General Reports and Other Publications
HC: The Healthcare Commission (HC) says that most primary care trusts are commissioning services that only deliver the basic needs for people with diabetes and that PCTs need to improve the help they offer people with diabetes to manage their condition.
The Commission found that trusts that were rated ‘fair’ and ’weak’ (85%)were not commissioning services that offered enough support to people with diabetes to manage their condition. Managing their own condition, and being given the support to do so, can have significant benefits for a person with diabetes, helping to prevent the onset of diabetic complications such as heart problems, blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation.
These complications not only have physical effects for people with diabetes, but there is also a large & growing financial impact on the NHS. In 2002, £1.3bn, or around 5% of total NHS expenditure, was used to care for people with diabetes.
Press release ~ Service review of diabetes ~ DH – Diabetes ~ 2001 Diabetes National Service Framework ~ Diabetes UK ~ National Diabetes Support Team ~ Education for patients
Defra: Environment Minister Phil Woolas has published the report of review of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP), which was part of a government recommendation that public bodies are subjected to periodic study to ensure that they are still delivering high quality services and are adequately resourced.
The report does not constitute Defra’s policy position and Defra will now examine the options proposed in the report in more detail and explore their financial and organisational implications before formulating a government response later in the year.
Defra: The Government has published its response to the Farm Animal Welfare Council's report on the welfare implications of animal breeding and breeding technologies.
Defra has accepted or partially accepted several of FAWC's 8 recommendations, including that surveillance systems should be established to monitor on-farm welfare problems associated with breeding, and to monitor farms where new breed types or new breeding technologies are first introduced into commercial practice.
In the response Defra has also recognised the improvements made since the FAWC report was published. For example, a new EU-wide code of practice for animal breeding technologies is now in place. The breeding industry now routinely incorporates animal health & welfare considerations into breeding programmes.
Press release ~ FAWC Report on the Welfare Implications of Animal Breeding and Breeding Technologies in Commercial Agriculture ~ Government’s response ~ Farm Animal Welfare Council ~ Defra – Animal Welfare
MoD: Defence Secretary Des Browne has responded verbally to the House of Common's Defence Committee report on UK Operations in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence will consider the Defence Committees report in detail and will make a formal response in due course.
The ISAF mission in Afghanistan currently consists of approximately 36,000 troops of which around 7,100 are UK forces.
Ofsted: Too great a focus on a relatively small number of issues means pupils are not able to answer the ‘big questions’ in history. They lack an overview of history, are not good at establishing a sense of chronology and cannot make connections between areas they have studied.
This important curriculum weakness is affecting standards in primary and secondary schools, according to History in the balance: History in English Schools 2003-07, published recently by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
Ofsted recommends that the curriculum should be revised to ensure that pupils have a better understanding of chronology in history. A compulsory core of knowledge & skills should be balanced with more flexible elements that respond to local needs.
The curriculum is heavily based on aspects of English history:
* Scotland, Wales and Ireland are very largely overlooked, as are major European and world themes
* In many schools the stories of the people who have come to Britain over the centuries are ignored
Appropriate curriculum innovation to include these stories could go a long way towards raising standards, helping pupils understand the contemporary world, and countering prejudice.
Press release ~ History in the balance: History in English Schools 2003-07 ~ Diversity and citizenship ~ DfES - Citizenship ~ Historical Association ~ The Standards Site: Teaching history at key stages 1 and 2 ~ Practical Support Pack - Secondary history
Scottish Executive: The Inspectorate of Prosecution has published a thematic report on liaison in death cases, with particular reference to organ retention.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prosecution Joe O'Donnell said:
"The role of the Procurator Fiscal in the investigation of deaths is an important one and not as widely understood by the public compared to the role of prosecution of crime. This report looks at liaison between Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and nearest relatives in death cases and, following public concern, pays particular attention to organ retention”.
Press release ~ IPS - Thematic Report on Liaison in Death Cases with particular ref. to Organ Retention ~ Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland ~ Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
ESRC: A study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, of community renewable energy projects in Britain has found that so far, projects are largely based in the countryside, some quite remote. From wind turbines to shared heating systems, small-scale renewable energy doesn’t just help in the fight against climate change. It can also bring people together, revitalise local economies and help alleviate poverty.
This study documented more than 500 community energy projects happening in the UK, far more than researchers expected to find. It is suggested that some renewable technologies, like wind turbines or biomass heating, are more suited to rural areas, where they can provide a new source of income for farmers.
Many villages are off the gas network and electricity supplies may be unreliable, so there is more drive towards alternative sources of energy.
Press release ~ Community Energy Initiatives: Embedding Sustainable Technology at a Local Level’ ~ ESRC Society Today ~ Renewable Energy - DTI ~ The Renewable Energy Centre ~ The Breen Energy website
NAO: The process for setting the London 2012 Games budget has been thorough, the National Audit Office has reported, but the level of public funding has increased greatly and significant areas of uncertainty remain including the finalisation of the design of venues and the intended wider benefits.
These are the main findings in a new report which examines the development of the budget for the Games. At the time of the bid to host the Games the estimated gross cost was just over £4 billion, to be met by £3.4 billion in public funding and an anticipated £700 million from the private sector.
The budget announced in March 2007 is now over £9 billion and it includes a number of new costs & provisions which account for much of the increase from the time of the bid, including the Olympic Delivery Authority’s programme management budget, contingency, tax and security.
The report states that the revised funding package is sufficient to cover the estimated costs of the Games, with the important proviso that the assumptions on which the budget is based hold good.
Press release ~ The budget for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games ~ Executive summary ~ Preparat ions for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games – Risk assessment and management ~ London 2012
Scottish Executive: More & more women are being sent to Cornton Vale and more of them display a combination of bad physical & mental health, addiction and history of abuse, according to the latest report published by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland.
Dr Andrew McLellan's report, based on a follow up inspection of the prison and Young Offenders Institutions in March this year, highlights that:
* The physical & mental health of most women entering Cornton vale is very poor
* Prisoner numbers continue to rise, and a fire has put even more strain on facilities
* It could be possible for a woman to have to wait for an hour before being given access to the toilet
* There is a lack of purposeful activity for prisoners on remand
* The unacceptable practice of handcuffing all women under escort, regardless of level of risk, continues
Press release ~ HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland ~ 2006 report ~ 2007 Follow-up report ~ BBC Inside Out - Women in Prison ~ Female Offenders - Introduction ~ A better way for women offenders ~ BBC News - Women offered prison alternative ~ Women in Prison in Scotland - An Unmet Commitment
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