The population of the UK is ageing and the number of people over 50 has doubled this century. Strategies for responding to this situation are being developed as part of the Better Government for Older People Programme. Ministers are now engaged in a series of events to find out concerns directly from older people. The events are arranged jointly with voluntary bodies and will continue until November. 

Publication of healthcare performance information has been overshadowed by claims of unreliable data. The Clinical and High Level Performance indicators for 1997/98, provide a baseline for measuring quality improvements in patient care. For the first time, patient death rates have been published. They show that 2,253 people per 100,000 die within 30 days of surgery following an emergency admission. There are wide variations from this figure. 

Richard Heeks (ed.)
Do you want to know how information technology will and won’t help reform the public sector? Then look no further.
This new book presents a contemporary and international review of information age reform in government and public sector organisations. Chapters identifying successful and unsuccessful management approaches are complemented by a dozen case studies from the US, UK, mainland Europe, and developing countries.