General Reports and Other Publications
Socitm: Potential for saving public funds through place-based budgeting could be frustrated without better understanding of how to manage & use information. This is the message from Too many cooks: the information management implications of place-based public services, the latest report from Socitm Insight.
Ofsted: Ofsted has reported that the best leadership in schools focuses on improving teaching & learning with headteachers seeing this as their core business. Common characteristics of the best leadership include honest self-evaluation and leadership shared across the school.
For the report Developing leadership inspectors visited 24 high-performing primary & secondary National Support Schools, led by National Leaders of Education. To be designated as a NLA you need to have a proven track record of outstanding leadership & management and be leading a school that achieves outstanding results for the community.
Press release ~ Developing leadership: National Support Schools ~ Who can become a national leader of education and national support school?
nef: Portraying investment banks as a giant vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, a new animation from The Great Transition campaign of nef (the new economics foundation) was launched last week, aimed at increasing public pressure on government to take on the banks and not sweep the issue under the carpet. The animation ask politicians if they have a plan to tame the banks, and if not, why not?
Press release ~
CfSJ: Nearly one in two children born today will suffer family breakdown by the age of 16, according to a new analysis of official figures. The new figure of 48% is markedly higher than the 40% chance of a split recorded a decade ago and has prompted new calls for measures to strengthen relationships.
The study, carried out jointly by the Bristol Community Family Trust (BCFT) and the Centre for Social Justice, also concludes that divorce is not the main driver of family breakdown - the collapse of cohabiting relationships lies behind the surge in lone parenthood
Press release ~ Family breakdown in the UK – It’s NOT about divorce ~ Bristol Community Family Trust (BCFT) ~ Centre for Social Justice
Newswire – CIPD: The practice of collecting, evaluating & reporting on human capital management (HCM) ‘enables better business decision-making and deepens understanding of the link between human resources, business strategy & performance’ according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
DfT: Rail passengers & taxpayers alike stand to benefit from a shake-up of the railways which could reduce running costs by up to £1bn per year and lead to better & more efficient train services. The potential savings - which can be achieved without cutting services - have been identified by Sir Roy McNulty after the Government commissioned him to investigate the industry's value for money.
Alongside its response to Sir Roy's interim findings, the Government has confirmed plans to reform the rail franchising system to make franchises longer, more flexible & more responsive to the needs of passengers while providing better value for taxpayers.
DfE: The Government has welcomed Dr John Dunford’s independent review of the Children’s Commissioner for England and his recommendations to change the role through legislation by strengthening its remit, powers and independence.
Press release ~ Review of the Office of the Children's Commissioner (England) ~ UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award ~ What is the role of the new Children's Commissioner? ~ CC’s statement press release ~ CC’s submission to the Independent Review of the Office of the Children's Commissioner
Newswire – TUC: Public sector job losses & welfare cuts will disproportionately hit women's income and set progress on closing the gender pay gap back years, the TUC warned, as it published a report on the gender impact of the cuts. The TUC is concerned that, as women represent 65% of the public sector workforce, they will bear the brunt of the estimated 400,000 public sector job losses over the next 4 years.
On average women working in the public sector earn almost 40% more per hour than female employees in the private sector. This highlights the importance of public sector employment in raising women's wages.
CfSJ: Claims that warnings about the demise of family life are ‘unfounded’ have been disputed by one of the country’s leading think-tanks. The Centre for Social Justice was commenting on a poll conducted for BBC Radio 5 Live’s ‘Family Week’, which based its central conclusion on the fact that 97% of people say that their family makes them happy.
CSJ executive director Gavin Poole said that the BBC’s conclusion was ‘superficial’ and risked breeding complacency about the extent of family breakdown…..
CAB: 18% of the population don’t know what VAT stands for, let alone understand how to budget for the forthcoming VAT rise this January, according to a survey conducted by national charity Citizens Advice.
Citizens Advice Chief Executive Gillian Guy says:
“Christmas is a time of giving and it’s all too easy to overspend. There are enticing offers and pressures to buy and it can be tempting to ignore how much you are spending, but this may lead to problems in the New Year. Planning, budgeting and organisation are key to avoid getting into debt at Christmas and beyond. This is why we are issuing a ‘Top tips for Christmas’ leaflet in association with Barclaycard
PwC: The UK market potential for private & public sector partnerships (PPP) in healthcare delivery has been valued at approximately £1.8 trillion, according to PwC’s latest report - Build and Beyond: The (r)evolution of healthcare PPPs. Spending on healthcare among the OECD & BRIC nations will grow by 50% between 2010 & 2020, amounting to a cumulative total of more than $71 trillion.
