WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
One problem is that, if builders built sufficient numbers, they would only be able to sell them for less! |
The government has introduced new plans to fix the broken housing market & build more homes across England. |
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CLG: Government announces ambitious plan to build the homes Britain needs CLG: Housing white paper: statement LGA: Councils respond to Housing White Paper IPPR: Government must go further to tackle the housing crisis CBI reaction to housing announcement JRF: Response to Housing White Paper NLGN response to the Housing White Paper Homeless Link: Will the housing White Paper make a difference to homelessness? IEA: Housing White Paper fails to tackle root cause of Britain’s broken housing market Another attempt to ‘kick start’ house building Let’s hope that they don’t build them on a floodplain ‘Unfit housing’ let by ‘unfit landlords’ ‘Housing’ is not just about ‘home ownership’ The rooms / buildings & gardens also need to be of a decent size |
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New Mums can have a tough time mentally |
NICE is calling on general practice staff to assess the mental health of all women who have recently given birth, as fears some may be left unsupported. Some symptoms of mental health problems, such as changes to appetite or sleeping patterns, can be masked by what is considered normal for pregnant and postnatal women. NICE suggest that the routine six-week postnatal appointment could provide an opportunity for new mothers to be asked about their mental health. It is estimated that about 1 in 8 women experience anxiety or depression whilst pregnant, and up to 1 in 5 do during the first year after childbirth. And a recent report by NHS Improving Quality found that women’s experience of treatment for mental health problems during pregnancy or afterwards was variable. |
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NICE seeks to support new mothers with mental health problems The sad loss of babies / children still happens for some on a daily basis |
2 important announcements from NHS England |
NHS England, the Government, and the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee have reached agreement on changes to the general practice contract in England that will benefit both patients and GPs. The new agreement includes an increased focus on some of the most vulnerable, with tailored annual reviews offered to frail pensioners, and an increase in the number of health checks for people with learning disabilities. NHS England has also published new guidelines that will strengthen the management of conflicts of interest and ensure that the NHS is a world leader for transparent and accountable healthcare. The guidance will permit staff, such as nurses, to receive a box of chocolates or other small tokens of gratitude from patients but will require them to decline anything that could be seen to affect their professional judgement. Gifts with a value over £50, accepted on behalf of organisations, will need to be declared. It will also be standard practice for NHS commitments to take precedence over private practice, and for any member of staff – clinical or non-clinical – to declare outside employment and the details of where & when this takes place although not earnings at this stage. |
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NHS England, Government and BMA agree new GP contract for 2017/18 NHS England publish new guidelines on tackling conflicts of interest |
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. |
Could online identity verification help solve the health tourism issue? |
The Cabinet Office have published the Government Transformation Strategy, setting out how the government will harness digital technologies, skills & tools to transform public services and put the citizen first – and redefine the relationship between the citizen & the state. Ben Gummer MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office, has outlined the government’s commitment to build on the Digital by Default services developed under the previous digital transformation strategy, which helped to establish the UK as a global leader in digital government. Central to this commitment is identity assurance – establishing that the user is who they say they are. GOV.UK Verify, the government’s online identity verification service which went live in May 2016, enables individuals to prove their identity online and to access government services securely & safely in minutes. |
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GDS: The future of public service - Government Transformation Strategy launched GDS: The Government Transformation Strategy 2017 to 2020 techUK: Government Backs Digital Transformation for Public Services CO: Government at your service: Ben Gummer Op-Ed DH: Recovering the cost of NHS treatments given to overseas visitors 'Chaotic' recovery of NHS costs is adding to pressure on finances techUK: Making the Digital Marketplace Work for Local Government |
Role of the Community |
We all have our part to play in ensuring good value services that meet our needs. |
Collaborate: The Critical Role of Community Action in Public Service Reform Collaborate: Building Collaborative Places: Infrastructure for System Change |
Better spent responding to UK’s NHS & Social Care crisis? |
