The WGPlus team welcomes back readers returning from their summer break and would like to point out that this week’s newsletter includes items that were issued by departments & organisations during our recess, rather than just for the previous week.
LSC: Unqualified applicants get binned - New research from the Learning and Skills Council reveals that 22% of employers say they would not recruit job-seekers with less than five good GCSEs (or the vocational equivalent) – and 15% completely ignore CVs if the job applicant does not have these essential qualifications.
Following the CBI report which revealed that too many teenagers are leaving school barely able to write or add up – LSC research shows that for those that don’t stay on in learning and are lucky enough to find a job, the prospects are bleak.
Of the 74% of employers who would recruit someone with less than five good GCSEs, 47% would only offer unskilled positions with low pay and limited prospects.
On average, employers said they would pay someone a starting salary £1,700 higher if they had five A*-C GCSEs compared to someone without these qualifications plus experience. This backs up official statistics which state that over a lifetime someone with the minimum set of qualifications will earn £4,000 more per year compared to someone without.
Press release ~ Learning and Skills Council ~ CBI report press release ~ 'Working On The Three Rs' ~ Education Maintenance Allowance ~ Apprenticeships
HC: NHS fails to meet statutory requirements on racism - The Healthcare Commission has warned that it suspects the NHS of widespread non-compliance with legislation on race relations designed to promote equality. It has released results of an audit suggesting most trusts have not met responsibilities to publish information under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
Inspectors scanned each website of all 570 NHS trusts, looking for information that legislation has required public bodies to publish since May 2002 and they could only find this information the websites of seven NHS trusts (around 1% of the total).
As part of a duty to promote race equality, all NHS trusts should publish:
· a race equality scheme and action plan setting out how the organisation will make race equality central to all its functions (reviewed every three years)
· annual employment monitoring statistics showing the ethnic profile of the workforce, including access to training & promotion, as well as numbers of job applicants and short-listed candidates
· the outcome of race equality impact assessments demonstrating what action has been taken to address any adverse impact of an organisation’s policies.
The Commission stresses that the audit is not a definitive test of compliance, but says the findings do suggest a significant problem with the number of trusts meeting statutory codes of practice.
Press release ~ Race Equality Audit ~ Healthcare Commission – equality, diversity and human rights ~ Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 ~ Commission for Racial Equality ~ NHS – Equality & diversity ~ DH – Equality & diversity ~ DH policy & guidance ~ CRE – Race equality and NHS Trusts ~ CRE – Race equality guide for SHAs ~ CRE - Primary health care code of practice ~ Race for Health
Ofsted: Ofsted declares childcare is generally ‘safe’ - Early Years: Safe and Sound, a new report published by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), reveals that the majority of registered childcare providers ensure that the children placed in their care are kept safe and well cared for. The report is intended to be used as a tool by childcare providers to further improve their practice with children.
Inspectors found that 97% of the 25,000 childcare providers inspected between April 2005 and March 2006 were satisfactory or better in keeping children in their care safe from harm. Very few (3%) were deemed inadequate. In the same period, 98% of providers were satisfactory or better at helping children to be healthy. Very few (2%) were inadequate.
A clear indication of improved childcare is that the percentage of inspections where it was necessary for Ofsted to set actions for improvement has reduced. Ofsted set actions for 22% of all providers inspected during the last inspection cycle (April 2003 to March 2005), because they were not meeting one or more of the National Standards. However, this year it was necessary to set actions for only 4% of providers inspected.
The Safe & Sound mini-website features the Safe and Sound report and other materials including:
· a poster
· leaflet
· PowerPoint presentation and
· short article for providers’ associations and local authorities to use at meetings with providers & their staff
Press release ~ Safe & Sound mini-website ~ Early Years: Safe and sound ~ Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) ~ Children Act 2004 ~ National Standards of Childcare
HC: What happens when you combine poor management and staff shortages?- The Healthcare Commission has published an investigation report into the deaths of ten women who gave birth at Northwick Park Hospital, West London. The report describes what happened to each of the ten women, all of whom died during pregnancy or within 42 days of giving birth between April 2002 and April 2005. The death rate per 100,000 maternities was nearly seven times higher than the national average at
This report, which aimed to identify if there were common factors between the deaths, paints a stark picture of what can happen when a maternity unit has inadequate systems to protect the women it cares for.
