WGPlus Archive Newsletter Section

DCLG:  Final salary stays but it will probably cost you more - A ‘new look’ Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) has been proposed by Local Government Minister Phil Woolas in a Ministerial Written Statement to Parliament.  Marking the beginning of a 12-week consultation, he outlined the government's proposed regulatory changes to the LGPS, which will include:

·         Employees will pay 5.5% on the first £12,000 of their pensionable pay and 7.5% above this figure.

·         A final salary scheme based on 1/60th of salary for each year of membership

·         The flexibility to commute part of the pension in order to receive a tax free lump payment

·         Revised & targeted ill-health retirement package

·         The extension of survivor benefits for spouses, civil partners, and children to co-habiting partners

·         An increase in death in service lump sum from two times to three times salary

·         A facility to make extra savings to provide a further maximum extra pension of £5,000 per year

The draft regulations to give effect to the new look proposals will be available in early December and the new provisions will be in place in April 2007.  The new scheme will come fully into effect on 1 April 2008.

Press release ~ DCLG – LG Pension website ~ LG Pension Forum ~ Unison Pension Campaign ~ Unison call for strike action ~ Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) ~ Local Government Pensions Division ~ Employers Organisation for Local Government – update to LGPS ~ The Pensions Service

 

NAO:  Success factors re-identified along with, for a nice change, some IT project success stories - A report published by the National Audit Office identifies common threads in IT-enabled programmes & projects, to pinpoint the key success factors and how they can be replicated in future by the public sector.

 

The NAO report features some two dozen IT-enabled programmes & projects, from both the public & the private sectors, within the UK & overseas, which demonstrate how success can be achieved.

 

The report identifies what Government can do to enhance the chances of bringing about IT success and represents a clear challenge to departments to take action to reduce the risk of failure & embrace innovation, while safeguarding the taxpayer.

 

From analysing these examples of IT-enabled change, the NAO identified three core principles which contribute to delivering successful IT programmes and projects:

·         Ensuring senior level engagement

·         Acting as an “intelligent client”

·         Realising the benefits

 Press release ~ Delivering successful IT-enabled business change – Volume I ~ Vol II Case Studies ~ Executive Summary ~ Centres of Excellence data tables ~ Senior Responsible Owner data tables ~ Chief Information Officer Council ~ OGC Gateway Review process ~ Gate 5 Review ~ Government IT Profession ~ Transformational Government – Enabled by Technology ~ NAO: Improving IT procurement: The impact of the Office of Government Commerce's initiatives on departments and suppliers in the delivery of major IT-enabled projects  ~ BCS: The Challenges of Complex IT Projects  ~ Presentation on Challenges of complex IT projects ~ Professional Skills for Government  - Programme and Project Management

 

ESRC:  Men still keep best frocks for themselves in C of E - Whether or not ordained women have had a significant impact over the past decade, they will save the Church from sinking in the future, according to ESRC-sponsored research at the University of Manchester.

 

Dr David Voas, a senior researcher at the university’s School of Social Sciences said: “Nearly half of all priests ordained in recent years have been women.  Close to a quarter of male parish priests are 60 or older, and their average age is 54.  Without women, the pulpits would become as de-populated as the pews in the years to come.”

 

The Church is far from being an equal opportunity employer, however, as most of the men who became priests in 2005 went into paid, ‘stipendiary’ ministry, while most of the women are in voluntary posts – ‘non-stipendiary or ‘ordained local ministers.  In addition well over half of women ministers in all denominations serve in rural areas, with very few found in the flagship city centre churches.  

 

Old-fashioned Anglo-Catholics don’t want women to be priests, and so the plum jobs mostly go to men.  At the other end of the theological spectrum, evangelicals tend to be patriarchal, so the growing ethnic minority and Pentecostal churches typically have male leaders.  Women are left with the dregs.  Their congregations are often small, rural, old or liberal: the kind of churches that need nursing care.

Press release ~ ESRC Society Today ~ Contact Dr David Voas ~ English Church Census 2005 ~ Christian Research ~ Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research ~ 'The dynamics of religious change: An international comparative analysis' ~ 'Local culture and the maintenance and transmission of religious practice'

 

DCLG:  Government plans to standardise applications - From October 2007, the National Standard Planning Application Form (1APP) will become the only official method of submitting a local planning application for most types of consent (except for Minerals consent and building control applications) in England.

