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WGPlus provides an in-depth weekly briefing from the UK Government and Public Sector. To save your time, we research & validate the links to websites, documents and further background information. Click here for more about WGPlus

In the News

DH:  Can nursing still be called the ‘Caring Profession’? - The Government is to replace the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) and will ask senior clinicians to sign off all end of life care plans, as part of its response to the findings of an Independent Review, Care & Support Minister Norman Lamb announced last week.

In its report, the Review found that 'in the right hands and when operated by well-trained, well-resourced & sensitive clinical teams the LCP does help patients have a dignified and pain-free death'.  But its findings included too many cases of poor practice, poor quality care of the individual, with families & carers not being properly engaged in the patient’s care.  Because of these failings in its use, the Review has recommended it should be phased out.

In future, anyone with worries about how their loved one has been treated at the end of their life will have access to an independent assessment of their case.  To support this independent assessment, the Government will make available a list of experts to provide local support for patients if needed - and all NHS hospitals will be asked to appoint a Board member with responsibility for overseeing any complaints about end of life care and for reviewing how end of life care is provided.

In addition, patients & families who have previously made complaints about care received on the LCP, but whose cases were not resolved satisfactorily, will have the opportunity to have their case reviewed.
Press release & links ~ Report by the Independent Review into the Liverpool Care Pathway ~ Keogh Mortality Review ~ Jeremy Hunt sets out plans to tackle mediocrity & inadequate leadership in the NHS ~ Health sector regulator puts 6 foundation trusts in special measures ~ ‘Compassion in Practice’  ~ NO: Complaints about the Liverpool Care Pathway ~ Demos calls for action to prevent ‘hit and miss’ end of life care ~ Demos: Ways and Means ~ People accept painful death to be with loved ones, finds Sue Ryder report ~ SR: A time and a place ~ WAG:  Delivery Plan for the critically ill ~ NICE: CMG42 Guide for commissioners on end of life care for adults ~ NICE: End of Life Care Quality Assessment Tool ~ ONS: National Bereavement Survey (VOICES) by Area Deprivation, 2011 ~ CQC requires improvement at Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust ~ TKF response to Sir Bruce Keogh's review ~ Health Ombudsman’s response ~ The Patients Association comments on the findings ~ Keogh Review: 'ostrich approach' not an option, says NHS Confederation ~ Chief Inspector of Hospitals announces inspection plans ~ NAO: 2012-13 update on indicators of financial sustainability in the NHS ~ TKF: Women continue to face barriers to taking senior leadership positions in the NHS new research finds ~ NO: Patient best interest – not cost alone – should be the overriding concern in care & treatment of people with learning disabilities ~ People with learning disabilities still face unacceptable inequalities in healthcare (see also ‘Policy Statements & Initiatives’ section)

CO:  No more silos in a future Civil Service? - The Civil Service is taking a new, joined-up approach to horizon scanning to help inform current policy making.  Following on from the recent Jon Day review of cross-government horizon scanning, the Cabinet Secretary is personally championing the joining-up of existing horizon scanning within government, and with his new Cabinet Secretary’s Advisory Group has commissioned several new strands of work to inform major areas of policy.

Horizon scanning is used as an overall term for analysing the future: considering how emerging trends & developments might potentially affect current policy and practice.  This helps policy makers in government to take a longer-term strategic approach and makes present policy more resilient to future uncertainty. In developing policy, horizon scanning can help policy makers to develop new insights and to think ‘outside the box’.

In contingency planning, horizon scanning helps to manage risk by planning ahead for unlikely, but potentially high impact events.  There are a range of possible methodological approaches, such as developing alternative future scenarios.
Press release & links ~ Jon Day review of cross-government horizon scanning ~ Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre website ~ Civil Service Quarterly launched ~ IfG:  Will change in the Civil Service be even harder to achieve than in the NHS? ~ CH: Governments & businesses under-prepared for high-impact low-probability events ~ IfG: Institute calls for major contracts review ~ NAO: Building capability in the Senior Civil Service to meet today’s challenges ~ Government improves management information to maximise savings ~ Details of government’s major projects revealed ~ Capabilities Plan for the Civil Service ~ IfG’s view on the machinery of government issues raised by the LSE Growth Commission’s report ~ Defra: Horizon scanning & futures ~ IfG: Connecting Policy with Practice - People Powered Change ~ IfG: Making Policy Better ~ CO: Business continuity guide launched

ICO:  Fining an organisation gets their attention, but a personal fine for the ‘responsible officer’ as well might ensure they became compliant -  The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued NHS Surrey with a monetary penalty of £200,000 after more than 3,000 patient records were found on a second hand computer bought through an online auction site.  The sensitive information was inadvertently left on the computer and sold by a data destruction company employed by NHS Surrey since March 2010 to wipe & destroy their old computer equipment.

The company carried out the service for free, with an agreement that they could sell any salvageable materials after the hard drives had been securely destroyed.  The ICO’s investigation found that NHS Surrey had no contract in place with their new provider, which clearly explained the provider’s legal requirements under the Data Protection Act, and failed to observe & monitor the data destruction process.
ScotGov:  So the rUK has no vote on these unions? - Only by restoring full political sovereignty to Edinburgh from Westminster can Scotland fulfil its true potential, First Minister Alex Salmond said in a keynote speech recently.  In the first in a series of speeches the First Minister will deliver over the summer, he highlighted six unions that impact on Scotland.

Mr Salmond set out how, following a vote for independence in next year’s referendum, Scotland will ‘continue to participate fully in five unions – the European Union, a defence union through NATO, a currency union, the Union of the Crowns and the social union between the people of these isles – embracing them and using the powers of independence to renew and improve them’.
SOCA:  Is nothing sacred? - The Serious Organised Crime Agency is aware that its name & brand have been used by criminals attempting to defraud members of the public.  Computer users find that their screens are locked, and at the same time they receive a message purporting to be from SOCA which states that their computer screen will only be unlocked if they pay a fine.  In reality, the computer has been infected with malicious software (malware), disseminated by cyber criminals for financial gain.

Similar versions of the malware, often claiming to be from other law enforcement bodies or private companies, are also in circulation.  Anyone who thinks they have fallen victim to this, or any other, form of fraud, are advised to report it to Action Fraud.
LSIS: Service to the end - The RSC case studies currently held on the Excellence Gateway will transfer to JISC Advance from Learning and Skills Improvement Services before LSIS’s closure at the end of July 2013.   JISC Advance will shortly confirm the new location of the case studies.
Press release & links ~ Future of LSIS’s work on national occupational standards & apprenticeships ~ The future of the Excellence Gateway & other LSIS materials

 

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Please note that previously published newsletters can be accessed from the Newsletter Archive

General News

Ofcom: Ofcom is creating the opportunity for TV viewers to receive up to 10 additional HD channels through their rooftop aerial. The new capacity will be made available on digital terrestrial TV (DTT) by using airwaves freed up by the digital switchover, located at 600 MHz, and could triple the number of HD channels currently available on the platform.
 
Ofcom will award the licence to run the new ‘multiplexes’ – the infrastructure needed to broadcast the channels – to transmission company Arqiva, the sole applicant for the licence. The BBC has already expressed interest in launching new HD services.  These and other channels could go live in some parts of the country by early 2014.
 
TUC: Scrapping vital protections for agency workers and limiting the amount of compensation employees can receive for unfair dismissal will punish the victims of ill-treatment at work and let bad employers off the hook, says the TUC.
 
New measures announced recently by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), will see the government cut back on the enforcement of basic rights for agency workers, including the right to be paid in full and not to be charged upfront fees.
 
FSA: The Food Standards Agency is commissioning work to develop guidance that focuses on best practice in relation to providing food to vulnerable patients. The focus is on patients who are at increased risk of contracting listeriosis within NHS hospitals, private hospitals, nursing homes and similar healthcare settings.
 
The work forms part of the Listeria Risk Management Programme, which aims to reduce the number of cases of listeriosis in the UK.   The guidance will provide practical support for staff in hospitals and similar healthcare establishments.
 
