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Policy Statements and Initiatives
BIS: One in three people feel their consumer rights have been ignored and 28% are more likely to complain about goods they bought during the economic downturn according to a new survey. The survey, commissioned by the Department for Business, was released on the same day as Consumer Minister Kevin Brennan launched a ‘Know Your Consumer Rights’ campaign - a new drive to support consumers and help them understand their rights, including that if goods are faulty it is the retailers responsibility not the manufacturers.
The campaign is focussed on ensuring consumers know 3 key legal rights:
* Goods must fit the description given
* Be of satisfactory quality
* Be suitable for purpose
Press release ~ Consumer Direct ~ White paper: A better deal for consumers – Delivering Real Help Now and Change for the Future ~ Best practice for business
HO: New measures to support victims of hate crime, bring more perpetrators to justice and increase reporting of these crimes have been outlined by the government. The Hate Crime Action Plan sets out government work to address all forms of hate crime with an emphasis on preventing these crimes from occurring or escalating in seriousness.
The plan sets out how local organisations like the police & councils will get new advice on the best ways to deal with hate crime. This includes new guidance on preventing hate crime and a training toolkit for crime reduction bodies to improve the identification of & support for vulnerable witnesses. It also sets out work to better tackle hate crime by boosting victims' confidence in the justice system to help to increase reporting of these crimes.
Press release ~ Hate Crime Action Plan ~
ScotGov: Honey bees are to be fed icing sugar laced with small quantities of antibiotic powder in an attempt to halt the spread of a deadly disease sweeping through Scottish hives. European Foul Brood (EFB) was discovered in Scottish bees in June 2009 and could severely affect the £2.25m honey industry if left unchecked. ScotGov's sugary solution aims to protect mildly infected hives and ensure healthy populations for the next honey-collecting season.
Bees using the sugar to feed their larvae will clear the gut infection allowing the young to develop into healthy adult bees. Use of the treatment powder in September will minimise the possibility of antibiotic residues in honey produced next year.
American Foul Brood (AFB) is also considered a problem however this disease can only be controlled by complete destruction of hives and equipment. The current situation in Scotland is 2,466 hives (in 235 apiaries) have been inspected since July, 232 hives have been found with EFB, and 110 with AFB.
Press release ~ Honey Bee Health Strategy ~ Bee inspections ~
DCSF: Children’s Secretary, Ed Balls, recently celebrated the launch of Sure Start Children’s Centre Week - which coincides with the start of free childcare for the most disadvantaged 2 year olds throughout the country. Together with the entitlement to free childcare for all 3 & 4 year olds, parents can now access up to 1,500 hours of free childcare during their child’s first five years.
Sure Start Children’s Centres Week (14th-18th September) kicked off a major communications campaign to promote Sure Start Children’s Centres locally to parents unfamiliar with Sure Start to find & access the services on offer.
Press release ~ Sure Start Children’s Centre Week ~ Early Years Foundation Stage ~ Sure Start Centres
Cabinet Office: Speaking at Social Finance’s Social Investment Conference, the Minister for the Third Sector, Angela Smith Minister, made a series of announcements to support social investment:
* £5m will be invested into the Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund and will be matched by individuals, foundations & institutions. The fund will improve access to risk capital for new & growing social enterprises that deliver a high social impact.
* In light of this growing appetite for social return on investment the Office of the Third Sector has published 3 new SROI guides. The guides give an overview of SROI and what it can do for organisations, commissioners & investors to help achieve the greatest social impact in their work.
* The Minister also presented the new Social Investment Almanack; ‘Good Deals 2009’ – a comprehensive guide to the world of social investment.
Press release ~ Good Deals 2009: The Social Investment Almanack ~ SROI – UK website and 3 guides ~ Other Social enterprise guidance and useful resources ~ Bridges Social Entrepreneurs Fund ~ The Scottish Government’s SROI Project
ScotGov: More people are being encouraged to stand in community council elections to help improve their local areas. A pilot scheme involving 13 community councils in Moray will raise community councils' profile, validate their role in local decision making and show that community councils are democratic. Each community council has received £500 to promote becoming a community councillor, ahead of elections in October 2009.
DfT: Passengers in South Yorkshire could be the first in the UK to take a continental-style tram-train under plans announced by the Department for Transport, Northern Rail, Network Rail and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. Passengers could see tram-trains running between Sheffield & Rotherham on the current freight route from Rotherham and then joining the Sheffield Supertram network at the Meadowhall Interchange.
Tram-trains are greener than conventional trains as they use less fuel, have faster acceleration and deceleration rates; which offer passengers better journey times. They are also are lighter which may reduce wear & tear on tracks cutting the need for disruptive maintenance works.
