Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has criticised the financial control arrangements of the Ministry of Defence. 

The introduction of a measuring framework for the NHS is a key element in the Government’s strategy to improve standards. Alan Milburn, Health Minister said: “We want to see more patients getting better, and getting better treatment from the NHS.”The proposed framework will include measures of efficiency, effectiveness and quality. It has the appearance of being a ‘balanced scorecard’. There will be a comparison of hospital running costs. 

Dr David Clark and his teams of ministers and officials have been working on the Better Government proposals since last summer. With publication of the White Paper due in the Spring ideas are being tested and new thinking encouraged. During the past few months thinking has progressed from greater use of technology and the introduction of smart cards to a much more radical approach. The aim now is a seamless delivery of services. 

The launch of UK NetYear, a major public-private sector initiative, will boost the National Grid for Learning. The Grid will be a mosaic of inter-connecting network and education services based on the Internet which will support teaching, learning, training and administration in schools, colleges, universities, libraries, the workplace and homes. 

The number of civil servants continues to fall. In the third quarter of 1997 the figure went down by 1,600 to 471,000 and this represents a 3% fall compared to the same period last year. Since the 1976 peak, the number has fallen from 751,000, a decrease of 37 per cent.The largest reductions occurred in the Benefits Agency (860 down), the Ministry of Defence (480 down) and the Inland Revenue (410 down). 

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has launched the joint central and local government guidance on Local Agenda 21 - Sustainable Communities for the 21st century. He said: “The time has come to move up a gear on Local Agenda 21 and all local authorities must produce strategies now to ensure sustainable communities into the next millennium.”The guidance is designed to show why and how to produce a Local Agenda 21 strategy. 

Housing Minister Hilary Armstrong wants to add to the expertise of the Housing Corporation by recruiting a new member to bring further knowledge and experience of the assessment and regulation of financial risk to the Board. The Housing Corporation is responsible for registering, regulating and promoting the proper performance of non-profit making registered social landlords, mainly housing associations in England. 

Keith Hellawell, the UK Anti Drug Co-ordinator, has called for views and ideas from experts, organisations and the general public on how to respond to the drugs issue. 

The 50th anniversary of the founding of the NHS will be marked with major reforms and events throughout the UK. Tony Blair has made it clear that rejuvenating the NHS is a priority for 1998. He said: “We should celebrate its achievements and support its renewal in the best possible way.”The move from the internal market to a co-operative approach is expected to bring the greatest benefits in 1998. 

Proposals in the School Standards and Framework Bill currently before Parliament are sending seismic tremors through the education world. It has now emerged that the proposed Education Action Zones are a much more radical concept than at first thought. Zones, made up of two or three secondary schools with some 18 feeder primaries, will be set up in inner cities and deprived rural areas and provided with additional funding.