DWP: Is it worth the wait? - Proposals for a pensions settlement designed to enable people to plan ahead & save more for their retirement have been published in the Government's White Paper on pensions reform.
Key elements of the White Paper include:
· New low cost savings scheme in which employees will be automatically enrolled.
· A re-linking of the state pension to earnings.
· Employer contributions to be phased in over at least 3 years.
· The state pension age will rise from 65 to 66 over two years between 2024 & 2026, to 67 between 2034 & 2036 and then to 68 between 2044 & 2046.
· A ‘promise’ to gradually raise the state pension age in line with life expectancy.
DWP Press release ~ PC press release ~ Pensions Bill - Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system ~ DWP pensions & retirement website ~ Pensions Commission ~ National Pensions Debate ~ Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) Review
Oldham MB: Will entrenched mindsets loosen the glue of cohesion? - Professor Cantle, head of the Institute of Community Cohesion says in his new review report on Oldham Metropolitan Borough - Challenging Local Communities to Change Oldham - that 'few cities, towns or districts in the country have done as much as Oldham in seeking to build community cohesion.'
Professor Cantle's report also says that there is a need for communities themselves to help bring about change: 'The most immediate impediment is the mindset of deeply entrenched communities. However we recognise that attitudes are changing with a marked reduction in negative views on diversity and community cohesion compared with two years ago.
The report covers all the key areas which contribute to building community cohesion including civic & community leadership, economic development, housing, education and learning and policing.
Press release ~ Full 2006 Cantle report ~ Oldham Council summary of key messages ~ Institute of Community Cohesion ~ I&DeA – Community Cohesion ~ DCLG Cohesion website ~ CRE- Community cohesion, Our Responsibility ~ LGA Action guide ~ Community Cohesion & Community Conflict Resolution ~ DCMS Community & Cohesion ~ Building Community Cohesion in Area Based Initiatives: A guide for residents and practitioners ~ To submit your views on the report please email challengetochange@oldham.gov.uk.
Cabinet Office: Will new tools help fine tune performance of public service delivery engine? – The government and TUC have shared their vision for better public services with the launch of Drive for Change, a web-based toolkit aimed at getting employees more involved in improving the public services they deliver.
The toolkit, sponsored by the Public Services Forum is a joint initiative between Government, employers & public sector trade unions, which is intended to help managers, union representatives & employees work together to change public services in ways that can really improve people's lives.
Piloted in a number of areas, the toolkit is already helping improve services and making a difference to people's lives. At Holloway Prison, the incidence of self harm among inmates has reduced by two thirds and Birmingham City Council plans to pilot a self-rostering system arranging care around elderly residents' needs rather than a rigid shift system, at the same time giving carers more flexible working hours.
Press release ~ Drive for Change ~ Toolkit ~ Public Service Forum website ~ The Audit of Trade Union and Employee Involvement in Public Services Reform ~ Partnership Institute ~ Work Foundation ~ Professional skills for government
DCA: One stop for everything – another market opportunity for Tesco? - The draft Legal Services Bill, which has been published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, is claimed to pave the way for improved choice, quality and availability in the £19 billion legal services market.
The shake-up of the legal profession provided for in the Bill will include enabling lawyers and non-lawyers to work together in new structures which will be able to provide legal services in new ways, including:
· House purchase: when buying a house, consumers would be able to buy all their professional services - conveyancing, surveys and a mortgage - from a single provider.
· Bereavement: people will be able to ease the stressful process of resolving issues following the death of a loved one by getting professional advice all in one place.
The proposals will also set up an Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) to independently investigate complaints and a Legal Services Board (LSB) to regulate legal services.
The Legal Services Ombudsman and Legal Services Complaints Commissioner, Zahida Manzoor CBE, has welcomed the publication of the Government's draft Bill on the reform of legal services.
DCA press release ~ LSO press release ~ Draft Legal Services Reform Bill ~ Legal Reform website ~ White Paper, The Future of Legal Services - Putting Consumers First ~ Legal Services Ombudsman ~ Legal Services Complaints Commissioner
Defra: Chips with every virus - A single test for more than 600 deadly viruses is being developed by a group of Defra funded scientists, offering the possibility of spotting a disease outbreak in hours rather than days.
The "lab on a chip", which is being led by the Central Science Laboratory near York, with £1.5m funding from Defra, will detect viruses that affect humans, animals, plants, fish & bees including avian influenza, rabies and foot & mouth.
