General Reports and Other Publications
HMIC: The Policing Pledge is a set of promises from the police on the service they should provide and every force has committed to keeping those promises. HMIC published a review that reports how far the Policing Pledge has become a reality since its introduction in December 2008.
Inspectors found that there were a number of improvements needed, including:
* more work on communicating the Pledge to the public
* a better system to handle public dissatisfaction with police services in local areas
* assessing the actual visibility time of policing teams in neighbourhoods
* ensuring better contact with victims before an alleged suspect is charged
* developing better ways to spread good practice
* a better system to handle public dissatisfaction with police services in local areas
* assessing the actual visibility time of policing teams in neighbourhoods
* ensuring better contact with victims before an alleged suspect is charged
* developing better ways to spread good practice
CQC: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published an inspection report on the Yorkshire-based independent mental health hospital, Linden House in Market Weighton near York. The report says improvements have been made in relation to concerns about the quality of care following an unannounced inspection in March. But the Commission makes clear that further significant progress is required.
Inspectors assessed the low- and medium-secure hospital against statutory requirements made last year. As a result, Linden House now faces further enforcement action over breach of the Private and Voluntary Health Care Regulations (2001).
Ofsted: Ofsted’s report, Supporting young carers, has found that councils are not doing enough to identify & support young people who help to care for their disabled parents, according to a survey of eight council areas and 50 young carers.
Inconsistent joint working between councils and their partners, lack of awareness by some professionals, and families’ reluctance to engage with service providers are among the key barriers in identifying & supporting young carers – See also ‘In the News’ section for related item.
IfL: The Institute for Learning (IfL), which is the professional body for teachers & trainers in the further education & skills sector, has given evidence to a select committee inquiry into training & development arrangements for FE teachers.
The purpose of the evidence session was to examine the arrangements for those wanting to teach in the sector, including:
* teacher training qualifications for FE teachers
* registration requirements for FE teachers
* the staffing of vocational programmes in schools and colleges
* co-ordination across the agencies concerned with teacher training for schools and for colleges.
Press release ~ Video of the 8 June 2009 session ~ Ofsted's report: The initial training of further education teachers ~ Institute for Learning (IfL)
CRC: The Commission for Rural Communities has helped fund a new IPPR report into 'Migration and Rural Economies: Assessing and adressing risks'. It examines the roles migrants to rural areas are playing, the economic impacts of migration on existing populations & businesses and what future migratory trends might be.
The report considers whether recent migration to rural Britain has led to any risks for rural economies and, if so, how these risks can be managed.
Press release ~
HMIC: A new Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary report shows that members of the public are not getting a good deal, in terms of crime fighting & financial efficiency, for the substantial amounts of taxpayers' money spent on policing in England & Wales.
Getting Together, discloses that police forces with the most effective joint working arrangements across traditional force boundaries are getting the best results on organised crime. HMIC found they mount full-scale operations against four times as many crime gangs, including drug traffickers, compared with forces that do not collaborate.
Some forces & authorities spend more than twice as much on human resources as others. Average police spending in this area is above the rest of the public sector, where collaboration is more advanced. There are similar variations in costs for finance services.
Getting Together proposes a robust, transparent, market-style system to help police forces overcome barriers to collaboration. A new 'Informed Choice Model' (ICM) will give senior officers & authorities information on the range of costs & risks and where the best option can be found for the public by collaboration or other means.
Press release ~ Getting Together - a better deal for the public through joint working ~ Home Office – Police reform ~ Police efficiency and productivity
NAO/CQC: The Department of Health has met its target to reduce MRSA bloodstream infections by 50% by 2008 and has made encouraging progress towards its target to reduce Clostridium difficile infections, according to a National Audit Office report published last week.
However, blood stream infections due to other causes may be increasing. There is also no national data that captures information on some of the most common healthcare associated infections, such as urinary tract infections and pneumonia.
Nigel Ellis, Head of National Assessment & Inspection at the Care Quality Commission said: “While the NHS as a whole is doing better, there are still individual trusts that have a great deal of room for improvement…… We will keep up the pressure and encourage the NHS to stay focussed on improvements. That will include taking swift enforcement action if we find unacceptable performance.”
NAO press release ~ CQC press release ~ Reducing healthcare associated infections in hospitals in England ~ Care Quality Commission (CQC) - HAI ~ DH – Hospital cleanliness ~ The Health Act 2006 Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Health Care Associated Infection ~ DH - Healthcare associated infection ~ Health Protection Agency - HAI ~ Showcase Hospitals Programme ~ clean-safe-care.nhs ~ Smart solutions for HCAI ~ 'Clean, safe care' ~ DH cleaner hospitals website ~ Hospital Infection Society ~ BBC Panorama programme – How safe is your hospital ~ Fudging the figures?
NSG: The Leading Innovation report to be launched on 16 June 2009 shows transformative & collaborative leadership is critical to creating the conditions for innovation. The report suggests that civil service leaders need to create opportunities for policy-makers to reconnect to the front-line.
This transformation involves government officials having more appreciation of the public as a resource and not as a problem. Ultimately it is the public’s engagement, motivation and aspirations that will forge the relationships to provide the foundations for a more innovative approach to public service.
The key message from the Hub’s Vertical Network is that while transformative leaders are building mature partnerships for shared practices across localities, now is the time for much more bridge building between localities and central government & Whitehall departments.
Press release ~ Change You Can Believe In: The Leadership of Innovation ~ Innovation Nation White Paper ~ National School of Government – Sunningdale Institute ~ ‘Leadership: problems, strategies and systems: making space to think’ ~ Evidence Based Policy-Making report ~ NSG - Professional Skills for Government (PSG)