The trial will assess the environmental benefits, operating costs and technical suitability of the tram-trains as well as testing how popular the vehicles are with passengers. These are the first steps in a process which could lead to more tram-trains operating throughout the UK.
Press release ~ Tram-Train Trials, UK ~ South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive ~ What next for Tram-Trains? ~ Sheffield Supertram network
WAG: Health Minister Edwina Hart has signed an agreement with the police which allows them to work more closely with the NHS in Wales in the investigation of allegations of violence towards NHS staff. This Memorandum of Understanding follows the signing of an agreement with the Crown Prosecution Service in March 2007, to ensure the effective prosecution of the perpetrators of violent attacks.
Mrs Hart is confident that the Memorandum will promote the prosecution of violent offenders, which will help act as a deterrent to others. Latest figures show that there were 7,343 incidents of violence & aggression in the NHS in Wales in 2007/08.
Press release ~ WAG - Health and social care ~ Protecting NHS Trust staff from violence and aggression ~ Protecting NHS Trust staff from violence and aggression: an update ~ National audit of violence in mental health services ~ Measures to tackle violence against NHS staff ~ Response to the report of National Assembly Audit Committee on Protecting NHS Staff from Violence and Aggression, July 2009 ~ Agreement with CPS
Newswire – TSA: 37 innovative housing projects from across the country which involve the development of local standards between landlords and their tenants to improve services have been selected as local standards pilots by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA).
The 37 projects will benefit tenants living in 380,000 homes across the country and will see landlords working on a wide range of projects that involve tenants playing a key role in agreeing local targets that reflect priorities & needs. The pilots are scheduled to start in September 2009 and will be funded through to April 2010.
ScotGov: A blueprint for improving the teaching & learning of science in Scotland's schools has been launched. The report contains the actions resulting from Scotland's first Schools Science Summit and sets out how the Scottish Government plans to improve the pupil experience in science education, engineering & technology.
Press release ~
WAG: A new smartcard for concessionary bus pass holders has been rolled-out across Wales and is the first step in transforming the way people use public transport. As set out in the National Transport Plan, the Welsh Assembly Government plan to introduce the newWales Transport Entitlement card by 2014.
BIS: Trade unions’ efforts to support vulnerable workers have been given a boost with Lord Young announcing Government funding for 14 new projects. A total of £2.46m will be made available to help unions improve their ability to meet the needs of hard-to-reach groups of vulnerable workers. It will be matched with at least an equivalent union contribution.
The money will be distributed under Round Three of the Union Modernisation Fund which provides financial assistance to trade unions and their federations for innovative projects with the potential to transform their effectiveness. Bids are assessed by an independent Supervisory Board comprising individuals from union, academic and industry backgrounds.
WAG: Social Justice Minister, Dr Brian Gibbons, has announced the opening of bidding rounds for Welsh Assembly Government equality grants for the remainder of this financial year and 2010/11. The annual £883,000 AE fund will support revenue projects managed by third, community or public sector organisations for services which address the needs of people facing multiple discrimination in their everyday lives.
It also includes funding for International Women's Day, an annual event which takes place on 8 March. The theme for next year’s International Women's Day is ‘Promoting Women into Public and Political Life’.
Press release ~ WAG Equality & Diversity – Grants and Funding (Details of Advancing Equality Fund will appear here later this week) ~ Refugee Inclusion Strategy ~ Single Equality Scheme ~ Equality and diversity ~
ScotGov: The Scottish Government will protect frontline services, despite having to wrestle with the first real terms cut in its budget since devolution, John Swinney said when presenting the draft budget for 2010-2011, The Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Sustainable Growth stressed that the Government's approach has been to ‘protect programmes that matter most to the people of Scotland’.
The budget shows the ScotGov’s Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) Budget - the money over which it has direct control - will reduce in real terms by 0.9% compared to 2009 - 2010. This is a result of the £500m cut in planned expenditure for 2010-11 imposed on Scotland by the UK Government, and accelerated capital expenditure.
DEL is the funds available to departments through the operation of the Barnett Formula. Allocations within the Scottish Block Grant are determined by Scottish Ministers. DEL spending is discretionary.
Press release ~ Scottish Budget: Draft for 2010-2011 ~ Read the Finance Secretary's statement about the Draft Budget ~ Barnett Formula
HO: A crackdown on prolific offenders, free security devices for the public and targeted police operations to follow convicted burglars & disrupt the sale of stolen goods are some of the actions being funded in 35 areas to tackle burglary & robbery. The Vigilance Programme helps deliver pre-emptive support, training & additional resources to those areas. The taskforce has worked with each area to develop a strategy to address emerging issues and has awarded them grants from the £4.4m fund to implement new action.
Press release ~ Safer Communities initiative ~ Vigilance programme ~ Short video on Vigilance Programme ~ Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) ~ Safer Homes fund ~
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