Government departments are creating an unnecessary impression of secrecy by refusing too often to respond to requests for information.Too often, according to the Parliamentary Ombudsman Michael Buckley, departments say the information is exempt under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. In one case he has examined, the information had simply been lost. 

The Government is pulling together a think-tank to find a solution to the increasing numbers of people in bed and breakfast accommodation.It comes after a further rise in use of such accommodation, as shown by new homelessness statistics.
Housing Minister Hilary Armstrong said: “The further 4 per cent national rise in the use of bed and breakfast accommodation is cause for concern. Pressure on the supply of temporary accommodation in London is particularly acute. 

Despite improvements, fraud detection in the NHS remains low, according to a new report by the Audit Commission.The amount of fraud detected has almost doubled over the past year from 1.4 million pounds in 1996/97 to 2.6 million in 1997/98.
The report points to this being a low figure, given the overall expenditure of the NHS and that in some areas of the NHS, the risk of fraud is high.
It points, for instance, to the way GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists are paid. 

Rowley JTotal Quality Management, (UK), May 98 (9/2&3)Start page: 321. No of pages: 13
Reviews the development in the UK of the User’s Charter, a contract between the public service provider and the customer, and highlights the ensuing need to measure performance; identifies the particular characteristics of services that make measurement difficult, and discusses the nature of quality in respect of services and their classification. 

OFTEL is consulting on whether further regulation is needed to ensure rapid developments in communications are shared by families and small businesses as well as major corporations.It follows concern that innovative services such as high-speed Internet access and video on demand might be limited to larger customers. 

The Government has promised that it is prepared to consider patient charters which emphasise local difference, against the pattern of national standard-setting in the NHS.It has been suggested by some in the health service that the TV executive Greg Dyke’s proposals for making the patient charter a more successful tool could be sidelined.
But Health Minister Baroness Hayman said: “We gave a commitment in our manifesto that we would replace the Patient’s Charter. 

Stainer A, Stainer LStrategic Change, (UK), Mar-Apr 1998 Vol 7 No 2 Start page: 111. No of pages: 9
Explains why strategic change and the analysis of performance require a special focus in public services, and states that the challenge for management is to develop processes founded on stakeholder reality; looks at the measurement of productivity and performance in service industries, covering aspects such as the three Es (economy, efficiency, effectiveness) and quality of service. 

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, has said that the most sweeping reforms of the British constitution this century will enrich the UK rather than weaken it.And he said there are changes ahead not just for the constitution, but for the machinery and the people working within Government. 

There’s been mixed feedback on Frank Dobson’s announcements on a new strategy and additional money for mental health from the body that represents health service managers.And the organisation that represents the heads of council social services has warned of the level of work involved in achieving the Government’s goals. 

The National Audit Office says school meals providers need to follow a series of business-focussed exercises if they’re to offer best value for money.Its report on the management of catering in grant maintained schools has special relevance, coming as the Government has announced it is to delegate provision and funding of school meals to the governing bodies of all locally maintained secondary schools.