Animal and plant researchers will be able to use the same test to identify many viruses, saving time & resources in the event of an outbreak. It will also help to quickly identify when a virus has jumped from one species to another and when new strains of existing disease emerge in the future.
Press release ~ LGC ~ Lab on a chip Journal ~ CSL ~ Health Protection Agency ~ Institute of Animal Health ~ Veterinary Laboratory Agency ~ Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aqualculture Science ~ Royal Veterinary College
DCMS: Even the Home Office could cope with installing it - The vast majority of older people in a digital television trial thought switching over was easy and liked watching digital television, according to a new report, which found that 98% of participants felt watching digital TV was better or the same as watching analogue and 93% thought the process of switching to digital TV had been easy.
The Bolton trial, which started in July 2005, tested the process for supporting vulnerable consumers through switchover, assessing the costs and identifying & addressing any issues arising. The results of the trial, run jointly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the BBC, also show that:
· 69% of participants were able to install equipment themselves or with the help of friends & family.
· 67% said they most liked the extra channels, whilst 20% most liked the improved reception.
· 92% found the specially prepared and clearly written instruction booklet helpful.
· Older & disabled people need time to adapt to using new equipment - after 4 weeks, 74% of people were still reporting problems with their equipment, but this dropped to less than 20% after 8 weeks.
Press release ~ Report of the Bolton Digital Television Project ~ Support Scheme ~ BBC digital website ~ Digital TV Group ~ Freeview ~ DigiTV website
Home Office: At last, some better news - The Home Secretary claimed last week that ‘good progress is being made in implementing recommendations from the Bichard inquiry into the Soham murders’, as the Home Office published its third implementation progress report, which claimed that a total of 21 of the 31 recommendations had been ‘substantially’ delivered and work is underway on those which remain outstanding.
The IMPACT programme, responsible for fundamental improvements in police information management, introduced the IMPACT Nominal Index (INI) in December to facilitate the sharing of information across forces. It also bought into force a statutory Code of Practice & operational guidance for police information management.
Press release ~ Home Office Bichard website ~ Third progress report ~ Working Together to Safeguard Children ~ Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill ~ Code of Practice on the Management of Police Information ~ Parts of Impact programme
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HSE: Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission
(HSC) announced Lancashire Constabulary as the winner of the HSE sponsored 'improving workings lives - putting
people first' public servant of the year award, which recognises &
rewards those who have achieved significant success in their role as public
servants and have demonstrated commitment, endeavour & innovation in a
crucial role serving their local community.
The safety
and welfare at Lancashire Constabulary team created a healthy police plan,
including reviews of sickness absence, which established the need for early
intervention by line managers to secure effective medical support.
The results
of their efforts was that by September last year sickness rates were down 17%
on the year before, putting 25 more officers on the streets each day. Sickness rates for the support staff
fell by 20% and long-term sickness absence cases more than
halved.
Press
release ~
Public Servants of the Year Awards 2006 ~ Managing sickness absence &
return to work
DfES: The
Government has outlined plans to ensure that
student loans are repaid by borrowers who move abroad after
completing their courses. All
students will have to enter into a contract with the Student Loans Company (SLC) on entering
University, which commits them to repaying the loans on completion of their
courses and also allows the SLC to enforce collection of the
loans.
Under the new student finance system which comes into
effect in September 2006, all
Press release ~ Student Loans
Company ~ EC regulation
44/2001 ~ Scholarship
Funding
Home Office: The
Home Office has announced the names of the two overall winners of the Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards
2006. The Drug Worker and Drug Team of the Year were picked from
over 300 entries from across
·
David
Gordon, harm reduction coordinator at the Swaythling Clinic in
·
Cyswllt Ceredigion
Contact, the
Aberystwyth Day Service providing vital help, advice & support for drug
misusers and their families, has won the title of National Drug Team of the Year 2006.
Press release ~ Tackling Drugs Changing
Lives Awards website ~Regional winners (scroll down) ~ DrugScope ~
Swaythling Clinic ~ Cyswllt Ceredigion
Contact ~ Mentor
UK
DH: Health Minister Andy Burnham has announced the membership of
an Expert Group to investigate clinical trials to the House of Commons. The Chair of the group, Prof Gordon
Duff, was appointed in April following the adverse reaction of six Parexel
clinical trial participants to the drug TGN1412.