CAB: As wedding season approaches Citizens Advice has revealed details of some of the 3,000 wedding problems in England & Wales reported to the Citizens Advice consumer service between April 2012 and March 2013. It also provides top tips to protect yourself when planning a wedding.
 
FCO: Foreign Secretary William Hague has welcomed Intelligence & Security Committee findings that allegations against GCHQ are unfounded.
 
MoJ: Anyone applying for a lasting power of attorney (LPA) to choose someone they trust to make decisions for them if they lose mental capacity will be helped by a 15% cut in the application fee announced by Justice Minister Helen Grant.
 
From 1 October 2013 the application fees for registering both LPAs and the older enduring powers of attorney (EPA) will both be reduced from £130 to £110.
 
Monitor: Monitor has stepped in to ensure Heatherwood & Wexham Park NHS Foundation Trust draws up a recovery plan to deal with poor care & shortfalls in A&E. The health regulator has taken action following a warning notice from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that the trust breached essential standards.
 
The trust is giving Monitor binding undertakings to put right the concerns raised by the CQC within 3 months.  In addition, it has agreed to review its oversight of clinical quality, strengthen its ward management, and ensure it has adequate capacity (both beds & staff) to meet future demand for both emergency and elective care. 

The trust has been in special measures for the last 4 years, originally because of failure to meet national A&E targets and subsequent financial problems.
 
TfL: People are being advised to plan ahead & use public transport to avoid road disruption during the Prudential RideLondon cycling festival over the first weekend in August, when there will be road closures in central London and a large number of road & bridge closures across east, central & southwest London, as well as parts of Surrey.
 
DFID: The Global Health Trials Scheme is looking for new proposals that help tackle the major causes of mortality & morbidity in the developing world. The UK Department for International Development, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust recently announced the launch of the 4th call for proposals under the JHTS.
 
The purpose of this scheme is to ‘provide funding for the best proposals to generate new knowledge about interventions that will contribute to the improvement of health in low & middle-income countries’.  A total of £15m is available, which is expected to fund several awards.  All outline proposals should be submitted before 16:00 BST on the 1 October 2013.
 
EA: Anglers are being offered the chance to take a friend or family member fishing for free as part of the Environment Agency’s support for National Fishing Month. The fishy 4 weeks, running between 19 July - 26 August, were launched at last weekend’s Country Land & Business Association (CLA) Game Fair.

Angler’s can download the popular ‘Take a Friend Fishing’ voucher between 20 July - 28 July, offering a licensed angler the chance to take a friend or family member fishing without them having to buy their own rod licence.
 
ScotGov: Scottish shoppers used 750m carrier bags in 2012 – the highest rate of usage per person in the UK.  The Scottish Government announced last month that it is introducing measures which will see Scottish retailers charging a minimum of 5p per bag by October 2014 in a bid to reduce carrier bag use.
 
CO: Cabinet Office and Air Products Plc have formally concluded their deal for a long term contract to deliver electricity to government for 20 years at a fixed price. This will significantly lower the cost government pays for energy and will support the creation of hundreds of local jobs.  Latest calculations in finalising this deal means savings of £97m can be expected over the life of the contract.
 
MoD: The remains of an RAF bomber crew lost just weeks before the end of the Second World War have been laid to rest with full military honours. The plane, Boston BZ590, belonging to the Royal Air Force’s 18 Squadron, was crewed by 3 members of the RAF Volunteer Reserve, all aged 20, and a 21-year-old from the Royal Australian Air Force.

Policy Statements and Initiatives

DH: Far more needs to be done across health and care services to improve the treatment that people with learning disabilities receive, Care & Support Minister, Norman Lamb made clear recently.  

 2 new publications from the Department of Health, the responses to the Confidential Inquiry into premature deaths of people with learning disabilities and the Six Lives Progress Report on Healthcare for People with Learning Disabilities, show that whilst some improvements have been made, people with learning disabilities are still experiencing poor care, and face unacceptable inequalities in health and social care.
 
In response, DH have asked the National Clinical Director for Learning Disability to look at the feasibility of developing best practice guidelines for the treatment of people with learning disabilities.  
 
WAG: The new innovation strategy for Wales launched last week adopts a new approach to innovation - across business, government and society as a whole. Innovation Wales recognises the widely accepted technology-based concept of innovation, but emphasises that innovation can be achieved everywhere & anywhere and by anyone, across the board.
 
In order to encourage these broader areas of creativity & wealth generation, Innovation Wales highlights the need for the public sector to be less prescriptive and more open to fresh solutions for supporting business & procurement.
 
DH: The summary report of the responses to the public consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products has recently been published by the Department of Health.  

Having carefully considered these differing views, the Government has decided to wait until the emerging impact of the decision in Australia can be measured before making a final decision on this policy.
 
DWP: The benefit cap is being introduced across the country, restoring fairness to the welfare state. The cap will roll out from now to the end of September 2013 with the amount of benefits working-age households can claim limited to the average working wage – £500 a week.  In total, it is expected that 40,000 households will have their benefits capped. This will save £110m this year and £185m next year. 
 
DFID: International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone has launched Work in Freedom initiative to help tackle labour trafficking. The UK government is investing £9.75m over 5 years into the Work in Freedom initiative to help tackle known labour trafficking routes between South Asia, such as Bangladesh and Nepal, to the Gulf States including Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.  Around 21m people are trafficked and in forced labour worldwide, the majority are from Asia with women & girls most affected.
 
DECC: Householders could get paid hundreds of pounds a year for heat generated by solar thermal panels, biomass boilers & heat pumps.   The tariff levels have been set at 7.3p/kWh for air source heat pumps; 12.2p/kWh for biomass boilers; 18.8p/kWh for ground source heat pumps and at least 19.2 p/kWh for solar thermal.
 
The new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for householders is designed to drive forward uptake of renewable heat technologies in homes across Great Britain to cut carbon, help meet renewables targets and save money on bills. The scheme is a world first, and has been up & running for the non - domestic sector since November 2011.
 
DfT:  The national network of motorways & trunk roads will get extra lanes, smoother, quieter surfaces, improved junctions and new sections in key areas under the plan published last week.
 
DWP: Disabled people will get more support to gain the skills and experience they need to get a job under changes to the government’s specialist disability employment scheme announced last week. 

Disabled people on traineeships, supported internships, work trials and work academies will for the first time get additional help through the Access to Work scheme – which provides funding towards the extra costs disabled people face in work, such as travel costs, specially adapted equipment or support workers.
 
WAG: A 10-year plan to close the gap between the most & least disadvantaged children in Wales has been launched by the Welsh Government. ‘Building a Brighter Future: Early Years and Childcare Plan’ is the first plan of its kind published by the Welsh Government and sets out its commitment to improving life chances for children in Wales. 
 
The plan addresses children’s & family services for children from 0 up to the age of 7, when they reach the end of their Foundation Phase. Progress in completing the plan’s action points and achieving its results will be assessed annually.  The Plan will be reviewed in 2016.
 
HMT: The government will consult on the proposed devolution of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to the National Assembly for Wales, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told parliament last week.
 
CLG: New funding will help councils take on the rogue landlords who make tenants’ lives a misery, Housing Minister Mark Prisk has announced.  Councils will be able to bid for share of up to £3m to tackle irresponsible landlords in their area, who allow their tenants to live in unsafe & squalid conditions, putting lives at risk and disrupting local communities.
 
DfT: Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has confirmed a £1.2bn order for more state-of-the-art trains to transform rail travel on one of Britain’s busiest intercity routes, as part of the government’s overall £5.8bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP).
 
CLG: A competition launched last week asks the public to suggest projects their local post office could start up to benefit the community, including mentoring for business start-ups, digital access and training and display space for local producers.  Successful schemes must be innovative & support the local community or small businesses in the area.
 
Working with local residents, sub-postmasters across England can now apply for up to £10,000 from a £200,000 community enterprise fund from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Post Office.  

