Newsletter

Please note that the next Newsletter is due to be published on Monday 14 January 2008

 

CLG:  Would political activity by senior council staff really improve local democracy? - Action to boost understanding of local government and the role of councillors, to attract new & more diverse candidates to stand in local elections and to deliver better quality support to those elected are among the proposals in a new report from the Councillors Commission.

At the heart of the recommendations from the Commission is the demand for an explicit duty to be placed on local authorities to disseminate clear information about how councils and other local agencies work as well as to promote the role of councillors and the activities of elected members, including raising interest on how to stand for election.

The report sets out 61 proposals to transform local councils as well as encourage greater participation in local elections, including lowering the voting age to 16 and creating regional Local Government Days when all seats for authorities in those areas are contested on the same day.

The Commission calls on the government to amend legislation to include councillor equalities targets in race, gender & disability equalities schemes.  It also calls for changes to the ‘far-reaching’ restrictions that prevent council employees standing as councillors or engaging in political activity.

Press release ~ Representing the future: The report of the Councillors Commission ~ Councillor s Commission ~ Log on and join the debate ~ Operation Black Vote ~ Fawcett Society

DCSF:  Yet another 10 years & more billions to get it right - Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls has launched the 'Children's Plan' – Labour’s long term vision to improve schools and the way parents & families are supported to deal with the new challenges faced by young people in the 21st century, which aims to:

* strengthen support for all families including during the formative early years of their children's lives

* take the next steps in achieving world class schools

* seek a step-change in parents involvement in their child's learning

* help to make sure that young people have exciting things to do outside school & more places for children to play

Other key announcements include:

* a ‘root & branch’ review of the primary level

* reaffirming the Government's pledge to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020

* publication of a Child Health Strategy in Spring 2008

* an action plan to be published in 2008 that will tackle housing overcrowding and prioritise children's needs in housing decisions, especially the need to stay close to services like schools

* make teaching a Masters-level profession

* a youth alcohol action plan in the Spring 2008

* a Green Paper in Spring 2008 to look at what happens when young offenders leave custody on how to improve the education they receive in custody

Press release ~ The Children’s Plan

Defra:  Nature was ‘joined–up’ before government was even invented - The government claims that its new Ecosystems Approach Action Plan signals a move away from separate natural environment policies on wildlife, water, soil, and air quality towards a more joined-up approach taking account of the natural environment as a whole.

Central to the action plan is the idea that living things and their physical environment depend on each other - changes in one part of our environment can have consequences, positive and negative, on another.  It identifies 37 actions for Defra, its partners & stakeholders and is intended to deliver a number of important benefits, including:

* more effective delivery of our environmental outcomes

* better-informed decisions that take full account of environmental impacts

* better prioritisation and more efficient use of our resources

* more effective communications & greater awareness of the value of the natural environment & ecosystem services

* enabling Defra & delivery partners to better respond to changing pressures, including climate change

To guide policy-makers and economists in valuing these environmental benefits, Defra has produced an Introductory Guide to Valuing Ecosystem Services.

The Action Plan part of the government response to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the first global assessment of the natural environment, which warned that degradation in ecosystems will be a significant barrier to achievement of the Millennium Development goals.

Press release ~ Ecosystems Approach Action Plan ~ Guide to Valuing Ecosystem Services ~ Environment Agency ~ Forestry Commission ~ Natural England ~ Defra’s ecosystem approach ~ Millennium Development goals ~ Defra – Millenium Ecosystem assessment ~ BBC - Ecosystems and resources ~ Univ. of Leicester - Ecosystems ~ BBC News: Global ecosystems 'face collapse'

CLG:  Improving Social Housing and overcrowding - Councils and landlords should ensure social housing services focus on people, not just the homes they live in, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said in a speech to the Housing Corporation and Chartered Institute of Housing last week.

Yvette Cooper announced a package of measures and extra investment aimed at making social housing ‘fairer, more effective and more personal’.  The plans are claimed to re-focus social housing around the needs of tenants, such as young families needing to move to larger homes, increasing opportunities for elderly people to relocate closer to their families and grandchildren, and helping tenants back into work.

The Government's plans include the launch of a new crackdown on cramped housing, aimed at helping those living in the worst overcrowded households.  A new national Overcrowding Action Plan sets out proposals for increasing the number of larger homes nationally.