The group
will produce an interim
report within three months of starting work and it is proposed that
the minutes of the meetings to date & interim findings should be made
public at that point. Any
submissions should sent before end of June 2006 to: ExpertGroupResponses@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Press release ~ OMNI –
Clinical trials ~ NELH –
Clinical Trials ~ MRC Clinical Trials Unit ~ BMA ~ DH – Clinical Trials Toolkit
DfES:
Under the
current system, many students enter Higher Education on the basis of predicted
results of their final exams, but UCAS data shows that they are inaccurate in 55% of
cases.
Press release ~ Professor Steven Schwartz’ s 2004 report; Fair admissions to higher education:
recommendations for good
~ Review
website ~ <
FONT color=#0000ff>Government response to consultation: Improving the Higher Education Applications
Process ~ UCAS
DH: A new
national Patient and Public Involvement
Resource Centre to develop & support NHS staff and organisations to
involve people in local health services will open its doors on
Bids to run the centre were sought last autumn for a
group who could demonstrate that they were experienced in patient & public
involvement and already had good networks. The successful bid came from a consortium made up of
the:
·
·
Centre
for Public Scrutiny and
·
Long
term Medical Conditions Alliance
Press release ~ Tender documentation ~ Trust me: I’m a patient game ~ University of
Warwick ~ Centre for Public Scrutiny ~ Long term Medical Conditions
Alliance ~ NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement ~ Commission for Patient and
Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) ~ National Patient Safety
Agency ~ Client
Focused Evaluation Programme (CFEP) ~ National
Association for Patient Participation
DH: Health Minister Lord Warner has announced that the NHS has
signed the first Government-brokered deal allowing a private company to run
traditional GP services. Care UK, a company specialising in the
delivery of community and primary care, will run a 7,000-patient GP practice
and 100-patient-per-day walk-in centre under a contract with Barking and Dagenham Primary Care Trust
(PCT).
Care
The
government said that similar contracts, which will ‘see independent & voluntary providers
challenge the existing monopoly of independent GPs’, are close to agreement
in five other areas, including
Hackney, Liverpool, Lancashire, Plymouth and Yorkshire.
Press release ~ Care UK ~ Innovation in Primary Care
Contracting programme ~ Keep Our
NHS Public
website ~ BBC news item
Defra:
The Government has published its response to
the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's 25th Report (RCEP): ‘Turning the Tide - Addressing the impact
of Fisheries on the Marine Environment’, which recommended a new framework
for marine management to respond to increasing demands on the marine
environment.
The
Government response accepts the need for such a framework and Defra is
currently consulting on how the proposed Marine Bill (closes
The Royal
Commission's report was wide-ranging and made more than 70 recommendations,
covering issues linked to the objectives of marine management; the impact of
fishing on marine ecosystems; education & public participation; and
aquaculture.
Press release ~ Government’s response ~ Turning the Tide report (Warning VLF 8Mb) ~ Marine Bill consultation ~ Royal Commission on
Environmental Pollution
DfT: Shipping Minister Stephen Ladyman has launched the Government's Ports Policy Review (closes 1
September 2006) and invited responses on a range of broad strategic
issues.
He also announced the
outcome of a review of the management of ports in local authority ownership in
There are 65 municipal
ports in
Press release ~ Ports Policy Review documents ~
Opportunities for ports in local authority
ownership ~ British ports Association ~ Associated British
ports ~ Portcities ~ Food Standards Agency
Defra: The
government has started a public consultation (closes on
The consultation is being run by the Countryside
Agency on behalf of Defra and it seeks people's views on a draft action
plan that aims, over a 10 year period, to increase the number of
people from these groups who choose to make use of the outdoor recreational
opportunities that exist in both rural and urban areas.
The draft action plan is based on the findings of
research undertaken as part of the Diversity Review, which showed that when people from such groups
experienced the outdoors, they were keen to return.
Press release ~ Action Plan consultation ~ Diversity Review ~
Defra recreation website ~ State of the Countryside Report 2005 ~
Active
Woods ~ Wild About Britain: Get
Active ~ Ramblers – walking for health ~ Countryside
Access ~ Black Environment Network
Highways Agency: Updated guidelines to make traffic
management for roadworks safer & more effective will be published for
highways maintenance engineers and contractors in June.
