General Reports and Other Publications
Newswire – CBI: The CBI recently unveiled detailed analysis of the UK labour market, which reveals deep-seated structural problems which will not be solved by a return to economic growth alone. The report, Mapping the route to growth: rebalancing employment, marks the start of a major new project for the CBI which will explore what is needed to get the UK working.
By mapping the state of the labour market region-by-region, the CBI’s analysis reveals that the decade of growth before the recession masked entrenched problems, including pockets of long-term unemployment and inactivity, high public sector dependency and serious skills shortages.
DECC: The Department of Energy and Climate Change recently published an independent study on projected costs & deployment potential for different renewable electricity technologies up to 2030. The aim of the study is to provide baseline data to inform a consultation this summer on support levels for a range of renewable electricity technologies for the period 2013-17 under the Renewables Obligation. The study is an independent assessment of scope & potential of technologies, and not a statement of government policy.
DfE: The Department for Education has updated the information on FreeSchool groups that applied in the first round. Of the 323 proposals received, 41 were approved to move to business case & plan stage or beyond, although one proposal was subsequently withdrawn by the proposer.
CQC: The Care Quality Commission has published the findings of its first full review of compliance of services provided by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. Inspectors visited all 4 hospitals in January & February 2011, speaking to patients & staff, and reviewing a wide range of information. All 4 hospitals were found to be compliant with the 16 essential standards that relate most closely to quality & safety.
A separate report will be published next month on concerns which have been raised in relation to procedures in the operating theatres at the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske. Inspectors made an unannounced visit to the hospital on 25 May 2011 after a recent Never event. Never events are serious, largely preventable incidents which should not happen.
PC&PE: The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has published its legislative scrutiny report on the Education Bill that enhances the powers of staff to search pupils in schools. The report deals with 4 significant human rights issues:
* Extended powers to search pupils
* School exclusion appeals
* Teacher anonymity
* Free early years provision
CC: The Competition Commission (CC) has published its formal response to the Government’s consultation on reforms to the UK competition regime. The government proposals, which were published in March 2011, include merging the CC and competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) into a single Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Newswire – CBI: Reform of the competition system is needed to reduce business costs & bureaucracy to free up companies to invest so they can focus on growth & job creation, the CBI said this week, in its response to the Department for Business consultation Options for reform of the competition regime.