The proposals include changes giving greater priority to under-occupiers, such as the elderly and middle-aged 'empty nesters' who want to move into smaller homes or nearer their families.

The measures aim to address the key challenges facing social housing today, as set out in the Hills review, which found high levels of ‘worklessness’, polarisation of estates, high concentrations of deprivation and low levels of tenant satisfaction.

Press release ~ Tackling overcrowding in England: An action plan ~ Housing Corporation ~ Chartered Institute of Housing ~ Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) programme ~ Choice Based Lettings schemes ~ Social Homebuy ~ T he Hills Report into Social Housing

DSR:  Can we trust them to do it securely? - A consultation (closes on 15 February 2008) into how personal information is used & shared in the public & private sectors has been launched as part of the independent Data Sharing Review into the use & sharing of personal information announced by the Prime Minister on 25 October.

It asks:

* how & why information is shared & used

* whether the Data Protection Act offers sufficient safeguards

* what impact technological advances have had on the protection of personal information, and

* whether there are lessons the UK can learn from other countries

Press release ~ Terms of reference of the review into the use and sharing of personal information ~ Consultation documents ~ Review website ~ Information Commissioner's Office - ICO ~ ' Better use of personal data in an information-rich society - opportunities and risks ~ Research into the use of personal datasets held by public sector bodies

Defra:  If the government ‘knows best’ about everything else, why not on this? - Options for improving energy efficiency across the public sector have been set out in a consultation (closes 6 March 2008) document published by Minister for the Environment Phil Woolas.
 

The consultation encourages the public sector to lead the way in energy efficiency and asks respondents to suggest which of at least two measures linked to energy efficiency procurement should be implemented across the UK under the EU's Energy Services Directive.  The Government will then decide which measures will be introduced next Spring.

The consultation will also outline the Government's preliminary views on how well the public sector currently meets the requirements of the EU Energy Services Directive (which will be implemented in May 2008) and will provide additional suggestions for further action. 

Key questions that the consultation is seeking views on include:

* Exemplary role: To what extent is the public sector playing an exemplary role, as required by the EU Energy Service Directive?

* Implementation: Should it be voluntary or legislative?

* Measures: Which two of the six proposed energy-saving measures linked to procurement should be taken forwards and introduced?

Responses to a previous consultation to meet the same Directive have also just been published.

Press release ~ Consultation on Article 5 of the Energy End Use Efficiency and Energy Services Directive 2006/32/EC ~ EU's Energy Services Directive ~ Summar y of responses to the first consultation ~ EU Common Energy Policy - BERR ~ Defra – Energy Efficiency action plan ~ Nottingham Declaration - Action Pack ~ Top tips for Councils

NAO:  Ok so far, but with caveats - The National Audit Office has reported that the government’s 14-19 education reform programme has met its key milestones so far, but there are substantial risks which the Department for Children, Schools and Families is ‘managing’.

Effective local collaboration through the partnerships is fundamental to the successful implementation of the reforms and the NAO found wide variations in the preparedness of the local partnerships at this early stage in the reform programme.

Over two-thirds of partnerships reported problems with engaging sufficient numbers of employers to meet current work experience requirements and many expressed concerns that it will be difficult to engage the number and range of employers that will be required.

Local partnerships, individual institutions and training providers need to be confident that the reforms as a whole will be delivered effectively.  It is therefore paramount that the Department gives clear funding arrangements and consistent guidance to partnerships.

Press release ~ Partnering for success: preparing to deliver the 14-19 education reforms in England ~ Executive Summary ~ Survey of LSC Partnership Directors ~ RAND Europe Report: Implementation of new curriculum arrangements for 14-19 year olds - international comparisons ~ Support for Leaders ~ Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) ~ Policy statement ~  The Diploma : A new qualification for 14 to 19 year-olds ~ National Diplomas ~ September Guarantee ~ Activity Agreements 

Forthcoming event:  Learning how to perform within the new Framework for Localities - At this pivotal time in local government, a number of key challenges face you.  

One of the most critical will be the manner in which your services and their delivery are monitored & measured.  Central Government has reduced the amount of targets that you abide by, which will ultimately alter the way in which you work.

Preparation is paramount when it comes to safeguarding your performance and the Local Government Chronicle, in its role as a provider of up-to-date information, brings you a one day conference:  Working within the New Performance Framework to help you in that task (5 February 2008).

