CIOB: Who will build the Olympic Village? - 65% of CIOB members questioned in a recent ‘skills shortage’ survey felt that the current workforce was not sufficiently skilled, with 91% anticipating a skills shortage beyond 2005:
· The highest level of recruitment difficulty came in ‘crafts and trades’ with 42% of members registering a serious problem.
· 60% have had some difficulty recruiting ‘semi-skilled manual workers’ and ‘support services managers’;
· 56% indicated hardship in recruiting contract and site managers.
It is estimated by the Construction Industry Training Board that the industry needs 88,000 recruits every year for the next five years.
So it looks like the shortage of
Paying for the Games may be a minor problem for Londoners, as they struggle to find a decent member of the building trade to carry out some work on their home over the next 7 years.
Press release ~ The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) ~ Building the future: skills training in construction and building services engineering ~ Vocational ladders or crazy paving? ~ Free to Choose ~ EOC segregation website ~ Construction Industry Training Board
MCA: One Year on from Disaster - Having enjoyed some fine weather prior to an anticipated change for the worse over the August Bank Holiday weekend, last week provided a timely reminder that summer weather can not only bring record temperatures, but also record rainfall.
Boscastle, Port Isaac and Bude Coastguard Rescue teams have been presented with the Wreck Shield and individuals who were directly involved were also be presented with Chief Coastguard commendations to reflect the work which resulted in the award of the Wreck Shield.
Graham King the Deputy Station officer of the Boscastle team will receive a personal commendation for his prompt action which was directly responsible for the lack of loss of life. At times, up to 8 helicopters were on the scene.
Given that we are told to expect more extreme weather in future, due to the effects of global warming, it is important to ensure that the efforts of both the professional and voluntary members of the assorted emergency teams are acknowledged, especially as many of them risk their lives without any monetary reward.
One year on, the village is again ‘open for business’.
Press release ~ Wreck Shield Winners (scroll down) ~ Boscastle Community First Responders ~ Boscastle website ~ Environment Agency Report
WAG: Time to examine alternative to ’A’ levels? - Education Minister Jane Davidson has congratulated the first students to succeed in achieving the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma, the Core certificate of which is worth 120 UCAS points, equivalent to an A grade ‘A level’.
To achieve the WBAD, students have to complete a compulsory Core as well as Options of a minimum of two GCE A-levels or an equivalent qualification. The Core has four components:
· 6 Key Skills;
·
· Work-related Education; and
· Personal and Social Education.
Of the 304 students who completed the programme, 233 (77%) have been awarded the Advanced Diploma, while a further 27 students have achieved the Advanced Core Certificate, but have not met all the Options requirements for the full Diploma. Achieving the Core requires all six Key Skills Qualifications.
As the media mounts its annual campaign on the need to reform the school exam system, one has to wonder if the government will be looking to the Welsh system as a way forward, especially since the publication of the report by the independent think tank – Reform.
Press release ~ Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma ~ Reform ~ Standards of Public Examinations in England and Wales
DTI: A
travel company that took money for discount flights to
Press Release ~ Insolvency
Service ~ Business Link ~ DETI guidance
Press release ~ Newcomers
guide ~ epoline® system
Defra: Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight
has launched the dedication of the Forestry Commissions public forest
estate in
Press release ~ Forestry Commissions Active Woods campaign – Countryside
Access website
MOD: Is it a sign
that British soldiers, sailors and airmen and women serving in
Press release ~ Detailed list ~ Defence Clothing (DC) Integrated Project Team
(IPT)
Home Office: Police
forces across the UK have gone live with the Violent and Sex Offenders Register (ViSOR) computer system,
a shared national database to register, risk
assess & manage sex offenders, as well as violent offenders and others who
may cause serious harm to the public.
With any luck the police will now be able to avoid
any re-occurrence of the debacle at Soham, which was highlighted in the Bichard
inquiry
Press release ~
Socitm: Data
collected by the Society of IT
Management (Socitm) for its latest Index of Application Software highlights
the move by local authorities away from mainframe configurations towards
Windows operating systems.
Press release ~ Soctim Software survey – Open source information – Govt. Open Source Software
trials
OGC:
Registrations are now taking place for forthcoming
Knowledge Forums and User Groups for the Government Procurement Card, for this
autumn in London and Cheltenham. The idea is to enable like-minded organisations &
industry experts to share knowledge & best practice, identify common
suppliers, help integration onto the eGovernment agenda, as well as negotiate
central contracts.
Press release ~ register for one of these events ~ Government Procurement card (includes links to case
studies)
DTI / OFT:
Consumer Minister Gerry Sutcliffe and Health Minister Caroline Flint
have announced an action plan to improve the quality of services offered to residents in care homes, in response to the OFT’s market study on care homes for older
people.
