General Reports and Other Publications

PC&PE: In a recent report, the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee says that some local authorities, under considerable pressure to quickly find cost savings, have drawn up plans without taking proper account of local needs for library services and the variety of options available to provide them, and are therefore in danger of failing in their statutory duty to provide a ‘comprehensive and efficient' library service.  
 
Other councils, however, have found innovative & cost-effective ways of continuing to supply - and in some cases improve - their library service.
Press release & links ~ LGA response
 
PC&PEThe Department for Education must maintain sufficient focus on the critical children’s policy agenda to ensure this is given adequate resources and receives enough attention from senior officials and ministers, warn MPs.  

The DfE should also consider appointing a non-executive Board member with expertise in children's policy issues, and must do more improve staff morale, says the Education Committee in a review of governance & leadership at the DfE.
Press release & links
 
PC&PE: The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee has published a report highlighting areas of the Government's Apprenticeships programme that need reform. The publication of the report - Apprenticeships - is the culmination of an 11 month inquiry that involved visits to Sheffield & Northampton to hear directly from people involved in apprenticeship schemes as well as the more traditional Westminster-based evidence sessions.
Press release & links ~ Comment from CBI
 
NOLondon Borough of Newham delayed almost 18 months in cancelling a temporary tenancy when a tenant moved into permanent council accommodation, finds Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin. In her report, she says that the delay resulted in rent arrears of nearly £4,000 accumulating and, for this reason, the Council refused her an emergency housing transfer when the woman fled domestic violence a few years later.   
 
The Ombudsman finds that the Council’s failure to cancel the temporary tenancy for nearly 18 months was maladministration.  If it had acted promptly, the complainant’s rent arrears would have been at a much lower level, and the Ombudsman considers it likely that the complainant would have paid them off.  Once the Council adjusted the arrears, its failure to reconsider her for a housing transfer was also maladministration.
Press release & links
 
ESRC'Social medicines' are beneficial to the health & wellbeing of individuals and the population.  By combining social & biological information from UK Longitudinal studies (life-course studies) researchers have identified that the more ‘social medicines’ you have, the better your physical & mental health.  

These include a stable family life, stress free childhood, alcohol free culture for young people, secure & rewarding employment, positive relationships with friends & neighbours, and a socially active old age.
Press release & links
 
TKF: The way the NHS currently pays hospitals for the work they do – including Payment by Results – should change to incentivise new models of care, concludes a report, Payment by Results: How can payment systems help to deliver better care?, published recently by The King’s Fund.
 
While recognising the positive impact that Payment by Results has had on the NHS in England, the report suggests that current payment systems may be obstructing changes in services required to meet current & future health care needs.
Press release & links ~ Comment from Monitor
 
WWF: The risk of flooding & water shortage in 2013 has increased because the Government is too slow in changing the way we manage our water, environmental leaders warn. 

The authors of the ‘Blueprint for Water’ report say that after 2 dry winters, it took Britain’s wettest ever summer to narrowly avert a serious drought. They warn that despite this summer’s flooding, another series of dry winters would put Britain right back under serious risk of drought.
Press release & links ~ Blueprint for Water
 
NAO: A report published by the National Audit Office highlights the considerable challenge faced by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in taking forward the clean-up of Sellafield, the UK’s largest & most hazardous nuclear site.
 
To date the performance of some of the major projects at Sellafield has been poor.  However, the Authority is taking appropriate steps with Sellafield Limited to improve this. It is too early to judge whether the Authority’s appointment of Nuclear Management Partners Limited as the ‘parent body’ of Sellafield Limited is delivering value for money.
Press release & links
 
PC&PE: The Liaison Committee has published a report reviewing the role, resources and tasks of the committees appointed by the House of Commons to scrutinise the Government.

Drawing on reports from committees, evidence from outside observers & academic research, the report concludes that 2 years after the general election and the Wright reforms, the evidence is ‘broadly encouraging’ – although committees face some obstacles and there is room for improvement.
Press release & links
 
PC&PE: The child protection system is not meeting the needs of older children and must be reviewed urgently according to a report from the Education Committee. In a report that recognises the recent positive developments in the child protection system in England, the Education Committee calls for changes to ensure that all children are treated as children and that their interests are put first.
 
The Committee's report examines 3 key themes: neglect, older children and thresholds for intervention, taking children into care and adoption
Press release & links
 
IfG: For over 3 years the Institute for Government has documented how the departmental cuts programmes have been tackled in government departments and identifies essential recommendations to help them prepare for the prospect of further reductions.
 
54,000 staff have been cut from the Civil Service in 18 months, more than was achieved over 4 years in the 1980s. Cuts have been described by civil servants as “salami slicing…with some great big chunks”, but further savings will instead require radical new ways of working across Whitehall silos. The report highlights departments’ experiences of leading change, positive & negative experiences and identifies where it has been more challenging & why. 
Press release & links
 
NAO: The National Audit Office has found that ‘while the first private company to be awarded a franchise to run an NHS hospital has made early improvements in some clinical areas, a number of financial challenges remain’.
 
Circle is the first private company to assume the management functions of an NHS Trust. Last week’s report examines how the NHS East of England Strategic Health Authority designed, initiated & managed the project to franchise Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust, and highlights early lessons that can be learnt from the procurement process and creation of the franchise agreement.
Press release & links ~ NHS Confederation - NHS Partners Network comment
 
Monitor; Initial findings published from Monitor’s Fair Playing Field review show the commissioning of patient services has been the most common concern raised so far by respondents. Providers of all types are concerned that commissioners are not tendering as much as they could, making it difficult for new providers to enter the market and develop new services.
 
Providers are also worried about poor commissioning procedures which favour incumbent providers at the expense of potential new bidders, according to a discussion paper issued by Monitor half way through the review.
Press release & links
 
CBI: A new CBI report, Playing Our Strongest Hand: Maximising the UK’s Industrial Opportunities, sets out a joined-up approach to industrial strategy, providing indicative sector-specific action plans to make the most of the substantial opportunities for growth in key sectors.
Press release & links
Free, Secure, Compliant UK Public Sector IT Recycling Service