Branches will suggest suitable projects, which must be not for profit but provide a service, activity or support that are easily accessible and open to all. The competition is not open to Crown branches. Members of the public who wish to suggest projects should speak to their local branch manager by Friday 18 October 2013.

Consultations

EU News: The European Commission has launched a public consultation on ways to improve access to justice in the field of the environment.  Access to justice – the right to challenge decisions or omissions by public bodies that are suspected of not complying with environmental law – is an international obligation under a UN Convention ratified by the EU in 2005.  Consultation closes on 23 September 2013.
 
EU News: In Europe we waste about 89m tons of food every year.  Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: "This is morally & economically unacceptable and is all the more horrific when you consider the true scale of the resources required to produce those 89 million tons! We are also wasting all those resources. There's something wrong with the system."
 
That is why the European Commission is asking for opinions about the European food production and consumption system. The consultation asks stakeholders, citizens, businesses, NGOs and public authorities for ideas on immediate action to reduce food waste and more generally on how to ensure our food system is using resources efficiently.  These will provide input for a Communication on Sustainable Food later this year.  The consultation closes on 1 October 2013.
 
DSA: Some rules for motorcycles, lorries and buses used for driving tests are changing to let trainers use more easily available vehicles. Manufacturers are phasing out production of the types of vehicles that were commonly used in 2000 when the European Commission first introduced the minimum standards.
 
The Driving Standards Agency has launched a consultation about a directive that introduces changes to driver licensing and the vehicles that can be used to take the driving test.  It closes on 26 August 2013.  All of these changes must be introduced by 31 December 2013.
 
DfE: Deputy PM, Nick Clegg, and Schools Minister, David Laws, have launched a consultation setting out proposals to reform the way primary schools are held to account and raise standards for all. The new system will be more ambitious, setting out clear expectations of what every child needs to achieve to be ready for secondary school.
 
The consultation is online and the government response to the national curriculum review and the new programmes of study are available to download from the department’s website.  The consultation closes 11 October 2013.
 
BIS: The government launched 2 new surveys at the ministerial summit in July 2013 to address concerns in the payday loans market.  These surveys aim to check how well payday lenders are meeting the standards set out in the industry codes implemented last November.  Both surveys will close on 14 August 2013.
 
DECC: Investors have received further certainty of how the government will support investment in new energy infrastructure through the Energy Bill, in order to keep the lights on and bills & emissions down. The draft Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan, published last week for consultation, provides detail on the support mechanism (long-term Contracts for Difference) and draft strike prices for renewables investors, which together will help incentivise up to £110bn of investment in new electricity infrastructure by 2020.
 
The EMR Draft Delivery Plan is being put out for consultation, before a final version is published in December.  The consultation closes on 25 September 2013.  The Energy Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent by end of 2013.
 
Ofcom: Ofcom has proposed to change the way people dial local telephone numbers in some parts of the country, in order to free up new numbers where supplies are running low. The change would require people in 5 areas of the UK to include the area code when dialling a local number from a landline. At present the code can be omitted for local calls, but this means Ofcom is unable to allocate local numbers beginning with a ‘zero’ or a ‘one’.1
 
Ofcom is proposing to implement the measure on 1 October 2014 in Aberdeen, Bradford, Brighton, Middlesbrough and Milton Keynes – 5 dialling code areas where the supply of new telephone numbers is running low due to high demand. The consultation closes on 13 September 2013
 
DH: Plans to help people better prepare for the cost of their future care needs have been published alongside details of how the new fairer funding system will protect homes & savings.  As part of the consultation looking at the practical detail of implementing the proposed funding reforms, the proposals include financial advice to help everyone understand their needs and plan for the future. The consultation closes on 25 October 2013
 
Additional Consultations: Readers should be aware that many consultations are never publicised with a press release, so do not appear in either the email alerts or Wired - GOV Plus. Many of these consultations can be found at the following links:

Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides

NICE: Ensuring mothers are aware of the health benefits of breastfeeding, reducing the risk sudden of death syndrome, and assessing women for postnatal depression are among measures services can take to improve the quality of postnatal care, according to NICE.
 
However, complications do occur and certain women, such as those with poor support networks or those who have developed a postnatal health problem, may be vulnerable to harmful outcomes. Around 1 in 8 report being highly critical of the care they received and cite insensitivity, inconsistent care and lack of emotional support due to too few home visits as reasons. 

To standardise & improve the quality of care provided, NICE has produced a postnatal care quality standard, which contains 11 statements to support the measurable improvement of services.
 
RoSPA: RoSPA research shows that at least 26 children have been killed on, or near, the driveway of their homes since 2001.  17 of these accidents have occurred since 2007 and, tragically, in most cases, an adult member of the child’s family, a neighbour or a visitor was driving the vehicle.  These cases are devastating for all those involved.  
 
RoSPA has produced advice on reversing, parking & other car safety issues as part of its Child on the Drive! campaign, which launched late last year.  Anyone wanting FREE Child on the Drive! advice leaflets & posters can download or order them from RoSPA’s driveway safety web section.
 
Defra: The cyclists at the Olympic Velodrome may have broken records, but great gains were also taking place off the track.  A resource-efficient approach to construction of the Velodrome led to £1.5m savings from the cable-net roof design alone, requiring about 1,000 tonnes less steel and embodied carbon savings of over 27%.
 
To ensure the lessons learnt from the Games can be applied to new projects, Defra has developed a Sustainable Procurement for Construction Projects guide, which pulls together the key lessons on procuring sustainable buildings & infrastructure, and contains key case studies about the Velodrome and low carbon concrete.  It also includes links to other material about sustainable procurement at London 2012.

Annual Reports

CBI: Absence from work in the UK has dropped to a new record low, according to the latest CBI/Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health Survey. The 30-year survey found the average absence rate was 5.3 days in 2012, down from 6.5 days in 2010 - saving business £3bn.
 
Absence rates in both the public & private sector were down to 6.9 (from 8.1) and 4.9 (from 5.9) days respectively. Mental health conditions emerged as the single most widespread cause of long-term absence from the workplace.
 
TUC: TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady has commented on new pension tax relief research published last week by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI). The report analyses a number of proposals to reform pensions tax relief, including the introduction of a flat rate for tax relief and a cash limit on lump sums in retirement that are eligible for tax relief.
 
IoE: Research by Dr John Jerrim of the Institute of Education (IOE) has been published by the Sutton Trust recently showing that Britain's brightest boys from the least advantaged homes are more likely to score poorly on international reading tests than those in any other advanced nation. 
 
WAO: NHS bodies met their statutory financial targets in 2012-13 despite a tough financial settlement, but some of the actions taken to achieve break-even are not sustainable according to a report published last week by the Wales Audit Office.
 
PC&PE: The Home Affairs Committee published its report ‘The work of the UK Border Agency (October–December 2012)’.
 
CH: Prospects for the world's manufacturing landscape are uncertain and developed countries are in for a prolonged period of low growth, says a new report, The World's Industrial Transformation. 

The financial crisis & recession mean a long period of tepid growth is likely in the West, whilst developing countries such as China – now the world’s largest manufacturer - and India, should continue to grow at a healthy rate, partly owing to the emergence of a huge middle class that will need consumer goods and vast infrastructure investments.

The report assesses which industries will change the global manufacturing landscape and drive future growth. The report examines 4 key sectors: aircraft, automotive, pharmaceutical and retailing. From the aircraft & automotive studies comes a clear recommendation that governments should support free trade and resist protectionist pressures.
 
MoD: Amyas Morse, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), has qualified his audit opinion on the MOD’s 2012-13 accounts. There are a number of grounds for this qualification.
 
IPCC: A report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), based on an analysis of race complaints dealt with by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), has concluded that in general these complaints were not handled in a sufficiently robust, fair or customer-focused way.  

It calls for a cultural change in the way the MPS deals with such complaints, supported by training, monitoring and community feedback. 
 
