Consultations

DECC: Proposals to reduce the financial support available to larger scale solar-produced electricity have been published for consultation (closes on Friday 6 May 2011) by the Government as part of plans to protect financial support for homes, communities & small businesses. This consultation also covers proposals to provide added support to farm-scale anaerobic digestion given the disappointing uptake of such technologies to date.
Press release
 
WAG: New planning guidance that will support the future of the Welsh language is being proposed by Minister for Environment & Planning, Jane Davidson. The Assembly Government is consulting on new proposals that specify how the Welsh language should be factored into the local planning process in an effort to support the needs & interests of the language. The consultation will close on 13 June 2011.
Press release
 
GEO: Reforms to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will ‘make it a stronger, more focussed and more efficient organisation’, Home Secretary and Minister for Women & Equalities Theresa May said last week. The Government Equalities Office has published detailed plans for major changes to the way the EHRC operates.  The reforms will ‘correct mistakes of the past and increase transparency, accountability and value for money’. The proposals are contained in a consultation that will closes on 15 June 2011.
 
Ministers plan to make changes in 3 key areas:
* Clarifying the EHRC's remit
* Stopping non-core activities
* Improving transparency and value for money
Press release ~ Reform of the Equality and Human Rights Commission ~ Related PCS press release ~ EHRC
 
DH: The use of antivirals, pandemic vaccines and planning assumptions are among the issues that have been set out in a consultation launched to update the cross-Government pandemic flu strategy (closes on Friday 17 June 2011). The UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy updates the 2007 National Framework to encompass the lessons learnt from swine flu.  

It includes a new emphasis on planning for different scenarios according to the nature & scale of illness and highlights key impacts on wider society. The finalised Strategy will be published later in the year.
Press release
 
Ofsted: Ofsted has launched a consultation (closes 20 May 2011) on the inspection of maintained schools & academies in England.  The changes follow proposals announced in the 2011 Education Bill and aim to re-focus school inspection on what matters most: the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom, backed by excellent leadership & management and good discipline & behaviour in schools. The consultation seeks views on the detail of how Ofsted will implement these changes.
 
The consultation also seeks views on when Ofsted should inspect.  Outstanding schools will no longer be subject to routine inspections (unless concerns about their performance are identified) and the consultation asks for views on the factors inspectors should consider when assessing whether an inspection is needed.  In addition, it asks for views on plans to carry out more frequent inspections of weaker schools and on the circumstances in which schools may request an inspection.
 
As well as the consultation, Ofsted will be testing the new inspection arrangements in pilot inspections, with a view to introducing the new system in January 2012, subject to the successful passage of the Education Bill.
Press release ~ Inspection 2012: proposals for inspection arrangements for maintained schools from January 2012 consultation paper
 
WAG: Environment Minister, Jane Davidson, is urging food manufacturers, shops & the service sector in Wales to do more to prevent waste and avoid sending rubbish to landfill. She is reminding them that it isn’t just councils & householders who need to change the way they deal with their waste if Wales is to reach its ambition of recycling 70% of its waste by 2025 and becoming zero waste by 2050.
 
The Minister opened consultation (closes on 22 June 2011) on the Food Manufacture, Service and Retail Sector Plan for waste with a visit to Wales' first commercial-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) plant.
 

The InSource Energy plant at Premier Foods Ltd’s RF Brookes factory near Newport is one of the first in the to use waste from food production to create energy to feed back into the production process.  It is currently at commissioning stage and will be fully operational summer 2011
Press release ~ InSource Energy plant 
 

NE: A report setting out proposals for the first stretch of the EnglandCoast Path between Lulworth & Portland have been submitted by Natural England to the Secretary of State.  The publication marks the start of the period for formal representations & objections.  Anyone can make representations to NE about the report.

Owners & occupiers of affected land may make formal objections about the report on specified grounds, which will be considered by a Planning Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State.  All representations & objections must be received by NE no later than midnight on 17 May 2011.
Press release
 
Ofcom: Ofcom has recently announced plans for the largest ever single auction of additional spectrum for mobile services in the UK, equivalent to 75% of the mobile spectrum in use today and 80% more than the 3G auction which took place in 2000.  The new spectrum will provide much needed capacity for the fourth generation (4G) of mobile technology, set to deliver significantly faster mobile broadband services – approaching today’s ADSL home broadband speeds.
 
Ofcom wants the benefits of 4G services to be available as soon as possible and we are therefore aiming to start the auction in the first quarter of 2012, subject to this consultation (closes on 31 May 2011).
Press release ~ Ofcom consultation ~ PwC comment on Ofcom consultation
 
EU NewsOn-line gambling is a fast developing business in Europe, with almost 15,000 websites already identified & total annual revenues exceeding €6bn in 2008 and expected to double in size by 2013.  National legal frameworks vary enormously across the EU, with different rules applying to licensing, related on-line services, payments, public interest objectives, and the fight against fraud.
 
The primary aim of the Green Paper consultation, launched last week ( closes on 31 July 2011), is therefore to obtain a facts-based picture of the existing situation in the EU on-line gambling market and of the different national regulatory models.
Press release
 
EU News: Coastal & marine areas offer significant opportunities for economic development, leisure & living.  They host rich but fragile biodiversity.  Transparent planning & management of European waters are needed to balance the interests at play against sustaining the long-term benefit of coastal & marine resources to society.
 
With these objectives in mind, the European Commission has launched a public consultation (closes on 20 May 2011) to explore options for future EU action on Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Zone Management.  The Commission is seeking the views of all interested individuals & organisations.
Press release
 
EU News: The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has invited citizens, interest groups, and other organisations to submit comments on a draft statement of principles that should guide the conduct of EU civil servants.

The draft ‘public service principles’ take account of best practice in the Member States, established through a consultation with the European Network of Ombudsmen.  Comments can be submitted until 15 May 2011 and will be considered before the principles are finalised.
Press release
Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story