Responding to the need for detailed knowledge & clear guidance, they have developed a comprehensive programme to deliver just that - Get fully up to speed with the latest policy developments, enabling you to return to your council and put them into practice.

As well as hearing from Andy Burnham, Chief Secretary, Treasury, presentations include:

* Gauging your ability to deliver: The role of Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA)

* Lifting the Burdens Review Taskforce response

* Negotiating local priorities with your Government Office

*Communicating what the new framework will mean for your organisation and partners

Full details ~ CLG: Performance framework partnerships ~ CLG: Lifting the Burdens Taskforce ~ Lifting the Burdens FAQs ~ IDEA / LGA: Developing the new performance framework for localities ~ Audit Commission - Performance indicators ~ Audit Commission - Assessment of local services beyond 2008 ~ Library of local PIs

For Industry News please click HERE

DH: Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced an extra £520m of ring fenced funding to transform Social Care over the next three years through the introduction of Personal Care budgets. 

 

In a new concordat ‘Putting People First’, Central Government, Local Government, the professional leadership of adult Social Care and the NHS have jointly committed to a transformation of Care Services over the next three years.

 

Key elements of the transformation programme in every community will include:

* Giving the vast majority of people who receive funded care their own personal budgets

* High quality care homes, home care & day services to be rewarded

* Initiatives such as first-stop shops becoming common place so that everyone, including people who don't have support from social services, will have access to advice & advocacy about community services

Press release ~ Putting People First ~ DH - Personalisation ~ The In Control Website ~ Independence, choice and risk: a guide to best practice in supported decision making ~ National Indicators ~ Care Quality Commission

 

ScotGov: Mental health services in Scotland are set to be improved through major developments, including:

* A new early diagnosis of dementia target for NHS Scotland

* Setting up of Mental Health Collaborative in 2008

* Launch of guidance on support for people with substance misuse & mental health problems

Press release ~ Mental Health in Scotland: Closing the Gaps - Making a Difference ~ ScotGov – Mental Health

 

BERR: BERR is conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment which will assess the objective of achieving up to 25GW of offshore wind generation capacity by 2020, on top of current plans for 8GW of offshore wind.  

 

For offshore wind leasing, the SEA will cover the UK territorial waters and adjacent areas where the water depth is around 60m or less, but excluding Scottish and Northern Irish territorial waters, where it is understood there is limited scope for development.  Under The Crown Estate Act 1961, The Crown Estate is landowner of the UK seabed and areas of foreshore.

 

Energy Secretary John Hutton also announced that he will chair a panel of experts to advise him on renewable energy.

 

In addition, the Government is working on a regulatory regime to ensure that all offshore projects can connect to our onshore electricity transmission & distribution networks, quickly, securely and as cheaply as possible.  A response to the recent consultation on this issue will be published by BERR shortly.

Press release ~ BE RR: Offshore Energy SEA Scoping ~ Crown Estate ~ Map of Rounds 1 & 2 sites ~ Renewables Advisory Board (RAB) ~ BWEA ~ BERR - Wind

 

Cabinet Office: Launched by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell and Minister for Skills David Lammy MP, the Growing Talent Pilot is a high - level mentoring programme, aimed at equipping talented black and minority ethnic staff with the skills & attributes they will need to become future candidates for the Senior Civil Service.

 

After a rigorous assessment programme, twelve successful applicants to the scheme have now been paired with mentors from the Senior Civil Service, all of whom are currently permanent secretaries or work at director-general level.  High-level mentoring is the core of the programme, but there will also be other events running throughout the next year to reinforce what participants have learned through the mentoring programme.

 

The Growing Talent pilot is one of the first initiatives put into place by the Minority Ethnic Talent Association (META).  It is intended that over a four year period, the Growing Talent pilot and subsequent successor programmes will contribute to the objectives of the Cabinet Office 10-Point Plan for increasing diversity in the Senior Civil Service.

Press release ~ Minority Ethnic Talent Association (META) ~ Leaders UnLtd ~ Delivering a Diverse Civil Service - A 10-Point Plan ~ Civil Service diversity

 

CLG: A new written agreement which is intended to transform the relationship between central & local government and which sets out ‘new freedoms’ for local areas & communities has been signed by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and LGA Chairman Sir Simon Milton.

