New survey material seems to challenge recent criticism of local government for its poor performance in beating the so-called Millennium Bug.The Government’s recent quarterly report on the problem, backed with information from the Audit Commission, compared local government’s progress poorly to that of other public sectors. 

Youth justice agencies have been set targets to speed up their ability to deal with young offenders.The Government says the time taken to deal with a young offender should be halved from the current 142 days.The joint Home Office/LCD circular, “Measuring Performance to Reduce Delays in the Youth Justice System”, also offers advice on identifying both potential difficulties and good practice.