WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Evidently UK Government has ‘done nothing’ to address these issues and apparently parents have ‘no responsibility’ for the health & welfare of THEIR children! |
The UK is lagging behind other rich countries in reducing inequality in child well-being, with concerning gaps in health, education, and income, according to a new report from Unicef. Report Card 13 reveals just how far the most disadvantaged children in the UK are being left to fall behind. One of the key areas of concern is the disparity in healthy behaviours among children. Of all the countries studied, the UK has the largest difference in the levels of healthy eating (consumption of fruit & vegetables) between children from low & high socio-economic status, along with one of the largest gaps in the levels of physical activity. |
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Unicef: UK risks leaving poorest children behind Evidently it’s not just little girls that are made of ‘sugar & spice and all things nice’ Make children exercise at school? Making it easier to eat healthily Everyone should know the ‘basics’ after 10+ years of formal education Reading this report, something doesn't add up "Shocking fall" in GCSE performance for pupils on free school meals in Reading LGA - 2,500 academies yet to sign up to healthy school meal standards Young Start awards help young Scots reach their potential New figures show school attendance at highest recorded level Pupils from less well-off backgrounds are closing the gap with their class mates More disadvantaged children staying in education after 18 North-South divide hits young children as early as 5 – IPPR North report IFS - No magic bullet in London schools' success. Just years of steady improvements in quality Funding for disadvantaged pupils Nick Gibb: the social justice case for an academic curriculum Childhood obesity demands bold Government action committee report finds Editorial Note: Perhaps we should divert some of the £bns of UK Foreign Aid to improve the lives of UK children if the situation is as bad as they say? Pity they didn’t consult our database to see what UK government(s) have already done / tried before writing report! |
Government departments are under siege. As disparate and unwieldy databases grow, the landscape for effective data analytics becomes more challenging. Data is not only at risk of under analysis, but also creates fertile ground for cyber-attacks, both external and internal. Government’s data is fast becoming a prime and soft target for cyber criminals, intent on data theft. As digital government is expected to become more agile, proactive, and informed, deficient data analysis and out-dated security is putting government at risk of decoupling from the digital citizen. Confidence in modern government is underpinned by their ability to both safeguard and interpret a citizen’s data. Click here to get our latest industry outlook on the challenges government departments face, and what can be done about it. |
Should those who have not / cannot ‘pay in’ show more individual initiative & personal responsibility? |
Protecting free & equal access to healthcare for all is likely to require individuals to take greater responsibility for their own wellbeing and a more determined public policy focus on preventative medicine, a new Civitas book suggests. The Health of the Nation: Averting the demise of universal healthcare, a collection of essays by leading health commentators, demonstrates there is a growing consensus about the need to look beyond clinical services for the answers to the difficulties facing the NHS. This will need to involve initiatives to minimise ill health among the nation’s expanding, and ageing, population, including a much greater emphasis on public health & preventative medicine as well as a renewed drive for individual initiative & personal responsibility. Health-enhancing objectives will need to be central to policy areas as diverse as urban planning, education and employment, for example, while there needs to be greater awareness of the extent to which some diseases are often the result of poor health choices. But it will also require healthcare to become more individualised and more integrated into daily life, including widespread personal healthcare budgets. |
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Civitas: Future of the NHS depends on greater personal responsibility NHS England: Tens of £ms to be reinvested in patient care thanks to NHS devices deal NHS England: Your chance to shape our mandate for change NHS England: New Intelligence Packs offer early prevention opportunities NHS England: Gauging where we are with a paper-free NHS NHS England: New NHS centre recruits first patient to world leading genomics project DH/PHE annual conference 2016: bookings open Healthcare models of the future NHS Are we prepared to ‘re-slice the revenue cake’ to pay for it A matter of concern for most people (eventually) NHS England: Realising ambitions - improving palliative & end of life care for all in 3 steps NHS England: New guide gives vital support to carers |
But which of the managers will ‘do the time’, as it is not the shareholders who make these decisions? |
The UK will bring forward plans to introduce a criminal offence for corporations who fail to stop their staff facilitating tax evasion, the PM announced in a statement to the Commons, ahead of next month’s summit to tackle corruption in all its forms. For the first time, companies will be held criminally liable if they fail to stop their employees from facilitating tax evasion. At the March 2015 Budget the Chancellor said the government would be delivering on its pledge to introduce the measure in this Parliament. The move is part of the government’s efforts to clamp down on corruption in all walks of life. The government has already confirmed plans to create a cross-agency taskforce to investigate all evidence of illegality that has emerged from the so-called ‘Panama Papers’. |
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10DS: PM - Companies to be liable for employees who facilitate tax cheating PC&PE: New measures & greater clarity needed to fight tax fraud The more they ‘evade’ the bigger the cuts will have to be Looking back one can see that tax collection (in some cases) is just like trying to carry live eels Perhaps the Greek government should try and book some places? Tackling tax fraud: how HMRC responds to tax evasion, the hidden economy and criminal attacks EC concludes Belgian "Excess Profit" tax scheme illegal Net closes in on offshore tax cheats Crackdown on tax cheats nets £109m in just 6 months Greening: Tax generation key to ending poverty New criminal offences in clampdown on tax evasion PM’s Commons statement on Panama Papers: 11 April 2016 HMT: UK leads European calls for G20 action on beneficial ownership |
