General Reports and Other Publications
NAO/MoD: The current defence programme is unaffordable, according to a report from the National Audit Office. The Ministry of Defence has already reduced the deficit between the defence budget and planned expenditure by £15bn, but a shortfall of between £6bn and £36bn remains. The financial crisis means a substantial increase in funding is unlikely and closing the gap will require bold action as part of the Strategic Defence Review, which is expected after the General Election.
To address the deficit the Ministry of Defence has reduced equipment numbers being bought on some projects and taken short-term decisions to slip other projects. This short-term approach to savings will lead to long-term cost increases.
As part of its annual review of major defence projects, the NAO has found that the current cost of 15 major military projects has risen by £3.6bn, compared with the expected costs when the investment decisions were taken. The total slippage, averaged over the 14 major projects with in service dates, is over two years per project.
NAO press release ~ MoD response press release ~ Executive summary ~ Full report ~ Appendices and Project Summary Sheets
DCSF: As part of the National Year of Reading last year, the Government launched 2 programmes aimed at encouraging more young people into reading for pleasure, targeted at boys aged 5 - 11 and all children aged 3 - 5. It also aimed to strengthen the partnership between primary schools, Early Years settings and public library services in England, with almost a million new books purchased as part of the £10m investment.
The evaluation, carried out by the Museums and Libraries Association (MLA), shows that:
* around 330,000 boys aged 5 - 11 were involved in activities as part of the Boys into Books campaign including reading groups, storytelling sessions and library visits
* over 1,100 primary schools and 2,600 Early Years centres have established new links with their local library for the first time, leading to a sharp increase in visits to libraries outside school hours
* as part of the Book Ahead programme, children aged 3-5 took part in over 4,500 storytelling session, 5,400 nursery rhyme time sessions and 1,600 book talks
Press release ~ School Libraries Association Boys into Books ~ Book Ahead ~ MLA – Research reports (2)
BIS: High-level Principles on scientific advice to Government to ensure effective engagement between the Government and those who provide independent science & engineering advice have been published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Principles cover trust, respect, independence, transparency & openness and aim to clarify the relationship between advice & policy, as well as strengthen public trust in the process (see press release for details).
The Government welcomes views on these Principles and on wider issues relating to the use of science and engineering advice by Government, as part of the consultation on the GCSA’s Guidelines for the Use of Scientific Analysis in Policy Making (which runs until 9 February 2010).
Press release ~ Guidelines on Scientific Analysis in Policy Making - a consultation ~ Government Office for Science
CO: A new report from the Social Exclusion Task Force - Learning from the Past: Tackling worklessness and the social impacts of the recession - argues that beating the social impacts of recession is crucial in preventing the downward spiral into long-term worklessness that the country has seen in the past.
The report outlines how previous recessions have resulted in not just rising unemployment, but also increases in crime, mental health problems and family & relationship breakdown. It highlights the social impacts of previous recessions and how this time round (despite steeper falls in GDP) labour market effects have been less severe than in the past. It also sets out what a 'Total Place' approach to worklessness and the social impacts of the recession would look like.
Press release ~ Social Exclusion Task Force ~ Learning from the Past: Tackling worklessness and the social impacts of the recession ~ 'Total Place' approach to worklessness Seminar series
MoJ: The report of an inquiry into the death of Bernard Lodge, who died at HMP Manchester on 28 August 1998 has been published by Claire Ward. Bernard Lodge (who was also known as Sonny Lodge) died at Manchester Prison on 28 August 1998. The inquest into his death was held in 2001. The verdict was that Mr Lodge killed himself.
Mr Lodge's family argued that the inquest was insufficient to meet the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Ministry of Justice commissioned an independent investigation to examine the circumstances in which Mr Lodge took his own life and to see whether there are lessons to be learned that might contribute to the care of prisoners at risk of suicide & self-harm.
Ofsted: Ofsted has released the findings of a 3-year inspection programme looking at improvement in education for sustainable development in a selection of schools. The small-scale survey, which followed a group of schools over a 3-year period, reveals that a focus on sustainable development is not only having a direct impact on the actions of pupils and their families, but on the wider community as well. It also shows that schools themselves are reaping benefits from improved provision through cost savings and better behaviour.
The report - Education for sustainable development: improving schools – improving lives - showcases examples of effective teaching & learning and the positive impact it is having on pupils’ increasingly responsible attitude to sustainable development in the sample of schools. The report recommends that to meet the Government’s target for all schools to be sustainable schools by 2020, sustainability has to be a priority in all schools’ improvement plans.
Press release ~ ‘Education for sustainable development: improving schools – improving lives’ ~ Taking the first step forward – towards an education for sustainable development ~ Schools and sustainability – a climate for change
Defra: Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, has published the latest report on the progress the Government has made in implementing the recommendations of the Pitt Review on the 2007 floods. The Flood and Water Management Bill, which will enable Pitt recommendations that require legislation to be implemented, has been introduced in the House of Commons.
Newswire – Chadwick: Sir John Chadwick has issued a second interim report that sets out:
* The scope of the work that will be required following his Revised Terms of Reference
* The case for adopting a 'flexible' approach to calculating policyholders' relative loss
* The list of questions that he will need to address in his final advice
Those wishing to make representations on Sir John's approach or to answer the questions he feels he may need to answer should send written comments to him by 29 January 2010.