Common factors included:
· insufficient input from a consultant or a senior midwife (in five cases), with difficult decisions often left to junior staff
· failure to recognise & respond quickly where a woman’s condition changed unexpectedly
· inadequate resources to deal with high-risk cases:
· a working culture that led to poor working practices and resulted in poor quality of care
· failure to learn lessons on the unit
· failure by the Trust’s board to appreciate the seriousness of the situation
Last year, Commission Chairman Sir Ian Kennedy called on NHS trusts to raise standards in their maternity services to those of the best. He drew on the similarities between
Press release ~ Second Report on Northwick Park Hospital ~ Related documents ~ Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) ~ Royal College of Midwives
DCLG: Will ‘six of the best’ curb anti-social behaviour? -The importance of strong housing management in tackling anti-social behaviour and creating a community culture of respect is claimed to be at the centre of a new Government 'Standard' aimed at council and housing association landlords.
The Respect Standard for Housing Management standard outlines the six core components essential to delivering an effective response to anti-social behaviour and building stronger communities:
· Accountability, leadership, and commitment
· Empowering and reassuring residents
· Prevention and early intervention
· Tailored services for residents and provision of support for victims and witnesses
· Protecting Communities through swift enforcement
· Support to tackle the causes of anti-social behaviour
The Government will be encouraging residents to get engaged and hold their landlord to account.
The Audit Commission, who carry out inspections of landlords, are also looking to strengthen their guidelines to landlords on what they expect a good landlord to be achieving in tackling anti-social behaviour and have launched a consultation exercise on changes to the way it inspects tenancy and estate management services in housing organisations (closes on 29 September 2006).
Press release ~ Respect Standard for housing management ~ Respect ~ Housing Corporation ~ Audit Commission ~ Respect and Housing Management – Using Good Neighbour Agreements
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Further information ~ DRC report: The Web: Access and Inclusion for Disabled People ~ Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 78 ~ RNIB web access centre ~ The Business Case for Web Accessibility ~ Essential Components of Web Accessibility ~ Internet Plain English Crystal Mark ~ How to write an effective web design brief (presentation) ~ LSE - Writing for the web ~ Internet Search basics ~ Google Analytics
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CSPL: The
Committee on Standards in Public
Life has welcomed the recommendation from the Public Administration Select Committee
that an independent investigatory mechanism should be introduced for alleged
breaches of the Ministerial Code.
The recommendation is contained in the PASC report - The Ministerial Code: the case for
independent investigation.
Press release ~
Committee on Standards in Public Life ~
Committee on Standards in Public Life’s
Ninth Report ~ Public Administration Select
Committee ~ The Ministerial Code: the case for independent
investigation ~ Cabinet Office – Ministerial
Code ~ Ministerial Code note
Cabinet Office:
The Cabinet Office has launched the first Technology in Business Fast Stream for the Civil Service, which
will provide an entry route for talented graduates interested in delivering
technology-enabled change within the public sector.
They will be selected for their potential to become future Chief
Information Officers or leaders of large scale, IT-enabled business
change. Successful candidates will
be placed in a leading central government department and will be provided with
foundation and ongoing training & development.
They will have a formal mentor to support their career development and
will have the opportunity to meet & work with key technology leaders across
the wider public sector. Full
information about the Technology in Business Fast Stream will be available on
the IT Profession website in September. Applicants should apply online between 18th September
and
Press release ~
Government IT Profession ~ Technology in Business Fast Stream
~ Civil Service Fast Stream
Scottish Executive: The Scottish Schools Digital Network National
Intranet (SSDN) has been re-branded as 'Glow'. The new name was chosen because on many levels it is believed it matches
the objectives & aspirations of the national intranet, which will
ultimately digitally link
Glow is intended to be ‘fun,
bright and hopeful - yet it is simple and accessible to all’. The idea is that pupils will find Glow
easy to spell & remember while teachers are intended to see it as a pool of
resources that can help to make lessons more interesting &
interactive.
Visitors to the Scottish Learning Festival (20 - 21 September) will be able to get their first look at an early version of Glow as well
as the opportunity to attend seminars to find out more. Developing, testing and piloting of Glow
is currently underway, with initial roll out to schools planned to start
in mid 2007.
Press release ~ Scottish Schools
Digital Network National Intranet (SSDN) / Glow ~ Learning and
Teaching Scotland (LTS) ~ Scottish Learning
Festival ~ RM
OGC Buying Solutions: St. Mary’s NHS Trust in Paddington has
become the first in a consortium of 17 NHS Trusts to connect to its suppliers
via the Zanzibar Managed Service and
to realise the benefits of ‘OGCbuying.solutions’ online procurement
marketplace, including generating estimated savings of over £4 million pounds
over the next five years.
The Zanzibar Managed Service is a web-enabled Purchase to Pay system and eMarketplace available to all public
sector organisations in
This system enables public sector buyers and their
suppliers to link up over the internet and transact end-to-end requisitions,
orders and invoices.