PC&PE: The Public Accounts Committee has published a report which, on the basis of evidence from the Serious Fraud Office, examined their redundancy & severance arrangements. Richard Bacon MP, of the Committee of Public Accounts, said: “The reputation of the Serious Fraud Officehas beenundermined by a catalogue of errors and poor judgement and the morale of its staff has suffered as a result.
 
HO: A report released by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) has praised the progress made by Morton Hall IRC since its opening in 2011. The independent report, which was published following an inspection of the Lincolnshire centre in March 2013, found a ‘safe establishment’ which ‘supported the detainees it held’.
 
NAO: Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, has recently qualified the accounts of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) 2012 - 13.
 
HMIC: Police forces in England & Wales are rising to the financial challenge of the spending review – crime is down, victim satisfaction up, and they are protecting their front lines as much as possible; but HMIC has concerns about the ability of 5 forces to respond to future cuts.

General Reports and Other Publications

PC&PE: Government's probation reforms designed for male offenders and ignore women in the Justice system, says Justice Committee.
 
IFS: From 2016
 the existing 2-part state pension system is to be replaced by a new single-tier system, which is expected to be set at around £146 per week.  A new report by researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), examines how the proposed reforms affect different types of individuals and contrasts the short- & long- term effects of the proposed reforms which are found to differ dramatically.
 
NAO: Government measures to reduce the liability of the state for supporting people in their retirement are being managed separately, without adequate consideration of their combined impact on the overall objective of increasing retirement incomes.  According to a report by the National Audit Office, there is no overarching programme or single accountability for encouraging people to save for retirement.
 
JRF: Families with children who work full time could find themselves with less disposable cash than those who work part-time under Universal Credit, according to a new report for the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

The report is the first detailed look at how Universal Credit (UC) will affect take home pay once childcare costs have been taken into account. It assessed whether UC, being introduced from this year, will meet its central aim of making work pay, and enable low earning families to reach a minimum acceptable living standard.
 
NO: Bristol City Council has been failing in its legal duty to provide homeless people with the chance to appeal against its decisions not to house them, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has found. The problem was uncovered after a woman complained to the LGO that the council had not found her accommodation, 5 months after she contacted them for help.
 
NLGN: The New Local Government Network’s new research paper, Future Councillors: Where next for local politics, supported by Grant Thornton, maps the future role of elected members.  As councils make the toughest financial decisions for a generation, they must redouble their efforts to improve electoral turnout and civic participation.  Otherwise they could face paralysing local resistance from groups disconnected from the democratic process.
 
PC&PE: The House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has published a report which says ‘the UK Government must identify any shortfalls in the provision of services to the Armed Forces Community in Northern Ireland, and report on how these will be met’.  The Committee also calls for closer engagement between the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive on support for the Armed Forces Community.
 
IfG: Whitehall must slow down its plans to expand markets in public services because it lacks the expertise to design & manage complex contracts effectively, says the Institute for Government (IfG) in its new report Making Public Service Markets Work.
 
UKOC: Earlier this year UK online Centres held a series of focus groups all around the country to ask you, their centres what you think about what they do and how they do it.  To prove to you that they have listened, they are publishing the Focus Groups Action Report, detailing exactly the actions they are taking following your feedback.
 
NO: A vulnerable young man became a victim twice ― of the crime committed against him and also of the service he received from a youth offending team and his local council. The young man was the victim of a robbery.  

Trafford Youth Offending Team offered the young man the opportunity to take part in restorative justice, as set out in the Victims’ Code. This provides opportunities for those directly affected by a crime to agree on how to deal with the offence and its consequences.  But both the Youth Offending Team (YOT) and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council failed to handle the case properly.
 
WAG: New research into the impact of changes to the welfare system suggests that women in Wales are more likely to be adversely affected and tend to lose the most compared to men. The findings published recently by the Welsh Government, highlight that single parents who are out of work, most of whom are women, are one of the groups that will incur the largest reduction in benefit & tax credit entitlements.
 
The report is the third in a series commissioned by the Welsh Government to better understand the impact of the UK Government’s welfare reforms on the people of Wales.
 
NAO: Government is continuing to make extensive use of higher rate telephone numbers for customer telephone lines, despite efforts by departments to reduce their use, according to the National Audit Office. Departments had inconsistent approaches towards the replacement of 0845 numbers with lower cost 03 alternatives.

Legislation / Legal

HMIC: The case files prepared for court are vital for securing justice and must be completed to a high standard; but too often the completion of them is treated as a tick-box exercise, and files include irrelevant or incomplete information, found a joint review published last week.
 
Both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service have in recent years produced guidance on how to build proportionate case files.  However, a review of 180 prosecution case files by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, (HMCPSI) found that while there have been some improvements in this respect, the reports police send to prosecutors are still frequently missing important details, or being ‘overbuilt’ with material or evidence that is not needed.
 
IPCC: The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been informed that Ann Hall, Cleveland Police's Assistant Chief Officer, has been allowed to resign by Cleveland Police. Ms Hall is currently under investigation by the IPCC in relation to an allegation that unauthorised payments amounting to thousands of pounds have been made to an executive coaching company.  
 
Ms Hall was subject to a separate investigation commissioned by Cleveland Police and the IPCC understands she was due to face a disciplinary hearing in relation to this.  However, she has tendered her resignation in advance of this and this has been accepted by Cleveland Police.
 
WAG: New laws to give the Welsh NHS greater financial flexibility, tackle homelessness & domestic violence and reform the planning system are at the heart of the Welsh Government’s legislative priorities for 2013-14, the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones has said.
 
CO: The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trades Union Administration Bill has been published. It seeks to make the influences on the political process more transparent to the public.
 
The bill includes the introduction of a statutory register of lobbyists, tighter regulation of the amount organisations can spend on political campaigning during election periods, and new powers for certification officers to ensure that trades union records are accurate.
 
DCMS: The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill completed its historic journey through Parliament by receiving Royal Assent last week, officially making it law.  Women & Equalities Minister Maria Miller also announced that the first same sex wedding could take place by as early as summer 2014.
 
CBI: The CBI responded to the publication of the Company ownership: transparency and trust discussion paper, by the Business Secretary, Dr Vince Cable.

EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.

IEA: The Institute of Economic Affairs has announced the launch of the IEA Brexit Prize.  the first prize of €100,000 will be awarded to the best blueprint for the UK after the EU. The IEA believes that we need to give serious consideration to how the UK could have a free & prosperous economy outside the EU given that exit is a serious possibility after the next election. The deadline for entries is Monday 16 September 2013.
 
EU News: The European Commission is taking action to improve Union-wide prosecution of criminals who defraud EU taxpayers by establishing a European Public Prosecutor's Office.  

Its exclusive task will be to investigate & prosecute and, where relevant, bring to judgement – in the Member States' courts - crimes affecting the EU budget.  The EPPO will be an independent institution, subject to democratic oversight.
 
 
EU News: The European Commission has launched a public consultation on ways to improve access to justice in the field of the environment – See ‘Consultations’ section for more information.
 
EU News: Europe wastes about 89m tons of food every year.  That is why the EC is asking for opinions about the European food production & consumption system. The consultation asks for ideas on immediate action to reduce food waste & more generally on how to ensure our food system is using resources efficiently – See ‘Consultations’ section for more information.

Charity and Voluntary Sector

10DS: Around 6,000 young people will be mentored by Mosaic this year – a charity which has won a Big Society Award today from PM David Cameron for its achievements across 5 UK regions, bridging the gap between aspiration & achievement for young people.
 
The charity, founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2007, uses mentoring programmes to link young people growing up in some of the most deprived communities with inspirational role models to boost their confidence and long-term employability.  Mosaic’s mentors are volunteers and are primarily from Muslim backgrounds, communities that are traditionally under-represented in formal volunteering.
 
WAG: Minister for Local Government & Government Business, Lesley Griffiths, recently visited one of a number of projects to benefit from almost £4.9m funding from the Welsh Government’s Youth Crime Prevention Fund.  

The money will support projects aimed at diverting young people away from crime & anti-social behaviour and resolve the issues which have led to them being arrested.
 
