Policy Statements and Initiatives
DCSF: The Government has set out the details of the transfer of £7bn to local authorities to help colleges and sixth forms deliver the reforms needed to raise the education and training leaving age to 18. At the same time, Government will direct £4bn a year through a new agency to provide training & skills for adults, ‘transforming the system to be responsive and demand-led’.
The proposals are published for consultation (closes on 9 June 2008)by the Department for Children, Schools & Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in a White Paper, Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver. The plans will mean the dissolution of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC)by 2010 and instead make local authorities responsible for offering all young people in their area a full menu of choices - both the new Diplomas and Apprenticeships alongside GCSEs and A levels.
Press release ~ Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver (Joint DCSF/DIUS consultation) ~ DIUS – Further education ~ LGA - Children and young people ~ Learning and Skills Council (LSC) ~ National Diplomas ~ Activity Agreements ~ White paper - Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances ~ Statements of Content ~ DfES 14 – 19 Gateway ~ Get set for life website ~ Lord Leitch's report on skills
Cabinet Office: The Prime Minister has announced the publication of the first National Security Strategy for the UK, which claims to highlight the nature of the new security challenges, how they have changed, and how we are responding.
The strategy also claims to set out how the government has learned the lessons of recent years, including experiences of terrorism and civil emergencies in the UK and overseas. Rwanda, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, Burma and Kenya all show the need for the international community to be united and act decisively, but also to plan for the longer term, including supporting failing states and stabilising areas recovering from conflict, and tackling violent extremism.
The Prime Minister also announced a review of UK Reserves, to see how they can play a greater role in stabilisation and reconstruction in post-conflict zones
Press release ~ National Security Strategy ~ Intelligence and Security Committee ~ SaBRE - Support for Britain's Reservists and Employers
MoD: Increased retention bonuses worth up to £15,000 (for those below officer level) have been announced, to reward those who stay in the armed forces, alongside a new £20m pound pilot scheme to offer more affordable home ownership for service personnel and their families.
The Commitment Bonus, which encourages people to extend their service in the Armed Forces, will almost treble for service personnel staying in service for eight years. The bonus can also help more junior personnel achieve their home ownership aspirations.
Cabinet Office: A new Centre of Expertise is to be set up to help Whitehall departments achieve their targets for reducing carbon emissions & waste across the government estate. Details of the Centre of Expertise for Sustainable Procurement (CESP) were unveiled as the Government published its response to the Sustainable Development Commission's latest report on how the Government is meeting its own sustainable objectives for tackling climate change.
The 6th annual Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) report by the independent watchdog and adviser on sustainability shows a small improvement in the Government's overall performance against its key 'eco' commitments - including a 4% fall in carbon emissions across the estate by the end of 2006/7.
The CESP will be set up within the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) alongside the Government's Chief Sustainability Officer - a new post to be appointed to take forward a culture of change across all departments in sustainable operations and procurement.
Press release ~ 6th annual Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) report ~ Government's formal response to the 2007 SDiG report ~ Sustainable Procurement Action Plan ~ Updated set of standards document ~ OGC - High Performing Property ~ OGC - Electronic Property Information Mapping Service (e-PIMS) ~ Building for the future: Sustainable construction and refurbishment on the government estate ~ OGC Common Minimum Standards for the procurement of built environments in the public sector ~ Occupiers Property Databank ~ Better Measurement, Better Management: Effective management of the Government estate
WAG: Pooled council and NHS budgets will help create more efficient services in Wales Minister for Social Justice and Local Government, Dr Brian Gibbons, said recently when he issued new guidance to local authorities and NHS bodies on how to set up & manage pooled budgets.
Joint budgets should help local public bodies plan more effectively and provide clearer direction for people, resulting in joined-up services built around the needs of the citizen rather than the financial constraints of the organisations providing the services. Budgets could be pooled where councils and NHS bodies provide services for the same groups of people ensuring that funding is directed to those people in most need no matter
.gif)