 

The phased implementation between February 2007 and September 2007 is intended to help to ensure that the migration to 1APP is achieved smoothly, while a secure test platform will allow LPAs to:

·         trial the new application service

·         identify how the new form differs from current online and paper-based forms, and

·         clarify the business processes required to implement the change

 

Full details of the timetable for the roll out of the form will be published on the Government User LPA Forum section of the Planning Portal website.  To help LPAs promote the new service to local planning agents, the Planning Portal will be introducing the new Standard Planning Application Form at regional workshops across the country.

 

In addition, copies of the migration toolkit for the Standard Planning Application Project will be distributed to LPAs across England shortly.

Press release ~ National Standard Planning Application form ~ Government User LPA Forum ~ Planning Portal ~ DCLG – e-Planning ~ DCLG – Reform of the planning system ~ PARSOL

 

DCLG:  Greening of the Thames Gateway - Plans for a greener Thames Gateway, with ‘more family homes, better designed buildings and stronger leadership to fulfil its economic potential’, have been unveiled.

 

The government claims that the Thames Gateway Interim Plan will ‘lay down the foundations to create the conditions for 180,000 new jobs and 160,000 new homes over the next ten years, with over a third of these homes - 35% - designated as affordable housing’.

 

The new plans for the Gateway, which stretches for 40 miles along the Thames Estuary from the London Docklands to Southend in Essex and Sheerness in Kent, have been drawn up by the Thames Gateway Strategic Partnership, which brings together all the public sector delivery bodies working in the Gateway.

 

Unlocking the economic potential of the Gateway, Western Europe's largest regeneration project, could contribute up to £12bn a year to the UK economy, the plan reveals and the Partnership's ambition is to make the Gateway:

·         Greener

·         Better designed

·         An economic hub

·         More highly skilled

·         An Olympic legacy

Press release ~ Thames Gateway: cross-Gateway priorities ~ TG Interim Plan: Key Points (Summary Leaflet) ~ TG Interim Plan: Policy Framework ~ TG Interim Plan: Development Prospectus ~ The State of the Gateway: a baseline for future evaluation - Communities and Local Government ~ REIA 5/2006: Thames Gateway Strategic Framework: Summary ~ Thames Gateway Evidence Review - Oxford Brookes University - Communities and Local Government ~ Low Carbon Gateway Feasibility Study - Communities and Local Government ~ Thames Gateway and the Olympic legacy ~ Proposed Code for Sustainable Homes ~ Review of Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable energy policies in emerging development plans ~ Renewable Energy Association ~ Energy Performance of Buildings Directive ~ Essex Design Initiative ~ CABE ~ Sustainable Housing: A Follow-up Report (VVLF 5.0Mb) ~ Government response ~ Flooding Direction

 

Defra:  Metering necessary in some areas but not an alternative to plugging the leaks - A public consultation is to take place early next year following a proposal by the Water Saving Group to support water metering as the best method of saving water in areas of serious water stress.

 

The consultation will focus on the Group's proposals to make water companies in areas of serious water stress consider compulsory meters, alongside other measures, as part of a long-term plan for water resources.  However, the Water Saving Group chairman emphasised that this consultation would not propose national compulsory water metering and that metering was not an alternative to a tough approach on reducing leakage.

 

Water metering in this country already stands at around 28%, with around 10% savings made by a typical household, although larger households on lower incomes could find that their bills increase.

Press release ~ Water Saving Group ~ Water Saving Group Action Plan ~ Consumer Council for Water ~ 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

 

Industry News:  Save the planet And teach children how to develop safety knowledge & skills – The Children's Safety Education Foundation (CSEF) is providing organisations with a unique opportunity to not only ‘do their bit to save the planet by recycling’, but also to directly assist in providing children, young people and families with the skills, knowledge & understanding to make informed decisions about their safety and that of the community generally.

 

The first aim of ‘saving the planet’ is achieved by organisations signing up with the CSEF recycling scheme (it’s completely FREE!) and allowing them to arrange the uplift of empty printer cartridges, toners, old mobile phones & PDAs on an ongoing basis.

 

The money raised through the Recycling Appeal will be used to meet the second aim of promoting Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education throughout the British Isles and to deliver safety education material to in excess of one million children each year.

