General Reports and Other Publications
LDA: 7 pillars of legacy were unveiled by a panel of teenagers recently in front of more than 200 young people who wanted to find out what an Olympic legacy could mean for them. It was the culmination of 10 months of work by the Legacy Now Youth Panel, which comprises of 25 teenagers from the 5 host boroughs with an interest in planning & design.
The London Development Agency (LDA), working with Stratford based Fundamental Architectural Inclusion and the 5 host boroughs, set up the panel to offer a unique voice for young people into the planning process and encourage others to take part.
The panel outlined their legacy manifesto at Hackney Ocean, Hackney, in front of hundreds of their peers from youth groups across London. The event also featured film screenings including a legacy flythrough of the Olympic Park site, V-J mixing video and sound Olympic themes and a 3D model of a possible Olympic Park of the future, which was brought to life through video & sounds.
Press release ~ Legacy Now Youth Panel ~ Manifesto ~ Legacy flythrough of the Olympic Park site ~ London Development Agency (LDA) ~ Fundamental Architectural Inclusion ~ Create 09 ~ Legacy Now ~ The Light Surgeons
ScotGov: The importance of Scotland developing a resilient food supply chain and growing more of its own produce has been highlighted in a new report. Mapping & Analysis of the Resilience of the Food Supply Chain in Scotland suggests Scotland is currently dependent on imports. It shows that global food chains may be vulnerable to both short & longer term emergency situations which could disrupt this supply.
The research will be used to help businesses prepare for future scenarios such as flooding, health scares and the impact of climate change. Measures in Scotland's new national food and drink policy which aim to address food security include:
* Building capacity & skills to produce food and keep food production at the heart of farming
* Build food security into the delivery of our farming, fishing and aquaculture policies.
* Support the appropriate legal framework to ensure our food & drink producers, processors, retailers and consumers are treated fairly
* Fund new research to help meet the challenges of food security in Scotland and the rest of world
Press release ~ Mapping and Analysis of the Resilience of the Food Supply Chain in Scotland ~ ScotGov: Food and Drink information ~ ScotGov: Key Food Facts for Scotland 2009 ~ Scotland's new national food and drink policy ~ Scottish Retailers' Charter ~ Resilience Advisory Board for Scotland ~ Food Security: The Role for the Scottish Government in Ensuring Continuity of Food Supply to And Within Scotland and Access to Affordable Food
DECC: A global carbon trading network will be vital to preventing dangerous climate change, a new report commissioned by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown has concluded. The report makes clear that without a global system for carbon trading, the ability of countries to avoid dangerous climate change will be limited and the costs of action increased.
The Global Carbon Trading report, by the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Carbon Trading, Mark Lazarowicz MP, looks at the role that cap & trade systems can play as part of the global response to preventing dangerous climate change – and the steps needed to expand & link trading systems over the next decade.
Press release ~ DECC: Global Carbon Trading report and related documents ~ UK’s Low Carbon Transition Plan ~ EU Emissions Trading System ~ Copenhagen climate change talks
CIOB: The Chartered Institute of Building’s (CIOB) research into crime in the construction industry has shown that an overwhelming majority have experienced theft, vandalism and health & safety neglect. These crimes contributed to respondents suffering severe financial losses in their business; 38% stated it cost their business at least £10,000 a year and 9% reported losses of over £100,000 a year.
Michael Brown, CIOB Deputy Chief Executive said; “The results suggest a real need for site & project managers to be trained on how to prevent crime on construction sites and what measures should be taken if it does occur”.
It was also evident that the industry is susceptible to attack from organised crime. Over 20% of respondents had experienced racketeering & money laundering in their business or on a project with which they were involved and 11% had experienced kidnapping.
WAG: The results of the most comprehensive survey of the Welsh countryside and its natural resources have been published in a report by the Countryside Survey partnership. The report identifies some positive changes including an increase in the area of broadleaved woodland, an improvement in the physical condition of streams, an increased number of ponds, and a reduction in soil acidity in line with reduced emissions of sulphur.
However, there is evidence that these changes have taken place against a general backdrop of decreasing plant species richness that is at odds with the aim of halting biodiversity loss. The survey also found that topsoil carbon stocks have remained stable over recent decades.
Press release ~ Countryside Survey partnership ~ Results for Wales ~ Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Centre for Ecology & Hydrology ~ Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) ~ WAG - Environment and countryside ~ WAG - Farming and countryside ~ WAG - Conservation and biodiversity ~ WAG - Food and fisheries
NAO: At a cost of £1.47bn by March 2009, Train to Gain had supported employer-focused training for over 1m learners, and had developed a skills brokerage service with which a majority of employers was satisfied. But while Train to Gain has achieved undoubted benefits for employers, the NAO has concluded that over its full lifetime the programme has not provided good value for money.