Press release ~
OGCbuying.solutions ~ PA Shared Services
Limited ~ CedarOpenAccounts ~ Zanzibar Managed Service
DWP:
Following extensive negotiations that began back in 2002, the text of a
Human Rights Convention for disabled
people has been agreed at the United Nations. The purpose of the UN Convention is to promote, protect and
ensure the full & equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their
dignity.
It is intended to promote the participation of and respect for disabled
people in a wide range of areas of society, and covers aspects such
as:
·
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Living independently and being included in
the community
·
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Equality &
non-discrimination
·
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The position of disabled women &
children
·
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Access to justice
·
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Education
·
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Health
·
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Work & employment
·
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Participation in political and public
life
·
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Participation in cultural life, recreation,
leisure & sport
·
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International
cooperation
Press release ~
Draft
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ~ BBC -
At-a-glance: UN disability treaty ~ Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral
International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and
Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
DH: New
arrangements for the supply and delivery of healthcare related products to the
NHS will ‘save £1bn which can be
reinvested in frontline patient services’, Health Minister Andy Burnham has
claimed.
The outsourcing covers NHS
Logistics and parts of the NHS
Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) and the business operations,
including 1,650 staff, will transfer to DHL on
The outsourcing means that DHL will be the agent on behalf of the NHS
and the new service will be known as NHS
Supply Chain and remain part of the NHS 'family', being managed on
behalf of the NHS by the NHS Business Services Authority. The blue and white NHS emblem will
appear on uniforms, at distribution centres and on all
vehicles.
Press release ~ Supply Chain Excellence Programme (SCEP) ~ NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency ~ NHS Business Services Authority ~ NHS Logistics
FCO: The
It sets out the 5 "D"s that the international community should pursue in order to counter terrorism:
·
Dissuading people
from resorting to terrorism or supporting it
·
Denying terrorists
the means to carry out attacks
·
Deterring States
from supporting terrorist groups
·
Developing State
capacity to prevent terrorism
·
Defending human
rights
Press release ~ UN Counter
Terrorism strategy ~ ‘Uniting against terrorism: recommendations
for a global counter-terrorism strategy’ ~ Home Office Counter Terrorism ~
Home Office: A new campaign aimed at giving prostitutes a confidential
route to report sexual and violent crimes to the police has been
launched.
The Crimestoppers ‘STOP’
campaign, funded by the Home Office and supported by the police and the
specialist projects working with women & men involved in prostitution, aims
to encourage those in the sex industry to report crimes to Crimestoppers. This information can then be
passed to the police and also shared with others at risk in the
area.
This campaign is based on the
successful ‘ugly mugs’ scheme, where those involved in prostitution share
information about violent men through local specialist support services.
Leaflets & posters highlighting Crimestoppers’ anonymous helpline and the
importance of sharing information will be distributed to specialist support services in England and Wales.
Press release ~
The Prostitution Strategy ~ Most Wanted
website ~ Nation
follows Tees lead ~ Suzy Lamplugh
Trust ~ Home Office - Tackling Street Prostitution:
Towards an holistic approach
DH:
Figures published by the Department of Health show that nearly a
third of men will be obese by 2010, along with more than 12
million adults overall and one million children, if we don't start to make
changes as a nation to our lifestyles.
Other findings showed that:
·
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Nearly 20% of girls aged 2-10 are expected to
be obese in 2010
·
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Nearly a third of men will be obese by
2010
·
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In households with two obese parents, 1 child
in 4 is obese, compared to 1 child in 8 in households where one parents is
obese and 1 in 20 where no parents are obese
Press release ~ 'Forecasting Obesity to 2010' ~ Health Survey for England: Obesity among children under 11 ~ Choosing Health White Paper ~ 'Small Change Big Difference' ~ Teachernet – Physical Education ~ Obesity Care Pathway and Your Weight, Your Health ~ DH Obesity website ~ Measuring childhood obesity: Guidance to PCTs on data handling ~ Local Exercise Action Pilots (LEAPs)
DfES: Education Secretary Alan Johnson has named the first schools working towards acquiring a Trust and also announced the appointment of the Schools Commissioner.
Trust schools are maintained (state funded) schools supported by a charitable Trust, which are similar to Voluntary Aided (VA) and foundation schools that are supported by a charitable foundation - the Trust holds the school's assets on trust for the school, the governing body employs staff and sets admissions arrangements (in accordance with the Schools Admissions Code).
Legislation to establish Trust schools (the Education and Inspections Bill) is currently passing through Parliament. Royal Assent is expected in November 2006, with regulations made in early summer 2007.