 

The Central-Local Concordat spells out key priorities which central and local government will deliver together - this includes tackling anti-social behaviour & crime, delivering good local services, more opportunities for young people, promoting enterprise - and how the two should work together.

Press release ~ Central-Local Concordat

 

Defra: A blueprint to help to deliver improved protection for people and property nationally, from coastal flooding & erosion has been published - The Environment Agency's Strategic Overview Implementation Plan.

 

Currently there are 92 coastal local authorities responsible for coastal erosion works, some of which also carry out sea flooding work.  In addition, the Environment Agency oversees the majority of sea flooding works, but doesn't have a role in coastal erosion.  At present both local authorities and the EA put forward local projects, which, if successful, are funded directly by Government.

 

Once this blueprint has been fully implemented, the Environment Agency's strategic overview role means that they will be responsible for the funding of all coastal work as well as overseeing its delivery.  Government will still set the criteria that projects will need to meet in order to receive funding.
Press release ~ Environme nt Agency's Strategic Overview Implementation Plan ~ Defra:  Sea Flooding and Coastal Erosion overview ~ Flooding Lessons Learned Review ~ Defra, UK - Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management ~ Regional Flood Defence Committee's - National Flood Forum ~ Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) ~ Env ironment Agency - Flood risk management ~ Flooding in Scotland

DWP: The government are consulting (closes 29 February 2008) on the fact that existing restrictions preventing SIPPs from holding protected rights are now considered unnecessary - particularly in the light of recent changes which mean SIPPs are regulated by the FSA.

 

The effect of the current legislation is that a SIPP scheme cannot obtain a contracting-out certificate and cannot therefore hold protected rights.  Protected rights are contracted out rights held in a defined contribution pension scheme. The draft regulations also include a minor amendment to the detailed rules on annuities to bring DWP legislation into line with tax law.

Press release ~ Consultation document

 

HM Treasury: The Treasury and Cabinet Office have published Limiting pre-release access to statistics: a consultation document.  This follows the Government's commitment to Parliament to consult publicly on the rules & principles for pre-release access to official statistics in their final form.

 

The consultation document (closes 3 March 2008) sets out how, as a part of the Governance of Britain programme of constitutional renewal, the Government is proposing to tighten the rules & principles under which pre-release access can be granted.

Press release ~ Limiting pre-release access to statistics: a consultation document ~ Governance of Britain programme

 

Defra: Options for sharing responsibility & costs on animal health and welfare policy have been set out in a consultation by Defra (closes 15 April 2008), which seeks views on how the farming industry could be further involved in the decision-making process for animal health and welfare, such as during disease outbreaks, and whether this should be done through existing structures and organisations or new organisational structures.

 

The consultation also looks at the principles of how the funding for animal health and welfare can be shared between Government and the industry in the future.

Press release ~ Consult ation documents ~ WAG: Responsibility and Cost Sharing ~ UK Responsibility and Cost Sharing Consultative Forum

 

MoJ: Who should be able to ask the courts to take action to stop a forced marriage?  A new consultation exercise (closes on 14 March 2008) is trying to find the answer. The Government's new Forced Marriage Act was brought in to protect those forced into marriage, whether children, teenagers or adults - and irrespective of background, gender, race or religion.

 

The new consultation paper is the first step to implementing fully the range of protections afforded by the legislation.  It asks what types of people or organisations should be able to apply direct to the courts for the safeguards to be applied in individual cases.

Press release ~ Consultation documents ~ Joint Home Office and Foreign Office's Forced Marriage Unit ~ Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 ~ Dealing with cases of forced marriage – Practice Guidance for Health Professionals ~ Other guidance for professionals (scroll down) ~ Forced Marriage consultation: A Wrong, not a Right ~ Information for victims ~ NHS: Forced Marriage Awareness ~ Islam online ~ Other material on Forced Marriage ~ ScotGov – Forced marriages ~ Karma Nirvana Refuge (and Survivors Network) – Tel: 01332 604098 (Mon-Fri 9.30am - 5.00pm) - Out of Hours emergency number: 07952 856869

 

NICE:  The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has launched a consultation of its draft appraisals methods guide. The Institute’s ‘Guide to the methods of technology appraisal’ document provides an overview of the principles & methods used by NICE to assess health technologies (drugs & other treatments).