 

CSEF provides children, young people and families with the skills, knowledge & understanding to make informed decisions about their safety and that of the community generally.

 

All CSEF resources have been designed with the co-operation of the emergency services, social services, educationalists and child protection personnel to ensure that the important safety messages are delivered in the most effective way.

 

So, as we head into the shopping frenzy of the Christmas period, give a thought to one deal that goes one better than the usual ‘two for the price of one’ offer to give ‘two for the price of none’.

Full article ~ Children’s Safety Education Foundation (CSEF) ~ Sign up for recycling ~ Charity Commission registration

 

 

For other Industry News please click HERE

 

For information on forthcoming public sector events please click HERE to visit the WGPlus Events Calendar

 

HO:  The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) is to ‘take on’ 800 intelligence specialists in an effort to bring sophisticated intelligence skills to the fight of immigration crime.

 

The new specialists, who will be operational from the beginning of 2007, are expected to work closely with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), whose operations to target criminal gangs behind trafficking are closely linked with the IND’s strategy to strengthen UK immigration controls.

 

Anecdotal evidence suggests that around three quarters of illegal entrants have been brought to the UK through organised crime.

Press release ~ Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) ~ Immigration Asylum Act 2006 ~ Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) ~ Home Office: Organised and International Crime ~ Foreign Office: Illegal immigration ~ Metropolitan Police: Operation MAXIM

 

Scottish Executive:  Mr Jim Martin has been appointed as Scotland's first Police Complaints Commissioner.  The new Commissioner, who will begin work on April 1, 2007, will provide independent scrutiny of the way the police handle non-criminal complaints from the public.

 

He will also have powers to direct police forces to re-examine any complaints that he considers have not been dealt with properly.  Investigations of criminal allegations about the police will continue to be handled by area procurators fiscal.

 

The Commissioner will have powers to undertake a complaint handling review to see how a matter has been dealt with.  Depending on the outcome of this, he will be able to direct the police to reconsider a complaint.  The Commissioner will also have a general responsibility for ensuring that police organisations in Scotland have in place appropriate procedures for handling complaints and that these procedures are followed effectively.

Press release ~ The Role of HMIC in Police Complaints ~ Complaints against the Police ~ Quality of Service - A review of the investigation of complaints against the police in Scotland ~ Complaints Against the Police in Scotland: A Consultation Paper ~ Leaflet ~ Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006

 

Arts Council England:  British artist Joanna Griffin, who is the third recipient of the Arts Council England’s International Artists Fellowship, has joined the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of Californian, Berkeley - a leading research & education facility that has participated in more than 50 NASA space science missions.

 

The International Artists Fellowship Programme, which is funded by the Arts Council and Space Sciences Laboratory with support from the Leonardo Network and NASA, is awarded annually and offers professional artists the opportunity to undertake practice-based research abroad free from immediate production demands of a commission, exhibition or performance.

Press release ~ Arts Council England ~ Arts Council’s International Fellowship Programme ~ Space Sciences Laboratory ~ Leonardo Network ~ NASA ~ Work produced by Semiconductor following their fellowship visit

 

NAO:  The LSE Public Policy Group at the London School of Economics and the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at Oxford University are carrying out a value for money study on behalf of the NAO to evaluate progress in delivering UK central government services and information online.

Press release ~ Information document ~ Research website ~ LSE Public Policy Group ~ Oxford Internet Institute (OII) ~ Cabinet Office e-Government unit ~ IDEA e-Government strategic and implementation support ~ e-Government National Awards 2006 ~ GovTalk ~ Local e-Government Standards Body

 

Scottish Executive:  The maximum fees that the Care Commission can charge for regulating care services are to be frozen for the second year running.  This means that the maximum fee levels set by Scottish Ministers in 2005 will continue to apply for 2007-08 and any shortfall in the Care Commission's costs as a result of this decision will be met by the Executive.

 

Care services regulated by the Care Commission include care homes, childminders and independent hospitals.

Press release ~ The Regulation of Care (Fees) (Scotland) Order 2005 ~ Care Commission ~ Care Scotland ~ Older People and Community Care in Scotland ~ JRF: Financial Care Models in Scotland and the UK ~ Scottish Executive – Community care

DfT:  The government has announced a £15million boost for walking to school initiatives, which is mainly aimed at setting up 'walking buses', and could mean the creation of thousands of new ones around the country.  Schools can also apply for grants to support other walking to school initiatives (Applications should be sent to walkingbuses@dft.gsi.gov.uk by 31 January 2007).

