CLG: Resilient small seaside resorts can seize the opportunity presented by local enterprise partnerships to transform economic growth along our coast. A new report by Sheffield Hallam University paints a ‘compelling picture of economic & social challenges, enterprise and resilience over the last decade’.
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IfG: Current scrutiny arrangements over the appointment & dismissal of top public appointments put too much power in the hands of ministers, according to the independent think tank Institute for Government. The Institute names 25 top positions that parliament should have powers over – one is the post of BBC Chairman.
Last week Chris Patten appeared before the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee for a 'pre-appointment hearing', to be questioned on his suitability for the post. He was nominated for the post by Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, but the committee has no powers to block the appointment; it can only request that the government think again.
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TKF: Using midwives & other maternity staff more effectively is the key to improving maternity care in hospitals, according to a new report, Staffing in maternity units: getting the right people in the right place at the right time, from The King’s Fund. Despite the fierce debate over midwife numbers, increasing staffing levels will not be easy in the current financial climate. Evidence shows that the maternity workforce could be utilised more effectively to improve outcomes for mothers & babies.
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Newswire - PA: The Patients Association has published a report on ‘Postnatal Depression Services’. Postnatal depression (PND) effects 10 to 15% of new mothers and in rare (but extreme cases) can result in maternal suicide.
In this report, the Patients Association found that the vast majority of PCTs do not know the number of mothers suffering from PND in their area and are failing to provide information on PND to new mothers. In addition, the majority of PCTs do not have a strategy in place for commissioning PND services and do not know the number of Serious Untoward Incidents – such as maternal suicides – that are related to PND in their region.
Press release ~ Postnatal Depression Services: An Investigation into NHS Service Provision ~ Patients Association
DWP: A new report presents findings from a new analysis of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), supplemented by a review of published studies into the job search practices of different groups. Focussing on claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance and their use of the internet, the report brings together a wide range of information relevant to policies which promote effective job search.
Press release ~ RR 726 Job Search Study: Literature review & analysis of the Labour Force Survey (3.3Mb)
Socitm: The Coalition Government's transparency agenda, which by early February had seen all but 8 English councils post spending above £500 online, could well change the shape of local public services, with communities able to monitor, comment upon, challenge, and ultimately even take over local authority services in their area.
This is the conclusion of Transparency: seeing it through, the latest monthly briefing from Socitm Insight, the research arm of the local public services IT & information professionals' association.
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BHF: A research study co-funded by the British Heart Foundation has found a link between diet during pregnancy and the health of offspring in later life. Environmental factors – things you can control, such as diet – can permanently influence the DNA of an unborn child. Therefore diet during pregnancy can have a lasting effect.
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Newswire – LCC: The House of Lords Constitution Committee has reported that the government's draft ‘Cabinet Manual’ is open to misinterpretation. Announcing its findings, the Committee's Chairman, Baroness Jay of Paddington said: ‘The manual is of no great value to Ministers, though it has some relevance to the work of officials. For this reason, the Committee considers that it should be called the Cabinet Office Manual.’ The Cabinet Secretary has said that he expects to ask the Cabinet to endorse a revised version in Spring 2011.
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HPA: For many years the Health Protection Agency’s radon team has been gathering & publishing data on indoor concentrations of the gas across the UK. A new report brings together thousands of measurements made by the Agency in England & Wales and presents summaries by postcode & by council area.
The work has allowed scientists to calculate that between 100,000 & 200,000 homes across England & Wales are above the radon Action Level; the threshold at which HPA recommends that radon should be reduced.
The work has allowed scientists to calculate that between 100,000 & 200,000 homes across England & Wales are above the radon Action Level; the threshold at which HPA recommends that radon should be reduced.
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Newswire – HAC: In a brief report, the Home Affairs Committee highlights areas of concern in the supply of tasers to police forces in England & Wales, including the issue of having a monopoly distributor of tasers. This monopoly supplier had their authority revoked after one of the directors of the company gave an 'unauthorised' taser to police for use in the hunt for Raoul Moat.
HEFCE: Universities are facing a significant period of transition in the next few years, with reductions in public funding and a move to a new student finance & funding regime from 2012. However, they do so from a sound financial position, according to the Higher Education funding Council for England, which published a review of their finances last week.
