Policy Statements and Initiatives

DWP: The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that, from 1 October 2011, the day-to-day operations of Jobcentre Plus and the Pension, Disability & Carers Service will be brought under the leadership of a single Chief Operating Officer, as part of the restructuring of DWP to make it more efficient and streamline its management.  At that point Jobcentre Plus and the Pension, Disability & Carers Service will cease to have formal executive agency status.
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, has launched the Government Economic Strategy, which sets the direction for the public sector - Scottish Government, enterprise bodies, VisitScotland and other key agencies - to work collaboratively with the private, academic and third sectors to accelerate growth & create jobs.
 
The Strategy focuses our actions on 6 Strategic Priorities which will strengthen the recovery, drive sustainable growth and develop a more resilient & adaptable economy.  Recognising the value of continuity, five of these Priorities are in keeping with those set out in the 2007 Strategy: Supportive Business Environment; Learning, Skills and Well-being; Infrastructure Development and Place; Effective Government; and Equity.
Press release & links
 
DfE: All schools are now able to vary their school day to benefit their pupils. Up until September 2011, if a local authority maintained school wanted to change its lunchtime (for example) by 5 minutes or extend its school hours, it had to go through a bureaucratic process which in some cases took up to 3 months.
 
Schools will still be expected to consult and to take account of the views of all interested parties before they implement any changes to the school day.  They will be advised to consult & serve reasonable notice on their local authority, parents, pupils & staff, but free from national regulation being imposed on them. 
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: Patients will become more directly involved in their own healthcare & services thanks to new eHealth plans, published last week.
Press release & links
 
FCO: Foreign Office Minister, Jeremy Browne, recently declared the UK’s intention to join the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).  The Programme, originally formed in the 1980s, exists to promote cooperation across all Pacific islands, in order to protect the natural environment and ensure sustainable development.
Press release ~ SPREP
 
ScotGov: The group tasked with reviewing the Teachers' Agreement, reached in 2001 following the McCrone Inquiry, has published its 34 recommendations.
Press release & links ~ ScotGov response
 
HO: Tesco, BT and law firm Eversheds are among the leading UK companies to sign up to the government’s new framework for voluntary equality reporting, the Home Secretary announced last week. The 'Think, Act, Report' initiative is aimed at improving transparency on gender equality issues in the private & voluntary sector.
 
The reporting framework has been developed by the Government Equalities Office and the guidance for employers by ACAS.  It gives a step-by-step approach for employers to identify the barriers facing their female employees, take action to address the issues identified and report publicly on their progress; in short: think, act and report.
 
The government has also published new research conducted by the Institute for Employment Studies, on gender equality reporting in organisations with 150 to 249 employees.
Press release & links ~ How to implement 'Think, Act, Report' in your organisation and to download the promotional toolkit
 
DH: £10m is being made available to kick start a transformation in the way people with dementia are treated by the NHS, Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow has announced.  The extra funding for memory services will help to identify people with dementia earlier and treat them more effectively.
 
The investment aims to boost provision of advice and support on memory services including information about local care and support services.  It is expected to fund follow up and review services including peer support, assessment of carers’ needs as well as advice & support on planning for the future.
Press release & links
 
DWP6 Demonstration Projects are being set up to trial direct payments to Housing Benefit claimants living in social sector housing Lord Freud, the Minister for Welfare Reform announced last week. The change will come into force under Universal Credit from 2013 and is designed to help claimants make the transition to work and take responsibility for their own finances. 
Press release & links
 
HONew psychoactive substances found in so-called 'legal high' brand 'Ivory Wave' are to become controlled Class B drugs, the government signalled last week. The psychoactive substance Desoxypipradrol (2-DPMP) is to be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a Class B substance, along with structurally related compounds to ensure that alternatives cannot be developed to avoid the ban.
Press release & links
 
DH: Experts have been enlisted to help the Government’s discussions on how to improve the care system in England, Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced last week. The Caring for Our Future engagement exercise aims to pinpoint the priorities that this Government needs to focus on to inform its formal plans to improve the care system.
 
This follows on from the report on Commission on Funding of Care and Support.  It aims to use the report as the basis for engagement as a key part of a wider care and support reform agenda.  To assist with this, the DH has asked key leaders from the care & support community to help it to lead discussions on 6 broad themes. This engagement will help decide next steps and inform the Government’s White Paper & progress report on funding reform, planned for spring 2012.
Press release & links
 
NIAReforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must recognise regional interests, the Northern Ireland Assembly Agriculture and Rural Development Committee said last week. The Committee’s position paper will published, in full, on the Assembly website.
Press release & links
 
DfE: Thousands of children will receive the extra support they need to become confident, fluent readers thanks to the Department for Education's new phonics check, an independent study reveals. In a pilot, 43% of teachers said they had been able to pinpoint six-year-old pupils with reading problems of which they were not previously aware. Those children will now be given additional support to improve.
Press release & links
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