Employment Service Direct, the telephone helpline launched in January 1999, has found jobs for 30,000 people. The jobline supplements the work of 1000 Job Centres.
When a jobseeker rings the 0845 6060234 jobline the call is immediately connected to a member of one of over 100 Employment Service Teams that have been set up across the country to operate the service. 

The Better Government for Older People Programme is getting into gear with road shows and the establishment of networks. The Programme, launched in June 1998, seeks to improve public services for older people by better meeting their needs, listening to their views, and encouraging their contribution, so they can fully participate in their communities. 

By John Blundell and Colin Robinson
Much government regulation fails to achieve its objectives because it most often arises from the pressure of interest groups, not from pursuit of the ‘public interest’. Once established, regulatory bodies tend to expand under their own momentum: they are not constrained by costs because most of the costs fall on those who are regulated.