Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides

DH: With almost a quarter of the adult population now classified as obese and with the proportion of obese children rising by more than 40% between 1995 and 2004, an obesity toolkit with practical tips & information is being launched to help people fight the flab and improve their health.

The obesity toolkit is intended to help local multi-agency teams including public health promotion and primary care professionals, and strategic planners in both the NHS and local government.

The launch of the online toolkit comes as thousands of young people are using the new Teen Life Check - a quick online quiz style questionnaire for young people aged 11 - 14, but primarily aimed at 12 and 13 year olds.
Press release ~ Online toolkit: Lightening the Load: tackling overweight and obesity ~ National Heart Forum ~ DH - Obesity ~ Obesity guidance for healthy schools co-ordinators and their partners ~ Measuring childhood obesity: Guidance to primary care trusts ~ Obesity Care Pathway and Your Weight, Your Health ~ Faculty of Public Health ~ Teen Life Check ~ Teenage Health Freak website ~ L8R ~ Need2 Know ~ NICE Obesity guidelines ~ Healthy Schools Programme ~ Local Exercise Action Pilot ~ General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ) ~ Weight Wise ~ Small change, big difference ~ Forecasting Obesity to 2010' ~ Health Survey for England: Obesity among children under 11

CLG: Technical guidance to help the building industry deliver key improvements to the energy efficiency of new homes has been published by Communities and Local Government. As the Code for Sustainable Homes comes into effect, the manual sets out the requirements for the Code and the process by which a Code assessment is reached.

The Government has set the aim that all new Homes will be zero carbon by 2016 and the Code will be the measure by which this target is assessed. The guidance will explain to Code Assessors, home builders, product manufacturers and consumers in a simple and transparent way how the Code levels can be achieved.
Press release ~ Planning portal - Code for Sustainable Homes ~ DCLG ~ Building a Greener Future ~ BRE: Sustainable communities ~ BRE: Sustainable construction

Acas: Acas has published a new booklet - Flexible working and work-life balance - to help employers & employees understand how flexible working can benefit their workplace. There are around 1.6m employees providing some kind of unpaid care and, from 6 April 2007, there is a new right to request flexible working for those who have caring responsibilities.

The new booklet guides employers & employees through a range of issues on flexible working and includes:

Acas will be running a series of special short sessions on flexible working during April and May in England in conjunction with Carers UK and Working Families. For further information visit contact Acas
Press release ~ Flexible working advice booklet ~ Advice leaflet ~ Carers UK ~ Working Families ~ Work and Families Act 2006 ~ Flexible Working Regulations ~ Caring about Carers ~ Carers.org ~ Caring for someone ~ Working time and time off - BusinessLink

DCA: New guidance aimed at preserving the 70,000-plus war memorials in England & Wales has been published. War Memorials in England and Wales - Guidance for Custodians, produced by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, replaces the code of practice issued by the Home Office in 2002 and explains how grants can be obtained from English Heritage and War Memorials Trust to contribute to conservation & repair bills, as well as paying for additional names and correcting errors.

In Wales, custodians can apply to Cadw, part of the National Assembly, while the DCMS makes grants to charities & faith groups, equivalent to the VAT incurred on construction, renovation & maintenance.

As well as funding, maintenance, identification & ownership of memorials, the guidance covers removal & relocation and access to them.
Press release ~ War Memorials in England and Wales - Guidance for Custodians ~ War Memorials Trust ~ UK National Inventory of War Memorials ~ Cadw ~ Grants for War Memorials - English Heritage

HA: New measures to assess the impact of proposed road schemes on historic landscapes have been agreed by the Highways Agency with English Heritage. The guidance gives the Agency's project managers a new way of surveying, evaluating and assessing the impact of road schemes on historic landscape.

They are obliged to follow this guidance when embarking on new schemes, to ensure that they respect the historic fabric of the landscape through which the road passes. The assessment will need to consider mitigation which may include design measures to minimise changes caused by noise, land take, visual intrusion and vibration.
Press release ~ Assessing the effect of road schemes on historic landscape character (Draft version) ~ Highways Agency - Respecting the Environment ~ English Heritage ~ Landscape Institute ~ Institut e of Field Archaeologists ~ Council for British Archaeology ~ The butterfly handbook: General advice note on mitigating the impacts of roads on butterfly populations~ Highways Agency - A3 Hindhead Improvement ~A3 Hindhead Factsheet ~ Guide to Woodland Creation for Wildlife

How Lambeth Council undertakes effective know your citizen (KYC) / ID checks to prevent fraud