Press release ~ Financial health of the higher education sector: 2009-10 financial results and 2010-11 forecasts ~ BIS related press release ~ Office for Fair Access Guidance to Universities
Payback: The latest issue of Payback Times – the quarterly publication for the proceeds of crime community – has been published.
Newswire – NHSConfed: More than 140 leaders in the NHS & local authorities believe investing in mental well-being is more vital than ever, according to an NHS Confederation report. There is growing evidence to show the positive impact that improving mental well-being can have on health and social & economic outcomes, but little is known about how this important & emerging agenda is developing within localities.
The report, Public mental health and well-being – the local perspective, examines local leaders’ perceptions of public mental health & well-being, the progress they have made, how they are acting on recent evidence, and how addressing mental illness & improving mental well-being go hand in hand.
Press release ~ Public mental health and well-being – the local perspective ~ Wellness services event ~ National Mental Health Development Unit ~ Faculty of Public Health
Newswire – TUC: As the annual TUC women's conference began in Eastbourne recently, the TUC warned that the government faces a potential crisis in female unemployment - and that its current economic strategy risks making the situation much worse.
During the past 12 months overall male unemployment has fallen by 31,000 (with the rate falling by 0.3 percentage points), while female unemployment has risen by 71,000 (with the rate increasing by 0.5 percentage points).
IISS: IISS Voices by Gary Li, Research Assistant & Project Coordinator, Defence & Military Analysis Programme comments on the Libyan rebels' weapons deficit. Image intelligence (IMINT) analysis of Libyan military bases can shed some light on the current situation and offer indicators as to what might follow.
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IfG: ‘Enemies of enterprise’ and ‘liberating the hidden army of public service entrepreneurs’ are phrases that may send a shudder through the civil service. The first of the Institute for Government's new InsideOUT series - The Whitehall Entrepreneur: oxymoron or hidden army? - examines entrepreneurialism in Whitehall.
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Newswire – CIPD: 69% of employers say they have no effective protection against employees making wholly unjustifiable claims to employment tribunals. This is a key finding from a survey of employers’ experiences of managing workplace conflict.
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Newswire – PAC: The Commons Public Accounts Committee conclude that the cost of errors in the benefits system is considerable and hasn't improved for years in a report published last week. The Department's focus is entirely on its own losses due to fraud & error and not underpayments to poor people who depend on the benefits to which they’re entitled. There is no target for reducing underpayments but it is essential that the DWP does not neglect this problem.
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MoD: Changes to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme that will mean ‘significant’ increases to the awards paid to injured personnel have been published in a report by the Ministry of Defence. The changes, which will see an average 25% increase to awards paid for injuries due to service, will be introduced following the recommendations from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) Review.
The scheme pays a tax-free lump sum for injuries due to service, with the most seriously injured given a tax-free, index-linked Guaranteed Income Payment for life. This payment will be increased under the current changes to better reflect the lasting impact of injuries on future likely promotions and on the ability to work up to age 65.
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FSA: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Financial Reporting Council (FRC) have published a feedback statement summarising the responses to the joint discussion paper on enhancing the auditor’s contribution to prudential regulation. The FSA and the FRC received a wide range of constructive responses from accountancy firms, accountancy bodies, financial institutions and other stakeholders.
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Demos: British workers are insufficiently protected by incapacity welfare finds a new report on the welfare system by the independent think tank Demos. Britain came just 8th in a new Index of Financial Protection compiled by the think tank - well below peer nations.
NAO: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has improved the maturity of its financial management in a number of areas, according to the National Audit Office. However, the spending watchdog has not been able to conclude that the Department is achieving value for money. The report also highlights the substantial challenge it faces in providing effective financial oversight of its arm’s-length bodies which differ in size, influence & risk.
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Newswire – CBI: The CBI said last week that businesses must do more to give consumers the information they need to make informed choices about buying low-carbon products. Launching a new report, Buying into it – making the consumer case for low-carbon, CBI Director-General John Cridland said that ‘creating a mass market for low-carbon goods is crucial to meeting our ambitious climate change targets’.
Newswire: A study of specially trained paramedics at South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust reveals they save lives and do so at lower cost than the alternatives. New critical care paramedics (CCPs) have been given extra training to deal with the most acute cases such as serious car crashes & stroke.
