WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

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CEOP:  'Saviles' sometimes ‘hunt’ in packs - A new training film to ‘help front-line police officers spot the early signs of group-associated grooming, and support vulnerable children being sexually exploited’, was launched last week. 

The Association of Chief Police Offices (ACPO) and the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) has teamed up with Shona McGarty, the BBC ‘EastEnders’ actress who plays the character ‘Whitney’, to create the new film, which is available at www.cse.siyonatech.com and on CEOP’s You Tube channel www.youtube.com/ceop.

The 20 minute film, made with the help of Asset TV and Siyonatech, uses a storyline of ‘Whitney’ to explore how children & young people can be made vulnerable to grooming & sexual abuse, highlighting the grooming & manipulation techniques used by abusers.
Press release ~ CEOP: Don't leave victims out of mind, out of sight ~ CEOP: 'Out of Mind, Out of Sight' ~ DfE: Urgent reforms to protect children in residential care from sexual exploitation ~ IPCC: Merseyside Police officer found guilty of sexual grooming ~ DfE: New guidelines to help industry promote internet safety ~ DfE: A new action plan calls on all local areas to take urgent action to stop the sexual exploitation of children & young people ~  IPCC managed investigation identifies lessons to be learned ~ CEOP launch a new way to prevent UK child sex offenders from abusing children overseas ~ IPCC: More should be done to stop police officers who abuse their powers for sexual exploitation ~ TCS: Care system placing children in danger, parliamentary inquiry finds ~ All Party Parliamentary inquiry report into children missing from care – Government response ~ CEOP:   A Picture of Abuse ~ DfE:  Time for action, not talk     (3rd item)

NHS Confed:  The legacy of Labour’s PFI-fuelled hospital building programme is coming home to roost - The Commons Committee of Public Accounts recently published its report: Department of Health: Securing the future financial sustainability of the NHS. 

The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the CPA, said:  "The Department of Health could not explain to us how it will deal with an NHS trust that goes bankrupt.  Nor could it provide reassurance that financial problems would not damage the quality of care or equality of access to all citizens, wherever they live.

The overall surplus of £2.1bn across all NHS bodies in 2011-12 masks the fact that a significant minority are in financial difficulty. In London, 2 trusts have a combined deficit of £115m, one of which, South London Healthcare NHS Trust, has been placed in special administration.  On top of that, the NHS is striving to make efficiency savings worth £20bn while undergoing a major reform of the system.

Up to now financial problems have often been hidden, with struggling trusts being bailed out through additional financial support from the NHS and the Department.   ……..   It very much looks like the Department is inventing rules and processes on the hoof rather than anticipating problems and establishing risk protocols”.
Press release & links ~ Report: Department of Health: Securing the future financial sustainability of the NHS ~ NHS Confederation comments on PAC report on financial sustainability of the NHS ~ AC: More organisations are struggling financially within a generally healthy NHS, says report ~ NHS Confederation - Administrator's proposals for South London trust ‘deserve a fair hearing’ ~ NHS Confederation calls for bold action & investment by commissioners to improve sustainability of NHS services ~ More radical action needed to ensure NHS financial sustainability ~ NAO: Securing the future financial sustainability of the NHS ~ CBI comments on NAO report on Securing the future financial sustainability of the NHS ~ Market forces alone will not deliver essential changes to hospital services, says The King's Fund ~ PX: Align Consultant and GP pay to keep patients out of hospital ~ Monitor takes on new powers to protect patient services at failing hospitals ~ DH: Additional safeguards put in place to protect patients (Consultation closes on 4 January 2013)

BIS:  Foundation of a future vibrant economy or a policy from the Stone Age? - Lord Heseltine has set out a ‘comprehensive economic plan to improve the UK’s ability to create wealth’.  In his independent report Lord Heseltine 'makes the case for a major rebalancing of responsibilities for economic development between central & local government, and between government & the private sector'.

