General Reports and Other Publications

HSE: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has supported recommendations & guidance produced by a joint industry and regulator working group, designed to improve standards at petrol storage sites. HSE believes strongly that implementation of the recommendations outlined in this report will lead to significant improvements in safety standards and the prevention of major accidents.
 
HSE, as part of the COMAH Competent Authority (CA), will be monitoring closely progress of operators in adopting these standards. Although predominantly aimed at operators of sites storing petrol, parts of the guidance should also be adopted by those operating other major hazard sites.
Press release ~ Safety and environmental standards for fuel storage sites ~ COMAH ~ Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board's (MIIB) ~ UK Resilience - Emergencies
 
NAO: The National Audit office has found that departments are committed to identifying possible reductions and are taking a pragmatic approach to identifying measures to reduce burdens by tackling aspects of regulation that businesses find particularly irritating & burdensome.
 
The Government has measured the administrative burdens on business, which are estimated to cost nearly £20bn and will seek to reduce these burdens by at least 25% by 2010. However, a NAO survey has revealed that, while the majority of businesses understand the purpose of regulation, 60% believe the level of regulation in the UK is an obstacle to the success of their business and 85% are not confident that Government will succeed in reducing regulatory burdens.
Press release ~ Reducing the cost of complying with regulations: The delivery of the Administrative Burdens Reduction Programme, 2007 ~ Execut ive Summary ~ 2007 Survey of Business’ Perceptions of Regulation – Technical Summary ~ Better Regulation Executive ~ NAO: Evaluation of Regulatory Impact Assessments 2006-07
 
DWP: Minister for Pensions Reform Mike O'Brien has welcomed an independent Deregulatory Review report examining how workplace pension provision could be encouraged by easing the burden of regulation on employers - balancing member protection and encouraging employer provision of pensions.
 
The key recommendations for changes to the current legislation are:
* Changes which might make it easier for employers to get back surplus funds in their own pension schemes
* A move towards less detailed & prescriptive legislation, starting with simpler rules on what schemes must tell members
* Changes to the circumstances in which an employer leaving a multi-employer scheme has to make a payment to the scheme
* Making it easier for schemes to change their own rules to take advantage of changes to legislation
* Concentrating the requirement for trustee expertise at board level rather than on individual trustees
Press release ~ Deregulatory Review report ~ White Paper - Security in Retirement: towards a new pension system ~ DWP pensions & retirement website ~ Pensions Commission ~ National Pensions Debate ~ Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) Review
 
Cabinet Office: The Intelligence and Security Committee has published its report on rendition and The Rt. Hon. Paul Murphy MP, Chairman of the Committee, commented: "Our inquiry has not been helped by the fact that Government departments have had such difficulty in establishing the facts from their own records in relation to requests to conduct renditions through UK airspace.  This is a matter of fundamental liberty, and we recommend that the Government ensure that proper searchable records are kept in the future.
 
"The Committee concludes that:
- There is no evidence of any UK Agency being directly involved in the U.S. rendition programme, including any Extraordinary Renditions
- there was however one case where a UK Agency was indirectly, and inadvertently, involved in a ‘Rendition to Detention’.  This case is that of Bisher al-Rawi and Jamil el-Banna”.
Press release ~ Report into Rendition ~ The Government's Response ~ Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC)
 
MoD: The MoD has published the Royal Air Force Board of Inquiry (BOI) into the loss of an RAF Hercules in Afghanistan on 24 May 2006, which concluded that the aircraft was destroyed by fire after detonating an anti-tank mine on the Tactical Landing Zone.
 
The Board of Inquiry concluded that, even if the aircraft had been fitted with Explosion Suppressant Foam (ESF), it would not have prevented its loss.  This is because ESF does not prevent leaks when the fuel tanks are punctured. The Board of Inquiry commended the crew on how they managed the situation, and for ensuring that all on board were evacuated quickly.
 
