideration in the longer
term. Press release ~
TB Advisory Group ~
Pre-movement testing report 2006 ~ Defra – Pre-movement resting ~
National Beef Association ~ State Veterinary Service (SVS) ~ British Veterinary Association ~
Pre-movement testing
in Wales ~ Badger
Trust ~ Scottish Executive -
FAQs NAO: The National Audit Office has reported
that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport had adequate evidence to
assess the BBC’s efficiency as part of the DCMS’s consideration of the licence
fee settlement. As part of the process of setting the level
of the television licence fee from April 2007, the Department has to make an
assumption about the level of efficiency savings the BBC can deliver.
Press release ~
Full Report ~
Executive
Summary DfES: Minister for Schools Jim Knight
announced £10 million funding to help identify the next generation of school
leaders and published a study - The Independent Study into School Leadership - which examines a range
of current and new ideas & practices to boost school standards and deliver
more effective management of schools through improved leadership
models. Against a background where modern school
leaders are required to fulfil an increasing number of roles, such as
accountant, architect and human resources manager, the report makes a number of
key
recommendations. Press release ~
Independent Study into School Leadership (VLF 2.8Mb) ~ National College of
School Leadership ~ NAHT ~ ASCL ~ ATL ~ NASUWT ~ School Teachers' Review Body
(STRB) ~ Guidance: ‘Looking for a bursar’ ~ Diploma of School Business Management (DSBM) ~
National Standards for
Headteachers HC: The Healthcare Commission has found
that NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in areas of deprivation are providing the
best approach to reducing smoking levels.
The healthcare commission praises these PCTs and is encouraged to see
that areas that need help to reduce smoking levels the most are receiving
it. Research shows people living in deprived
areas are more likely to take up smoking, to start smoking younger and smoke
more heavily, which contributes to poorer health. Press release ~
No ifs no buts: Improving services for Tobacco Control ~ <
SPAN style="COLOR: purple">Standard for training in smoking
cessation treatments ~ Clearing the Air {in Scotland] ~ Roy Castle Lung
Cancer Foundation ~ ASH website ~ BUPA paper on passive
smoking ~ Smoking and Health
Inequalities ~ DH - Smoking ~
Stop
smoking start living LSC: Funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is
helping young parents to turn their lives around. The Care to Learn
scheme, which provides support & childcare costs so that young mums and
dads can continue to study has, according to independent research, made a
significant difference to thousands of people’s
lives. The independent report published by the Institute for Employment Studies shows
that Care to Learn is persuading large numbers of young parents to remain in,
or return to learning, as well as to achieve qualifications. Almost 90% of parents on Care to Learn
would not have returned to the classroom without it.
Press release ~
Impact of Care to Learn:
Tracking the Destinations of Young Parents Funded in 2004/05 ~
Institute for Employment Studies ~
Learning and
Skills Council (LSC) ~ Care
to Learn scheme NAO: Ofwat has secured
better data on the amount of water leaking from water companies’ systems,
according a new NAO report, but there is uncertainty over the effectiveness of
water efficiency projects that seek to help consumers waste less
water. To meet the future challenges of water
supply, the NAO recommends that Ofwat should: ·
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press water
companies for improved data and push for a sustainable approach to leakage
management ·
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take a lead in
ensuring that there is reliable evidence for the effectiveness of water
efficiency projects, and ·
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also assess
companies’ progress on water efficiency programmes based on quality, the amount
of water they save and number of consumers reached NAO press release
~ CCWater press release ~ NAO: Meeting
the Demand for Water ~ Executive Summary ~ Using Water Wisely
~ Using Water Wisely -
quantitative research ~ Consumer Council
for Water (CCWater) ~ The Sustainable Communities Plan ~
Leakage from public water supply –
Environment Agency ~ Water Resource Use indicator ~
National Water
grid ~ Water Saving Group ~ Water
UK ~ Waterwise ~ BBC News: Q&A Compulsory water meters ~
Defra: Water conservation ~
Water Strategy: Directing the Flow - priorities for future
water policy ~
Defra - Water Resources Ofsted: Three new reports from Ofsted look at on-the-job training,
