Policy Statements and Initiatives

WAG: New figures which show that the people of Wales reduced their carrier bag use by 7% over the last year have been welcomed by Environment Minister, John Griffiths. The Minister has also said that the significant rise in carrier bag use in England and Scotland over the last year proves that that a mandatory charge for carrier bags, like the one being introduced in Wales in October 2011, is the best way to drive down carrier bag use, and that voluntary agreements with retailers will not take us far enough.
Press release & links
 
DfERecent reports that children are beginning school without knowing their own name demonstrate not just the importance of good parenting, but the wider help & support that young children need in the crucial early years of their life.
 
A new early years curriculum for 0-5-year-olds will be introduced next year which ‘focuses on 3 prime areas of learning that are critical to making sure children develop healthily and happily’.  Research shows that parental interest in their child’s education has 4 times more influence on attainment by age 16 than socio-economic background.
Press release & links
 
nef: A new website to get the public thinking about drug policy was launched recently.  Thinkingdrugs.org aims to get people complex debate around international drugs issues.  The site enables visitors to assess the facts & hear arguments from all sides while deciding where they stand.  It was created by independent think-tank nef (the new economics foundation) with the support of the drugs policy centre Release.
Press release & links
 
DfE: The Department has updated the information on FreeSchool groups that applied in the first round of applications. Of the 323 proposals received, 41 were approved to move to business case & plan stage or beyond, although one proposal was subsequently withdrawn by the proposer.
 
30 of the remaining 40 proposals, including a number that aim to open in September 2012 or beyond, have now been approved to move to the pre-opening stage. Since the last update, 4 more projects have signed funding agreements.  This takes the total number of projects that have entered into a funding agreement to 13.  More will be listed in due course.
Press release & links
 
CLGCentrally imposed limits on town centre parking spaces will be scrapped helping to provide a big boost to struggling high streets, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced. Councils that want to attract customers to local retailers and help stressed out shoppers by providing more parking can now do so without interference from central Government. Parking restrictions set by Whitehall have until now dictated the number of parking spaces a council is permitted to grant, often with a cap that limits the spaces town centres can offer even when they want to offer more.
Press release
 
HMT: The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, has set out £200,000 additional funding for mountain rescue teams across the UK.  This is the first time the UK Government has given direct funding to mountain rescue services and will contribute to the cost of procuring mountain rescue equipment this year.
 
This is the first of 4 years of funding set aside in the Spending Review, with at least £200,000 available in each year.  Funding will be available to 75 teams performing mountain or cave rescue activity across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Press release & links
 
DWP10 innovative projects will play a key role in restoring fairness to the Housing Benefit system, Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud, has claimed. New Housing Benefit measures have been introduced to bring fairness back to the system and reduce the spiralling cost of the Housing Benefit bill.
 
The 10 successful projects will get a share of a £4m fund to provide innovative support by working with voluntary organisations, providing free advice to landlords & tenants, creating a digital service to match landlords with tenants, and providing digital support to hundreds of local authorities.  This funding is part of a total of £190m of extra financial help over the spending review period.
Press release & links
 
DH: Patients have been stronger voice under plans set out by Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley. 75 Local HealthWatch pathfinders, introduced as part of the Government’s plans to modernise the NHS, have been announced.  These new learning networks will champion patients’ views & experiences, promote the integration of local services and improve choice for patients through advice & access to information.
Press release & links ~ List of Healthwatch Pathfinders
 
DCMS: The strict controls to prevent children from accessing hard-core pornographic material through video-on-demand (VoD) services will be secured as part of the comprehensive review of communications legislation currently being undertaken, Communications Minister Ed Vaizey has announced.
 
A starting point is Ofcom’s report to Government, ‘Sexually Explicit Material and Video On Demand Services’ which is published last week. Ensuring the effectiveness of strict controls on VoD services will also complement the recommendations made by Reg Bailey in his independent review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood, Letting Children Be Children.
Press release & links
 
CLG: Councils and other public bodies should publish asset lists that will help to identify £bns of potential savings and protect frontline services, Communities & Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has announced.  Public sector assets are worth an estimated £385bn, with almost two thirds owned by councils and the Government has committed to work with areas seeking to make savings through better property management.  
 
Government estimates this could potentially save £35bn over 10 years. A 'demo' map locates over 180,000 assets owned by almost 600 public sector bodies, including Central Government and 87 councils.  It reveals widespread public property ownership, beyond frontline services, underlining the scope for savings and the potential of a national asset map.
Press release & links
 
CO: As part of the continuing drive to maximise the buying power of Government, Francis Maude has announced 2 new contracts for office supplies which are expected to deliver savings of over £18m a year.  All Central Government Departments will now use the new centrally managed deal for Office Supplies and will pay the same price for items such as pens & paper, bringing to an end the days where Departments pay different prices for the same items.  
 
Savings of between 12-29% are expected with the 2 new contracts which will be managed by HMRC on behalf of Government Procurement.  The number of catalogue line items has been rationalised from 15,000 to 3,500 with scope to reduce this even further and generate more savings.  The new contracts will make available environmentally friendly, recycled stationery & toners and, for the first time ever, the unique "Closed Loop" recycling solution.
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: A major boost to expand renewable projects in the agriculture sector was announced recently by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead, through the development of an Agri-Renewables Strategy, which will 'ensure that land managers can benefit from the renewables revolution and unlock the green energy potential of their land'. The strategy will be in place by summer 2012.
Press release & links
 
Defra: Further steps on the path to a green economy that Government & businesses can take have been published in order to make further progress towards strong sustainable growth. ‘Enabling the transition to a green economy: Government and Businesses working together’ looks ahead to 2020 and maps out planned Government action across areas including climate change, resource efficiency, waste prevention, carbon capture and storage, offshore wind generation, and the Green Deal.  It will form the basis for continuing dialogue between government, business and communities.
Press release & links
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