Sir Bruce Liddington has been appointed as the Schools Commissioner and his role will be to:
· FONT> oversee the delivery of Trust schools
· FONT> help to match the right schools with the right partners and
·
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offer advice and support throughout the
process
Press release ~ DfES - Trust Schools website ~ GovernorNet – Trust Schools ~ Teachernet – Trust Schools ~ Comment from NUT ~ Education and Inspections Bill (click on ‘E’ and scroll down) ~ Timesonline article – Absence of Trust ~ Trust Schools and Governance
DfES: The Education and Skills Secretary Alan Johnson claims that the government is going to initiate the ‘biggest improvement in support for teachers since introduction of Literacy Hour which will mean children master the basics faster’.
Teachers will be given new guidance & additional training to make phonics their prime approach to early reading and children will learn their times tables a year earlier as part of a comprehensive package of measures to promote even faster progress in English and maths.
The revised Primary Framework for
Literacy and Mathematics will be available to teachers and practitioners before half
term.
Press release ~
Primary National Strategy - Framework
Review ~ Rose Review ~ Core
Papers
DfES: The DfES is consulting (closes
The Education and Inspections
Bill, currently before Parliament, will place a statutory
duty on school admissions authorities, local authorities, admission
forums, school governing bodies, admission appeal panels and adjudicators ‘to act in
accordance with’ the new Code.
This means that they must comply with its mandatory provisions and closes a legal loophole that allowed schools to circumvent the Code - up until now they have only had to ‘have regard to it’. The Bill will also outlaw interviewing as part of a school's admissions arrangements, although parents are still encouraged to visit prospective schools and to meet the head teacher.
Press release ~ < FONT color=#800080 size=2>Consultation documents ~ Current guidelines ~ Draft Skeleton Admissions Code April 2006 ~ Education and Inspections Bill
Defra: A
draft report - Trends in Primary
Nitrogen Dioxide in the UK - investigating unexpected trends in roadside
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations and possible links with changes in
vehicle technologies has been published for consultation (closes 7 November
2006) by the Air Quality
Expert Group (AQEG).
The report was commissioned by Defra in January 2006 to consider why,
despite significant falls in annual mean concentrations of nitrogen oxides
(NOx) in urban areas over recent years, concentrations of NO2 (a component of
NOx) at roadsides have not declined as expected.
Press release ~
Consultation documents - Trends in Primary Nitrogen Dioxide in
the UK ~ Nitrogen Dioxide in the United Kingdom ~ Air Quality Expert Group ~
Defra Air quality website ~
Air Quality Archive
Defra:
Proposals to introduce a new electronic online data system for the
packaging industry have been issued for consultation by Defra, the Welsh
Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive (closes
The packaging Regulations have increased packaging waste recycling from
around 27% in 1997 to more than 54% in 2005 (almost 6.2 million tonnes last
year) significantly reducing the amount of packaging waste going to
landfill.
Press release ~
Consultation documents ~
Defra:
People should be better able to prevent the damage caused by
People are being asked for their views (by
·
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Allowing smaller calibre rifles to be used to
shoot the smaller species of deer
·
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Allowing any reasonable & humane means of
destroying deer that are suffering due to injuries or disease, and for
dependent young to be humanely killed if their mother has died or been
killed
·
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Reducing the close season by two
weeks;
Press release ~
Consultation documents ~ Defra Deer website ~ Association
of Deer Management Groups ~ Deer Study &
Resource Centre ~ The Deer
Initiative
CC: The Competition Commission has published
for consultation (closes
In its provisional findings report published in April, the CC concluded
that the lack of competition in the home credit market means that customers
face paying higher prices and it outlined a number of possible remedies to
increase competition in the market.
The proposed remedies have been published so that interested parties
have a further opportunity to comment before the CC publishes its
report (currently planned for October), which will include the decision
on the remedy measures to be introduced.
Press release ~
Proposed remedies
document ~ Competition Commission ~ CAB ~
Community Legal Services
Direct – Dealing with debt ~ DTI – Over-indebtedness
~ OFT – Be choosy about credit ~
What’s the best way to borrow? ~
JRF - Affordable credit: The way forward ~
Social Fund
BSA: In
accordance with the Welsh Language Act
1993, the Basic Skills Agency
(BSA) has prepared a draft Welsh Language Scheme which sets out how it
proposes to deliver services to the public in Welsh under Section 13 of the
Act.
The BSA has a duty to issue the draft Scheme for public consultation (closes
Press release ~
draft Welsh Language
Scheme ~ Welsh Language Act 1993 ~ The National Basic Skills
Strategy document for Wales (2001)
FSA:
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has recently issued a
consultation paper (there are 2 closure dates – see document) outlining a new
proposal to merge the customer functions in the approved persons regime in response to feedback from the industry.