The study’s cost benefit analysis sets out the value of life saved using CCPs as just over £34,000 – more than £200,000 less than an equivalent doctor-led team. CCPs would also easily pass the NICE cost effectiveness standards for a new treatment. Join their online webinar on Thursday 17 March to discuss the findings & lessons from the CCP programme evaluation at SE Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.
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QCDA: The Evaluation of the Functional Skills Pilot Summative Report is now available.
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ScotGov: Joint working between central & local government has achieved more for Scottish communities than ever before, Finance Secretary John Swinney told delegates at the recent COSLA conference. He said the local outcomes approach, embodied in Single Outcome Agreements between councils, their local partners and the Scottish Government, had made a positive impact across Scotland.
His comments at the conference came as the Scottish Government and COSLA jointly published 'Local Matters: Delivering the Local Outcomes Approach', which highlights good progress made to date.
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CC: The Charity Commission has published a report on its inquiry into the charity People’s Opportunity to Work Trust (“POW Trust” – registered charity number 1073917). The charity’s objects are to assist in the rehabilitation of ex-offenders and to relieve poverty among people who have suffered a legal restriction on their liberty.
The Commission opened an Inquiry in November 2002 after it received a complaint alleging that large sums of the charity’s money were unaccounted for and that improper transactions between the charity and its connected trading companies had taken place.
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Newswire – TC: Fraud is one of the main factors driving up the cost of motor insurance, says the Cross Party Transport Committee at the House of Commons. Wider access to justice should not provide a licence to make false personal injury claims under car insurance policies.
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Newswire – EAC: The UK could lose out on hundreds of £bns of vital investment in green energy projects if the Government waters down its plans for a Green Investment Bank, MPs warn in a new report. The report argues that establishing a proper Investment Bank is crucial in order to lever in the unprecedented levels of private sector investment needed.
The MPs recognise the concerns about the Bank’s potential impact on the deficit and urge the Government to start talking immediately with the ONS about maximising the Bank’s impact on investment levels whilst minimising its impact on the deficit.
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ScotGov: The Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) has published its report on the review of councillors' remuneration. The Government asked the Committee to consider the levels of all councillors' remuneration based on workload, roles & responsibilities and the changes in the delivery of council services, taking account of affordability and ensuring that the level of pay is not a barrier to encouraging a wider section of the community to serve as councillors.
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NAO: More staff in higher grades & increasing pay have led to the total costs of central government staff growing by 10% in real terms in the 19 years to 2009-10, with current costs totalling £16.4bn. The growth in central government staff costs is largely the result of an unplanned increase in the number of staff in higher grades according to a National Audit Office report.
Newswire – PASC: The Government appoints too many ministers and should reduce their number by the middle of the Parliament, as it devolves real power & responsibility to local communities, the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) argues in a new report.
141 MPs are currently on the ‘payroll vote’ as ministers or their Parliamentary aides and are obliged to vote with the Government or resign their position. If this number remains static at the same time as MPs are cut, it will effectively increase the payroll vote – furthering strengthening the Executive at the expense of Parliament.
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ScotGov: An atlas of Scotland's seas - with visual representation of its competing uses, productivity and health - has been compiled. The Marine Atlas will inform key planning decisions in Scottish waters while providing everyone with an accessible & detailed insight into the geography & vast richness of Scotland's seas.
This unique resource is being made freely available online so that anyone with an interest in the varied waters around Scotland's shores can find out more. In addition school packs have been developed, including two hard copies of the atlas for every secondary school, colourful posters and an accompanying DVD.
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ASI: In a new report the Adam Smith Institute have calculated the negative effects of the top UK tax rate and called on the coalition government to scrap the 50p tax rate in this year’s budget. Keeping the 50p rate will have highly negative effects, leading to lost revenue of £350bn+, as well as flat economic growth.
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ScotGov: Education Secretary Michael Russell has welcomed the publication of the reports of 17 Excellence Groups which highlight best practice in key subjects & areas. The reports, which include 15 subject reports and reports on excellence in health & wellbeing and on developing young people's skills, emphasise the importance of both subject knowledge & skills, such as creative thinking and problem solving.
Many of the reports set out essential learning in their subject area and also highlight the benefits of pupils & teachers making links across normal subject boundaries.
Many of the reports set out essential learning in their subject area and also highlight the benefits of pupils & teachers making links across normal subject boundaries.
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