The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy has published the Stability and Security Fund report. It has found that the objective, operation & achievements of Fund are ‘opaque’. The £bn fund lacks political leadership & accountability. |
PC&PE: £bn fund lacks political leadership and accountability IFS: Spending cuts to accelerate as tax burden rises to highest level in over 30 years ICAI’s latest review of the cross-government Prosperity Fund |
Don’t ‘count your chickens’ yet; the risk is still there |
The government has set out initial plans to update temporary measures in place to reduce the risk of avian flu in England, after the current Prevention Zone expires on 28 February 2017. |
Defra: Update on biosecurity measures to protect against Avian Flu |
The same right to travel by taxi |
From 6 April 2017 it will be illegal for taxi drivers to discriminate against wheelchair users. Taxi drivers face a fine of up to £1,000 if they refuse to transport wheelchair users or attempt to charge them extra, in a change to the law announced last week. From 6 April taxi & private hire vehicle drivers will be obliged by law to:
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DfT: Law change demands equal treatment for disabled taxi users |
Help ensure a skilled workforce for the future |
In July 2016, the Government set out its vision in the Post 16 Skills Plan 2016, which accepted all the recommendations made by the Independent Panel on Technical Education on how to improve technical education in England. This includes organising technical education, work-based (apprenticeships) and college-based, into 15 “routes” to skilled employment, such as engineering & manufacturing, digital and construction. Each technical education route needs panels of professionals to develop standards that would apply to work-based or college-based specific occupations and provide high level steers on qualification content. They are now ready to form the panels that will develop these occupational standards. This is an exciting moment & opportunity, and they are looking for experienced professionals in the occupations relevant to the “routes”, who are willing to provide their expertise and commit their time. |
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BCS: DfE seeks panels of professionals to drive technical education reform |
Editorial Commentary: ‘Who gets the blame if parliament vote on deal?’ |
If ever one was looking for an illustration of how out of touch some MPs are with public opinion, you would need to look no further than the recent proposed amendments to the Bill that will enable the PM to ‘trigger’ Article 50. To take one (precis) example; Amendment 11 – To produce a report on effect of withdrawal on UK’s national finances. Given some EU politician’s expressions of ‘We must punish them’, why would we want to tell them what would hurt us or benefit us the most? One wonders just who would Remoaners and Brexiteers trust to produce such a report? Would we ‘dust off’ the HM Treasury’s ‘Project Fear’ reports from last year? Even the OBR would have great difficulty in undertaking the task of producing what would be accepted as a ‘neutral’ report. Britain to enter recession with 500,000 UK jobs lost if it left EU, new Treasury analysis shows ~ HM Treasury analysis shows leaving EU would cost British households £4,300 per year If any such amendment had succeeded in being added to the Bill and that had led to a poor outcome in the negotiations, then the Remoaners could not have blamed the government, because it would be as a result of their own actions. If the Bill remains as it is, after passing through the Lords, then the government can be judged (in the future) on their actions and the outcomes. Given that (again) all those ‘experts (such as the IMF) seem to have (previously) been seriously ‘wrong’ (at least so far), we should accept the fact that we won’t really know the impact until several years after Brexit, as there are so many (some unknown at this time) variables (including the future of the EU / Euro). One should also keep in mind the old truism; Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics. EU News: How the euro can survive ~ Defence: MEPs urge member states to show political will and join forces Those who think that the EU is a ‘bed of roses’ for its members and that Brexit means leaving ‘Paradise’ might do well to watch the new BBC This World series on BBC2 (21:00 Thursday nights) After Brexit: The Battle for Europe The final irony was that the amendments even included one that said (in effect), ‘if the negotiated deal was ‘turned down’ by MPs, we should remain in the EU’ – hardly likely to encourage the EU to offer us a reasonable deal! As for the House of Lords; Their role is to ‘improve’ draft legislation so as to minimise ‘the law of unseen consequences’. That patently does not apply to this Bill, whereas they will have a fundamental role in ‘translating’ EU legislation into UK law so that it is ‘fit for purpose’. One hopes that they realise that and don’t obstruct the ‘will of the people’ to leave the EU! With regards to the rights of EU citizens to remain in the UK after Brexit, it is up to the EU to come out now and say an agreement can be reached on that and UK citizens in the EU. The only thing stopping an agreement being made is their refusal to make one yet. |
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