 

Stakeholders, healthcare professionals and members of the public now have the opportunity to comment on the draft technology appraisal methods guide until 29 February 2008.

Press release ~ Review of the guide to the methods of technology appraisal

 

NICE: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising Lucentis (ranibizumab) and Macugen (pegaptanib) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  It is consulting (closes 14 January 2008) on draft recommendations for a dose-capping proposal to make Lucentis available on the NHS for people with wet AMD.  NICE has not yet issued final guidance to the NHS on these drugs.

Responses to earlier consultation made clear that many people felt it was unacceptable for NICE to recommend treating only the second affected eye.  NICE has taken these concerns on board, and now recommends treating the first eye to come to clinical attention.

Press release ~ Consult ation document (scroll down)

 

CLG: Local Government Minister John Healey has published new plans for consultation (closes on 8 February, 2008), which he claims will give local people the opportunity to give their views on their priority concerns for their local councils and agencies to tackle.

 

Under the new Place Survey, councils will ask local residents their views on a wide variety of issues, ranging from their use of local services to their general health & well-being, from support for older people to tackling crime, as well as information on levels of participation in the local community.

 

The results of the Place Survey will be used to assess how local areas are performing against 20 Citizen Perception Indicators, included in the new National Indicator Set.

Press release ~ New Place Survey Consultation ~ National Indicator Set ~ Best Value User Satisfaction Survey 2006-07

 

DSR: A consultation (closes on 15 February 2008) into how personal information is used & shared in the public & private sectors has been launched as part of the independent Data Sharing Review into the use & sharing of personal information announced by the Prime Minister on 25 October – See ‘In the News’ above.

 

Cabinet Office: Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, and Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission, have jointly published, for consultation (closes on 31 March 2008), a package of proposals to increase various financial thresholds for charities – See ‘Charity and Voluntary Sector’ below.

 

Defra: Options for improving energy efficiency across the public sector have been set out in a consultation (closes 6 March 2008) document published by Minister for the Environment Phil Woolas – See ‘In the News’ above.

Defra: Defra's Exotic Animal Disease Generic Contingency Plan, which is amended annually and is produced for Defra by the Animal Health Agency, has been laid before Parliament. The Contingency Plan is comprised of two parts:

* An Overview of Emergency Preparedness which provides details of how we have prepared for the operational response

* The Framework Response Plan which is an operational manual for those involved in managing the response & policy information by specific animal disease, setting out current policy on how each of these diseases will be dealt with

Press release ~ C ontingency Plan ~ De fra - Disease surveillance and control - Contingency Planning ~ Animal Health ~ Operation Hawthorn

 

NICE: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) new ‘how to change practice’ guide, packed with practical advice on how to encourage healthcare professionals & managers to change their practice in line with the latest evidence-based guidance, was launched at the NICE annual conference. It aims to support the NHS and wider public health community in understanding, identifying & overcoming barriers to change.

This guide is in three parts:

Part 1 discusses the types of barriers to change encountered in healthcare

Part 2 of the guide offers practical suggestions for how to identify the barriers to change faced by organisations

Part 3 provides evidence-based advice on what methods work to overcome these barriers and highlights potential levers to help do this

Press release ~ New Guide to changing practice

 

NICE: New guidelines launched recently by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) are set to improve the routine management & treatment of atopic eczema in primary care for children from birth up to 12 years of age.   

 

The guideline, produced for NICE by the National Collaborating Centre for Women and Children’s Health (NCC-WCH), includes the most comprehensive review & analysis of available evidence on ways to improve the quality of life of both children and their parents when managing this very common condition.

Press release ~ National Collaborating Centre for Women and Children’s Health (NCC-WCH) ~ Atopic eczema in children

CRC: The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) is concerned about the effects of the Post Office closure programme in rural areas and is therefore funding Rural Service Support, to help provide national and local organisations with on-line access to experts who can help them plan for the future.

 

Post Offices play a vital role in rural life, providing access to services and often acting as the social hub for a village.  Over the next year or so around 1,250 rural Post Offices are set to close across the country.

Press release ~ Post Offices ~ Rural Service Support ~ Ruralnet

NAO: The National Audit Office has published NHS (England) Summarised Accounts 2006-07: Achieving financial balance in the NHS. The NHS as a whole achieved a net surplus of £515m in 2006-07, compared with a net deficit of £547m in 2005-06.