This feedback from retail and wholesale firms follows the publication of a
consultation paper in July 2005 detailing a series of proposals to streamline
and simplify the Handbook.
The consultation paper also sets out the implications of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive
for the approved persons regime;
reminds firms that it is their responsibility to carry out appropriate checks
on their employees, and clarifies aspects of the FSA's approval
process.
Press release ~
Reforming the Approved Persons Regime:
Consultation and Feedback to CP 05/10 ~ Consultation paper 05/10 Reviewing the
Handbook
English Nature: A new guide to help road designers
ensure their work helps the survival of
The guide:
·
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shows engineers how to approach road design
from an ecological point of view and
·
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suggests how special features such as habitat
design & planting can be incorporated into road schemes to protect and
attract butterflies
Press release ~
Butterfly Handbook (VLF
1.7Mb) ~ Highways Agency – Protecting the Environment ~
English Nature ~ Butterfly Conservation charity ~ UK Biodiversity Action Plan ~ British Butterflies – photographic guide ~
Natural History Museum
DH: A
government drive has been launched to improve the physical fitness of people
with mental illness as people with severe mental illness have much worse levels
of physical health, being almost twice as likely to die from coronary heart
disease
as the general population and 4 times more likely to die from
respiratory disease
Guidance has been published to help local commissioners design services
that improve the physical wellbeing of MH patients and £7 million has been
provided for the 88 spearhead PCTs to employ 'well-being nurses'.
Press release ~
Choosing Health: Supporting the physical
needs of people with severe mental illness - commissioning
framework ~ 2004 White Paper Choosing Health ~ From Values to Action: The Chief Nursing Officer's review of mental
health nursing ~ Mentality ~ DH Mental Health website ~ Self-assessment toolkit - From values to
action: The Chief Nursing Officer’s review ~ DH Obesity
website
Home Office:
New guidance from the Home Office sets out good practice advice for
organisers of carnivals, charity & small-scale sporting events. It has been designed to ensure that
such events are as safe as possible for the public and
participants.
The Good Practice Safety
Guide shows professional & amateur organisers of smaller scale events
how to set up events, carry out a risk assessment and ensure that fire &
safety requirements are met. It
also advises on local authority requirements, the use of stewards and when to
involve the police.
Press release ~
The Good Practice
Safety Guide for small events and sporting events on highways, roads, and in
public places ~ Warrington event safety guide ~ Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions
2002
HSE: ‘Don't take a gamble with your life’
is the message to maintenance workers from Steve Coldrick, Director of the
Health and Safety Executive's Disease Reduction Programme.
These workers, including plumbers, carpenters and builders, account for
more than one quarter of the 35,000 asbestos-related cancer deaths each year
and to raise their awareness of the dangers of working with asbestos, the HSE
has launched its "Don't take the
gamble" campaign.
More than half a million non-domestic premises and houses still contain
some form of the material, posing a real threat to unwary maintenance workers
and the campaign also reminds dutyholders of their obligations under asbestos
law.
Dutyholders are those responsible for the maintenance and repair of
non-domestic buildings, either through a contract or tenancy agreement, or
because they own the building. Under Regulation 4 of
the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations, dutyholders have to manage the
risk from asbestos in their buildings.
Press release ~
HSE
Asbestos website ~ Don't take the gamble ~ Mesothelioma – Estimating the future burden ~
Mesothelioma Occupation Statistics: Male and Female Deaths
aged 16 - 74 in Great Britain 1980 - 2000 (excluding 1981) ~ Mesothelioma Cancer ~ Disease Reduction Programme ~ Chartered Institute of
Environmental Health ~ Institute of Plumbing
and Heating Engineering ~ Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work
Regulations
DTI: The
third cross-government Over-Indebtedness
Annual Report outlines actions for the Government, the credit industry and
consumer groups to help people struggling with debts.
