Policy Statements and Initiatives
DWP: An extra £5.9m of Government funding has been allocated to councils across London to help benefit claimants renting in the private sector. The funds are part of a £49m package that will be allocated to British councils to help with the transition to new Housing Benefit rules until 2015. This is on top of the £130m Discretionary Housing Payments and the £10m for homelessness prevention in London.
CLG: Neighbourhoods suffering the blight of empty homes could benefit from a £100m boost to bring these properties back into use and provide stable homes for families in need. The Homes and Communities Agency will be administering the Clusters of Empty Homes Programme and a shortlist of successful bidders will then be invited to submit more detailed applications by the end of April 2012.
DfE: The Government’s Behaviour Advisor Charlie Taylor has called on the best Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) to take advantage of academy freedoms, to drive up quality of education and develop closer relationships with schools in their area.
As of last week, excellent PRUs are now able to apply to become an academy, with the first opening from September 2012. This means they will take full control of their budgets & staffing, allowing them to work in the best interest of their pupils. They will also be able to build better partnerships with other schools, diversify their provision, develop new areas of expertise, and help other PRUs to improve.
DCMS: A new national youth dance company and an academy for young film-makers are among measures announced last week to ensure all children have their lives enriched by cultural education. The plans follow recommendations from the independent Review of Cultural Education in England carried out by Darren Henley, managing director of Classic FM.
His review covers all areas of cultural education and aims to ensure that all children, especially those from poorer backgrounds, are able to access the arts.
ScotGov: Additional funding has been awarded to the professional development of Scotland’s science teachers as the Scottish Government welcomes the Science and Engineering Education Advisory Group (SEEAG) report which sets out a range of recommendations for the Scottish Government and its partners.
WAG: Environment Minister, John Griffiths has announced an extra £6.6m to help reduce the energy bills of householders in some of Wales’ most deprived areas. The Minister has confirmed additional funding for the Welsh Government’s successful strategic energy scheme, Arbed.
The £6.6m will ensure that more than 1,500 Welsh homes benefit from energy saving improvements such as external wall insulation, high efficiency, class A boilers and the transition to more efficient types of fuel.
CLG: Communities Minister, Andrew Stunell has announced that the Department for Communities and Local Government will make available up to £10m in funding to help English language training for speakers of other languages.
The commitment to provide additional funding to support English language provision was outlined in the Government's new approach to integration, 'Creating the conditions for integration' published recently.
ScotGov: Advanced apprenticeship frameworks to help employers develop staff to degree level will be introduced from 1 April 2012. The plans were unveiled by Education Secretary Michael Russell as part of a number of reforms to make it easier for students to progress through education, for example from college to university or from college to apprenticeships.
To help students understand the full range of possible pathways the learner journey will be mapped out and published.
Press release & links
To help students understand the full range of possible pathways the learner journey will be mapped out and published.
Press release & links
MoD: A letter from Defence Secretary Philip Hammond responding to calls that the MOD contracts for new Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers should have been awarded to UK firms has been published in the Daily Mail recently. The new Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tankers will maintain the Royal Navy's ability to refuel at sea and will provide fuel to warships and task groups.
ScotGov: More than 70% of drivers in Scotland admit to taking risks whilst driving, and just over half confess to speeding, according to research carried out by the Scottish Government as it launches a new campaign with Road Safety Scotland (part of Transport Scotland) encouraging drivers to consider how they can reduce their ‘risk factor’ on country roads.
CLG: Fire Minister Bob Neill has announced funding of £74m to support a range of locally-led projects to improve the resilience & efficiency of local fire & rescue control rooms across England.
DfE: A £50m summer schools fund to help the most disadvantaged pupils opened last week. The money will help up to 100,000 pupils making the transition from primary to secondary school, a time when Ofsted research shows performance can take a significant dip.
WAG: The Welsh Government will focus on helping people to use Welsh in everyday life, including through new technology and social media, the Minister responsible for the language, Leighton Andrews, said recently. As he launched the Welsh Government’s new 5-year Welsh Language Strategy - A living language: a language for living.
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