Policy Statements and Initiatives

DH: An independent review is recommending ‘strengthening’ the role for health visitors to maximises the impact they can have on children and families. Ros Lowe, Chair of the Queens Nursing Institute, who led the review, was asked to describe a renewed role for health visitors in light of changing health needs and public expectations.

 

Following engagement with over a thousand health visitors and local leaders, the review recommends that the profession should have two key roles:

The Government will now engage stakeholders on how they take forward the recommendations within the report and will publish its response to the review in the autumn.
Press release ~ Facing the Future: A review of the role of health visitors ~ Queens Nursing Institute ~ NHS – Health Visiting ~ Unite/CPHVA

DTI: The Government has published new regulations to boost the minimum holiday entitlement from 20 days a year to 24 days this October, and to 28 daysfrom April 2009.

 

To encourage early implementation and simplify arrangements for good employers who decide to offer their workers the entitlement faster, the regulations state that those companies who offer their workers 28 days leave or more by 1 October 2007 and meet certain other related standards will not be bound by the new legislation, so long as they continue to meet these standards.

 

The DTI will set up an online calculator to make it simpler for everybody to work out their new holiday entitlement

Press release ~ Increasing the holiday entitlement: a further consultation. Summary of responses and Government response to the consultation ~ DTI – Holiday entitlement ~ Directgov - Holiday entitlements ~ Business Link - Statutory holiday entitlement 

Defra: Defra will begin researching a new funding programme to increase affordable rural housing, Barry Gardiner, Minister for Rural Affairs, has announced. The feasibility study will be funded by Defra and led by the Housing Corporation. 

It will consider the case for a new time limited funding programme to help local organisations to overcome local barriers to the provision of affordable homes in rural areas. If the study shows that a new funding programme is needed, funding would be subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review, which will report later this year.

Press release ~ Defra/CLG Affordable Rural Housing website ~ Commission for Rural Communities ~ Affordable Rural Housing Commission ~ The Housing Corporation ~ Cash purchases of housing stock ~ CRC - State of the Countryside Updates ~ Defra – Rural Affairs ~ Planning for Sustainable Communities in Rural Areas ~ Rural Strategy 2004 ~ Ends and Means: The Future Roles of Social Housing in England ~ CRC research - Calculating housing needs in rural England

 
Scottish Executive:   Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead has pledged an all out drive by the new Government to transform environmental performance and make Scotland greener. To achieve this, the government will:

Press release ~ Scottish Executive – Third Sector ~ Scottish Biodiversity Strategy

 
Facing the Future...find out more