Policy Statements and Initiatives
MoD: The Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth, has announced a new initiative which will help families who have lost loved ones in the Armed Forces. The Royal British Legion (TRBL) will offer a free Independent Legal Advice Service to bereaved Service families. TRBL’s legal advisers will be available to give information & guidance (in particular about the inquest process) to ensure that families are fully prepared. It will be in place in the late Spring/early Summer of 2010, once the necessary staff are recruited & trained.
The initiative was conceived after TRBL and the War Widows Association of Great Britain organised a forum for Service families to talk about their experiences. Feedback from this forum showed that families felt there was an absence of independent expert legal advice. Partially funded by the MOD, it will initially be available for a 2-year trial period and will be carefully evaluated during this time to check that it is successfully meeting the needs of families.
DH: Details of a £20m 3-year pilot scheme from April 2010 to explore a more personalised way of meeting the health needs of Thalidomide survivors have been announced. Under the scheme, the Department of Health will provide the Thalidomide Trust with grant funding which will be distributed amongst survivors to help meet their health needs and minimise any further deterioration of their condition.
The Trust will use its extensive expertise & knowledge of the needs of its members to inform the 3-year pilot that is likely to give ‘thalidomiders’ more control over their long-term health needs. The pilot proposal sets out clear principles for use of the money and the scheme will be evaluated to explore how the health needs of thalidomiders can be best met in the longer term. The funding has been found from existing health budgets.
Defra: Defra, the Environment Agency and Welsh Assembly Government have published River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) for 10 river basin districts in England & Wales. The plans set out how good water status will be achieved for each lake, stretch of a river, estuary or coastline.
Currently the most common causes of water pollution are run off from rural & urban land and discharge of waste water from industry & sewage overflows. The Government / Environment Agency is working closely with farmers, businesses & water companies to reduce pollution and improve water quality.
Press release ~ EA: Water Framework Directive ~ Related ScotGov press release ~ SEPA: River Basin Management Plans
ScotGov: In a detailed response to the European Commission's Green Paper on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the Scottish Government has set out its vision to deliver improvements now (& in the future) for Scotland's fishing fleets and fish stocks.
The Green Paper offers countries the opportunity to set out their principles on European fisheries policy, with detailed negotiations on the future of the CFP set for 2010 & 2011. In their submission, Ministers reiterated their belief that the CFP should be scrapped rather than reformed. They stated that even if Scotland remains part of the CFP then powers must be returned to Member States to allow them to co-operate on a regional basis to help bring an end to the damage inflicted by Europe's most unpopular policy.
Press release ~ Scottish Government response to the EC's Green Paper on Reform of Common Fisheries Policy ~ Inquiry into the Future of Fisheries Management ~ European Commission's Green Paper on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
DfT: Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis predicted ‘2010 will be the year of high-speed rail in the UK’ on the day he received what could prove to be a landmark report for the future of transport in this country, from High Speed Two (HS2) (the company set up to advise the Government on the development of high-speed rail services between London & Scotland).
The report from HS2 presents a detailed route plan for the first stage of a north-south high-speed line, from London to the West Midlands, as well as options for extending high-speed services (& high speed lines) to destinations further north, including the North West, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.
If the Government decides to pursue proposals for high-speed rail, it will publish a white paper by the end of March 2010, which will set out detailed plans for new high-speed rail lines & services, including route proposals, timescales and associated financial, economic & environmental assessments. This would be followed by a full public consultation starting in the Autumn of 2010.
The Government will not publish the HS2 report in advance of its own response, as to do so would cause unnecessary blight in respect of options identified but not taken forward. The HS2 reportwill be published alongside the Government response.
Press release ~ High Speed Two (HS2) ~ Delivering a Sustainable Railway ~ DfT - Railways ~ Rail Technical Strategy ~ Railway Forum ~ The Association of Train Operating Companies ~ The Railway Industry Association ~ Network Rail ~ Passenger Transport Executives ~ Rail transport: The sustainable alternative for air travel in Europe ~ Energy Efficiency Technologies for Railways ~ ICE report - The Missing Link ~ Commission for Integrated Transport ~ Factsheets - No.15: High-speed Rail ~ High Speed rail UK
DCSF: Ed Balls last week joined forces with Sarah Brown, Henry Winkler (aka The Fonz), First News and Pritt at No.10 Downing Street to launch a campaign focused on improving attitudes towards children with SEN and building their self-esteem. The campaign is funded jointly by First News, the Department for Children Schools and Families and Pritt (Henkel UK), together with Walker Books and supported by The Teaching Awards.
The First News My Way! campaign will run in First News, the children’s weekly newspaper and will be fronted by Henry Winkler. Henry’s dyslexia wasn’t picked up until he was 30 and this has motivated him to change perceptions of SEN and inspire young people.
