General Reports and Other Publications

Defra: Nitrofuran metabolites have been found in three samples of imported warm water prawns, a report published by the Veterinary Residues Committee (VRC) has revealed. The contaminated samples originated from India and Thailand.

Advice from the VRC is that the risk from infrequent exposure to very low levels of nitrofurans in food is likely to be low and the exposure indicated by the survey findings is not considered of concern for consumer safety. All remaining stock from the contaminated consignments was removed from the food chain as a precautionary measure.

This survey is the third brand naming study commissioned by the VRC and carried out by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).  The report details the commodity sampled, where the samples were collected and the results of the analyses.
Press release ~ Veterinary Residues Committee (VRC) ~ Nitrofurans and 2 previous Brand Naming reports ~ UK Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) ~ Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) ~ Food Standards Agency

DWP: Minister for Pension Reform James Purnell has welcomed the findings of an independent report examining the organisations involved in the regulation & protection of workplace pensions, which makes 3 key recommendations:

Press release ~ Report plus related documents and Links ~ White Paper 'Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system' ~ Pension Protection Fund ~ The Pensions Regulator ~ Financial Services Authority ~ Pensions Ombudsman ~ Financial Ombudsman Service

ESRC: Annual reports fail to capture the full value of companies’ innovative activities particularly in the services sector, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council shows. For the most innovative companies this may means that analysts do not have enough information to work out their true market value.

Reforming this area should be a key part of any proposal to reinstate a requirement for an operating & financial review (OFR) section in company reports, reform of which was unexpectedly dropped by the Government two years ago.

The research also highlights investors’ attitudes towards company strategy and risk.  Interviews with 27 key figures including analysts & fund managers found that investors look for a clear innovation strategy, which has a short- and long-term view of where returns can be generated.
Press release ~ 'Facilitating Innovation through the Measurement and Management of Intangibles' ~ ESRC Society Today ~ Evolution of Business Knowledge

Cabinet Office: The independent House of Lords Appointments Commission, which recommends non-party political peers and vets political nominees to the House of Lords for propriety, has published its annual report for 2006-2007. 

 

The Commission made 13 recommendations for non-party-political peers during the year, making a total of 42 since it was set up in 2000.

In an unprecedented move the Commission has taken the decision to highlight the failure of one political nominee, Irvine Laidlaw, to honour a commitment given to the Appointments Commission to become UK tax resident from April 2004. In 2005 the Commission changed its vetting policy and now declines to vet any nominee who is not already UK tax resident.
Press release ~ House of Lords Appointments Commission ~ Annual Report 2006/07BBC News: Q&A: Cash-for-honours ~ BBC News:  Who's who: Cash for honours row ~

Natural England: In response to the Government's consultation on the Marine Bill, Natural England (the Government's wildlife & landscape advisor) has called for the creation of new Marine Protected Areas and wants the Government to give it the power to identify, designate & manage these sites and have the ability to prosecute those who damage them.
Press release ~ Natural England's Board paper responding to Defra's Marine Bill consultation ~ Defra – Marine Bill consultation and related documents  ~ Marine Nature Reserves (MNR) ~ Virtual tour of Lundy Marine Nature Reserve (MNR)

NAO: Staff sickness absence in the Department for Transport and its agencies averaged 10.4 days in 2005, costing the taxpayer around £24 million a year, according to a new NAO report.  Performance varies across the Department, but the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Driving Standards Agency (DSA) had rates of 13.1 and 13.7 days respectively in 2006.  

These high rates are likely to be partly due to the large proportion of administrative staff at DVLA and high numbers of work-related injuries at DSA, but sickness absence is still higher than in other similar organisations (estimated at 10 days by the NAO).  Despite this, DVLA and DSA are performing well: the DVLA achieved almost all of its overall performance targets in 2005-06.

The report sets out further steps necessary for the Department to meet its target of 7.5 days sick leave per employee by 2010, which could save up to £38 million over five years.

The PCS union responded to the report commenting that; ‘Job cuts resulting in increasing workloads combined with an unacceptable rise in attacks on driving examiners is the real story here. If the DfT and its agencies are serious about tackling sickness absence then there needs to be a concerted attempt at recognising the causes and dealing with them in a proactive and positive manner’.
NAO press release ~ PCS press release ~ The Management of Staff Sickness Absence in Department of Transport and its agencies ~ Executive Summary

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