BIG: Report findings launched last week, one year into the Big Lottery Fund’s ground-breaking Realising Ambition programme, show that ‘a lack of evidence-based programmes, challenges in recruiting sufficiently qualified or experienced staff and internal bureaucracy mean successful early intervention programmes aimed at helping vulnerable children are not being replicated successfully’.  

However whilst the replication of promising interventions is hard, the majority of projects supported by the Realising Ambition are succeeding in replicating to new areas.

Business and Other Briefings

WAG: A new pilot initiative by the Welsh Government aims to encourage collaboration between large & small businesses and other potential partners, all for the benefit of the Welsh economy. 7 large & significant Welsh anchor businesses have competed successfully for an Open Innovation Development Award to originate new, innovative relationships with other businesses and external parties.   Each can employ an ‘open innovation champion’ to develop & implement their proposals.
 
The concept of open innovation has attained widespread interest in recent years, and is based on the realisation that large companies cannot find solutions to all of their new product development issues in-house.  Instead their customers, suppliers, inventors, universities or other stakeholders may hold valuable insights into their problems.
 
DWP: Disabled people will get more support to gain the skills & experience they need to get a job under changes to the government’s specialist disability employment scheme announced last week. Disabled people on traineeships, supported internships, work trials & work academies will get additional help through the Access to Work scheme - See ‘Policy Statements & Initiatives’ section for more information.

Industry News

STFC: Engineers used to designing state of the art instruments for ground & space based telescopes are now applying their expertise to the development of a diagnostic test for the developed world’s most common form of sight loss in adults, Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
 
AMD leads to the loss of the vision used when looking at something directly ahead, at another person for example, or when reading or watching television.  In the UK alone, by 2020 the number of AMD sufferers is expected to rise to 750,000.
 
Engineers at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC), part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) normally design & make instruments to detect faint light from distant stars & galaxies.  

They are also currently collaborating with scientists from Cardiff University’s School of Optometry and Vision Sciences to develop a unique instrument, a ‘retinal densitometer’, which can pick up the earliest stages of AMD by measuring, in the minutest of detail, how the eye responds to light.
 
STFC: Scientists working to design advanced medicines (at Heptares Therapeutics, an MRC spin out company) that are perfectly targeted to control the body’s natural receptors have made a major discovery. 

For the first time, they have been able to visualise & study the structure of CRF1, the protein receptor in the brain which controls our response to stress, using the intense synchrotron light produced at the Science & Technology Facilities Councilfunded Diamond Light Source, the UK’s synchrotron science facility in Oxfordshire.

Forthcoming Event

WAG: Visitors to the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show will be asked for their views on public services in Wales as part of the Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery’s consultation. A drop in session will be held at the Welsh Government’s pavilion on Wednesday 24 July 2013.
 
There are a number of other events across Wales, including informal public meetings, where the Commission will be seeking views from the public on how services may be improved (see press release for details & dates).  It is also possible to contribute to the consultation, which is open until the end of August, by completing an online questionnaire or by providing a written submission.
 
IfL: A group of the UK’s most prominent professional bodies have announced the UK’s inaugural Professions Week. Running from 21–27 October 2013, the week will aim to increase interest & awareness among 14 to 19 year olds in the professions.  It will also support teachers & careers advisers, giving them the relevant materials to help young people make informed decisions with regards to the professions.

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General News

Ofcom: Ofcom is creating the opportunity for TV viewers to receive up to 10 additional HD channels through their rooftop aerial. The new capacity will be made available on digital terrestrial TV (DTT) by using airwaves freed up by the digital switchover, located at 600 MHz, and could triple the number of HD channels currently available on the platform.
 
Ofcom will award the licence to run the new ‘multiplexes’ – the infrastructure needed to broadcast the channels – to transmission company Arqiva, the sole applicant for the licence. The BBC has already expressed interest in launching new HD services.  These and other channels could go live in some parts of the country by early 2014.
 
TUC: Scrapping vital protections for agency workers and limiting the amount of compensation employees can receive for unfair dismissal will punish the victims of ill-treatment at work and let bad employers off the hook, says the TUC.
 
New measures announced recently by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), will see the government cut back on the enforcement of basic rights for agency workers, including the right to be paid in full and not to be charged upfront fees.
 
FSA: The Food Standards Agency is commissioning work to develop guidance that focuses on best practice in relation to providing food to vulnerable patients. The focus is on patients who are at increased risk of contracting listeriosis within NHS hospitals, private hospitals, nursing homes and similar healthcare settings.
 
The work forms part of the Listeria Risk Management Programme, which aims to reduce the number of cases of listeriosis in the UK.   The guidance will provide practical support for staff in hospitals and similar healthcare establishments.
 
CAB: As wedding season approaches Citizens Advice has revealed details of some of the 3,000 wedding problems in England & Wales reported to the Citizens Advice consumer service between April 2012 and March 2013. It also provides top tips to protect yourself when planning a wedding.
 
FCO: Foreign Secretary William Hague has welcomed Intelligence & Security Committee findings that allegations against GCHQ are unfounded.
 
MoJ: Anyone applying for a lasting power of attorney (LPA) to choose someone they trust to make decisions for them if they lose mental capacity will be helped by a 15% cut in the application fee announced by Justice Minister Helen Grant.
 
From 1 October 2013 the application fees for registering both LPAs and the older enduring powers of attorney (EPA) will both be reduced from £130 to £110.
 
Monitor: Monitor has stepped in to ensure Heatherwood & Wexham Park NHS Foundation Trust draws up a recovery plan to deal with poor care & shortfalls in A&E. The health regulator has taken action following a warning notice from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that the trust breached essential standards.
 
The trust is giving Monitor binding undertakings to put right the concerns raised by the CQC within 3 months.  In addition, it has agreed to review its oversight of clinical quality, strengthen its ward management, and ensure it has adequate capacity (both beds & staff) to meet future demand for both emergency and elective care. 

The trust has been in special measures for the last 4 years, originally because of failure to meet national A&E targets and subsequent financial problems.
 
TfL: People are being advised to plan ahead & use public transport to avoid road disruption during the Prudential RideLondon cycling festival over the first weekend in August, when there will be road closures in central London and a large number of road & bridge closures across east, central & southwest London, as well as parts of Surrey.
 
DFID: The Global Health Trials Scheme is looking for new proposals that help tackle the major causes of mortality & morbidity in the developing world. The UK Department for International Development, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust recently announced the launch of the 4th call for proposals under the JHTS.
 
The purpose of this scheme is to ‘provide funding for the best proposals to generate new knowledge about interventions that will contribute to the improvement of health in low & middle-income countries’.  A total of £15m is available, which is expected to fund several awards.  All outline proposals should be submitted before 16:00 BST on the 1 October 2013.
 
EA: Anglers are being offered the chance to take a friend or family member fishing for free as part of the Environment Agency’s support for National Fishing Month. The fishy 4 weeks, running between 19 July - 26 August, were launched at last weekend’s Country Land & Business Association (CLA) Game Fair.

Angler’s can download the popular ‘Take a Friend Fishing’ voucher between 20 July - 28 July, offering a licensed angler the chance to take a friend or family member fishing without them having to buy their own rod licence.
 
ScotGov: Scottish shoppers used 750m carrier bags in 2012 – the highest rate of usage per person in the UK.  The Scottish Government announced last month that it is introducing measures which will see Scottish retailers charging a minimum of 5p per bag by October 2014 in a bid to reduce carrier bag use.
 
CO: Cabinet Office and Air Products Plc have formally concluded their deal for a long term contract to deliver electricity to government for 20 years at a fixed price. This will significantly lower the cost government pays for energy and will support the creation of hundreds of local jobs.  Latest calculations in finalising this deal means savings of £97m can be expected over the life of the contract.
 
MoD: The remains of an RAF bomber crew lost just weeks before the end of the Second World War have been laid to rest with full military honours. The plane, Boston BZ590, belonging to the Royal Air Force’s 18 Squadron, was crewed by 3 members of the RAF Volunteer Reserve, all aged 20, and a 21-year-old from the Royal Australian Air Force.