Press release ~ OFT Press release ~ Action
plan ~ ’Care homes for older people in the
UK - A market study’ ~
Commission for
Social Care Inspection (CSCI) ~ National Minimum Standards for care homes ~ Briefing by
SPAIN ~ UTCCR guidance on Care Home
Contracts ~ Fair terms for care ~ OFT repose to CA’s super-complaint ~ Older people as consumers in care homes
1998
ODPM: New research from the ODPM’s Social Exclusion Unit claims to show
that improving public services is the key to improving the lives of the most
disadvantaged. Almost 1,000 people
and organisations took part in a series of informal questionnaires and formal
consultations, organised by the Social Exclusion Unit over Winter 2004/05, as
part of its new work programme to improve the life chances of the worst off in
society.
When disadvantaged people were asked what public services
could make a real difference to their lives, they highlighted:
benefits, healthcare and education & training.
Press release ~ Breaking the Cycle report ~ Breaking the cycle web pages ~ Opportunity for All
ODPM:
The Governments has launched a consultation on how Empty Dwelling Management Orders
(EDMOs) should operate, as part of
its attempts to bring more long-term empty homes in
Press release ~ Empty Dwelling Management Orders:
consultation on secondary legislation ~ Housing Act 2004 ~ ODPM empty homes
website ~ Empro.co.uk –
unlocking the potential of empty homes ~ The Empty Homes
Agency
DH: The government has launched a consultation (closes
Press
release ~ Consultation and associated papers
~ House of Commons Science & Technology
Committees report on Human
Reproductive Technologies and the Law ~ The Human Fertilisation and Embryology
Act
WAG:
The
people of Llandudno are the first to be asked for their views on the
environment, as part of a major consultation exercise (closes 3 October
2005) by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), which is intended to
help develop the first ever Environment Strategy for Wales. To encourage as many people as possible
to get involved, a series of public workshops have been organised, which will
take place next month.
Press release ~ Environment Strategy for Wales website ~ Consultation document
DH: The Department of Health has today announced details of
a number of interactive regional and national public engagement events, which
are part of the Your Health, Your Care,
Your Say. The regional events will
be held over September / October in
Defra: A new helpline – the Central Point of Expertise on Timber
(CPET) - has been set up which will provide government and companies
supplying government with information on how to specify legal and sustainable
timber and assure themselves they are getting what they ask for. It will be run by ProForest.
Press release ~ ProForest ~ Buying Time for Forests: Timber Trade and Public
Procurement ~ UK government’s
response to representations made on the assessment of five forest certification
schemes: CEPT Phase 1 Final report, N0v 2004~ Forests
forever ~ Defra – illegal logging ~ Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) ~ Pan European Forest
certification ~ Forest certification resource centre ~ North American
Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) ~ Forest Stewardship
Council ~ Malaysian Timber Certification Council
(MTCC)
OFWAT:
Water industry regulator Ofwat is publishing new guidance regarding the
laying of mains and service pipes to new developments. Water companies will be expected to allow
developers to choose who fits water meters in their new properties, with the
work being subject to appropriate standards of
construction.
Press release ~ Competition in providing new water mains and service
pipes
HSE: The Health and Safety Executive has published the pack used to train
HSE and Local Authority Inspectors in enforcing the Work at Height Regulations
2005, which came into force on
The HSE has also published a
speakers pack, which is available as a template for anyone
planning to give a presentation on the Work at Height Regulations. Speakers are able to use the pack in
its entirety, or amend it to meet their own needs.
Press release ~ Inspector training and Speakers packs ~ policy on
open government ~ Brief Guide
to Regulations ~ HSE Falls website ~ HSE
Construction website
Defra: Rural communities, rural economies and the environment
have all benefited from Defras England Rural Development Programme (ERDP), according to the ERDP
Annual Report 2004.
As part of Rural Strategy 2004, Defra has three major
funds targeted to the three Departmental strategic priorities impacting on
rural areas: environmental land management & natural resource protection;
sustainable rural communities and sustainable food & farming.
Defra is now preparing for the successor to the
ERDP, which will
operate from 2007 to 2013.
Press release ~ EDRP
Annual report 2004 ~ England
Rural Development Programme (ERDP) ~ funding streams review ~ European draft Rural Development Regulation
Defra: Defra has reported on the river water quality indicator,
which is one of the 20 UK Framework Indicators of the UK Framework for Sustainable Development
and measures biological and chemical quality.
