WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
| Increased priority with the colder weather |
|
Peter Smith (Head of Partnerships at Homeless Link) looks at how partnership working is enabling a new approach to rough sleeping prevention; As Head of Partnerships, I’m always very interested in getting involved with new and different ways of working to prevent homelessness, particularly when it involves a number of partners. One example of this is a particular piece of work that has been undertaken across the three London Boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets & the City of London Corporation called No First Night Out. Since becoming responsible for our national partnership work in July, I have had the pleasure of being part of the steering group for this initiative, and it has been great to see how taking a new approach can start to make a difference. This is further demonstrated by the reference to No First Night Out in the recently announced DCLG Homeless Prevention Programme. It is obvious to all of us that prevention & early intervention really can make a difference in someone’s life, and actually preventing somebody from sleeping rough at all while offering them a clear alternative is surely the best possible response. With No First Night Out this has already been achieved in a variety of ways. |
| Researched Links: |
|
Homeless Link: No First Night Out demonstrates early successes – (HL: How innovative legal help is supporting destitute migrants DCLG Homeless Prevention Programme Street Legal January 2016 - Homeless Link What is the cost of not ‘fixing the problem’? ‘Housing’ is not just about ‘home ownership’ The basic issue is that they often find it hard to ‘cope with life’ |
Why Read This? – Earlier this year a further £4.2 Billion was set aside for the NHS to meet its 2020 ‘paperless’ deadline. However, in the meantime, paper is still important. According to the most recent survey:
This latest guide is designed for those of you who find themselves in a working environment where paper is still present and offers advice on how to keep all records and information accessible and your organisation compliant. Click here to download this quick guide to ‘Keeping Your Paper Files Accessible and Compliant’ |
| More (but essential) changes for the NHS |
|
Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) offer the best hope to improve health & care services despite having been beset by problems so far, according to a new report from The King's Fund. STPs – plans for the future of health & care services being developed in 44 areas of England – have been strongly criticised by politicians, local authority leaders and patient groups. The new report, based on interviews with senior leaders in four STP areas, supports many of the criticisms. |
| Researched Links: |
|
Kings Fund: Controversial plans right way forward for the NHS LGA: Councils respond to King's Fund report on STPs |
| Not all problems / mistakes occur in hospitals |
|
NHS England has confirmed the steps it is taking to make it easier for primary care staff to raise their concerns so that action can be taken and improvements made. New whistleblowing guidance has been drawn up following a 5-week consultation with staff working in primary care. The guidance comes after Sir Robert Francis recommended that the principles outlined in his Freedom to Speak Up report be adapted for primary care, where smaller work settings can present challenges around anonymity and conflicts with employers. In April 2016, NHS England became a ‘prescribed person‘, meaning primary care service staff working at GP surgeries, opticians, pharmacies and dental practices, can raise concerns about inappropriate activity directly to NHS England. |
| Researched Links: |
|
NHS England: New measures to support whistleblowers in primary care NHS England Whistleblowing section We should reward those who speak up & reprimand those that ‘hide’ issues |
| Further investigation required |
| David Lammy MP has published the emerging findings of his independent review into race and the criminal justice system. The review commissioned an analysis paper looking at disproportionality in the criminal justice system. One finding was that for every 100 white women handed custodial sentences at Crown Courts for drug offences, 227 black women were sentenced to custody. For men, this figure is 141 and 100. |
| Researched Links: |
|
Lammy review: emerging findings published EHRC: Lammy Review on criminal justice discrimination: David Isaac responds David Lammy to visit court as part of racial bias review Hundreds of responses inform Lammy race review Review of racial bias and BAME representation in Criminal Justice System announced Review into racial bias in the criminal justice system begins Police forces failing to understand the impact of stop and search |
| SME Supplier Locator update... |
|
UK Government and public sector spend with SME’s is continually on the increase and by 2020, it is the stated intent of Cabinet Office that £1 of every £3 spent on government contracts goes to SME’s. The past 5 years have seen government make a priority of getting money through its supply chain into the hands of SMEs, by both setting targets and introducing new procurement mechanisms. Against this backdrop, the WiredGov Supplier Locator service has been developed specifically to embrace the SME Agenda and provide the ideal platform for SME’s to promote their services, solutions, accreditation and success stories directly to our ever increasing audience across all government and public sector verticals and Tier 1 suppliers. |
| A healthier statistic! |
| Last week was World Antibiotic Awareness Week, which aims to increase awareness of antibiotic resistance and to encourage best practice among the general public, health workers and policy makers to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance. |
| Researched Links: |
|
World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2016 Defra: UK on track to cut antibiotic use in animals as total sales drop 9% NICE: NICE welcomes landmark fall in antibiotic prescriptions DH: Use of antibiotics decreases across all healthcare settings for the first time They were used successfully BEFORE antibiotics were developed! We need to find an answer to this conundrum Anyone remember those original HIV/Aids Advertisements? DH: UK secures historic UN Declaration on antimicrobial resistance FSA Chief Scientific Adviser outlines the challenges of Antimicrobial Resistance |
| Still ‘money for old rope’ |
|
