Policy Statements and Initiatives
CLG: Communities Minister, Don Foster, has announced the opening of bidding for a share of £300m. The funding will bring thousands of additional empty homes back into use across England. Under the scheme 5,000 empty / derelict, properties will be refurbished and put back onto the market over the next 3 years. Bidding guidance will shortly be published on the Homes and Communities Agency’s website for registered providers and at Grants admin for community & voluntary groups.
Ministers are also considering future measures to bring not just homes but empty buildings generally back into use including making it easier to convert commercial into residential property and making more use of space above shops as homes.
ScotGov: NHS Scotland is being mandated to use workload & workforce planning tools which have been designed to ensure that hospitals & communities have the right numbers & mix of nursing staff. The evidence based tools, which take into account professional judgement and local care standards, are already being used in some areas, but will be made mandatory in all health board areas from next year.
WAG: More than 1 in 3 people in Wales don’t understand the eligibility rules for Blue Badge disability parking, new figures reveal. In some cases this has led to unpleasant remarks being aimed at legitimate users of the Blue Badge accessible parking spaces. 35% of those questioned said they believed the spaces were only provided for vehicles carrying a wheelchair user.
In fact they are reserved for a wide range of people with mobility problems, including those with less obvious disabilities such as severe sight impairment, heart or lung conditions or a prosthetic limb that make it difficult for them to walk even short distances. The Welsh Government released the figures as part of its ‘Space Invaders’ campaign to promote the new-style, more secure, Blue Badge and to deter ineligible motorists tempted to abuse the scheme.
BIS: Business Secretary Vince Cable has declared the UK Green Investment Bank plc (UK GIB) officially open for business.
DECC: Energy & Climate Secretary, Edward Davey has outlined new plans to tackle deforestation as part of the UK’s international climate change commitments. The Government has set out plans for working with the private sector & rainforest countries so that the timber & foodstuffs we buy do not cause deforestation. The new plan addresses the economic & commercial drivers of deforestation by working with the private sector for more sustainable supply chains for these products & foodstuffs.
DH: Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, recently ordered a review to assess the merits of an ‘OFSTED style’ system of ratings for hospitals & care homes. The review will look at the way in which a new ratings system could help end the ‘crisis in standards of care’ that exists in parts of the health & social care system. It will look in particular at how information about services can be communicated to the public and how this information can be used to drive up standards across the system.
WAG: Environment Minister, John Griffiths, has announced that the Welsh Government has now vaccinated over 1,400 badgers in the Intensive Action Area.