Claimed progress made as a result of the cross-Government action plan to
tackle over-indebtedness, includes:
·
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introduction of Consumer Credit Act 2006 with new laws
to improve responsible lending & borrowing
·
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the success of the loan shark investigation
teams in removing illegal money lenders from the streets
·
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the launch of Debt Test, an online self-assessment tool to improve financial
capability, and
·
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new measures to provide breathing space for
those who want to repay their debts proposed in the draft Tribunals, Courts, and Enforcement
Bill
Press release ~
Over-indebtedness annual
report ~ DTI Over-indebtedness website ~ DTI's Over-indebtedness Action Plan ~ <
FONT color=#0000ff size=2>Consumer Credit Act 2006 ~
Dealing with Loan Sharks ~
FSA - Money Doctors ~ Tribunals, Courts, and Enforcement Bill ~
HSE: The
Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has published the annual fatal injury
statistics showing the lowest fatal injury number on record. In 2005/2006 212 people were fatally
injured, a reduction from 223 in 2004/2005 giving a rate of 0.71 fatalities per
100,000 workers. The figures also
contain a comparison across
The reporting of health and safety incidents at work is a statutory
requirement, set out under the Reporting
of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
Falls from height remain the most common cause of fatal injury and two
industries, construction and agriculture account for just under half of all fatal
injuries.
HSE press release
~ DWP press release
~ Statistics of fatal injuries 2005/06 ~ Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations
1995 (RIDDOR) ~ HSE - RIDDOR
explained ~ Falls
from Height
DH: Health
Minister Andy Burnham has praised the progress of over 60% of hospitals that
had a patient environment rated as 'Good' or 'Excellent' in
2006 in inspections carried out by Patient Environment Action Teams (PEAT), while acknowledging that
there is still work to be done.
Press release ~
Latest PEAT scores ~ DH - Healthcare
Environment ~ Improving the patient experience ~
Clean Hospitals
HC: The
Healthcare Commission has called for further improvement in NHS diagnostic services following a
national review, which found improvements in many areas of diagnostic services,
but it also found wide variations in performance including
unacceptable waits for scans at some hospitals.
The Commission warns that delays in diagnostic services such as x-rays
and scans could hinder some trusts in meeting the Government’s target of a
maximum of 18-weeks wait from referral to treatment.
The review looked at three types of diagnostic services: imaging (x-rays
and scans), endoscopy (examinations of the bowel and stomach) and pathology
(tests on blood and tissue samples)
Key findings include:
·
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Waiting times for imaging services are improving but there are wide
variations in performance across the country.
·
Wide
variations in trusts’ waiting times for endoscopies
·
Variation in how imaging exams are reported
·
Improvement needed in recording of success rates for
colonoscopies
·
Variation in speed of urgent pathology tests
·
Endoscopy units need to do more to ensure that their services are
focused on the patient
Press release ~
Results of this review for individual
trusts ~ Acute hospital portfolio - diagnostic services
2005/2006 ~ Next steps on Choice and
Scan ~ Choice of scan programme
HC: The
Healthcare Commission is publishing findings of a review of 157 hospitals
across
The review looks at areas where trusts should have already made
improvements:
·
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treatment of children in child specific and
child friendly environments
·
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provision of services for children as locally
as possible
·
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appropriate cover from a range of staff
trained in the needs of children
·
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training of staff in essential skills
·
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maintaining of staff skills through
sufficient contact with child cases
Only 25% of trusts assessed received a rating of
“excellent” or “good” and Trusts in these categories are making good progress
on improving their services for children.
The majority (70%) of trusts reviewed are only rated as fair.
Press release ~
Individual trust reports ~ National Service Framework
for Children and Young People ~ Bristol
Royal Infirmary Inquiry ~ DH – Children’s
Services
Defra: A government investigation into
allegations against parts of the paper packaging waste industry has uncovered
'inappropriate practices' by a number of
exporters.
No
evidence of fraud was identified, but according to investigators
they found numerous examples of incorrect administrative practices, which
tended to suggest that the tonnages of packaging waste reported to have been
exported in recent years were higher than they perhaps should have
been.
Press release ~
Paper packaging waste fact
finding mission report ~
ESRC:
Access to and the use of finance in the
Only 15% of businesses are women-owned and the 26% share of
self-employed women has not changed in 15 years. This modest record contrasts sharply with other countries,
particularly the
The research suggested that lending decisions by individual bank loan
officers can reflect biased gender perceptions & opinions. It also found that bias is just as
likely among male and female officers.
Press release ~
‘Securing a Business Loan: How Important is
Gender? ~ Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC) ~ Women’s Business Network (North West) ~
Women doing Business ~ Women’s Business
development agency ~ Women into the network ~ Onewomanbusiness ~ Everywoman ~ Female FTSE
Index ~ Diversity Best Practice
in the corporate world: A guide to business (VLF 5.3Mb v slow to
load)
ESRC:
Being a father has little effect on men’s working patterns, in spite of
the fact that they cut back their working hours for a short time after a new
child is born, according to Economic and
Social Research Council (ESRC) funded research at the University of
Bristol.
The findings suggest that current policies to encourage work-life
balance don’t take account of how fathers want to adapt their routines to fit
in with family life. What they
want is not to work fewer hours, but rather have the ability to control their
working hours so that they can leave early to go to school functions or
parents’ meetings.
