Social Security Minister Angela Eagle has called on housing associations to help with the reform of the way public money supports people who need support with housing.She told the National Housing Federation symposium that the Government wanted a system where housing associations worked with councils and the voluntary sector to plan, commission and fund the provision required in each area.

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Cabinet Office staff have been given a ticking off by the National Audit Office for failing to give sufficient management attention to proper record-keeping during the sale of public assets.Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, says that Cabinet Office’s sale of Chessington Computer Centre, Recruitment and Assessment Services and Occupational Health and Safety Agency all suffered from lateness in accounts which affected final sale figures and cost the public money.

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By Paul LevesqueBreakaway Planning is the roadmap for making change happen. With lively language, clear instructions, and valuable exercises, the book walks readers through the entire planning process, from creating a compelling vision to making that vision a reality. At the heart of Breakaway Planning are eight important questions that, when answered, ensure the plan is airtight and ready to go. Questions include: How do we spread the word internally? How do we measure success? With Breakaway Planning an organisation can plan to succeed – the most crucial step to actually achieving success. PAUL LEVESQUE is a director of the U.K.-based management consulting firm Catalyst House and author of The WOW Factory.

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Employers are being warned to identify and assess the risks to their staff from failures which might result from the Millennium Bug.At the same time those councils across Britain which are lagging behind in that task of ensuring systems won’t crash on December 31st have been told they might face three monthly checks to bring them into line.

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The Government has launched a task force to make sense of all the various schemes designed to drive up public sector standards.Announcing that more than ever local and national government departments have won a Charter Mark award, Dr Jack Cunningam, Minister for the Cabinet Office, also announced a wider look at how the major quality schemes can improve public services.

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The public has voted in favour of London Bridge City as the new headquarters of the new Greater London Authority.An exhibition of design proposals for the two shortlisted buildings to house the new Mayor and Assembly in London toured the capital before Christmas. Visitors were asked to state their preference between a new building on a site on the south bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge, and a complete refurbishment of Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square.

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A new report suggests that Britain’s police forces could offer a more coherent policy towards domestic violence, and that organisational change would boost the effectiveness of those officers tasked to tackle the problem.”Policing Domestic Violence: Effective Organisational Structures”, published by the Home Office, investigates how the police are organised to provide a service dealing specifically with domestic violence incidents.

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Mitchell SModern Management, (UK), Apr 1998 Vol 2 No 12 Start page: 33 No of pages: 3

Looks at Lewisham Council’s adoption of Investors in People (IIP) as part of its quality approach to tackling inner city problems. Explains that the UK IIP programme aims to improve service quality through staff training and development. Notes the success of the Lewisham programme and discusses the four underlying principles of the process. In order to illustrate the results of the scheme, focuses on the Social Services department and development of its service plan which involved identification of user needs, service design and implementation, evaluation and monitoring. Describes the emphasis on training and evaluation, noting the importance of communication and encouragement of staff involvement.

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New research into the experience of joint working in and between central and local government has been published in two new reports.Local Government Minister Hilary Armstrong said the reports contained lessons about short-termism and the limitations of single-issue working.

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The Government is in confident mood about health action zones, after a second round of meetings with the pilots trailblazing new methods of healthcare delivery.Tessa Jowell, Minister of Public Health, said: “Health action zones are in the frontline in the Government’s war on health inequalities. They have the both the opportunity and the responsibility to pioneer new ways of driving up local standards of health.

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