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Policy Statements and Initiatives
DCLG: Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, recently called on councils to give the dreams & aspirations of prospective adoptive parents & foster carers a helping hand, and cut through red tape hindering adoptions and fostering.
Forthcoming guidance will make clear that councils will be expected to consider how their actions could help people in their area who are looking to adopt or foster a child in need of a stable, loving family.
Forthcoming guidance will make clear that councils will be expected to consider how their actions could help people in their area who are looking to adopt or foster a child in need of a stable, loving family.
HO: The Home Office is due to publish quarterly reports detailing the penalties given to people or organisations who employ illegal workers.
HMT: Graham Aaronson QC has set out his recommendation to the Government for the introduction to the UK tax system of a narrowly focused general anti-abuse rule (GAAR). The recommendation is published in the final report of Mr Aaronson’s 11 month review of the feasibility for the UK tax system of a GAAR.
CO: The Cabinet Office is due to unveil a package of measures that will revolutionise how the Government buys from the private sector.
EA: Communities in parts of England can for the first time see how erosion could affect their coastline in future, in a pilot series of online maps.
WAG: The Deputy Minister for Children & Social Services has announced a £55m expansion of the Flying Start programme to double the number of children who will benefit from it. The programme is designed to help families with young children living in disadvantaged areas.
HMT: The Government has imposed tough new financial restrictions against Iran which cut off all financial ties with Iranian banks. This follows the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest report on Iran, which highlights fresh concerns about the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear programme.
DCLG: An ambitious new strategy to tackle the housing shortage, boost the economy, create jobs and give people the opportunity to get on the housing ladder has been announced by the PM and the Deputy PM.
Press release & links ~ Related 10 DS press release & links ~ Homeless Link comment ~ Related PR on mortgages
HO: Exactly one year before Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) take office, the Policing Minister has called for all dynamic & driven individuals to come forward as candidates.
DfT: Plans to ‘modernise’ the Coastguard have been confirmed by Shipping Minister Mike Penning. The proposals, which were announced for consultation in July, will ‘make the Coastguard better coordinated, more resilient to the challenges of the future and will increase the number of regular coastguard officers working in coastal communities, who provide leadership and support to the volunteers of the Coastguard Rescue Service’.
BIS: The second phase of the Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) has been launched. The fund will support businesses to develop their skills solutions tailored to their own needs, transforming growth in their sector, region or supply chain.
BIS will be providing £34m for 2012-13 and there is still £29m available to bid for. With matched funding from businesses there will be around £60m available under GIF this year. Comparable levels of investment are planned for the following two years.
BIS: The ‘most radical reform to the employment law system for decades’ was outlined last week by Business Secretary Vince Cable as part of the Government’s plan for growth, cutting unnecessary demands on business while safeguarding workers’ rights.
WAG: Finance Minister Jane Hutt has outlined how the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan would help to provide stability to the construction industry in Wales and announced how almost £90m of centrally retained capital funding would be spent on projects across Wales.
DEFRA: The UK Government will support an initiative to build Sustainable Development Goals, which will focus international attention on the need to sustainably manage the world’s natural resources.
CLG: New flexible tenancies will help end long-held prejudices about social housing and ensure it once again becomes a springboard for success, Housing Minister Grant Shapps said last week. Instructions published last week by the Minister will ensure that councils & housing associations will, for the first time, have genuine freedom to ensure that more people benefit from social housing.
Starting in 2012, new tenants will now get the helping hand they need for as long as they need it, rather than a single option of a home for life, ensuring more social homes are available to people who need them.
Starting in 2012, new tenants will now get the helping hand they need for as long as they need it, rather than a single option of a home for life, ensuring more social homes are available to people who need them.
DfE: A new action plan published last week calls on all local areas to take urgent action to stop the sexual exploitation of children & young people. Children's Minister Tim Loughton warned of failure by local agencies to recognise & deal with the problem of child sexual exploitation in many areas of the country.
ScotGov: Further wide-ranging action to tackle the root causes of sectarianism, through community initiatives & education, will be brought forward over the 5-year parliamentary term - backed by investment of £3m a year over the next 3 years, Minister for Community Safety Roseanna Cunningham said last week.
HMT: Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander has announced that from March 2012 motorists in remote island communities will benefit from a ‘5p a litre fuel discount’.
The announcement came after the Government received final EU clearance to operate its rural fuel rebate pilot scheme in the Inner & Outer Hebrides, Northern Isles, islands in the Clyde and the Isles of Scilly. The scheme will bring much needed relief to remote islands, where pump prices are particularly high due to transportation costs.
The announcement came after the Government received final EU clearance to operate its rural fuel rebate pilot scheme in the Inner & Outer Hebrides, Northern Isles, islands in the Clyde and the Isles of Scilly. The scheme will bring much needed relief to remote islands, where pump prices are particularly high due to transportation costs.
WO: Secretary of State for Wales, Cheryl Gillan, has recently offered her support for International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women (White Ribbon Day). An international campaign, 16 Days of Action Against Gender Violence, will culminate in Human Rights Day on 10 December 2011.
The Secretary of State will sign the White Ribbon Campaign’s pledge, ‘promising never to commit, condone, or remain silent about men’s violence against women in all its forms’.
The Secretary of State will sign the White Ribbon Campaign’s pledge, ‘promising never to commit, condone, or remain silent about men’s violence against women in all its forms’.
The Secretary of State also offered her support for male victims of domestic violence, saying: “I would also like to extend my support for male victims of domestic violence whose plight can often slip into the shadows and go unheard. ……. it is crucial that we also recognise that women can also be perpetrators of physical, psychological, sexual and financial abuse”.
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