Consultations
DCSF: Parents, health and education professionals are being asked for their views on specialist provision for the 89,000 school-aged children and young people with speech, language and communications needs. The formal "call for evidence" is a key part of the independent review into speech & language provision, led by John Bercow MP.
The review will make recommendations on how the very best provision can be mirrored in all areas, so every young person up to 19-years-old with speech & language difficulties gets support as early as possible. It will also advise on how local services can work closer together so children get the support they need, when they need it.
The review's website has also been launched - with a formal list of questions for the call for evidence being published on it shortly. The final report will be published in summer 2008 and the Government will respond afterwards.
Press release ~ Review website ~ Teachernet, Communication and interaction needs ~ Overview of the services that Speech and Language Therapists can provide to children and young people ~ TeacherNet: Speech and language therapy
Ofwat: The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) has published its first major consultation on how it will set price limits for customers' water and sewerage bills for the five years from 2010 to 2015. The consultation paper describes the approach that the regulator will take to make sure that the prices companies charge their customers are designed to deliver the best results for those customers.
One new development is the requirement for all companies to publish a 25-year strategic direction statement. This will show how each company proposes to tackle long term issues such as climate change, the development of competition and, where relevant, increased housing development.
Following consultation on the methodology paper (closes 24 January 2008)Ofwat will publish its final guidance paper in March 2008 to enable water companies to deliver their draft business plans in August 2008.
Press release ~ 'Setting price limits for 2010-15: Framework and approach - a consultation paper' ~ 'PR09/02: Menu regulation proposals for PR09' ~ 'PR09/03: Risk allocation, investment incentives and the financing of regulated business' ~ 'PR09/04: The opex incentive allowance and the out-performance multiplier for 2005-10'
CRC: The Commission for Rural Communities has responded to the CLG's consultation (closed 19 October 2007) on Shared Ownership and Leasehold Enfranchisement saying that ‘the Government has recognised the difficulties of providing affordable areas in some areas where development is constrained by consulting on changes that would limit the amount of a shared ownership house that could be owned by a resident’.
The CRC are calling for the ability to limit the amount an individual can own to 80% in all settlements of less than 3,000 population and in all settlements within the boundaries of areas subject to national and international environmental designations.
Defra: More than four in five responses to government consultation supported plans for a Marine Bill which would introduce new laws to improve the conservation & management of the UK's marine environment. There were 8,519 responses to the Marine Bill White Paper, A Sea Change, with 82% support for the Bill. The responses will help to shape final government proposals.
Press release ~ Summary of responses ~ Defra – Marine Bill ~ Natural England's Board paper responding to Defra's Marine Bill consultation ~ Marine Nature Reserves (MNR) ~ Virtual tour of Lundy Marine Nature Reserve (MNR) ~ Marine Climate Change Impact Partnership's Annual Report Card ~ EU Maritime Green Paper ~ Related EU documents ~ Our coasts and seas - making space for people, industry and wildlife ~ Maritime State of Nature Report for England: getting onto an even keel ~ WWF Marine & coastal systems website ~ Related reports
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