Unrealistically ambitious initial targets and inconsistent implementation reduced the efficiency of the programme. Learners have nevertheless benefited from improved work skills at a basic level and surveys of employers have provided evidence of improved business performance from the training. For many of the 554,100 learners who achieved a qualification it was their first qualification, giving them a boost in self-confidence as well as new employment skills.
Press release ~ NAO: Train to Gain: Developing the skills of the workforce ~ Train to Gain ~ Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
CQC: The Care Quality Commission has said that inpatients at West London Mental Health NHS Trust had been put at risk due to a failure to properly investigate suicides and learn from serious incidents. Following an investigation into the trust, the CQC also highlighted serious concerns relating to sub-standard buildings, not enough beds, poor physical healthcare, not enough staff and lack of staff training.
The investigation looked at high-secure, inpatient services at Broadmoor Hospital as well as community & other inpatient services in Hounslow, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham.
The Commission said problems had persisted over a number of years, yet the trust's leadership had repeatedly failed to address issues. It said the board lacked ‘vitality and vigour’ and that the trust was ‘good at writing policies, but not good at putting them into action’.
Press release ~ CQC: West London Mental Health NHS Trust investigation report ~ CQC audio clip about this investigation ~ West London Mental Health NHS Trust
CRC: The Commission for Rural Communities have submitted the 8th of their regular reports to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the rural impacts of the recession. This report examines how market towns are being affected by the recession and makes suggestions for government actions.
NICE: In February 2009, NICE asked Professor Sir Ian Kennedy to undertake an independent study in response to the views expressed by Sir David Cooksey in his Review and Refresh of Bioscience 2015. Sir Ian was asked to carry out a short study on how NICE establishes the value of innovation and, in particular, to make recommendations about what approach should be adopted by NICE to ensure that innovation is properly taken into account when establishing the value of new health technologies.
Press release ~ Kennedy study of valuing innovation ~ Sir David Cooksey: Review and Refresh of Bioscience 2015 ~ Government response to Cooksey report
BIS: The Better Regulation Executive (BRE), part of the Department for Business, has published 4 new reports, as part of their ongoing examination of national regulators, on the:
* Insolvency Service
* Human Tissue Authority
* Fish Health Inspectorate
* Natural England
The Hampton Implementation Reviews looked at the work of each regulator against the principles of better regulation set out by Philip Hampton in 2005. Each review found that the regulators were making progress implementing these principles but a range of issues still needed to be addressed in each case in order to meet fully the criteria set out by Hampton. Key areas for improvement by the regulators have been highlighted, as well as the improvements they have already made.
Press release ~ Hampton Implementation Review Reports ~ BERR – Reviewing the Regulators ~ Better Regulation Executive
STFC: The Science and Technology Facilities Council has released its new Vision, which will guide its future investments in world leading science and technology for the UK. The Vision identifies the highest priority science & technology projects and world class research facilities that STFC will be taking forwards.
DCSF: Children’s Minister, Dawn Primarolo, has published the responses to a consultation on children, young people & alcohol. The responses show that there is a broad base of support for guidelines from the Chief Medical Office (CMO) on safe levels of drinking. There is also a clear need for government advice & information for parents.
The consultation has shown that parents & young people mostly agree with the CMO’s guidance which suggests that young people should not consume alcohol under the age of 15 and between 15 & 17 any alcohol consumption should be with the guidance or supervision of parents & carers.
Press release ~ Summary of results and related documents ~
CRC: How vital is hill farming to the new economies in the uplands? This was one of several topics discussed by about 40 participants attending the Commission for Rural Communities’ last of 6 regional hearings of its Uplands inquiry.
Some of those giving evidence suggested that agriculture remains ‘small but vital’ to the uplands economy, through its significant role in the conservation of landscape, provision for recreation and even its contribution to the greater diversity in the economy – farming providing the base for a multitude of new enterprises. References were also made to the extraordinary levels of home-working and the changing composition of upland communities, specifically the significance of in-migrants.
ESRC: Those students with only a vocational background are still less likely to get to university than those with ‘A’ levels, despite the fact that government policy advocates vocational education as an alternative route to higher education. Furthermore, they are more likely to drop out after their first year. Students that combine vocational education with academic education are nearly as successful at entering & completing the first year of higher education as those with general academic qualifications.
Applicants with a purely vocational background come from lower socio-economic groups, are more often male, older, disabled and from a non-white ethnic background. The study also shows that students from vocational backgrounds tend to be in institutions with fewer resources and in institutions that carry less weight in the labour market. In addition, some of them find it difficult to balance academic work with family commitments and the work they have to do to pay for their studies.
The relative success of students who combine vocational with academic education may point the way forward for reform. Still, as Dr Hayward acknowledges, the greatest obstacle to widening higher education participation and to making access fairer is still the status inequality between vocational qualifications and traditional academic qualifications.