PwC suggests that public & private sector partnerships are emerging as a model for financing & managing healthcare delivery globally and could create a multi-trillion global market for private companies and investors, relieve the burden on taxpayers and offer better quality health systems. Health PPPs in Spain ‘have already proven to save governments as much as 25% of healthcare costs’.
Newswire – CPA: The Committee of Public Accounts has published a report on the delivery of grants & loans to Higher Education students in England.
The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, said:
“There must be a step change in the performance of the Student Loans Company if students are to receive the efficient, effective, value for money service to which they are entitled. …… The Company has improved its performance in 2010 but not by enough and we shall return to this issue in Autumn 2011 when we shall expect to see a substantially better service”.
ESC: The European Scrutiny Committee released its report on the proposed European Bill on the day of the Second Reading of the Bill in Parliament. The conclusions of the Committee are set out in the report and include that ‘the Government's assertions in its Explanatory Notes are unjustified and that Clause 18 does not address the vital constitutional issue of the competing primacies of EU and national law’.
Press release ~ European Scrutiny Committee ~ European Scrutiny Committee Report: The EU Bill and Parliamentary Sovereignty ~ European Scrutiny Committee Report: The EU Bill and Parliamentary Sovereignty - Volume 2 Written evidence ~ Bills before Parliament: European Union Bill
ESRC: A study by the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, a joint initiative by Research Council’s UK (RCUK), examines the relationship between successful ageing & mobility patterns. While maintaining mobility plays a significant part in healthy ageing, a new study highlights a ‘high degree of inactivity even among an 'elite' sample of fit and healthy older people aged between 72 and 92 years’.
Press release ~ New metrics for exploring the relationship between mobility and successful ageing ~ Research Councils UK
AS: Scotland’s public bodies need to cut their energy use to minimise the impact of predicted price rises and to reduce carbon emissions, says Audit Scotland in a new report - Improving energy efficiency: a follow-up.
JRF: A new report released last week examines the relationship of young people with alcohol and identifies the factors behind their drinking habits. It highlights the influence of the way they go drinking with friends and how pricing plays a significant role in how much young people drink. The research was carried out for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by a team from Glasgow Centre for Population Health, who looked at the experiences of eighty 18-25 year-olds.
Press release ~ Young people & alcohol: influences on how they drink ~ Glasgow Centre for Population Health
WAG: TB Health Check Wales was one of the first initiatives set up by the Welsh Assembly Government’s Bovine TB Eradication Programme. It was designed to provide better evidence for policy makers and the industry on how far & widely the disease has spread in Welsh cattle herds. 3 reports on this successful initiative have been published and they provide the most accurate & up to date picture of the spread of bovine TB in Wales and have resulted in changes to policies.
RUSI: The RUSI European Security Programme has worked in conjunction with 3 of Europe's leading think tanks to publish a report concerning defence spending and the restructuring of European armed forces in times of austerity. The report is a comparison of UK, German, French and Polish responses to the economic crisis and its effects on European defence budgets.
The project explores the policy options available to achieve savings, structural reform of the armed forces and the strengthening of the European Defence Technological & Industrial Base. Its aim has been to take stock of the financial crisis' impact on the defence budgets of Germany, France, the UK and Poland. A companion case-study delivers an overview of national austerity measures, how they impact upon the restructuring of the armed forces and how the crisis affects industry and government-industry relations.
Newswire – CPA: The Committee of Public Accounts has published a report on the financing of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects during the credit crisis and the Treasury's response.
HSE: The Health & Safety Executive launched ‘The Strategy for Health and Safety in Great Britain in the 21st Century’ in June 2009. ‘One year On: Being part of the solution’ highlights some of the many examples of new activities & initiatives that are underway so far.
NAO: The National Audit Office has reported that recent improvements to the youth justice system have contributed to reductions in recorded youth crime. However, despite a 25% reduction in the volumes of re-offending, young offenders who receive more serious community sentences or custodial sentences remain as likely to offend again as they were 10 years ago when the youth justice system was brought in.
DH: The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey sets out a roadmap for how the NHS can meet their needs. It reveals that 84% of those who had received one to one support had significantly higher rates of satisfaction across all aspects of their care.
Press release ~ National Cancer Patient Experience Survey Programme - 2010: national survey report ~ Frontier Economics report: One to one support for cancer patients (scroll down)
Newswire – TUC: The TUC has published a new 5-year international development strategy, setting out how it plans to use members' money & grants from the government and other organisations to raise wages and improve rights for some of the world's poorest workers.
Ofsted: The London Challenge school improvement programme (set up in 2003) has continued to improve outcomes for pupils in London schools at a faster rate than nationally, according to a report launched by Ofsted.
The report, London Challenge, puts success down to ambitious and focused leadership of the programme; support for London Challenge schools from experienced & credible advisers; effective partnerships between schools in London; and systems in schools which secure the gains by tracking pupils’ progress.
