Policy Statements and Initiatives

Cabinet Office: Minister for Transformational Government Tom Watson has launched the new Customer Service Excellence (CSE) standard, the aim of which is to encourage, enable and reward organisations that are delivering services based on a genuine understanding of the needs & preferences of their customers and communities.
 
The government claims that successful organisations will be able to demonstrate:
* Personalisation: services must be designed around the needs of the public.  Hard-to-reach groups must not be ignored
* Collaboration: Work must be done in partnership with citizens
* Workforce skills: emphasising the link between public service reform and training for staff
* Leadership and commitment: organisations must display customer-focus from the Chief Executive down to frontline staff
* Accountability: to communities & individuals
Press release ~ Customer Service Excellence ~ Self Assessment Tool ~ Tower '08 videos ~ Charter Mark
 
BERR: The Government has published Enterprise: Unlocking the UK's Talent, a new 10-year strategy to make the UK the most enterprising economy in the world - and the best place to start and grow a business.  t is designed to unlock the nation's entrepreneurial talents - boost enterprise skills & knowledge - help new & existing business get funding to start up & grow - and ease the burden of regulation (particularly on small firms which feel its impacts most).
 
Published jointly by HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, it details five areas where Government will focus its efforts:
* Culture - developing an enterprise culture where everyone with entrepreneurial talent is inspired and not afraid to take up the challenge of turning ideas into wealth
* Knowledge &Skills - ensuring that people & businesses have tools to support the growth of their businesses
* Access to Finance - ensuring start ups and growing businesses can get the finance they need
* Business Innovation - reinforcing innovation's role at the root of all entrepreneurial activity
* Regulatory Framework - recognising that unnecessary or complex regulation can stifle enterprise and have a disproportionate impact on small firms
Press release ~ Enterprise: Unlocking the UK's Talent ~ Government Action Plan for Small Business - BERR ~ Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme ~ Enterprise Capital Funds ~ National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship
 
MoJ: Universal testing for the opiate substitute buprenorphine is to be introduced into all prisons in England and Wales from 1 April 2008, Justice Minister David Hanson has announced. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) commissioned a survey to assess the scale of the illegal use of the drug in prisons following the increased use of buprenorphine (Subutex) in the treatment of opioid dependence in the community. 
 
The Prison Policy Update published in January included a new package of measures aimed at tackling re-offending by getting prisoners off drugs and into work.
Press release ~ A Survey of Buprenorphine Misuse in Prisons: July 2007 ~ Channel 4 News video report ~ National Offender Management Service (NOMS) ~ Prisons - Ministry of Justice ~ Prison Policy Update ~ Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) ~ RAPt – The Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust ~ Prison Service Drug Strategy ~ NICE: Drug misuse - methadone and buprenorphine: Appraisal consultation document ~ Statistics on Drug Misuse: England, 2007
 
DIUS: The power of Government spending must be harnessed to create demand for new innovative products & services, concludes a new White Paper - Innovation Nation - which sets out the Government's aim to make the UK the best place in the world to run an innovative business or public service.  It argues that innovation is essential to the UK's future prosperity and the ability to tackle major challenges like climate change.
 
The announcement comes after a budget in which the Chancellor said he would look into the practicality of setting a goal for small & medium enterprises (SMEs) to win 30% of £150bn in public spending on goods & services each year in the next five years.
 
Immediate steps include a commitment for each Government department to publish an Innovation Procurement Plan as part of its commercial strategy.  Other key themes are:
* further supporting innovative businesses & research
* increasing exchanges of knowledge
* boosting the supply of skilled people
* supporting innovative towns & regions and
* promoting innovation in the public sector
Press release ~ Ministerial Statement ~ White Paper: Innovation Nation ~ Lord Sainsbury's Review of Government's Science & Innovation Policies ~ Implementing ‘The Race to the Top’: Lord Sainsbury's Review ~ Innovation mini website ~ Technology Strategy Board ~ Leitch Review of Skills ~ BERR - Innovation ~ Business Council for Britain ~ Knowledge Transfer Partnerships ~ National Skills Academies ~National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)
 
WAG: A major boost for integrated transport as part of a drive to ensure a greener Wales has been announced by Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones.  The Welsh Assembly Government's Transport Grant settlement for 2008-09 will include £28m support for integrated transport in Wales, together with significant funding for Wales’ rail network.
 
The new ‘Safe Routes in Communities’ schemes have been allocated an additional £10m to help local authorities to develop safe routes for walking & cycling and improve accessibility for all within a safe environment.
Press release ~ WAG – Transport ~ WAG – Sustainable development ~ Safe Routes in Communities
 
Defra: All central Government departments will be included in a new emissions trading scheme that will also target emissions from large businesses including supermarkets, banks, hotel chains and department stores, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has announced.
 
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), scheduled to begin operation in 2010, is a mandatory emissions trading scheme that will cover around 5,000 public & private organisations, including government departments, retailers, banks and local authorities, which combined account for 10% of the UK economy's emissions.
Press release ~ Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) ~ Environmental Transformation Fund ~ Salix Fund
 
WAG: First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones have welcomed the handing over of the report of the Establishing Committee of the All-Wales Convention.  The document outlines the terms of reference for the Convention, and gives suggestions on how it might operate when it gets underway this summer.

The setting up of the All-Wales Convention was a commitment made as part of the One Wales agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru.  Its purpose is to create a national debate on full law-making powers for the National Assembly and assess the levels of support for any future referendum.
Press release ~ All-Wales Convention ~ Terms of reference ~ One Wales: A progressive agenda for the government of Wales ~ Government of Wales Act 2006
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