Annual Reports
DH: More people are trying to quit smoking, the air in pubs & bars is cleaner and rates of compliance with smokefree laws remain high, according to a new survey. The report - Smokefree England: One Year On - summarises key findings from businesses, health workers and the public regarding the Smokefree legislation which was introduced one year ago last week.
The key findings include:
* 76% of people and 55% of smokers reported that they supported the law and 98% of all premises and vehicles that were inspected comply with the law
* Exposure for bar workers to hazardous secondhand smoke has been reduced by 76%
* there has been a 22% increase in the number of people quitting with local NHS Stop Smoking Services
The Department of Health is now consulting on the future of tobacco control (closes 8 September 2008).
Press release ~ Smokefree England: One Year On and related documents ~ Consultation on the future of tobacco control ~ UK National Smoking Cessation Conference ~ Giving up smoking
MoJ/Olso: The Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales, Zahida Manzoor CBE, in her Annual Report & Accounts, has welcomed the Legal Services Act (2007) which, when brought into force, will create two new bodies, the Legal Services Board (LSB) and the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC).
The OLC will take over the handling of consumer complaints from the legal professional bodies. It is envisaged that the OLC will be fully operational in 2010/2011. The Ombudsman will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure a seamless transition from the current to the new ombudsman scheme.
Press release ~ Annual Report and Accounts of the Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales ~ Legal Services Act (2007)
IPS: The IPS Annual Report & Accounts highlights IPS' success in exceeding all its customer service targets including processing 99.62% of postal passport applications in ten days and a 97.5% customer satisfaction rating. The report also shows that around 9,000 fraud attempts were detected in 2007/2008.
Press release ~ IPS Annual Report & Accounts ~ Report on key projects implemented in 2007 (May 2008) ~ National Identity Scheme Delivery Plan 2008
TAO: Dame Barbara Mills, the Adjudicator for complaints about HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the Valuation Office Agency, the Office of the Public Guardian and The Insolvency Service, has published her 2007/08 Annual Report. The report, which covers Dame Barbara's ninth year as Adjudicator, is the fifteenth to be published since the office was created in May 1993.
Dame Barbara notes that the past year has been difficult both for HMRC and her office, which continued to receive a high number of tax credits complaints. She welcomes, however, the recent changes in how HMRC decides whether to write off an overpayment of tax credits that arose from an HMRC mistake.
Dame Barbara also welcomes HMRC's agreement to increase her office's resources to deal with a large and growing number of complaints on hand.
FSA: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published its Annual Report for the year 2007/08, which details how the FSA has delivered outcomes for both firms and consumers throughout the year under the three headings which cover all of the FSA's work:
* to promote efficient, orderly and fair financial markets, both wholesale & retail
* to help the retail consumer for financial services achieve a fair deal and
* to improve its business capability & effectiveness, so as to make the FSA easier to do business with
MoJ: The Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman's second Annual Report has been published further to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. This Report is laid in Parliament by the Lord Chancellor.