The campaign will feature in First News from 22 January 2010 in a special edition sent to all schools throughout the UK, and run throughout this academic year concluding with a schools tour with Henry Winkler and First News editor Nicky Cox.
Press release ~ Pritt4Schools ~ First News ~ First News My Way! campaign ~ Brian Lamb’s recent report into parental confidence in the SEN system plus Government’s response ~ Walker Books ~ Henry Winkler Teaching Award for Special Needs ~ Nominate for The Teaching Awards of 2010
Newswire - 10 DS: The Government has published its strategy for ‘how to return the economy to strong, sustainable, long-term growth’.
DH: 20% of people don’t realise catching chlamydia can affect a woman’s fertility, according to a survey out last week. The Populus survey of 2,000 young adults & parents shows that superficial knowledge and a casual attitude to the most prevalent STI in England could be risking the nation’s sexual health. Last year alone nearly 60,000 15 - 24 year olds tested positive for the infection.
The study, conducted on behalf of the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families marks the launch of a new advertising campaign – Chlamydia, Worth Talking About. Supported by the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP), the campaign encourages greater acceptance of chlamydia screening among 15 - 24 year olds.
Press release ~ National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) ~ NCSP – Under 25s ~
DCSF: Children’s Minister, Delyth Morgan, and Care Services Minister, Phil Hope, have reinforced the clear expectation for all local areas to deliver good quality mental health services for all children, including 24-hour cover for urgent mental health problems and child-only facilities for under-16s.
The Government is calling on all local areas to support children’s emotional wellbeing & mental health, as it publishes its response to the 20 recommendations in last-year’s independent review of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Press release ~ CAMHS review: Keeping Children & Young People In Mind, plus government response ~ Download presentation slides ~ National Advisory Council for Children’s Mental Health & Psychological Well-being ~ NHS Confederation - Mental Health Network
DCMS: Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has announced proposals to bring in new licence requirements for overseas-based online gambling firms who want to have a customer base in Britain. The plans, which will be subject to a consultation period, would mean that online operators currently licensed outside Britain will have to apply for a licence from the Gambling Commission if they want to advertise or provide their gambling services to British consumers.
The Government is considering what the plans mean for operators based in countries outside Europe – specifically in terms of the Government’s approved ‘whitelist’ of countries whose operators are able to advertise in the UK. The Government intends to keep the ‘whitelist’ in some form and it will remain a fundamental part of any future regulatory system. Proposals for any changes to the system will be included in the consultation.
Press release ~ A Written Ministerial Statement on the proposals is available on the DCMS website ~
Newswire – GEO: The Government Equalities Office has published details about how the socio-economic duty - a key part of the Equality Bill - will ‘transform the way public bodies work to narrow the gaps between rich & poor and make society fairer’.
The socio-economic duty - clause one of the Equality Bill - sets out a new legal duty on key public bodies, including central government & local authorities, to ensure they consider the impact that their strategic decisions will have on narrowing socio-economic inequalities.
With the average life expectancy in the poorest areas of the country up to 13 years shorter than in the most affluent areas, the new socio-economic duty will require public bodies to consider how they will reduce the barriers that hold people back, block aspirations and prevent people fulfilling their potential.
Press release ~ Equality Bill ~ The Equality Bill: Duty To Reduce Socio-Economic Inequalities – A guide ~ Fact sheet on the socio-economic duty (scroll down)
WAG: Plans to ‘revolutionise’ the Wales NHS’ computer systems, enabling health professionals to access important patient information quickly & securely, have been approved by Health Minister Edwina Hart. Backed by £2.5m of Welsh Assembly Government funding, the new system - known as The Welsh Clinical Portal - will give one view of the information held about the patient, making it easier for healthcare staff to provide better care.
The first phase of the portal, which has been successfully piloted at some hospitals, gives faster secure access to existing information. Healthcare professionals at these sites are now able to request tests and view results electronically. Other systems recently approved as part of this programme include the patient’s website My Health Online announced earlier this week.
Press release ~ Informing Healthcare website ~
ScotGov: The Scottish Government has published its response to the Spencer Report into the circumstances surrounding Brian Martin's abscond from the Open Estate in May 2009. The response shows that, of the 9 recommendations for change made by Professor Spencer, the Scottish Prison Service has accepted 7 - with 2 already implemented.
The remaining 2, longer term, recommendations will be considered alongside the findings of research currently being carried out into the rehabilitative effects of temporary and early release. Recommendations to further tighten the assessment process for moving prisoners to open conditions are already being put in place by the Scottish Prison Service.
.png)