 

The money will provide grants for primary schools for up to 3 years and they could use it to:

·         pay a teaching assistant to act as 'walking bus' co-ordinator/organiser who would also promote the scheme to parents and seek support from local businesses

·         provide incentives to children for taking part in the buses

·         provide an escort for a 'walking bus' for an initial period

·         pay the cost of assessing 'walking bus' routes

Press release ~ Grants for walking buses ~ Walking and Cycling 'Links to Schools' ~ Details of DfT's new grants for 'walking buses'  ~ How to set up a 'walking bus'   ~ Grant application form ~ Sustainable Schools Executive Summary ~ DfT database on Sustainable School Travel ~ Walk to school website ~ NAO – Childhood Obesity ~ Sustainable Schools Website ~ Promoting Walking to School - A Guide for Primary Schools

 

DCLG:  A £19 million package of new schemes to tackle overcrowding in London has been announced by Housing Minister Yvette Cooper and the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.  The funding will help by paying for loft extensions, converting unpopular bedsits into family homes, and support for single people who would like to move out of larger properties.

 

The overcrowding standard hasn't changed since 1935, resulting in a family of four including a teenage girl and a teenage boy in a one bedroom flat would still not be classed as overcrowded under the current standards.

 

Some local councils will not give overcrowded families priority for relocation until they breach statutory standards.  The Government is consulting on options for raising standards and building them into allocation policies.

Press release ~ Overcrowding in London ~ London Housing: Overcrowding ~ Tackling Overcrowding in England - A discussion paper (closed consultation) ~ < FONT color=#0000ff size=2>Overcrowding and Space Standards ~ The impact of overcrowding on health and education

 

MOD:  Reservists are to qualify for enhanced support for mental health problems under a new programme - the 'Reserves Mental Health Programme' (RMHP) - which is open to all current or former members of the UK Volunteer & Regular Reserves who have been demobilised since 1 January 2003 following deployment overseas and who believe that their deployment as a Reservist may have affected their mental health.

 

Any Reservist who believes they are eligible should approach their GP who will refer them to the programme.

 

The 'Reserves Mental Health Programme' will initially run for a period of three years and will be monitored throughout this period to ensure it meets the needs of demobilised Reservists.  At the end of the three years, there will be a formal review to decide whether it should continue, be modified or discontinued.

Press release ~ Reserves Mental Health Programme (RMHP) ~ Reserve Training and Mobilisation Centre (RTMC) ~ Department of Community Mental Health ~ Kings Centre for Military Health Research ~ Army Welfare Service ~ The Lancet ~ National Gulf Veterans and Families Association ~ Related press release

TfL:  The Mayor of London and the London Transport Commissioner have launched a Transport for London consultation (closes 30 January 2007) asking people for their views on potential routes for the proposed Cross River Tram (CRT).

 

The CRT would run between Euston and Waterloo, with branches to Camden Town and King’s Cross in the north, and Brixton and Peckham in the south.  Trams would arrive every 2 minutes at central stops (Euston to Waterloo), and every 4 minutes at outer stops (Camden, King's Cross, Peckham and Brixton).  Subject to future funding, the tram could be operational by 2016.

 

In the New Year, TfL will be consulting on proposals for a depot in Peck to service & house vehicles for the Cross River Tram.

Press release ~ London Trams ~ South London Trams ~ West London Tram ~ UK Commission for Integrated Transport ~ Nottingham Express Transit (NET) ~ Trams.co.uk

 

DTI:  The DTI and Ofgem have launched a joint consultation on the licensing regime for the transmission of power from future offshore wind farms to the electricity networks.  The Government announced in March 2006 that a licensing regime qas needed so that the links for transporting electricity ashore can be built in the most cost-effective way for generators and customers.

 

The consultation examines two options for licensing offshore transmission:

·         Non-exclusive system - enabling competition between many licensed transmission owners to provide offshore grid connections.

·         Exclusive system - licensing a number of transmission owners in different areas to provide offshore grid connections.

