Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides
CLG: In a move designed to strengthen tenants' & landlords' awareness of their rights & responsibilities, Housing Minister, Grant Shapps has recently published helpful advice aimed at those letting or renting a property. He has published 3 easy-to-understand factsheets offering advice on different aspects of letting & renting out a home:
* Dos & Don'ts factsheet for landlords
* Dos & Don'ts factsheet for tenants
* Gaining possession factsheet
CLG: Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, has recently published guidance to local authorities on how to protect voluntary & community groups from disproportionate cuts to their funding. And in deciding how best to fulfil their Best Value Duty, councils are required to consult those using, or likely to use, a local service. This should include community & voluntary organisations.
This new deal sets out that councils should not pass on larger reductions to their local voluntary & community sectors and small businesses than they take on themselves.
IfG: A new practical guide to help public chairs take the next step towards greater transparency in their organisations has been published jointly by the Institute for Government and the Public Chairs' Forum. Transparency in Arm's Length Bodies - A Guide to Best Practice encourages public bodies to publish not only data, but also information on the wider issues of what these organisations are there to do: how they are governed; how they make decisions; how well they perform and how to access or complain about their activities.
It identifies the key components of ‘useful’ transparency in public bodies and puts the needs of citizens & customers at its heart. Research undertaken for the report suggests that casting light on these issues will be important to improving overall public confidence in public bodies.