Policy Statements and Initiatives

DH: Far more needs to be done across health and care services to improve the treatment that people with learning disabilities receive, Care & Support Minister, Norman Lamb made clear recently.  

 2 new publications from the Department of Health, the responses to the Confidential Inquiry into premature deaths of people with learning disabilities and the Six Lives Progress Report on Healthcare for People with Learning Disabilities, show that whilst some improvements have been made, people with learning disabilities are still experiencing poor care, and face unacceptable inequalities in health and social care.
 
In response, DH have asked the National Clinical Director for Learning Disability to look at the feasibility of developing best practice guidelines for the treatment of people with learning disabilities.  
 
WAG: The new innovation strategy for Wales launched last week adopts a new approach to innovation - across business, government and society as a whole. Innovation Wales recognises the widely accepted technology-based concept of innovation, but emphasises that innovation can be achieved everywhere & anywhere and by anyone, across the board.
 
In order to encourage these broader areas of creativity & wealth generation, Innovation Wales highlights the need for the public sector to be less prescriptive and more open to fresh solutions for supporting business & procurement.
 
DH: The summary report of the responses to the public consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products has recently been published by the Department of Health.  

Having carefully considered these differing views, the Government has decided to wait until the emerging impact of the decision in Australia can be measured before making a final decision on this policy.
 
DWP: The benefit cap is being introduced across the country, restoring fairness to the welfare state. The cap will roll out from now to the end of September 2013 with the amount of benefits working-age households can claim limited to the average working wage – £500 a week.  In total, it is expected that 40,000 households will have their benefits capped. This will save £110m this year and £185m next year. 
 
DFID: International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone has launched Work in Freedom initiative to help tackle labour trafficking. The UK government is investing £9.75m over 5 years into the Work in Freedom initiative to help tackle known labour trafficking routes between South Asia, such as Bangladesh and Nepal, to the Gulf States including Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.  Around 21m people are trafficked and in forced labour worldwide, the majority are from Asia with women & girls most affected.
 
DECC: Householders could get paid hundreds of pounds a year for heat generated by solar thermal panels, biomass boilers & heat pumps.   The tariff levels have been set at 7.3p/kWh for air source heat pumps; 12.2p/kWh for biomass boilers; 18.8p/kWh for ground source heat pumps and at least 19.2 p/kWh for solar thermal.
 
The new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for householders is designed to drive forward uptake of renewable heat technologies in homes across Great Britain to cut carbon, help meet renewables targets and save money on bills. The scheme is a world first, and has been up & running for the non - domestic sector since November 2011.
 
DfT:  The national network of motorways & trunk roads will get extra lanes, smoother, quieter surfaces, improved junctions and new sections in key areas under the plan published last week.
 
DWP: Disabled people will get more support to gain the skills and experience they need to get a job under changes to the government’s specialist disability employment scheme announced last week. 

Disabled people on traineeships, supported internships, work trials and work academies will for the first time get additional help through the Access to Work scheme – which provides funding towards the extra costs disabled people face in work, such as travel costs, specially adapted equipment or support workers.
 
WAG: A 10-year plan to close the gap between the most & least disadvantaged children in Wales has been launched by the Welsh Government. ‘Building a Brighter Future: Early Years and Childcare Plan’ is the first plan of its kind published by the Welsh Government and sets out its commitment to improving life chances for children in Wales. 
 
The plan addresses children’s & family services for children from 0 up to the age of 7, when they reach the end of their Foundation Phase. Progress in completing the plan’s action points and achieving its results will be assessed annually.  The Plan will be reviewed in 2016.
 
HMT: The government will consult on the proposed devolution of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to the National Assembly for Wales, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told parliament last week.
 
CLG: New funding will help councils take on the rogue landlords who make tenants’ lives a misery, Housing Minister Mark Prisk has announced.  Councils will be able to bid for share of up to £3m to tackle irresponsible landlords in their area, who allow their tenants to live in unsafe & squalid conditions, putting lives at risk and disrupting local communities.
 
DfT: Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has confirmed a £1.2bn order for more state-of-the-art trains to transform rail travel on one of Britain’s busiest intercity routes, as part of the government’s overall £5.8bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP).
 
CLG: A competition launched last week asks the public to suggest projects their local post office could start up to benefit the community, including mentoring for business start-ups, digital access and training and display space for local producers.  Successful schemes must be innovative & support the local community or small businesses in the area.
 
Working with local residents, sub-postmasters across England can now apply for up to £10,000 from a £200,000 community enterprise fund from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Post Office.  

Branches will suggest suitable projects, which must be not for profit but provide a service, activity or support that are easily accessible and open to all. The competition is not open to Crown branches. Members of the public who wish to suggest projects should speak to their local branch manager by Friday 18 October 2013.

Consultations

EU News: The European Commission has launched a public consultation on ways to improve access to justice in the field of the environment.  Access to justice – the right to challenge decisions or omissions by public bodies that are suspected of not complying with environmental law – is an international obligation under a UN Convention ratified by the EU in 2005.  Consultation closes on 23 September 2013.
 
EU News: In Europe we waste about 89m tons of food every year.  Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: "This is morally & economically unacceptable and is all the more horrific when you consider the true scale of the resources required to produce those 89 million tons! We are also wasting all those resources. There's something wrong with the system."
 
That is why the European Commission is asking for opinions about the European food production and consumption system. The consultation asks stakeholders, citizens, businesses, NGOs and public authorities for ideas on immediate action to reduce food waste and more generally on how to ensure our food system is using resources efficiently.  These will provide input for a Communication on Sustainable Food later this year.  The consultation closes on 1 October 2013.
 
DSA: Some rules for motorcycles, lorries and buses used for driving tests are changing to let trainers use more easily available vehicles. Manufacturers are phasing out production of the types of vehicles that were commonly used in 2000 when the European Commission first introduced the minimum standards.
 
The Driving Standards Agency has launched a consultation about a directive that introduces changes to driver licensing and the vehicles that can be used to take the driving test.  It closes on 26 August 2013.  All of these changes must be introduced by 31 December 2013.
 
DfE: Deputy PM, Nick Clegg, and Schools Minister, David Laws, have launched a consultation setting out proposals to reform the way primary schools are held to account and raise standards for all. The new system will be more ambitious, setting out clear expectations of what every child needs to achieve to be ready for secondary school.
 
The consultation is online and the government response to the national curriculum review and the new programmes of study are available to download from the department’s website.  The consultation closes 11 October 2013.
 
BIS: The government launched 2 new surveys at the ministerial summit in July 2013 to address concerns in the payday loans market.  These surveys aim to check how well payday lenders are meeting the standards set out in the industry codes implemented last November.  Both surveys will close on 14 August 2013.
 
DECC: Investors have received further certainty of how the government will support investment in new energy infrastructure through the Energy Bill, in order to keep the lights on and bills & emissions down. The draft Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan, published last week for consultation, provides detail on the support mechanism (long-term Contracts for Difference) and draft strike prices for renewables investors, which together will help incentivise up to £110bn of investment in new electricity infrastructure by 2020.
 
The EMR Draft Delivery Plan is being put out for consultation, before a final version is published in December.  The consultation closes on 25 September 2013.  The Energy Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent by end of 2013.
 
