General Reports and Other Publications

DemosChild nutrition advice should be displayed on supermarket shelves and online parenting forums to make it more accessible to parents, according to a Demos report. Clearer information is necessary as a survey of over 1,800 mothers reveals many are ‘in the dark’ about healthy eating for pre-school children.
 
The report, titled For Starters, found 54% felt information they received on weaning to be confusing or contradictory. Half of the mothers surveyed were also unsure about correct portion sizes for their babies & toddlers as they are growing up.  This has clear implications for rates of childhood obesity in the UK.
Press release & links
 
EHRC: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has welcomed a report from the Government Equalities Office, which dispels the myth that businesses believe the Equality Act adds to unnecessary red tape

In the report, feedback from the business community shows that 90% of businesses surveyed support equality in the workplace as a benefit rather than a bureaucratic burden.
Press release ~ Evaluation of the Implementation of the Equality Act 2010
 
NAO: In a review of the London 2012 Games, the National Audit Office has underlined the success of the Games and stressed the importance of building on that success to deliver the promised legacy benefits.
Press release & links
 
TKF: There are significant variations in the quality of primary care in London, according to a new report, General practice in London: Supporting improvements in quality, commissioned by NHS London from The King's Fund and Imperial College London.
 
General practice in London faces unique challenges – its population is more transient & diverse, with hundreds of different first languages spoken.  It is also growing faster than elsewhere in England.  

While on some measures Londoners are healthier than people from other parts of the country, widespread inequalities exist, with life expectancy varying by up to 9 years and infant mortality varying threefold between different parts of the capital.
Press release & links
 
NOThere were flaws in the way the London Borough of Newham responded when a woman with a young son approached it for help with housing, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin. 

A woman with a young son approached the Council for help with housing after her sister told her she could no longer live with her.  The Council gave her an appointment with the Housing Options Team two months after she approached it for help and did not offer her interim accommodation in the meantime.
Press release & links
 
NAO: The Department for Transport competition to let the Intercity West Coast franchiselacked management oversight & the governance of the project was confused’, according to the National Audit Office.  

The spending watchdog has concluded that the full cost to the taxpayer is unknown, but likely to be significant, with at least £1.9m in staff & adviser costs, £2.7m in legal costs and £4.3m on external advisers for the reviews that it has commissioned.

The report identifies five essential safeguards against poor decision making in major projects.  These are necessary to enable officials to assure Ministers & Parliament that decisions are sound and are value for money.  However, in the case of the Intercity West Coast competition, none of these lines of defence operated effectively.
Press release & links
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