The Board's recommendations included a review of Force Protection procedures at Tactical Landing Zones and Air Command and Permanent Joint Headquarters have developed revised Force Protection procedures and tactics to be employed at Tactical Landing Zones in operational theatres.
Press release ~ Hercules C-130 ~ RAF Lyneham ~ 24 Squadron ~ Board of Inquiry into the loss of Hercules XV206 ~ Example Force Protection Measures ~ Defence Aviation Safety Centre (DASC) ~ Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB)
 
NAO: 80% of students starting a full-time course in England are expected to complete their course, the NAO has reported, which compares favourably with most other OECD countries, during a period of expansion in higher education.
 
The report identifies scope for further improvements, for example in the minority of higher education institutions where retention has declined in recent years and to support part-time students who face particular challenges and have lower rates of retention.
 
Student retention rates vary between institutions, reflecting a range of factors including how well students did in their previous studies and whether they are studying full or part time.  There is a balance to be struck between widening participation (opening higher education up to people who might not traditionally have considered university) while improving retention, because students from different backgrounds need different support to complete their courses successfully.
Press release ~ Higher Education Performance Indicators ~ Staying the course: the retention of students in higher education ~ Execut ive Summary ~ Rand Europe Report on Student Retention in Higher Education Courses: International Comparison ~ Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) ~ Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
 
Defra: A free pocket-sized booklet published by Defra provides an overview of the country's progress in tackling key economic, social and environmental issues. The 68 indicators it contains - covering a wide range of topics of everyday concern such as health, housing, jobs, crime, education, and our environment - all affect whether we can live more sustainably in the future.
 
Individually these 'sustainable development' indicators highlight those issues for which recent & longer-term change has been for the better or for the worse.  Collectively they can provide an overview of progress, overall and for four priority areas:
* Sustainable consumption and production
* Climate change and energy
* Natural resource protection and environmental enhancement
* Creating sustainable communities
Press release ~ Sustainable development indicators in your pocket 2007 ~ Sustainable Development Strategy, Securing the Future ~ Defra - Sustainable development ~ Carbon Reduction Commitment ~ Online guide to greener living ~ Sustainable Development Commission
 
AC England: A picture of how popular taking part in circus activities is with young people in England has emerged in a new report commissioned by Arts Council England.  The report - Airborne: mapping of youth circus activity in the UK - shows that more than 5,000 young people currently attend regular circus groups and over 50,000 engage in circus activity through outreach programmes.
 
Circus skills help children develop their mental & physical coordination within a creative environment and Arts Council England will continue its commitment to the development of youth circus, as part of the Young People’s Participatory Theatre project, which aims to increase young people’s participation in all areas of theatre.
Press release ~ Airborne: mapping of youth circus activity in the UK ~ Young People’s Participatory Theatre project
 
NAO: A National Audit Office survey of those who have left the Services in the last two years revealed that three quarters found the return to civilian life was as expected or easier; and two thirds said the support offered by the Armed Forces helped them to find work.  94% of leavers who were seeking employment through the Career Transition Partnership programme found employment within six months.  However, there are a minority of people who have a more difficult time finding employment, housing or making the social transition.
 
In 2006-07, some 25,000 personnel left the Armed Forces and all leavers have access to some assistance to help them when returning to civilian life.  The level of resettlement support is determined by the length of military service and is not dependent on the rank of the leaver.  Personnel discharged for medical reasons are entitled to the highest level of support regardless of how long they have served.
 
The MoD has improved the provision of resettlement support for Early Service Leavers because this group includes individuals more vulnerable to unemployment and homelessness. However inconsistencies in the quality of support offered at unit level undermines the overall provisions made.
NAO press release ~ MoD press release ~ Ministry of Defence: Leaving the Services ~ Executive Summary ~ Career Transition Partnership programme ~ MoD: Information for Service leavers
 
PCS: The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has echoed last week’s Constitutional Affairs Committee's criticism of the government's inadequate consultation on the creation of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and also echoed the 'indecent haste' in which the new ministry had been created and highlighted the lack of proper planning & resourcing, going on to warn that the department were storing up problems for the future.
 
PCS urged the Treasury to reverse a freeze in the budgets of the component departments of the new ministry, including a planned 15% cut in the budget of the core Ministry of Justice courts budget between 2008 and 2011, as well as cuts in the Prison Service budget at a time when the prison population stands at a record high.
Press release ~ Constitutional Affairs Committee Report ~ Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
 
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