General Reports and Other Publications
TfL: Transport for London has published the results of a public consultation on route options for the proposed CrossRiver Tram. The consultation sought the views of local residents & businesses on various options for the proposed 16.5 km route.
The proposed Cross River Tram will be a high quality public transport link, running on-street between Euston and Waterloo, with branches to Camden Town & King's Cross in the north and Brixton & Peckham in the south.
A decision on the preferred route will follow a technical review and assessment of whether funding will be available. The review and further feasibility work will look at potential passenger numbers, improvements in journey times, a review of depot and staged implementation options, traffic & environmental impacts and the views on route options expressed by the public and stakeholders.
DWP: The Department for Work and Pensions has published Research report 454: Review of the advisory services model, which reviews the new Advisory Services Model operational in Jobcentre Plus offices. The report presents findings from qualitative interviews with a range of Jobcentre Plus staff examining their views of the new model.
CRC: The Commission for Rural Communities has welcomed the publication of the Conservative Party’s Quality of Life report, commenting that the chapter on rural life ‘rightly recognises that rural areas often require specific policies to address issues like the dispersed nature of rural deprivation. The proposal for ‘Localhold’ homes echoes the existing concept of CommunityLand Trusts and it is exciting that these ways of meeting local needs for affordable housing are being explored.
However, we are disappointed with the lack of support for council tax on second homes and the opportunity that would be lost to fund affordable homes for local people.
MoJ: Though HMP Sudbury was basically a safe & purposeful prison, there were concerns about healthcare and some resettlement work was disappointing, said Anne Owers, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of an unannounced inspection into the open prison.
Some weaknesses in healthcare provision required immediate action by the primary care trust. They included unsafe clinical recording practices and insufficient mental health support.
Resettlement work had not kept pace with recent developments & best practice, particularly for short-sentenced prisoners. Substance use work also needed further development.
CEL: Research commissioned by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) has found that whilst further education sector leaders understand the importance of sustainable development and believe that the sector has a responsibility to help realise a more sustainable way of life, many feel that they are on a steep learning curve.
CEL's research report - Leadership for sustainability: Making sustainable development a reality for leaders - was published at a consultation seminar last week. Two key findings were that:
* distributed leadership, self-awareness and adaptability in leadership style are three of the key qualities for effective leadership for sustainability
* sector leadership development needs to encompass systems thinking, futures thinking and management of uncertainty
Press release ~ Leadership for sustainability: Making sustainable development a reality for leaders ~ Leadership for sustainability: The sustainable development challenge for leaders in further education ~ Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) ~ Forum for the Future ~ Education for Sustainability Programme at London South Bank University (LSBU)