Ofcom: Ofcom has proposed to change the way people dial local telephone numbers in some parts of the country, in order to free up new numbers where supplies are running low. The change would require people in 5 areas of the UK to include the area code when dialling a local number from a landline. At present the code can be omitted for local calls, but this means Ofcom is unable to allocate local numbers beginning with a ‘zero’ or a ‘one’.1
 
Ofcom is proposing to implement the measure on 1 October 2014 in Aberdeen, Bradford, Brighton, Middlesbrough and Milton Keynes – 5 dialling code areas where the supply of new telephone numbers is running low due to high demand. The consultation closes on 13 September 2013
 
DH: Plans to help people better prepare for the cost of their future care needs have been published alongside details of how the new fairer funding system will protect homes & savings.  As part of the consultation looking at the practical detail of implementing the proposed funding reforms, the proposals include financial advice to help everyone understand their needs and plan for the future. The consultation closes on 25 October 2013
 
Additional Consultations: Readers should be aware that many consultations are never publicised with a press release, so do not appear in either the email alerts or Wired - GOV Plus. Many of these consultations can be found at the following links:

Guidance Notes and Best Practice Guides

NICE: Ensuring mothers are aware of the health benefits of breastfeeding, reducing the risk sudden of death syndrome, and assessing women for postnatal depression are among measures services can take to improve the quality of postnatal care, according to NICE.
 
However, complications do occur and certain women, such as those with poor support networks or those who have developed a postnatal health problem, may be vulnerable to harmful outcomes. Around 1 in 8 report being highly critical of the care they received and cite insensitivity, inconsistent care and lack of emotional support due to too few home visits as reasons. 

To standardise & improve the quality of care provided, NICE has produced a postnatal care quality standard, which contains 11 statements to support the measurable improvement of services.
 
RoSPA: RoSPA research shows that at least 26 children have been killed on, or near, the driveway of their homes since 2001.  17 of these accidents have occurred since 2007 and, tragically, in most cases, an adult member of the child’s family, a neighbour or a visitor was driving the vehicle.  These cases are devastating for all those involved.  
 
RoSPA has produced advice on reversing, parking & other car safety issues as part of its Child on the Drive! campaign, which launched late last year.  Anyone wanting FREE Child on the Drive! advice leaflets & posters can download or order them from RoSPA’s driveway safety web section.
 
Defra: The cyclists at the Olympic Velodrome may have broken records, but great gains were also taking place off the track.  A resource-efficient approach to construction of the Velodrome led to £1.5m savings from the cable-net roof design alone, requiring about 1,000 tonnes less steel and embodied carbon savings of over 27%.
 
To ensure the lessons learnt from the Games can be applied to new projects, Defra has developed a Sustainable Procurement for Construction Projects guide, which pulls together the key lessons on procuring sustainable buildings & infrastructure, and contains key case studies about the Velodrome and low carbon concrete.  It also includes links to other material about sustainable procurement at London 2012.

Annual Reports

CBI: Absence from work in the UK has dropped to a new record low, according to the latest CBI/Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health Survey. The 30-year survey found the average absence rate was 5.3 days in 2012, down from 6.5 days in 2010 - saving business £3bn.
 
Absence rates in both the public & private sector were down to 6.9 (from 8.1) and 4.9 (from 5.9) days respectively. Mental health conditions emerged as the single most widespread cause of long-term absence from the workplace.
 
TUC: TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady has commented on new pension tax relief research published last week by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI). The report analyses a number of proposals to reform pensions tax relief, including the introduction of a flat rate for tax relief and a cash limit on lump sums in retirement that are eligible for tax relief.
 
IoE: Research by Dr John Jerrim of the Institute of Education (IOE) has been published by the Sutton Trust recently showing that Britain's brightest boys from the least advantaged homes are more likely to score poorly on international reading tests than those in any other advanced nation. 
 
WAO: NHS bodies met their statutory financial targets in 2012-13 despite a tough financial settlement, but some of the actions taken to achieve break-even are not sustainable according to a report published last week by the Wales Audit Office.
 
PC&PE: The Home Affairs Committee published its report ‘The work of the UK Border Agency (October–December 2012)’.
 
CH: Prospects for the world's manufacturing landscape are uncertain and developed countries are in for a prolonged period of low growth, says a new report, The World's Industrial Transformation. 

The financial crisis & recession mean a long period of tepid growth is likely in the West, whilst developing countries such as China – now the world’s largest manufacturer - and India, should continue to grow at a healthy rate, partly owing to the emergence of a huge middle class that will need consumer goods and vast infrastructure investments.

The report assesses which industries will change the global manufacturing landscape and drive future growth. The report examines 4 key sectors: aircraft, automotive, pharmaceutical and retailing. From the aircraft & automotive studies comes a clear recommendation that governments should support free trade and resist protectionist pressures.
 
MoD: Amyas Morse, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), has qualified his audit opinion on the MOD’s 2012-13 accounts. There are a number of grounds for this qualification.
 
IPCC: A report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), based on an analysis of race complaints dealt with by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), has concluded that in general these complaints were not handled in a sufficiently robust, fair or customer-focused way.  

It calls for a cultural change in the way the MPS deals with such complaints, supported by training, monitoring and community feedback. 
 
PC&PE: The Public Accounts Committee has published a report which, on the basis of evidence from the Serious Fraud Office, examined their redundancy & severance arrangements. Richard Bacon MP, of the Committee of Public Accounts, said: “The reputation of the Serious Fraud Officehas beenundermined by a catalogue of errors and poor judgement and the morale of its staff has suffered as a result.
 
HO: A report released by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) has praised the progress made by Morton Hall IRC since its opening in 2011. The independent report, which was published following an inspection of the Lincolnshire centre in March 2013, found a ‘safe establishment’ which ‘supported the detainees it held’.
 
NAO: Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, has recently qualified the accounts of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) 2012 - 13.
 
HMIC: Police forces in England & Wales are rising to the financial challenge of the spending review – crime is down, victim satisfaction up, and they are protecting their front lines as much as possible; but HMIC has concerns about the ability of 5 forces to respond to future cuts.

General Reports and Other Publications

PC&PE: Government's probation reforms designed for male offenders and ignore women in the Justice system, says Justice Committee.
 
IFS: From 2016
 the existing 2-part state pension system is to be replaced by a new single-tier system, which is expected to be set at around £146 per week.  A new report by researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), examines how the proposed reforms affect different types of individuals and contrasts the short- & long- term effects of the proposed reforms which are found to differ dramatically.
 
NAO: Government measures to reduce the liability of the state for supporting people in their retirement are being managed separately, without adequate consideration of their combined impact on the overall objective of increasing retirement incomes.  According to a report by the National Audit Office, there is no overarching programme or single accountability for encouraging people to save for retirement.
 
JRF: Families with children who work full time could find themselves with less disposable cash than those who work part-time under Universal Credit, according to a new report for the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

The report is the first detailed look at how Universal Credit (UC) will affect take home pay once childcare costs have been taken into account. It assessed whether UC, being introduced from this year, will meet its central aim of making work pay, and enable low earning families to reach a minimum acceptable living standard.
 
NO: Bristol City Council has been failing in its legal duty to provide homeless people with the chance to appeal against its decisions not to house them, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has found. The problem was uncovered after a woman complained to the LGO that the council had not found her accommodation, 5 months after she contacted them for help.
 
NLGN: The New Local Government Network’s new research paper, Future Councillors: Where next for local politics, supported by Grant Thornton, maps the future role of elected members.  As councils make the toughest financial decisions for a generation, they must redouble their efforts to improve electoral turnout and civic participation.  Otherwise they could face paralysing local resistance from groups disconnected from the democratic process.
 
PC&PE: The House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has published a report which says ‘the UK Government must identify any shortfalls in the provision of services to the Armed Forces Community in Northern Ireland, and report on how these will be met’.  The Committee also calls for closer engagement between the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive on support for the Armed Forces Community.
 
IfG: Whitehall must slow down its plans to expand markets in public services because it lacks the expertise to design & manage complex contracts effectively, says the Institute for Government (IfG) in its new report Making Public Service Markets Work.
 
UKOC: Earlier this year UK online Centres held a series of focus groups all around the country to ask you, their centres what you think about what they do and how they do it.  To prove to you that they have listened, they are publishing the Focus Groups Action Report, detailing exactly the actions they are taking following your feedback.
 
NO: A vulnerable young man became a victim twice ― of the crime committed against him and also of the service he received from a youth offending team and his local council. The young man was the victim of a robbery.  

