Annual Reports
BIS: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has made good progress putting better regulation principles into practice according to a new report from the Better Regulation Executive. The report, part of a series of reviews of national regulators, examined how the ICO, which promotes public access to official information and protects personal information, matched up to the principles of effective regulation, set out by Philip Hampton in 2005.
Despite making real progress, the report also identified some issues the ICO needed to address to improve its performance further, including articulating more clearly the outcomes that it is seeking to achieve and instituting a more systematic approach to its audit work.
Press release ~ Information Commissioner’s Office - A Hampton Implementation Review Report (scroll down) ~ Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
BIS: New reports from the Better Regulation Executive have found that Companies House and the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate (EAS) have made, or are taking, positive steps in putting better regulation principles into practice. The reports examined how Companies House and EAS matched up to the principles of effective regulation set out by Philip Hampton in 2005.
Companies House, which collects & disseminates information on registered companies in the UK, is considered a leader in terms of the provision of clear, accessible, authoritative and user-friendly guidance. Its report found that it had set a good standard of compliance with Hampton’s principles, offering examples of best practice in a number of areas.
EAS, which regulates around 17,000 employment & recruitment agencies, has a clear sense of purpose that is understood well by staff & stakeholders alike. It faces a number of challenges but is moving in the right direction, developing risk-based practices to address sectors that cause persistent problems, such as model and entertainment agencies.
Press release ~ Regulation Executive’s full reports on Companies House and EAS ~ Better Regulation Executive
Defra: The Third Sector Strategy One Year On report, has been published by Defra detailing the progress the department has made since the project’s launch in 2008. Defra’s Third Sector Strategy is part of the Government’s wider commitment to working with voluntary & charitable organisations and demonstrates the department’s commitment to helping these organisations promote environmental sustainability.
ScotGov: The Inspector of Constabulary's annual report says police forces, common services and their partners must work to deliver more efficient services and help minimise the effect the recession has on their budgets. The Annual Report from Her Majesty's Inspector for Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) also highlights improvements in policing.
ScotGov: NHSForthValley is the first health board to come under scrutiny from Scotland's newly-appointed hospital inspector. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon established the independent Healthcare Environment Inspectorate, headed by Chief Inspector Susan Brimelow, in April 2009.
Its work is designed to ensure public confidence in all aspects of the care environment in Scottish hospitals. In particular, it has a mandate to ensure the correct procedures are followed to prevent the spread of healthcare associated infections (HAI) such as MRSA and C.diff - so-called 'superbugs'.
DCSF: Children’s Minister Dawn Primarolo has called on local authorities & health trusts to continue to prioritise the Government’s teenage pregnancy strategy, to further bring down teenage conceptions. The call to action comes as the Government publishes its response to the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group (TPIAG) 2007/08 annual report.
The Government has taken forward all the major recommendations including making sex & relationship education statutory from 2011 and investing more than £45m in improving young people’s access to contraception.
