General Reports and Other Publications
Defra: The England Implementation Group (EIG) has released its report into the implementation of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy. The report looks at how stakeholders, industry and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are implementing the Strategy across the board.
This, the second report, introduces the England Implementation Plan, which brings together details of the wide range of actions to which the sector councils and others have committed to help deliver the Strategy.
Press release ~ England Implementation Group (EIG) ~ Second report on progress delivering the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy for Great Britain in England ~ Animal Health and Welfare Strategy ~ England Implementation Plan
Ofwat: The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) has published its new strategy which sets out how it plans to develop economic regulation of the water and sewerage sectors in England & Wales. A key part of Ofwat's work over the next three years will be the price review. Ofwat recently published its final approach to setting price limits in 2009.
NAO: HM Revenue & Customs achieved a return of around £4.50 for every £1 spent on tackling the hidden economy in 2006-07 and recent campaigns to encourage people into the formal economy have achieved much higher returns. But, according to a report by the National Audit Office, the penalties the Department imposes when it detects people in the hidden economy are relatively low and it obtained little publicity for prosecutions.
HMRC has also encouraged people to come forward voluntarily to pay tax owed using its Offshore Disclosure arrangements, making use of information obtained on around 400,000 overseas bank accounts held by UK residents. Around 45,000 people came forward in 2007, bringing in £400m in additional tax at a cost of £6m.
Press release ~ Tackling the hidden economy ~ Executive Summary ~ Comparing how some tax authorities tackle the hidden economy ~ Offshore Disclosure arrangements
ScotGov: The new Scottish Government publication Estimating the Cost of Child Poverty - Approaches and Evidence gives a figure of £500m - £750m for the direct cost of child poverty due to extra spending on services.
But it also estimates that the annual knock-on cost to the public purse of young people not in employment, education or training could be as high as another £1bn.
But it also estimates that the annual knock-on cost to the public purse of young people not in employment, education or training could be as high as another £1bn.
The report takes evidence from selected wards and detailed data from a single local authority (Fife) and extrapolates the estimated additional costs associated with child poverty to give a figure for Scotland.
Press release ~ Estimating the Cost of Child Poverty - Approaches and Evidence ~ Taking Forward The Government Economic Strategy: A Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland ~ Fairer Scotland Fund ~ Community Planning Partnerships ~ Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland ~ Child Poverty in Social Inclusion Partnerships ~ JRF: Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Scotland 2006 ~ Barnardos – Child poverty in Scotland
CCWater: The Consumer Council for Water has welcomed the All Party Parliamentary Water Group's (APPWG) report - The Future of the UK Water Sector, and the key proposals put forward to make things better for water consumers.
The APPWG report acknowledges that there are numerous challenges in the water sector including affordability of bills, water saving and efficiency, flooding, and the current regulatory system, and stresses that consumers should be the focal point when possible solutions are considered.