 

The NHS Summarised Accounts show that in 2006-07 287 NHS organisations reported a gross surplus of £1,431m (2005-06: 357 organisations reported a gross surplus of £765m); offset by 82 NHS organisations reporting a gross deficit of £917m (2005-06: 179 organisations reported a deficit of £1,312m). The NHS is currently forecasting a net surplus of £1,790 million for 2007-08.

 

Complexities within the NHS present future financial challenges.  Payment by Results and Practice Based Commissioning reduce certainty around income for NHS Trusts and challenge PCTs to secure the services needed while managing within budget.  Ongoing restructuring will bring further costs in 2007-08.

Press release ~ Achiev ing financial balance in the NHS ~ NHS (England) Summarised Accounts 2006-07

 

DIUS: Consumers who buy fake goods on the cheap will end up worse off in the long run and in some cases are taking risks with their health. This warning came from the government as the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) launched the Intellectual Property Crime Report 2007, which outlines the impact on the UK by criminals who counterfeit and pirate products.

 

The intellectual property (IP) crime market in the UK has been estimated as worth around £1.3bn per year.  The report shows that closer cooperation between law-enforcement agencies and industry groups is beginning to pay off with a rise in the number of successful prosecutions, which have risen from 600 in 2004 (when the IP Crime Strategy was launched) to over 1,000 a year, according to the most recent figures available.

Press release ~ Intellectual Property Crime Report 2007 ~ IP Crime Group ~ IP Crime Strategy ~ Andrew Gowers' Review of Intellectual Property

 

ScotGov: Commenting on the latest attendance & absence statistics, Minister for Schools and Skills Maureen Watt said that early intervention in a child's life could be a key factor in improving school attendance, when she revealed that absence rates were greater among pupils:

* from deprived areas

* with additional support needs

* looked after by the local authority.

 

The new guidance - Included, Engaged and Involved - supports schools and authorities to build on early intervention, to keep pupils included, engaged and involved in school throughout their school career.

Press release ~ Attendance and Absence in Scottish Schools 2006/07 ~ Included, engaged and involved ~ School attendance: your responsibilities - ParentsCentre

DIUS: Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, joined with Frances O'Grady (Deputy General Secretary, TUC) and John Cridland (Deputy Director General, CBI) to launch English Language at Work, a new publication highlighting employer investment in English language training.

 

It sets out both the bottom-line business benefits and wider social and economic advantages employers have realised through investing in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) for their staff. It also complements the recently launched ESOL for Work qualifications, which provide work-focused English language skills on shorter and more flexible courses.

Press release ~ DIUS ~ English Language at Work: Work-based English for Speakers of Other Languages ~ ESOL for Work qualifications (scroll down) ~ ESOL Teaching and Learning Materials ~ ESOL Race Equality Impact Assessment ~ Train to Gain ~ Direct Gov - ESOL ~ DfES, Adult ESOL Core Curriculum

 

CLG: Communities Minister Iain Wright has announced a further £97m in Government funding to help local councils meet the housing needs of Gypsy & Traveller families in their area.  The funding is part of a package of new measures aimed at cutting the number of unauthorised sites in inappropriate locations, such as car parks or lay-bys.

 

By increasing the supply of authorised sites, the Government aims to improve the current levels of unauthorised encampment & development, which are a result of nearly a quarter of Gypsies and Travellers living in caravans having no authorised place to stay.

 

This renewed commitment to tackle the problem of unauthorised sites follows publication of a Government-commissioned report from the Task Group on Site Provision and Enforcement, which concludes that Government policy on site provision & enforcement is sound and calls for a consensus around the need for authorised Gypsy and Traveller sites.

Press release ~ Task Group on Site Provision and Enforcement ~ Task Group's final report: The Road Ahead ~ CLG - Gypsies and Travellers ~ Your Rights: Rights of Gypsies and travellers

 

BERR: Cuts to red tape are saving UK businesses and third sector organisations more than £800m per year, according to a Government report - Delivering Simplification Plans – which outlines more than 280 government initiatives to tackle red tape.

 

Covering 19 departments and agencies, it claims that the Government is on target to hit its goal of saving business and the third sector over £3.5bn in administrative costs by 2010.

