General News
FDA: The FDA union has welcomed the Public Administration Select Committee’s (PASC’s) report which recommends cutting the number of junior ministers by a third and halving the number of parliamentary private secretaries.
FDA general secretary Jonathan Baume said: “…. The FDA has for some time advocated cutting the number of junior ministers, which has grown rapidly in the past decade to a level that is wholly unsustainable. …… As PASC’s report makes clear, this proliferation has lead to a clogging up of the decision-making process as lines of responsibility become unclear. In this period of fiscal austerity, it is also clearly inappropriate for civil service resources to be diverted into boosting - through announcements & initiatives - the public profiles of large numbers of junior ministers.”
Also last week, the FDA welcomed the report by the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, which addresses the operation of the CPS London Area.
Paul Whiteman, FDA national officer responsible for members in the CPS, said: “It is regrettable that the report finds much amiss in the London Area, but the FDA is pleased that it confirms that CPS staff (FDA members) are hard-working and determined to provide a good service to Londoners.
The difficulties appear to be due to ‘initiative overload’ and resourcing problems. ….. Inadequate case preparation time is just one of the symptoms of taking resources away from the front line. Our members have been overburdened - and unjustly criticised as a result - for far too long”.
FDA Cut Ministers press release ~ PASC press release ~ Public Administration Select Committee’s (PASC’s) report: Too Many Ministers? ~ FDA CPS press release ~ Review of the performance of CPS London ~ Head of CPS London plans to turn service around ~ HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate ~ FDA
WAG: Social Justice Minister, Carl Sargeant has responded to the report into the affairs of Plas Madoc Communities First partnership in Wrexham (published last week) by setting out his intentions for the programme in Plas Madoc.
Serious failings have been identified regarding the arrangements for achieving value for money, financial control, and to wider governance issues – in particular behaviours out of line with the Standards of Conduct in Public Life set out by Lord Nolan, the Nolan Principles.
Press release ~ Investigation report ~ Plas Madoc Communities First partnership ~ Standards of Conduct in Public Life ~ Nolan Principles ~ Communities First Advice Service ~ Wales Council for Voluntary Action ~ WAG: Housing and community
Newswire – EC: British citizens living abroad need to act now if they want to vote in the forthcoming UK general election, the Electoral Commission has warned. They can register as ‘overseas voters’ if they have been registered to vote in the UK at any time within the past 15 years.
Voters can apply for a postal vote when they register, but will need to consider if there will be enough time for postal votes to be sent to where they live, completed & returned in only a few days.
Voters can apply for a postal vote when they register, but will need to consider if there will be enough time for postal votes to be sent to where they live, completed & returned in only a few days.
For many people (especially those living further afield) the timescales involved will mean a proxy vote will be more appropriate. A proxy vote means asking someone you know & trust in the UK to vote on your behalf.
ScotGov: An extra Bank Holiday has been announced for the summer of 2012 to mark The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. First Minister Alex Salmond confirmed that the extra holiday on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 would apply to Scotland and that the traditional late May Bank Holiday would be moved to Monday, June 4, 2012, providing for a 4-day weekend to celebrate Her Majesty's 60 years on the throne.
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