Press
release ~ River water
quality ~ 20 UK Framework Indicators ~ One Future - different paths: The UK’s
shared framework for sustainable development
(March 7 2005) ~ further 48 indicators ~ Securing the Future. ~ Pocket-sized booklet Sustainable development
indicators ~ Scottish Environmental Protection Agency ~ Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage
Service ~
Environment Agency for England and Wales ~ Defra e-Digest of Environmental Statistics (includes England and
Wales results summarised at local authority and English Government Office
level) ~ Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Defra Water website
Socitm: A new briefing from
Socitm Insight, based on information gathered through its website
take-up service introduced a year ago, highlights the importance of website
take-up but also suggests that councils are not, as yet, making much effort to
increase it. Councils appear to be
doing little to promote the availability of information and services from their
websites and may therefore be missing out on potential significant
non-cashable efficiency gains.
Press Release ~ Building usage of council websites: summary of findings from the
Socitm Insight website take-up
service Issue 2
HMCIP: Holding facilities at
Press release ~ Press Release (HO response) ~ <
FONT color=#0000ff>Report
HSE: The Offshore Safety Statistics Bulletin 2004/05 published by the HSE shows a reduction in the rate of fatal and major injuries to workers with the number of work-related deaths standing at zero, compared to three in 2003/04.
Press release ~
Step Change in Safety ~ Offshore Safety Statistics
Bulletin 2004/2005 ~ HSE Offshore
website ~ Offshore Safety Climate
Assessment Safety Climate Assessment Toolkit
DWP: The DWP has
published a review of the range & effectiveness of financial
education across the
The review identifies four key audiences for post-age
16 financial education; 1) disadvantaged adults i.e. with poor basic skills
and/or financially excluded, 2) employees, 3) students in post-compulsory
education and 4) the general population through resources such as websites and
other forms of on-line learning available to all, but concludes that there are
no ’quick fix’ solutions to increase the financial capability of the
population.
Press release ~ Report No. 275: Financial Education: A review of existing
provision in the UK ~ Summary version ~ Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) – Financial
capability ~ TeacherNet ~ FSA - Personal
finance
DH:
The government
claims that a newly published report proves that the Hospital at Night pilot has not only
‘solved’ problems arising from the NHS having to cope with the EU Working Time
Directive, but also delivered improvements to patient
care.
Press release ~
Defra: Climate
change and Environment Minister Elliot Morley, along with Ministers from 20
other countries has witnessed growing evidence of how man-made climate change
is affecting
Press release ~ Greenland Dialogue on Climate Change ~ National Snow and Ice Centre,
Boulder, Colorado, US ~ Cires Research Group ~
HSE: The Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) has published its criterion for
delicensing parts of, or entire sites licensed under the Nuclear Installations
Act 1965. The requirement for
licensees to demonstrate no danger is a legal duty
imposed by the Nuclear Installations Act
1965, as
amended.
Press
release ~ HSE
Criterion for Delicensing Nuclear Sites ~ Welsh version ~ HSE Nuclear
website ~ Health and Safety Commission (HSC) consultation
results ~ Nuclear Site Licence conditions ~ Diverse Fuels -
Key to Future ~ Proposal by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) to amend the
Nuclear Reactors (Environmental Impact Assessment for Decommissioning)
Regulations 1999 (EIADR99). ~ Nirex ~
FOE Nuclear Power
website
DTI: The government has
announced a new series of regulations amending the accounting and reporting
requirements for companies, and making certain amendments for
non-companies. The regulations
come into force on
Press release ~ Background Papers ~ Accounting Standards Board ~ further draft
clauses and explanatory material - Company Law
Reform
English Nature and ODPM: The latest
planning policy issued by the Government requires planners for the first time
to not only protect biodiversity, but where possible to positively enhance it.
Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 9: Biodiversity and Geological
Conservation promotes ways to conserve and enhance the diversity of
Press release ~ ODPM press release ~ English
Nature ~ Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 9:
Biodiversity and Geological Conservation ~ Previous consultation ~ Response by FOE ~ Response by RTPI
WAG: A project to
encourage SMEs to undertake innovative research and technological development
in Objective 1 areas of
This programme differs from other schemes because it
encourages and supports SMEs to conduct Research and Development, for
themselves, and does not specify a requirement to collaborate with other
organisations or universities.
Press release ~ Welsh Objective 1 funding website ~ Innovation and Technology Counsellor service ~
Objective 1 Innovation
and R&D Partnership ~ Guide to
Objective 1 funding
HM
Treasury: The Treasury has
announced that it is giving back £2 million to the Disasters Emergency
Committee (DEC) in recognition of the VAT collected on fund-raising events and
sales in support of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Earthquake Appeal.