Trafford Youth Offending Team offered the young man the opportunity to take part in restorative justice, as set out in the Victims’ Code. This provides opportunities for those directly affected by a crime to agree on how to deal with the offence and its consequences.  But both the Youth Offending Team (YOT) and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council failed to handle the case properly.
 
WAG: New research into the impact of changes to the welfare system suggests that women in Wales are more likely to be adversely affected and tend to lose the most compared to men. The findings published recently by the Welsh Government, highlight that single parents who are out of work, most of whom are women, are one of the groups that will incur the largest reduction in benefit & tax credit entitlements.
 
The report is the third in a series commissioned by the Welsh Government to better understand the impact of the UK Government’s welfare reforms on the people of Wales.
 
NAO: Government is continuing to make extensive use of higher rate telephone numbers for customer telephone lines, despite efforts by departments to reduce their use, according to the National Audit Office. Departments had inconsistent approaches towards the replacement of 0845 numbers with lower cost 03 alternatives.

Legislation / Legal

HMIC: The case files prepared for court are vital for securing justice and must be completed to a high standard; but too often the completion of them is treated as a tick-box exercise, and files include irrelevant or incomplete information, found a joint review published last week.
 
Both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service have in recent years produced guidance on how to build proportionate case files.  However, a review of 180 prosecution case files by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, (HMCPSI) found that while there have been some improvements in this respect, the reports police send to prosecutors are still frequently missing important details, or being ‘overbuilt’ with material or evidence that is not needed.
 
IPCC: The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been informed that Ann Hall, Cleveland Police's Assistant Chief Officer, has been allowed to resign by Cleveland Police. Ms Hall is currently under investigation by the IPCC in relation to an allegation that unauthorised payments amounting to thousands of pounds have been made to an executive coaching company.  
 
Ms Hall was subject to a separate investigation commissioned by Cleveland Police and the IPCC understands she was due to face a disciplinary hearing in relation to this.  However, she has tendered her resignation in advance of this and this has been accepted by Cleveland Police.
 
WAG: New laws to give the Welsh NHS greater financial flexibility, tackle homelessness & domestic violence and reform the planning system are at the heart of the Welsh Government’s legislative priorities for 2013-14, the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones has said.
 
CO: The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trades Union Administration Bill has been published. It seeks to make the influences on the political process more transparent to the public.
 
The bill includes the introduction of a statutory register of lobbyists, tighter regulation of the amount organisations can spend on political campaigning during election periods, and new powers for certification officers to ensure that trades union records are accurate.
 
DCMS: The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill completed its historic journey through Parliament by receiving Royal Assent last week, officially making it law.  Women & Equalities Minister Maria Miller also announced that the first same sex wedding could take place by as early as summer 2014.
 
CBI: The CBI responded to the publication of the Company ownership: transparency and trust discussion paper, by the Business Secretary, Dr Vince Cable.

EU Legislation, Initiatives, etc.

IEA: The Institute of Economic Affairs has announced the launch of the IEA Brexit Prize.  the first prize of €100,000 will be awarded to the best blueprint for the UK after the EU. The IEA believes that we need to give serious consideration to how the UK could have a free & prosperous economy outside the EU given that exit is a serious possibility after the next election. The deadline for entries is Monday 16 September 2013.
 
EU News: The European Commission is taking action to improve Union-wide prosecution of criminals who defraud EU taxpayers by establishing a European Public Prosecutor's Office.  

Its exclusive task will be to investigate & prosecute and, where relevant, bring to judgement – in the Member States' courts - crimes affecting the EU budget.  The EPPO will be an independent institution, subject to democratic oversight.
 
 
EU News: The European Commission has launched a public consultation on ways to improve access to justice in the field of the environment – See ‘Consultations’ section for more information.
 
EU News: Europe wastes about 89m tons of food every year.  That is why the EC is asking for opinions about the European food production & consumption system. The consultation asks for ideas on immediate action to reduce food waste & more generally on how to ensure our food system is using resources efficiently – See ‘Consultations’ section for more information.

Charity and Voluntary Sector

10DS: Around 6,000 young people will be mentored by Mosaic this year – a charity which has won a Big Society Award today from PM David Cameron for its achievements across 5 UK regions, bridging the gap between aspiration & achievement for young people.
 
The charity, founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2007, uses mentoring programmes to link young people growing up in some of the most deprived communities with inspirational role models to boost their confidence and long-term employability.  Mosaic’s mentors are volunteers and are primarily from Muslim backgrounds, communities that are traditionally under-represented in formal volunteering.
 
WAG: Minister for Local Government & Government Business, Lesley Griffiths, recently visited one of a number of projects to benefit from almost £4.9m funding from the Welsh Government’s Youth Crime Prevention Fund.  

The money will support projects aimed at diverting young people away from crime & anti-social behaviour and resolve the issues which have led to them being arrested.
 
BIG: Report findings launched last week, one year into the Big Lottery Fund’s ground-breaking Realising Ambition programme, show that ‘a lack of evidence-based programmes, challenges in recruiting sufficiently qualified or experienced staff and internal bureaucracy mean successful early intervention programmes aimed at helping vulnerable children are not being replicated successfully’.  

However whilst the replication of promising interventions is hard, the majority of projects supported by the Realising Ambition are succeeding in replicating to new areas.

Business and Other Briefings

WAG: A new pilot initiative by the Welsh Government aims to encourage collaboration between large & small businesses and other potential partners, all for the benefit of the Welsh economy. 7 large & significant Welsh anchor businesses have competed successfully for an Open Innovation Development Award to originate new, innovative relationships with other businesses and external parties.   Each can employ an ‘open innovation champion’ to develop & implement their proposals.
 
The concept of open innovation has attained widespread interest in recent years, and is based on the realisation that large companies cannot find solutions to all of their new product development issues in-house.  Instead their customers, suppliers, inventors, universities or other stakeholders may hold valuable insights into their problems.
 
DWP: Disabled people will get more support to gain the skills & experience they need to get a job under changes to the government’s specialist disability employment scheme announced last week. Disabled people on traineeships, supported internships, work trials & work academies will get additional help through the Access to Work scheme - See ‘Policy Statements & Initiatives’ section for more information.

Industry News

STFC: Engineers used to designing state of the art instruments for ground & space based telescopes are now applying their expertise to the development of a diagnostic test for the developed world’s most common form of sight loss in adults, Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
 
AMD leads to the loss of the vision used when looking at something directly ahead, at another person for example, or when reading or watching television.  In the UK alone, by 2020 the number of AMD sufferers is expected to rise to 750,000.
 
Engineers at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC), part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) normally design & make instruments to detect faint light from distant stars & galaxies.  

They are also currently collaborating with scientists from Cardiff University’s School of Optometry and Vision Sciences to develop a unique instrument, a ‘retinal densitometer’, which can pick up the earliest stages of AMD by measuring, in the minutest of detail, how the eye responds to light.
 
STFC: Scientists working to design advanced medicines (at Heptares Therapeutics, an MRC spin out company) that are perfectly targeted to control the body’s natural receptors have made a major discovery. 

For the first time, they have been able to visualise & study the structure of CRF1, the protein receptor in the brain which controls our response to stress, using the intense synchrotron light produced at the Science & Technology Facilities Councilfunded Diamond Light Source, the UK’s synchrotron science facility in Oxfordshire.

Forthcoming Event

WAG: Visitors to the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show will be asked for their views on public services in Wales as part of the Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery’s consultation. A drop in session will be held at the Welsh Government’s pavilion on Wednesday 24 July 2013.
 
There are a number of other events across Wales, including informal public meetings, where the Commission will be seeking views from the public on how services may be improved (see press release for details & dates).  It is also possible to contribute to the consultation, which is open until the end of August, by completing an online questionnaire or by providing a written submission.
 
IfL: A group of the UK’s most prominent professional bodies have announced the UK’s inaugural Professions Week. Running from 21–27 October 2013, the week will aim to increase interest & awareness among 14 to 19 year olds in the professions.  It will also support teachers & careers advisers, giving them the relevant materials to help young people make informed decisions with regards to the professions.

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