Further findings suggest that the focus on fatherhood as an influence of
men’s employment has been overplayed; fathers do not have shorter working hours
than non-fathers, nor do they see this as a problem.
Press release ~
The Effect of Fatherhood on Men’s Patterns
of Employment ~ Economic and Social Research Council ~ DTI - Work and Families Act 2006 ~
Working Families ~ Business Link ~ Acas
Flexible working ~ Results of the Second Flexible Working Employee Survey 2005
King’s Fund:
The national strategy for cancer services should be revised to take
account of technology developments and the ageing population, according to a
recent report - Future Trends and Challenges for Cancer Services in
England - published by the King’s Fund.
The report - which is a review of literature & policy as well as a
set of interviews - points to evidence showing that demographical,
technological and policy changes are having significant effects on cancer
services and will lead to new ways of diagnosing and treating
cancer.
The proportion of over 65s in the population will grow from 16% in 2004
to 23% by 2031, increasing the number of people who develop cancer in older
age. New treatments, better
screening and earlier diagnosis will result in more people living as cancer
survivors and the Cancer Plan must evolve to reflect these facts, the report
says.
Press release ~ Future Trends and Challenges for Cancer
Services in England: A review of literature and policy
~ The NHS cancer plan and the new NHS:
Providing a patient-centred service ~ Cancer 2020
campaign ~ Cancer Research UK ~ DH Cancer website
DWP:
Teenagers from deprived communities across the
The DWP has also published two reports which highlight a number of
strands within the New Deal for Lone Parents programmes such as the In Work
Benefit Calculations (IWBC) and Work Focused Interviews
(WFIs).
Press release ~
New Deal for Lone
Parents ~ Lone Parents Work Focused Interviews/New Deal for Lone Parents:
Combined Evaluation and Further Net Impacts (VVLF 3.7Mb) ~ Lone parents: In work benefit calculations - work and benefit
outcomes
English Nature:
A new report Natural
Foundations, published jointly by English Nature, the Countryside Agency and Rural
Development Service, celebrates
Geodiversity (rocks, fossils, minerals, landforms, landscapes,
geological processes and soils) is a fundamental environmental asset but it is
one of the least recognised and valued.
Press release ~
<
FONT color=#800080 size=2>Natural foundations: geodiversity for people, places
and nature ~ English
Nature ~ Countryside
Agency ~ Rural Development
Service ~ Natural England
CICFA: The
Concerted Inter-Agency Criminal Finances
Action Group has published: Proceeds
of Crime Update - Issue No 73
Press release ~
Assets Recovery Agency ~ Regional Asset
Recovery Team ~ Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Home Office:
The possession of violent and extreme pornographic material will become
a criminal offence punishable by up to three years in prison under proposed new
laws announced by Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker.
The Government will legislate to make it an offence to possess
pornographic images depicting scenes of extreme sexual violence and other
obscene material. This will
include, for example, the sort of material featuring violence that is, or
appears to be, life threatening or is likely to result in serious and disabling
injury.
The Government is also proposing that the maximum penalty for the
offences of publication, distribution and possession for gain committed under
the Obscene Publications Acts will be increased from three years to five
years' imprisonment.
Press release ~
Consultation
paper On the possession of extreme pornographic material - summary of responses
and next steps ~ Child Exploitation
and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre ~ Home Office – Sexual Offences
website
Defra:
Following consultation with the horse industry about a proposed EU
Regulation on the identification of equidae (horses, donkeys, etc), the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is putting its
comments to the European Commission, including that the implementation date for
the Regulation coming into force (which is currently 1 January 2007) should be
put back to 1 January 2010
The draft Regulation consolidates the existing legislation on the
identification of equidae, but includes an additional requirement for all foals
to be identified by a microchip.
The current requirements for
Press release ~ Horse Passports (England) Regulations 2004 ~ Defra – Horse Tracing and Identification ~ British Horse Industry Confederation response to
consultation
CC: The
Independent Complaints Reviewer for the Charity Commission has published her
report into the complaints against the Commission she reviewed in 2005-06 and
the Charity Commission has responded.
Press release ~
Seeking a fair resolution ~ Cause for Complaint?
CC: The
Charity Commission has announced a formal inquiry has been launched into the
charity Crescent Relief and its bank
accounts frozen, following recent allegations of links between Crescent Relief
and terrorist abuse of charitable funds.
The inquiry will focus on whether or not the charity's funds, or
funds raised on its behalf, were used unlawfully. It will also consider the financial policies and practices of
the charity.