Anyone remember those original HIV/Aids Advertisements? |
By 2050, antimicrobial resistance could reduce global GDP by up to 3.5% – a cumulative cost of $100 trillion and 10m people a year could die globally as a result – which is more than currently die from cancer each year. Appearing in Washington, D.C. to discuss international action to tackle the growing problem of antibiotics becoming powerless against common infections, the Chancellor said the reimbursement models for antibiotics & diagnostics are ‘broken’ and called for a global overhaul. |
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HMT: Antimicrobial resistance a deadly threat, warns Chancellor Helping guard against a return to pre-antibiotic medical care |
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. |
People need people |
Loneliness in the older generation can be combatted through better housing design, building ‘cities for all ages’, and encouraging ‘socialisers’ to motivate outliers into activity, according to a new Demos report. Over 1m older people always or often feel lonely and the report finds a ‘people & place’ strategy is central to tackling isolation, and that redesigning ‘cities for all ages’ could help prevent social disengagement. The report – Building Companionship: how better design can combat loneliness in later life – was undertaken to better understand how loneliness amongst older people can be tackled. It comes amid growing concerns around isolation, with research for the report finding that those aged over 80 are almost twice as likely to report feeling lonely compared to their younger counterparts (14.8% of 16-64s report this, compared to 29.2% over the over 80s). The report highlights wide regional variations in loneliness: Londoners aged 55+ report the highest levels, with four out of five (81%) feeling lonely at least some of the time, citing a lack of community spirit and support. In contrast, Yorkshire and Humberside emerged as the least lonely region, with 47% of over 55s saying they had not felt lonely at any point during the past 12 months, with local communities and neighbours playing a large role. The impact of loneliness is significant and well documented – from poorer mental health to a greater risk of falling and hospitalisation. This, in turn, has obvious cost implications for the NHS, social care and the wider economy. The report looked at the high levels of companionship found in retirement developments for lessons that could be learnt for how wider building design could address social isolation. |
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Demos: Designing housing to build companionship in later life |
Life & work can be ‘great’ outside London |
A new film showcasing how the North of England & Wales is ripe for investment is being promoted across the world. The video highlights how the natural beauty & iconic sights of the Northern Powerhouse, combined with its skilled workforce & cutting edge, makes it the ideal investment hotspot. |
CLG: Gunning for growth: film promotes Northern Powerhouse to the world |
Have you got a ‘success story’ to tell? |
techUK is launching a new project to showcase the positive impact that their members are making on delivering better public services to citizens and helping Government to be more efficient through the use of innovative tech. They want your examples on where you have delivered a successful project with a government department, agency and/or local authority and delivered a successful transformation to their business which put user needs at the heart of the project. They are looking for examples across the public sector, in areas such as healthcare, emergency services, cyber security, etc. |
techUK are Seeking Stories of Public Service Transformation Through Tech |
The more the cheaper! |
DfE is facilitating a further procurement to allow schools to buy tablets using ‘collective buying power’, after the pilot saved 12% on the price. The procurement will be completed by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). Schools should register their initial interest by 6 May 2016 to buy tablet devices using collective buying power. |
If you don’t vote, don’t complain about the choice! |
Home Secretary Theresa May on the local police & crime commissioner elections taking place on 5 May 2016. |
Home Office: Police & crime commissioners: the choice is yours |
Well that appears to answer one main ‘What happens after we leave’ Question |
EU membership has been made redundant by global regulators, according to a new paper from the Adam Smith Institute. Published independently of both the major campaigns, the report reveals that the UK often has little say over EU regulation, as in reality so much of it originates at the global level. The new paper Global Regulators: Stuck in the middle with EU, written by European Union expert and ASI fellow Roland Smith, lays out how the UK’s ability to influence global legislation would change for the better following an exit from the EU. Rather than the expected ‘bonfire of regulations’ upon exit, or a situation where the UK is at the mercy of Single Market regulations without having any influence on them, the free-market think tank has highlighted that 80% of Single Market legislation falls within the ambit of existing international organisations and is consequently open to global regulation. The EU itself originates very few market standards & rules, the study shows, despite its sprawling size, and it frequently outsources & copies global agreements verbatim. |
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More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
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Vote Leave - the campaign for a Leave vote in the EU referendum Electoral Commission: Media Statement - The official EU referendum campaign period opens EU News: Parliament advocates a centralised EU asylum system and legal ways to migrate Relocation & Resettlement: EU Member States urgently need to deliver PC&PE: EU foreign & security policy: Commission responds to Committee's report EC proposes public tax transparency rules for multinationals CBI responds to EC proposals on country-by-country tax reporting EP calls on Polish authorities to respect democratic principles and rule of law Editor’s Note: We suggest readers monitor the ‘News’ sections of the 2 campaign sites for the 2 differing views. The WGPlus newsletter will mainly limit itself to highlighting ‘normal’ EU-related news, plus Think Tank items, PC&PE reports, etc. |
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More news, opinions, documents, claims & counter-claims; |
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IPPR Scotland: Fresh figures reveal how much tax parties' plans will raise |
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