General Reports and Other Publications
CIPD: Only 36% of workers trust their senior leaders and 58% of workers display signs of having adopted a ‘not bothered’ attitude to their work. That’s according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s latest quarterly Employee Outlook survey of more than 2,000 employees across the UK, which asks employees a number of questions to gauge their level of engagement in the work place and attitudes to working life.
Ofsted: A new method that will help to measure the happiness of children has been developed by the Children’s Rights Director for England. Through discussions with children in care and/or living away from home, Dr Roger Morgan has created a questionnaire based on the things that young people might say about themselves.
WWF: WWF-UK and BioRegional recently launched a new report Towards a One Planet Olympics Revisited that concludes that London 2012 has succeeded in being the most sustainable Games yet, but that failures have occurred in some significant areas. For example, the use of carbon footprint as a strategic tool was good; however, the failure to build a significant & visible renewable energy source was bad.
PC&PE: The proposals in the Government’s draft Energy Bill could impose unnecessary costs on consumers, lead to less competition and deter badly needed investment, according to MPs on the Energy and Climate Change Committee who have examined the draft legislation.
PC&PE: The Government should re-instate its programme of General Budget Support for Malawi, according to MPs on the International Development Committee.
PC&PE: In a report published last week, the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee said that the Gambling Act 2005 resulted in numerous inconsistencies and is not sufficiently evidence based. The Committee says more power should be devolved to local authorities—which have the local knowledge to assess their impact - with central regulation existing to ensure high standards of protection for the vulnerable, particularly children.
FSA: Almost 3 out of 4 people are prepared to take a chance with food safety when eating out, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people carried out for the Food Standards Agency. With the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games providing a host of opportunities to eat out and enjoy the food on offer in London and across the country, the Agency is reminding everyone to protect their health by doing what they can to ensure the food they eat is safe.
CSJ: A narrow focus on female victims of domestic abuse risks sidelining the nearly 3m children who will have been exposed to violence & cruelty in the home. A major new report from the Centre for Social Justice calls for a fundamental overhaul of government policies to tackle the substantial harm to children’s wellbeing. It highlights the scarring psychological impact of living with domestic abuse, which it says is just as significant as being physically abused.
A major failing in state-sanctioned measures to curb domestic abuse is the lack of priority given to the needs of children who suffer the trauma of living alongside domestic violence. Their physical & mental well-being and chances of doing well at school suffer from an abusive upbringing. In later life, they are also far more likely to become victims of domestic abuse or to become a perpetrator of such cruelty.
PC&PE: In a new report, the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) says the current Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA) lacks adequate powers and resources; does not have appropriate membership for its function; and should be abolished.
Instead, the Committee says, Government should legislate to establish statutory ethics regulation with a code of conduct and enforceable statutory penalties, overseen by an independent ethics Commissioner. Statutory regulation would signify the importance that should be attached to ethical conduct in public office.
PC&PE: The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee have called for immediate action to ensure enough young people study Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) subjects at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Without this the Government risks failing to meet its objectives to drive economic growth through education and hi-tech industries as identified in its Plan for Growth.
PC&PE: The Freedom of Information Act is generally working well & its scope should not be diminished, although some concerns raised about its operation need to be addressed, according to MPs on the Justice Select Committee who have scrutinised the effectiveness of the legislation.
CC: The Competition Commission has published an order requiring local bus operators that manage bus stations to provide access to bus stations for rival operators on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. This means that the CC has now completed all its work following the 2-year investigation into the local bus industry.
NHS Confed: The Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum has published its report following a request from the Secretary of State for Health to look at how best the health outcomes of children in Britain could be improved. The Forum was composed of individuals with a wide range of expertise and a shared commitment to improving healthcare for children and young people.
Commenting on publication of the report, NHS Confederation chief executive Mike Farrar said: "This is an important piece of work. The Forum's recommendations should be given careful consideration by the Government and all parts of the system working to improve the health of children and young people”.
IFS: When all primary school pupils in Newham & Durham were offered free school meals, attainment levels rose. Pupils in these areas made between 4 and 8 weeks more progress over a 2 year period than similar pupils in other areas. That is the main finding of new research published by a consortium comprising the Institute for Fiscal Studies, NatCen Social Research and Bryson Purdon Social Research.