Press release ~ Report

 

NAO: The Rural Payments Agency has made good progress, but still has more to do to resolve all the problems it experienced in administering the 2005 EU single payment scheme to farmers in England, according to a report by the National Audit Office.

 

It succeeded in meeting the June 2007 deadline for paying claims under the 2006 scheme.  However, the Agency has not yet made up the difference to all those claimants who were paid too little in the first year, nor recovered the sums from those farmers who were paid too much.

 

The NAO notes that the Agency has developed a detailed recovery plan to deliver improvements – but warns that implementing the necessary changes to business processes and the enhancements to computer systems needed to support them remains challenging.

Press release ~ A progress update in resolving the difficulties in administering the Single Payment Scheme in England ~ Executive Summary ~ Rural Payments Agency

 

ScotGov: The report of an expert panel appointed to look at ways to make homes and buildings more energy efficient has been published. Among the 56 recommendations to Ministers are:

* Staged increases in energy standards for new buildings every three years to substantially reduce emissions

* The aim of net zero carbon emissions for space heating, hot water, lighting & ventilation within 10 years

* The ambition of total-life zero-carbon buildings by 2030

* Consideration of zero fees for building warrant applications where new buildings are to be significantly above the current energy standards

Press release ~ A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland (The Sullivan Report)

 

Defra: Sir Bill Callaghan has published his review of the regulatory framework for handling of animal pathogens in the United Kingdom. The Review was asked to take forward recommendations made by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in their report on biosecurity at the Pirbright site in 2007, and Professor Spratt's review of safety of UK facilities handling FMD virus.

 

The Callaghan Review recommends a three-phased approach to implement a number of changes to strengthen this regulatory framework in the UK. The main change would be to move to a model where use of both animal and human pathogens is governed by a single regulatory framework, with Defra passing the responsibility for regulation of these pathogens to the HSE, as a single, independent body with the appropriate expertise and experience in the field.

Press release ~ Hilary Benn’s Written Ministerial Statement ~ Callaghan Review and related documents ~ Defra – F&M ~ HSE investigation

 

Ofsted: Children and young people have voiced their views on what the new National Minimum Standards for children’s social care should cover and have stressed that care placements should be designed so that brothers & sisters can stay together.

Children on care standards, published by Children’s Rights Director for England, Dr Roger Morgan, sets out the views of 433 children and young people consulted at the annual Children’s Rights Director conference. They expressed their views on:

* things that make a place good and bad to live in

* what children want staff or carers to do when looking after them, and

* what staff and carers should be allowed to do to make sure children behave

Press release ~ Children on care standards ~ Office of the Children’s Rights Director ~ Looked-after children - Every Child Matters ~ Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care Green Paper ~ Care Matters: Time for Change ~ Educational achievement of looked-after children - ECM ~ DfES: Looked-after children – the struggle for stability ~ Prince's Trust - Care ~ Looked After Children and Young People: We Can and Must Do Better  ~ Outcome Indicators for Looked after Children ~ Educati on Protects - Collecting & Using Data to Improve Education Outcomes for Children in Public Care

HC: The Healthcare Commission has called for national guidelines to be developed to enable ambulance trusts to manage & govern their community first responder (CFR) schemes consistently. Community first responders are volunteers that help respond to immediate life threatening calls, such as heart attacks, in their local community.  They are used in addition to, not instead of, ambulance services.

They were set up across England in 1999 after the Government encouraged ambulance services in rural areas to use them to help achieve Government targets (on Category A calls) requiring services to reach life threatening emergencies within eight minutes of a 999 call being made.

Over time the role & function of CFR schemes have expanded but there have been no national guidelines available to ambulance services for their development.  The Commission believes the development of this service requires the NHS to ensure the schemes are properly managed, supported & audited by ambulance services.

Press release ~ The role and management of community first responders ~ Volunteering England Case studies - Community Responders ~ Institute of Healthcare Development

 

NAO: The National Audit Office NAO) has published a report on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), which is the non-departmental public body which pays statutory financial compensation to victims of violent crime.

 

Its performance has declined since the NAO last reported on it in 2000 and it has not consistently met its targets over that period.  The average time to resolve a case has increased by over 40%, despite a 23% fall in the number of applications the Authority receives each year.

