A Local Government European sponsored project has won the Silver Standard in the 1999 British Diversity Awards. The project involved Bristol City Council, The Employers Organisation for Local Government and the TUC, representing four trades unions.The project succeeded in providing Bristol residents with more flexible services, whilst allowing employees a greater choice over when and how long they worked. As a result of flexible working, services are now available outside normal hours. 

The Cabinet Office is responding to the growing ‘convenience culture’ by encouraging central and local government to adopt a contact centre approach to dealing with people and businesses. Contact centres, which deal with e-mail, video and fax as well as phone calls, are seen as an effective lever in transforming public services.The call centre industry is booming and by 2002 there will be more people working in call centres than teachers and farmers put together. 

Timmins NFinancial Times, (UK), 27 Jul 1999. Start page: 15. No of pages: 1
Features Sir Alan Langlands, head of the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK since April 1994. Notes that the government has reappointed him until 2003. Explores the impact of both Conservative and Labour government policy on the NHS. Finds that the importance of management has been accepted by the Labour government. Notes that the relationship between managers, medics and other NHS staff has improved.