The report, No Stone Unturned in Pursuit of Growth, makes 89 recommendations which ‘aim to inject stability into the economy, create the conditions for growth and maximise the performance of the UK’.  At the heart of the proposals are measures to ‘unleash the potential of local economies & leaders and enable every part of the UK economy to raise its game’.
Press release & links ~ Speech by Heseltine ~ Government response ~ CBI comment ~ LGA response to Heseltine report ~ TUC comment ~ TWF: Survey shows business leaders ready to walk away from Local Enterprise Partnerships unless real progress made soon ~ IfG: Lord Heseltine is right - Whitehall must grip management & performance information ~ CBI: Economy flat this year, with a modest pick-up throughout 2013/14 ~ iea: Intervention in industry is a flawed strategy ~ NIESR: Prospects for the UK economy ~ Rural Growth Network grant ~ Civitas: EU holds back UK economic recovery ~ Civitas: Why economic growth is faltering and what we can do about it ~ North Eastern industry to be decimated - and for what? ~ That's not a growth plan - this is a growth plan! ~ Springtime for German small business loans while British SMEs stay trapped in credit freeze ~ ASI: Slash regulations for small businesses for a jobs-led recovery ~ ippr: Think tank warns local growth constrained by piecemeal strategies ~ HMT wasting £40bn Northern economic potential

CO:  An end to expensive, non-connecting, separate legacy systems? - From last week all government bodies must comply with Open Standards Principles, an agreed set of standards to make our IT more open, cheaper & better connected. The OSPs have been developed following the public consultation ‘Open Standards: Open Opportunities – flexibility and efficiency in Government IT’ which took place from February to June 2012.

All Government bodies must now comply with OSPs for:
* software inter-operability
* data & document formats in government IT
* or apply for an exemption.
Press release & links ~ IfG: The £16 billion question: What's wrong with government IT? ~ CO: Government to save millions on ICT

FSA:  Urgent warning to bodybuilding community - Urgent advice has been issued by the Food Standards Agency to the public and to people in the bodybuilding community in particular, following the deaths of 2 people believed to have taken a ‘fat-burner’ substance in tablet or powder form.  The 'fat-burner' capsules containing DNP appear to be marketed primarily at the bodybuilding community as a way of losing excess fat.

The substance contains DNP (2, 4-dinitrophenol), an industrial chemical known to have serious short-term & long-term effects, which can be extremely dangerous to human health and is not suitable for human consumption.
Press release & links

STFC:  Picturing science at work - 40 of the most spectacular photographs of cutting edge science & engineering have been shortlisted for a major UK photography prize.  The public now has a chance to vote online to decide which ten images they think are the most dynamic, inspiring & spectacular.

The public is now invited to visit the Photowalk website to vote for their favourite images and help STFC identify the final set of images that will go forward to the national judging in December.  Online Voting closes at noon on Sunday 18 November 2012.
Press release & links

EU News:  Does Cameron really stand alone in Europe as Cypriot Presidency calls for significant savings? - Parliament's key negotiators on the EU long-term budget for 2014-2020 expressed dismay at the Cypriot Presidency proposal for the so-called multi-annual financial framework (MFF), presented last week.  MEPs directed their main criticism at a proposed cut by €50bn as compared to the Commission's initial proposal of 16 months ago.

The EP negotiation team will now carefully study the new ‘negotiating box’ presented by the Cypriot Presidency, but will advise the EP to act in line with its earlier positions.  The European Council will be informed on Parliament's views prior to its extraordinary summit on the 22 & 23 of November 2012.  Any decision that disregards the European Parliament's position could result in a veto by the EP.
Press release & links ~ Cyprus Presidency's EU budget deal rejected by Commission, Parliament ~ 46-page paper proposing €50bn in savings ~ IPPR: UK should offer up the rebate to negotiate EU budget cut

G-Cloud Toolkit – Secure Collaborative Software as a Service (SaaS) for Government - The latest Government Cloud toolkit is now available, providing an overview of IL3(Restricted) and accredited government-ready, secure content management and collaboration technology and demonstrating what has already been achieved with case studies from government organisations such as Cheltenham Borough Council, and the UK Liberal Democratic Party.

Click below to access and download the G-Cloud Toolkit.



 

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