General Reports and Other Publications
IFS: Choice & competition have been at the centre of many of the most ambitious reforms of the last decade aimed at boosting quality & efficiency in the NHS. Yet there has been very little evidence on their impact.
A report by researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, commissioned with the Nuffield Trust as part of the new joint programme Understanding Competition & Choice, provides the first insights into how choice reforms implemented under the Blair government in 2006 and 2008 have changed where care takes place.
Socitm: What might local public services take from the new Government Digital Strategy unveiled by the Cabinet Office on 6 November 2012, asks the latest briefing from Socitm Insight.
The new Government Digital Strategy: what should local public services take from it? begins by reminding readers that the strategy has been written for central government, and goes on to describe key differences in the governance of local public services, the nature of the services themselves, and the ways in which they are delivered to citizens.
The new Government Digital Strategy: what should local public services take from it? begins by reminding readers that the strategy has been written for central government, and goes on to describe key differences in the governance of local public services, the nature of the services themselves, and the ways in which they are delivered to citizens.
CBI: The CBI is calling for a radical shake up of schools from nursery to sixth form to ensure all young people achieve their potential. In a new report, the CBI warns the education system fosters a cult of the average; too often failing to stretch the most able or support those that need most help.
IoE: Recently, Nesta launched its report: Decoding Learning: The Proof, Promise and Potential of Digital Education. The report was written for Nesta by researchers at the Institute of Education’s London Knowledge Lab (LKL) and Learning Sciences Research Institute (LSRI) at Nottingham University and it pulls together evidence about the innovative use of technology to support learning and the impact this can have for students.
NO: Isle of Wight Council wrongly withdrew social services support from a child in need, leading to cancellation of a residential school placement, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin.
In her report she says: “Given the view of the child’s consultant psychiatrist, I do not consider there is any doubt that proper and timely review of her residential placement would have confirmed the need for it to continue. So she was wrongly deprived of the continuity of care and security that is so vital to her wellbeing … And her parents and siblings had significantly less relief from her challenging and at times frightening behaviour.”
In her report she says: “Given the view of the child’s consultant psychiatrist, I do not consider there is any doubt that proper and timely review of her residential placement would have confirmed the need for it to continue. So she was wrongly deprived of the continuity of care and security that is so vital to her wellbeing … And her parents and siblings had significantly less relief from her challenging and at times frightening behaviour.”
nef: Two years ago, Prime Minister David Cameron gave the Office for National Statistics the green light to begin a new programme for Measuring National Well-Being. A key part of the programme was to begin to collect subjective well-being data on a scale never before seen.
Last week, to coincide with the Office for National Statistics’ 2-year anniversary event, the New Economics Foundation launched Well-being patterns uncovered – their report based on new data (the Office for National Statistics have also launched a report, entitled Measuring National Well-Being: Life in the UK 2012).
Their report highlights the value of the data to analysts both inside government and outside, in terms of identifying population groups with low well-being, and the factors associated with high well-being.
Their report highlights the value of the data to analysts both inside government and outside, in terms of identifying population groups with low well-being, and the factors associated with high well-being.
nef: The New Economics Foundation has released latest interim findings from its New Austerity Big Society project, which present some of the unfolding stories, testimonies & case studies of life ‘at the end of our welfare state’.
IfG: Two years after the government announced a radical & transparent new way of tracking performance through departmental Business Plans, the Institute for Government says they are of limited use & lack political backing.
PC&PE: The Government's plans for reforming the civil service must not undermine its impartiality, says the House of Lords Constitution Committee in its new report, The Accountability of Civil Servants, published last week.
The Committee is concerned that proposals in the Governments Civil Service Reform Plan, such as allowing ministers to select departmental permanent secretaries from a shortlist and directly to appoint civil servants on fixed-term contracts, could risk undermining the impartiality of the civil service, threaten the principle that appointments are based on merit and make it harder for officials to give honest advice to ministers.
LGA: Councils would be able to build 60,000 new homes over the next 5 years if Government gave local authorities more discretion over borrowing, a new report published last week claims.
The report ‘Let's get building' argues that a shortage of finance is the main obstacle stopping contractors getting to work – and that councils could help plug the gap if a centrally-imposed debt ceiling which prevents local authorities from maximising the value tied up in their housing stock was removed.
The report ‘Let's get building' argues that a shortage of finance is the main obstacle stopping contractors getting to work – and that councils could help plug the gap if a centrally-imposed debt ceiling which prevents local authorities from maximising the value tied up in their housing stock was removed.
Under current estimates, councils would be able to fund the building of 15,000 homes over the next five years. But if the cap were to be removed, this figure could be quadrupled.
NO: London Borough of Croydon failed to provide education for two children for more than 6 months, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin.
In her report she says “the Council did not allocate places for either child for more than six months after the complainant made her in-year application. While there were reasons this was not possible, the Council should have offered alternative educational provision. It did not do so.”
In her report she says “the Council did not allocate places for either child for more than six months after the complainant made her in-year application. While there were reasons this was not possible, the Council should have offered alternative educational provision. It did not do so.”
RM: Royal Mail has welcomed independent inquiry's recommendations for tackling dog attacks on postal workers. Its report calls for tougher legislation against owners of dangerous dogs and recommends Royal Mail should actively pursue legal action against the owners of dogs which attack postmen & women. Over 3,000 postmen & women were attacked across the UK by dogs from April 2011 to April 2012
HL: A report published recently, ‘Universal Credit implementation: meeting the needs of vulnerable claimants’, by the Work and Pensions Committee warns that significant concerns remain about the potential impact of the Universal Credit changes on some of the most vulnerable benefit claimants.
In its evidence to the committee, Homeless Link and its members expressed concerns about the:
* Rapid implementation of such a fundamental reform
* Lack of plans to test the new system with vulnerable people who are homeless & have complex needs
* The need for vulnerable claimants to continue to have their rent paid direct to their landlord and the need to clarify how the support costs of people living in hostels and other supported accommodation will be met and ensure that those with high support needs are not impacted by the benefit cap