New plans to bring in a cap on early exit charges for occupational pensions have been announced by the Minister for Pensions. They will ensure that people are not unfairly penalised for accessing their savings early. Currently people can face average early exit charges of around 5% of their pension pot simply for cashing in their own savings. The cap will be set at 1% for existing occupational pensions and 0% for any new contracts, removing unnecessary barriers for those wanting to access their savings. This will bring exit charges for workplace pensions in line with other personal and stakeholder pensions. |
| Researched Links: |
|
DWP: Pensions Minister moves to create exit charges equality FCA introduces cap on early exit pension charges CAB: Cap on pension exit fees will provide clarity for savers 1% cap on pension exit charges too high, says Citizens Advice Citizens Advice calls for £50 cap on pension exit charges IFS: Automatic enrolment boosts pension membership to 88% and pension saving by £2.5bn in 2015 DWP: Future life expectancy to be considered in first State Pension age review FCA publishes rules for the sale of the Lifetime ISA ESMA responds to EC’s consultation on potential EU personal pension framework |
| Not even Brexit will protect the UK from the risk |
|
New outbreaks of avian influenza have been reported among wild birds & poultry across Europe since the end of October 2016. The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 virus has been identified in Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, and the Netherlands. EFSA experts are supporting Member States in their data collection activities aimed at identifying how the virus enters poultry farms and the risks posed by wild birds. This information will help EFSA to re-assess the risk of introduction of avian influenza into the EU based on new scientific knowledge. The updated scientific advice will be published in 2017. |
| Researched Links: |
|
New outbreaks of avian influenza in Europe Avian influenza probe concludes Avian flu advice for travellers going to China Wales must maintain high levels of biosecurity FSA advice about avian (bird) flu Avian Influenza in The Netherlands and the UK: EC backs emergency safeguard measures |
| Unfortunately ability to use a smartphone doesn’t ensure skills / knowledge of 3 Rs |
| Ofcom’s report on Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes, published last week, reveals that children’s internet use has reached record highs, with youngsters aged 5-15 spending around 15 hours each week online – overtaking time spent watching a TV set for the first time. Even pre-schoolers, aged 3-4, are spending 8 hours & 18 minutes a week online, up an 90 minutes from 6 hours 48 minutes in the last year. |
| Deserves a mention just for the (item link) ‘pun’ |
|
Education Secretary Kirsty Williams has urged Welsh teachers to grasp a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to visit the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), Switzerland. Earlier this year 24 physics teachers from Wales visited the site of the large hadron collider in Geneva to witness up close some of the latest discoveries in particle physics, as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The CERN teacher placement scheme, organised by WAG and supported by Project ENTHUSE, provides teachers the opportunity to attend lectures & learn about CERN’s facilities, functions & operation from the scientists & engineers who work there. Kirsty Williams has called for teachers to apply urgently to ensure they can learn how this pioneering work can inform their lessons and hopefully lead to a greater interest in STEM subjects. Teachers, who wish to apply, should contact the team at Dysg@wales.gsi.gov.uk. |
| Researched Links: |
|
WAG: Up and atom – Welsh teachers wanted for CERN mission WAG: New National Academy for Educational Leadership announced |
| Editorial comment: Forget UK Brexit, Has Scotland got a plan? |
|
The SNP has been much in the news recently demanding that the UK Government spell out its plans for Brexit, yet (as has been pointed out also by others), it promised to be running as an independent country within 18 months of ‘winning’ a referendum. There was no ‘certainty’ then about the ‘deal’ it would make with the rUK during that negotiation period, let alone the EU and it had no agreed currency. Even now it appears that it cannot even manage the transfer of some social benefit powers that they were given in the Scotland Act and wants to delay the transfer by 3 years. Telegraph: SNP Social Security Minister denies ducking welfare powers ~ Well we (& others) did warn the SNP about the difficulties of fully implementing new ICT systems The SNP ‘demands’ that the Scottish vote in the Brexit referendum (majority for ‘Remain’) gives them certain ‘rights & powers’ when it comes to Brexit negotiations, yet when it comes to the funding of their approx. £15bn annual public sector overspend, they ‘demand’ that the UK funds it through the Barnett formula. IPPR Scotland: Hammond’s Brexit black hole could leave Scotland £1.3bn worse off ~ IFS: Scotland’s fiscal position: an updated assessment ~ Independence for Scotland just doesn't add up ~ Telegraph: Scots enjoy £1,460 more public spending each despite oil crash ~ IFS: Scotland’s Fiscal Framework does not satisfy Smith’s “Taxpayer fairness” principle Just as with the EU’s ‘Single Market’, one is either completely ‘in’ it, or one just has ‘access’ to it and the same goes for Scotland and the UK. If the SNP want to continue to receive the public sector funding they currently get, they have to be wholly in the UK. But if they are happy to be financially independent and possibly pay tariffs at a ‘hard’ rUK / Scotland border in a different currency and a fee to the EU for Single Market membership, then let the SNP say so and also publish their detailed plans for the Scottish voters to consider. ScotGov: Scotland must remain in EU single market ~ Gordon Brown tells Scots: UK's single market worth far more than EU's Better still, why don’t they just concentrate on implementing all they additional powers they have recently been given in the Scotland Act! New powers, new Scotland? How the Scottish parliament could use its new tax & benefit responsibilities ~ Holyrood gains new powers under Scotland Act 2016 - BBC News |
|
|
|
More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
| Researched Links: |
|
LGA: UK local government leaders unite in Brexit devolution call |
- General News
- Health, Social Care and Homelessness
- Policy Statements and Initiatives
- Consultations
- Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides
- General Reports and Other Publications
- Legislation / Legal
- EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.
- Charity and Voluntary Sector
- ICT and Data Management / Security
- Business and Other Briefings
- Industry News
- Forthcoming Event