The New Chapter 8 will be presented at a series of
conferences organised by the Institution
of Highways and Transportation.
Key changes to Chapter 8
include:
·
Guidance has been split into two distinct
sections: 'design' and 'operations'.
·
Contents are given by road type, rather than works
type.
·
Works sites are now split into five distinct zones
with the principles for each clearly established, so non-standard designs can
be produced more easily.
·
Taper lengths and cone spacings have been
rationalised.
·
Advice on new and innovative techniques and
materials.
Press release ~ DfT - Traffic Signs Manual ~ Highways Agency: Guidance for Safer Temporary Traffic
Management - Issued
2002 ~ Institution of Highways & Transportation ~ Event dates & venues
Home Office: ~ The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has
outlined its five-year strategy for ‘providing a first class service to protect children and vulnerable
adults’. The CRB claims that
checks prevented 25,000 unsuitable people from gaining access to children &
vulnerable adults in 2005.
Also
published is the agency's fourth annual customer research which show 82%
satisfaction with the service being delivered by the CRB (an increase of 32%
over the last three years). This
still leaves nearly one
in five unsatisfied.
The CRB will
be working with the ACPO to implement a solution to exchange criminal
information between EU member states, as well as establishing vetting &
data exchange protocols with non-EU countries.
Press release ~ 4th annual customer satisfaction
report ~ CRB
Five-Year Strategy & Business Plan (1.4Mb) ~ Vetting and Barring Scheme ~ Scottish V&B scheme ~ Home Office Bichard implementation
website
Defra: Defra’s
annual report highlights seven key achievements:
·
more
powers given to local authorities to tackle fly-tipping, litter & abandoned
vehicles
·
the
establishment of Natural England and
The Commission for Rural Communities
to enhance rural life
·
the
second phase of the Warm Front Scheme to help households suffering fuel
poverty
·
a
lifting of the ban on exports of beef and cattle to the EU, reopening markets
for British farmers
·
opening
up public access to mountain, moor, heath and down
·
the
launch of the Marine Fisheries agency to improve services to fishermen and
their industry
·
agreement of new EU chemicals regulations & reform of the sugar
regime under the
Press release ~ 2006 departmental report ~ Local Env. Quality ~ The Commission
for Rural Communities ~ Warm
Front scheme ~
Defra: That an average a person living in the
Press release ~ Family Food - Report on the
Expenditure & Food Survey
DWP: Estimates of the levels of fraud & error occurring in
claims for Income Support (IS), Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and Pension
Credit over the period April 2004 to March 2005 have been published by National
Statistics
The key
findings about the overall levels of fraud and error during 2004/05
are:
·
Around 5.4%, or £680m, of IS and JSA expenditure
is estimated to have been overpaid
·
Around 4.6%, or £280m, of Pension Credit
expenditure is estimated to have been overpaid
Press release ~ Fraud and
Error in Claims for Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Pension
Credit
NHS Confederation: The number of hospital beds has fallen
by one third in the last 20 years, but the NHS is doing more than ever because
advances in technology and new ways of treating patients mean the NHS needs
fewer beds.
This is the
message of a new report by the NHS
Confederation which represents more than 90% of NHS organisations. The NHS Confederation is launching the
‘Why we need fewer hospital beds’
report at a briefing for MPs and peers today at the House of Commons.
This
briefing is the first of five briefings on the most contentious issues facing
the NHS. The series aims to explode some of the
most controversial myths that pervade the current debate on the NHS
Press release ~ NHS
Confederation ~ Why
we need fewer hospital beds
DfT: A Government
report claims that the West Coast Main Line modernisation will benefit
passengers more than previously anticipated. It is hoped that, from 2009, passengers will benefit
from faster journey times and more services to key cities on the route such as
The West Coast Main Line is 1,660 miles long and runs
from Euston to
The report also claims to have found
that:
·
track
improvements are being delivered on schedule
·
costs
have been brought under control
·
reliability has been transformed and is exceeding target levels, and
·
passenger numbers are up 30%
Press release ~ West Coast Main Line Progress Report
~ Railways Act 2005 ~ Strategic Rail
Authority ~ The Railway
Forum ~ Commission for Integrated Transport ~ Factsheets - No.15: High-speed Rail ~ DfT Transport strategy
website ~ DfT Railways
website ~ Scotland - Future for railway put on the line
~ FoE: Paying for rail - Funding the railway of the
future ~ House of Commons Transport Committee: The Future of the Railway Seventh Report of Session 2003–
04 ~ Passenger Focus
DWP: New research published by the Department for Work and Pensions examines
the evidence on the nature of part-time work in the
The research explores the
extent to which part-time work may play a role in increasing employment rates,
particularly among those groups that have traditionally been defined as outside
the labour market.