Press release ~ Tsunami
Appeal ~ Natural Hazard Working Group (NHWG) ~ The Role of Science in Physical Natural Hazard
Assessment ~ World Meteorological Organisation
HM
Treasury: On the
sixtieth anniversary of VJ Day, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown
announced a new scheme for
Press release ~ Daily Telegraph article ~
Grants for War Memorials
Home Office: Hazel Blears has confirmed funding of
£16.5m for six ChangeUp national hubs of expertise
over the next two years, which are intended to be
beacons of best practice and provide strategic leadership for the voluntary and
community sector.
Press release ~ Home Office Voluntary Sector website ~ ChangeUp Executive
Summary ~
HMRC: HM Revenue
& Customs has announced new rates of interest for underpaid and overpaid
instalment payments of corporation tax, and early payments of corporation tax
not due by instalments, in respect of accounting periods ending on or after
Press release ~ HMRC
interest rates
HMRC: As part of
the build up to Capital of Culture in
2008,
Whether you are in business already or thinking of
starting up you can find out more about how to make all areas of business tax
and duties easier at two city centre evening events on Wednesday 24
August and Wednesday 21 September.
Press release ~ Book
online ~ Capital of Culture in
2008
HMRC: Business Brief 16/05
Contents:
·
VAT Ruling - Abbey National PLC - Virtual
Assignments
·
Climate Change Levy (CCL) - The revoking and
renaming of the CCL (Use as Fuel) Regulations 2001, amended 2003; also
extension of exemptions & an additional process
·
VAT - Amendment of the law governing supplies of
goods in customs warehouses
·
Addendum to Business Brief 15/05: VAT - Recovery
of input tax by employers in respect of funded pension schemes
For further information on the
events listed below (and subsequent events) please click HERE
Date:
Venue: Various
Organiser: House Builders Federation (HBF) are running numeroius events in
September including:
·
Housing Market Intelligence Conference and
Report
·
Sustainability in Housebuilding
·
Making housing land supply market
responsive
·
Marketing Homes Forum
·
National Planning
Conference
Date:
Venue:
Organiser: Royal British Legion
-Forthcoming Fundraising Events
Pedal To
The tenth anniversary of
our hugely popular annual ride from
Date:
Venue: Malmaison Hotel,
Organiser: Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply
This half day seminar will
deal with the practical implementation of the new rules, recent court cases
covering the current legislation and procurement under EU treaty
rules.
Date:
Venue:
Organiser: Capita Conferences
The Government wants
to increase the provision and access to low cost home ownership in
Recently a raft of
policies have been introduced which are designed to help aspiring homeowners
onto the property ladder and this conference will keep you up to date with the
rapid pace of reform.
In the morning, expert
speakers will outline and evaluate current and future low cost home ownership
schemes including shared ownership, HomeBuy and Key Worker programmes. Local
authorities and housing associations will be encouraged to apply these schemes
as widely as possible, so now is the time to consider their impact on your
organisation.
Date:
Venue:
Organiser: Capita Conferences
According
to the Health and Safety Executive, around 563,000 people are suffering from
stress-related illness, indirectly resulting in 13.4 million days being taken
off sick. Recent research (Mind, 2005) highlighted the enormous £100bn per year
cost to the
 
; &
nbsp; &nb
sp;  
; &
nbsp; &nb
sp;  
; &
nbsp; &nb
sp;  
; &
nbsp; &nb
sp;
Date:
Venue:
Organiser:
This course includes a
management case study against which to pit your skills and equips those at
working level to provide top-quality support to their managers and develops
their potential to be the leaders of tomorrow. Designed for administrative officers and their equivalent, on
completion you should understand the basis of effective management
Date:
Venue: none
Organiser: Citizenship Foundation
Take a hands-on approach
to politics, journalism and the legal system
Now in it’s 15th year, The National Youth Parliament Competition helps 11-18 year olds
understand the democratic process and gives them the opportunity to video their
own parliamentary debate.
The National
Political Journalism competition, challenges young people (11-18 year olds)
to experience first-hand the relationship between politics and the media. They
are asked to tackle a local, national and international political issue of
their choice, by taking on the roles of media professionals and create real
news pieces in print, TV or radio.
In the Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial competition students take on the
roles of court staff, lawyers & witnesses and present the prosecution and
defence of a specially written criminal case.
For further information on the above (and
subsequent) events please click HERE
WGPlus would like to make it clear that the commentary & links provided, in respect of any particular
item, are published in its capacity as an independent non-government funded
organisation and reflect the
editorial team’s need to both précis & re‑format the content of news
releases.
Any views
expressed are therefore entirely those
of the WGPlus editorial team and independent of any sponsor, government
organisation or political party.
For the official view of a source
organisation, readers should click
on the ‘press release’ that is the first link attached to each
item.