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Policy Statements and Initiatives
BIS: The Government has announced the creation of the new Institute for Web Science, which is intended to make the UK ‘the hub of international research into the next generation of web and internet technologies and their commercialisation’.
The Institute will ‘conduct research, collaborate with businesses, identify opportunities for social & economic benefit, assist in commercialising research and help Government stimulate demand through procurement’.
The Institute will ‘conduct research, collaborate with businesses, identify opportunities for social & economic benefit, assist in commercialising research and help Government stimulate demand through procurement’.
£30m will be set aside to create the Institute for Web Science and it will be headed by Sir Tim Berners Lee, the British inventor of the World Wide Web, and leading Web Science expert Professor Nigel Shadbolt. It will be jointly based in the Universities of Oxford and Southampton. It is still subject to contract.
DCMS: Culture minister, Margaret Hodge, has published a blueprint for England’s public library service, to help ensure it is fit for purpose in the 21st century. The Modernisation Review of Public Libraries: a Policy Statement makes it clear that books – and the right to borrow them & browse free of charge - must remain at the heart of the service.
In addition, the statutory responsibility on library authorities to provide a ‘comprehensive & efficient’ service must remain.
In addition, the statutory responsibility on library authorities to provide a ‘comprehensive & efficient’ service must remain.
The paper aims to ‘help libraries grasp the opportunities of digital technology, respond to the decline in use of existing services, the current economic climate and the public’s expectation of more customer-focused public services’.
ScotGov: Public sector pay in Scotland must be affordable & sustainable, Finance Secretary, John Swinney, stressed last week, as the 'Public Sector Pay Policy 2010-11' was officially published. The policy covers 9 public bodies which are scheduled to submit pay remits during the 2010-11 pay round. ScotGov will not commit to pay agreements that extend fully into the next spending review period.
The policy states that:
* The basic award for employees should not exceed 1%
* Public bodies' overall pay bills should not increase by more than 2%
DH: A framework for developing well-being by adopting a broad-based public health approach to maintaining good mental health was launched last week by Care Services Minister, Phil Hope. The ‘Confident Communities, Brighter Futures’report offers a systematic evidence base from which local authorities and the NHS can act to reduce inequalities and improve mental health in their areas.
The report highlights early intervention & prevention through programmes such as psychological therapies, healthy workplaces and initiatives to reduce workplace stress, as well as education & lifelong learning to promote well-being and resilience.
Press release ~ Confident communities, brighter futures: A framework for mental well-being ~ New Horizons
CLG: A new report published last week set out government plans for ‘a radical transformation to the way public services will be delivered in future’. The Total Place: A whole area approach to public servicesreport set out the ‘sweeping changes being introduced following wide-ranging testing of the approach in 13 pilot areas. The report presents a series of commitments that will give greater freedoms and flexibilities to support a new relationship between Government and places’.