NAO press release ~ CICA press release ~ Compensating victims of violent crime ~ Execut ive Summary ~ Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA)

ScotGov: New bail provisions, which will mean tougher punishments for those who breach their conditions, have come into force in Scotland.  The overall aim of the bail reforms is to leave the accused in no doubt as to the responsibility placed on them when granted bail, so that breach of bail reduces.

 

Reforms contained in the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 include:

* Placing on statute that courts must take into account public safety when deciding whether to grant bail to an accused

* Courts will only grant bail to someone accused of serious violent or sexual offences or drug dealing with previous similar convictions in exceptional circumstances

* Requiring the court to always give reasons for their bail decisions

* Increasing the maximum penalties for breach of bail conditions from 3 months imprisonment to 12 months (and from two years to five years for certain bail breaches in solemn (sheriff and jury or High Court) cases)

 

Changes to direct measures (previously known as alternatives to prosecution) and fines enforcement will commence in March 2008, as will the programme of phased court unification.

Press release ~ Cr iminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 ~ Bail and Remand Action Plan ~ Report of the Sentencing Commission for Scotland on the use of bail and remand

 

Home Office: Following replies from police, collectors, traders, victims' groups and martial arts enthusiasts, the Government is publishing the summary of responses of a consultation earlier this year and announcing its intention to add samurai swords to the Offensive Weapons Order, which will result in the import, sale & hire of samurai swords being banned from April 2008.  

 

This will include exemptions for collectors of genuine Japanese swords and swords used by martial arts enthusiasts.

Press release ~ Su mmary of responses ~ Best Practice Guidance on knife crime for police forces

IPO: Intellectual Property and Quality Minister Lord Triesman has welcomed the European Patent Convention 2000 (EPC 2000) changes that ensure consistency between UK and European patent law, which came into force last week.

 

This revision includes changes to post grant amendment of patents which will allow UK business more options & flexibility when amending patents, giving greater choice in disputes over patent rights. The law has also been clarified & updated for inventions relating to methods of treatment or diagnosis.

 

In addition rules on the effect of European patent applications on the novelty of other inventions are simplified. Any published European patent application may now be used to show that an invention is not new, giving a Europe wide uniform effect of European patents on novelty of invention.

Press release ~ European Patent Convention 2000 (EPC 2000) ~ UK Intellectual Property Office

Cabinet Office: Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, and Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission, have jointly published, for consultation (closes on 31 March 2008), a package of proposals to increase various financial thresholds for charities.  

 

If implemented, these measures will enable thousands of registered charities to meet their accounting & reporting obligations in a simpler & less expensive way, freeing up resources for up to 75% (125,000) of registered main charities and helping ensure they are not disproportionately burdened by regulation.

 

In addition both the Cabinet Office and Charity Commission published their second annual simplification plans that set out a number of measures to reduce the burden of red tape on charities by 2010.

Press release ~ Financial Thresholds in the Charities Acts - Proposals for Change ~ Simplifica tion Plan ~ CC – Simplification Plan ~ Charities Act 2006

 

BIG: The winner of the Big Lottery Fund £50 million prize is Sustrans: Connect2, which is a UK-wide project that will create new cycling and walking routes to improve local travel in 79 communities across the country.
Press release ~ Sustrans: Connect2 ~ The People's 50 Million lottery

HMRC: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is reminding pension schemes that 2006/07 Pension Scheme Returns and Event Reports must be filed online by 31 January 2008. So if you're a pension scheme administrator, or you're acting on behalf of one, and need to register for HMRC's Pension Schemes Online service, you must do so as soon as possible.

 

To register, visit HMRC's online registration page and select 'Pensions'.  It can take up to seven working daysto activate a new account - as some information has to be sent by post - so don't leave it too late.

Press release ~ On-line user guide

 

BERR: Competitiveness Minister Stephen Timms has set out the final timetable for the implementation of the Companies Act 2006 and confirmed that a number of de-regulatory measures of benefit to business will come into force with effect from 1 October 2008.

 

The confirmation follows the announcement in November that the final implementation date for the Companies Act will now be 1 October 2009, rather than 1 October 2008.

Press release ~ Companies Act 2006 - BERR

 

HMRC: HM Revenue & Customs Brief 74/07
This Brief gives details of an article : VAT: reduced rate on residential renovations and alterations.

 

HMRC: Revenue & Customs Brief 73/07
Duty treatment of mixtures of ultra low sulphur diesel and sulphur-free diesel from 4 September 2007.

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