further education teacher training and the training of teachers for new
vocational subjects. The reports
recommend improvements where needed. Press release ~
An Employment-based route into teaching
2003-06 ~ The Initial Training of further education
teachers ~ Initial teaching training in vocational
subjects ~ TDA - Graduate teacher programme ~
Fast Track Teaching
website ~ Teacher Training Agency ~ Early Headship Provision - NCSL~ Equal Access to Promotion - NCSL ~ BBC Q&A on
becoming a teacher HMRC: People who have made voluntary National
Insurance (NI) contributions to make up for gaps in their records may be able
to claim a refund if they made the contributions since On This proposal is now being legislated for in
the Pensions Bill which received its Second Reading on Tuesday 16
January. Press release ~
White Paper, Security in retirement: towards a new pensions
system ~ Home Office: Further government proposals for strong
new measures to ‘crack down on serious crime’ have been set out by the Home
Office in the Serious Crime Bill,
including proposals to: ·
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Introduce new
civil Serious Crime Prevention Orders
to prevent criminal activity by individuals or organisations by imposing
conditions on them ·
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Create new
offences of encouraging or assisting another person to commit an offence,
and ·
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Combat fraud
through greater controlled data-sharing within the public sector and between
the private & public sectors Press release ~
Serious Crime Bill ~ MI5
– working against serious crime ~ SOCA CC: The Charity Commission has launched a
consultation (closes The AR07 has been designed as an online
process, allowing easier completion and overnight updating of the public
Register. Additionally, answers
given in the Return will be used to create guidance links in real time,
tailored to the charity's individual needs. They are also proposing that charities with
an income of over £250k join those under this threshold in no longer being
asked for monitoring information. Press release ~
Annual Returns: the way forward - a consultation
~ CC – Annual Returns HMRC: Contractors will receive a bumper New
Year's package of help as they prepare for the launch by HM Revenue &
Customs (HMRC) of the new Construction
Industry Scheme (CIS) in April 2007. It includes copies of key
forms, step-by-step instructions for what
contractors must do and helpful tips, so that they: ·
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Understand the
importance of knowing the employment status of their
workers ·
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Know how to tell
whether subcontractors are to be paid gross or net ·
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Prepare to make
returns each month, and ·
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Get ready to
produce payment & deduction statements for those subcontractors from whom
they make deductions The helpline - 0845 366 7899 – is intended to help
support businesses in the run-up to the new CIS scheme's introduction and
is open 7 days a week from 8.00am to 8.00pm (excluding public holidays). Press release ~
Construction Industry
Scheme (CIS) ~ Employment status website ~
Presentations on new scheme
(then click on link) ~ Employer Talk events ~ Business
Advice Open Days ~ Scottish
Building ~ Employment Status Indicator tool ~ NFB
Training HMRC:
New rates of interest have been announced by
HM Revenue & Customs covering quarterly instalment payments and early
payments of corporation tax not due by instalments, in respect of accounting
periods ending on or after ·
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underpaid
instalment payments of corporation tax changes from 6% to
6.25% ·
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overpaid
instalment payments of corporation tax, and on corporation tax paid early (but
not due by instalments) changes from 4.75% to 5% Press release ~
HMRC – Corporation Tax HMRC: A second consultation document setting
out how the Government proposes to update HM Revenue & Customs'
criminal investigation powers and accompanying safeguards has been published -
See ‘Consultations Section’ HMRC: Revenue
& Customs Brief 01/07 HMRC: Revenue
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This Brief contains 1 article
concerning the recently published decision of The Special Commissioners in
Robert Gaines - Cooper v HMRC
This Brief contains 1 article
concerning HM Revenue & Customs wanting to reduce the burdens of the
biofuels regime for non-commercial producers.Industry News
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