Press release ~ Consultation ~ Ofgem: Offshore Electricity Transmission (contains a number of useful documents) ~ DTI: Offshore Transmission ~ Lord Truscott’s full speech ~  Government Response to the joint DTI/Ofgem Public Consultation on the Regulation of Offshore Electricity Transmission ~ Our Energy Future - creating a low carbon economy (VLF 1.9Mb) ~ Collaborative Offshore Wind Research Into The Environment (COWRIE) ~ British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) ~ BWEA response (October 2005)

 

Scottish Executive:   A consultation (closes 26 January 2007) has been launched discussing regulations that will protect & increase parental involvement in the appointment process of Headteachers, in the latest step in the Executive's drive to give parents more of a say in education.

 

Currently, councils are under no obligation to consult with parents when they begin the recruitment process and parental representation is only required at the final interview where they are expected to make up 50% of the appointment panel.

 

The proposed regulations will:

§         ensure that parent councils are consulted before any recruitment process begins

§         give parents a legal right to be involved in the short listing process

§         guarantee parents make up at least one third of any appointment panel

Press release ~ Consultation on Draft Parental Involvement in Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher Appointments Regulations 2007 ~ Scottish Executive: Scottish Schools ~ ParentZone ~ Learning and Teaching Scotland ~ Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 ~ School Boards (Scotland) Act 1988 ~ Scottish Executive: School Boards guide to the legislation

 

Highways Agency:  The Highways Agency has published an environmental statement on a £66m road scheme near Dartford, Kent and is seeking public views (by 14 February 2007) on the scheme and its potential environmental implications.  The purpose of the new scheme is to provide extra lanes on the M25 between Junctions 1b – 3, which provide important links to the east and south east of London.

 

Work is due to start in summer 2007 and will include:

·        Widening the M25 between Junction 2 (south slip road) and Junction 3 (M20 link) from three lanes to four in each direction.

·        Widening the M25 going south between Junctions 1b and 2 from two lanes to three

·        Building new lanes using the existing hard shoulders and building new hard shoulders except under bridges.

Press release ~ Details ~ Non-technical summary

 

HM Treasury:  The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Ed Balls, has launched the Travel Insurance Review public ‘call for evidence’ (closes on 22 February 2007) and highlighted the need for travel insurers to be clear & transparent about consumers' cover in the event of a terrorist incident.

 

The call for evidence follows the launch of the Review of Travel Insurance in August this year which highlighted the different regulatory approach taken with the selling of travel insurance sold alongside a holiday and standalone travel insurance.

 

A Which? report this summer found that only 35% of travel agents asked medical questions (compared to 81% of banks & insurers), 19% explained what the policy covered (compared to 81% of banks & insurers) and 0% explained what the policy did not cover (compared to 56% of banks & insurers).  It concluded that some travel agents & tour operators were mis-selling the product.  The review will investigate Issues around mis-selling

Press release ~ Call for evidence ~ August 2006 press release

 

DTI:  The government has begun a consultation (closes 16 February 2007) on plans for having more offshore gas storage and creating new 'energy platforms' for the unloading of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a document that sets out the:

·         UK's changing gas supply situation and the implications of increased gas imports, and

·         the part that new gas supply infrastructure offshore could play in securing future UK gas supplies
need for an appropriate regulatory framework to consent to such developments offshore, and

·         it also seeks views on options to clarify & modernise existing legislation to provide a fit-for-purpose offshore regime covering offshore gas storage and offshore unloading of LNG.

Press release ~ Consultation document ~ DTI Oil & Gas ~ UK Promote ~ UKOOA ~ PILOT

 

DH:  Health Minister Lord Warner has announced the publication of a consultation document on the future of Professional Executive Committees (PECs) following the recent review of PECs, the body of doctors, nurses and health professionals that guide primary care trust (PCTs) on priorities, policies and investment plans.  The review, carried out by the NHS Alliance on behalf of the Department of Health, considered PECs future role, membership and support needs.

 

The consultation will run until 31 January 2007, with updated guidance planned for the first quarter of 2007.  New arrangements will come into effect from April 2007.

Press release ~ Consultation on a Review of PCT’s Professional Executive Committees (PECs) ~ NHS Networks – PEC Chairs ~ DH - Professional Executive Committees (PECs) ~ NHS Alliance ~ NHS Act 1977: the Primary Care Trust Executive Committees (Membership) – Directions 2003 ~ Letter about review