Press release ~ Research Report 351 - 'Part-time work and Social Security: Increasing the
Options' ~ Summary version
NAO: The National Audit Office has produced a report on the
government’s efforts to (and complexity of) support small business. The NAO has looked in detail at SBS
work in four important areas: regulation; access to finance; joining-up
Government; and advisory services.
Press release ~ Supporting Small Business ~ Summary version ~ Small Business Service
ESRC: The Economic and Social Research
Council (ESRC) has set out the findings of a review it has commissioned that
evaluates both the needs of non-academic employers for highly skilled social
scientists and the extent to which social science PhD-holders in such
employment are using the skills & knowledge developed during their
doctorate.
Commissioned
as the companion study to the Demographic Review of UK Social Sciences
this report, entitled The employment of social science PhDs in
academic and non-academic jobs: research skills and postgraduate
training, provides clear evidence of demand across a range of
employers for the skills and attributes acquired during a social science PhD.
It illustrates that PhD holders
are highly employable in a number of sectors.
Press release ~ The employment of social science PhDs in academic and
non-academic jobs: research skills and postgraduate
training (VLF 1.8Mb) ~
Demographic Review of UK Social
Sciences
DCLG: The Crown will no longer be immune from
English planning law, under new legislation that comes into force on
The changes
to the planning system will mean the Crown will now have to apply for planning
permission from their local planning authority, just like any other
developer. The Crown will also be
subject to the same rights to appeal.
The
secondary legislation, which was laid on the 17th May, follows the earlier
provisions included in the Planning and
Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and includes the following
changes:
·
a revision to application
procedures
·
a new use class for secure residential
accommodation (prisons etc) and
·
a change to the General Permitted Development
Order, which gives the Crown a new set of permitted development rights similar
to those enjoyed by local authorities and relevant statutory
undertakers
Press release ~ Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 ~ Circular 18/84 ~ EU
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Directive
Defra: A report published by Environment Secretary David
Miliband concludes that climate change poses an immediate challenge to the
European Union target of halting biodiversity loss by
2010. The study found
that there is already strong scientific evidence of the impact of climate
change on wild plants and animals in
During the 21st Century rapidly shifting climate
zones and rising sea levels will put increasing pressure on species already
under threat for other reasons.
The report also highlights a concern that biodiversity may suffer a
double whammy because of other responses to climate change, such as increased
demand for water, leading to drying out of rivers and
wetlands.
Press release ~ Climate change and biodiversity in Europe ~ Defra Biodiversity website ~ Updated biodiversity indicators ~
UK Environmental Change
Network (ECN) ~ Environmental Change Institute at Oxford ~ UK Climate Impact
Programme ~ Centre for Ecology and Hydrology ~ Monarch study
CC:
Just over two thirds of charities don't have complaints procedures
in place, new Charity Commission research has revealed. This gap leaves many charities with no
formal way to discover whether users are unhappy with their services and, what
is also worrying is that 80% of charities without procedures said they
didn't need one.
The Commission warns those without complaints
procedures that they are failing to fully account to their service users. They also miss valuable opportunities to
learn from complaints to improve their services.
Press release ~ 'Cause for complaint?
How charities manage complaints about their services' ~
National Consumer
Council
NAO: The National Audit Office has backed HM Revenue and Customs’
assessment that the overall risk to VAT revenue from on-line shopping, or
e-commerce, is currently low.
The
Department collected over £1 billion in VAT in 2005-06 on e-commerce goods
& services. The proportion of
VAT collected by the Department from e-commerce transactions is likely to grow
substantially with sales expected to hit nearly £60 billion a year by April 2010.
Some
In July 2005
the European Commission issued a proposal which would mean that all businesses
would charge VAT on e-services at the rate in the country where the customer
lives.
Press release ~ NAO report VAT on eCommerce ~ Summary version ~ Additional Background information ~ EU – VAT on electronic
services
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