Press release ~
Crescent
Relief
CC: The Charity Commission and The Office
of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) have formally announced they were
joining together as the new joint SORP-making body for charities in the
UK.
The Charities SORP - Accounting and Reporting by Charities is a Statement
of Recommended Practice providing accounting & reporting recommendations
for charities throughout the
It provides an authoritative interpretation of the application of
accounting standards for charities and sets specific recommendations on how to
account for sector specific transactions.
Recruitment packs for those interested in joining the SORP Committee can
be downloaded from the Charity Commission's and OSCR's
websites.
Press release ~
Charity Commission - The Office of the
Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) ~ Accounting
Standards Board ~ Recruitment pack
DCLG: The
Local Government Minister Phil Woolas has confirmed that he has laid the Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Rate
Relief) (Amendment) (
Under the revised small business rate relief scheme, ratepayers eligible
for the relief will be required to apply for the financial year 2007/08 and
will not be required to apply again until the next revaluation (financial year
2010/11) provided their circumstances have not changed in that period. Where circumstances have changed, the
ratepayer will be required to notify the relevant local billing authority of
the change.
The scheme gives 50% rate relief for properties with rateable values up
to £5,000, tapering off for properties with higher rateable values, with no
relief for properties above £10,000 rateable value.
Press release ~
Statutory Instrument ~ Explanatory Memorandum ~ Business Rates
DWP:
Pension provisions, forming part of the Government's new
age-discrimination legislation, will not now come into force until
It will also allow a short informal consultation period to assess
whether any amendments are required to provide greater clarity for schemes and
employers.
Press release ~
Employment Equality (Age) Regulations ~ White Paper Security in Retirement: towards a new pensions
system
Pensions Regulator: Two new modules aimed at trustees of defined benefit schemes
are now available online as part of the Pensions Regulator's free
e-learning programme for pension trustees:
·
FONT>
In 'How a DB scheme works' trustees learn how benefits accrue,
how they are calculated and what trustees should consider if a scheme is in
deficit.
·
FONT>
The 'Funding your scheme' module covers the implications of the
requirement to meet the statutory funding objective, different ways to measure
liabilities and the funding position of the scheme.
Press release ~
Trustee Toolkit ~ Pensions Regulator
Pensions Regulator: The Pensions Regulator has published guidance on
member-nominated trustees and directors arrangements to accompany the code of
practice recently laid before Parliament.
Under the Pensions Act 2004 trustees are required to ensure that
arrangements are in place, and implemented, for at least one third of trustees
to be member-nominated; or at least one third of directors of the trustee
company to be member-nominated.
The arrangements must include a nomination process, a selection process
and other statutory requirements and the guidance sets out which requirements
may apply to certain schemes, the commencement date of these requirements, and
transitional arrangements for schemes which had arrangements under the Pensions
Act 1995.
Press release ~
Guidance ~ Code of practice 'Member-nominated trustees and
directors - putting arrangements in place'
Pensions Regulator: The Pensions
Regulator has published an in-depth survey (Report on Governance Survey) into the way UK pension schemes are
run, which found that while many schemes are well-governed, a 'significant
minority' revealed shortcomings in important areas of good practice,
including:
·
FONT>
70% of defined benefit schemes have no
specific policy to manage conflicts of interest
·
FONT>
37% of defined benefit schemes do not review
sponsoring employers' credit rating
·
FONT>
20% of all schemes with a main provider of
administrative services have no
Press release ~
Governance report ~
Technical Appendices
HMRC: New
rates of interest on direct and indirect taxes and national insurance
contributions paid late and overpaid have been announced. These new rates of interest, which took
effect from
·
FONT>
Income tax, national insurance contributions,
capital gains tax, stamp duties etc.
·
FONT>
Petroleum revenue tax, advance corporation
tax etc.
·
FONT>
Inheritance tax etc.
·
FONT>
Corporation tax
·
FONT>
rates of default interest
HMRC: VAT
Business Brief 12/06
Contents
·
FONT>
VAT: Partial Exemption - VAT deduction by
theatres on production costs
·
FONT>
VAT: Position following the Court of Appeal
judgment in Compass Contract Services Limited
Press release ~
Business Briefs
2006 (it sometimes takes time to appear
here)
HMRC: VAT
Business Brief 13/06
Contents
·
FONT>
VAT: 3-Year Cap on making claims - Court of
Appeal Judgment in Michael Fleming t/a Bodycraft
·
FONT>
VAT: 3-Year Cap on making claims - Court of
Appeal Judgment in Conde Nast Publications Ltd
Press release ~
Business Briefs
2006 (it sometimes takes time to appear
here)
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