Compulsory drug testing of criminals has uncovered that nearly half are found to be abusing hard drugs.The scheme piloted across the summer by Staffordshire Police and drugs agencies aims to identify drug mis-users and direct them towards treatment as well as punishment.
Housing associations have been offered a framework to test their corporate effectiveness.’Treading the Boards’, a new guide issued by the Housing Corporation, looks at the challenges facing the boards of housing associations, given that they often comprise a rich mixture of volunteers and paid senior managers of the association.
Utility companies have responded to the Government’s threat to charge them rent when they dig up roads.The National Joint Utilities Group (NJUG) – an umbrella group representing a range of utility companies – has launched a ‘Streetwise’ charter. The companies signing up to the charter undertake to pursue a range of actions in order to cut disruption and to provide the general public with more information on the works which they carry out.
Rather as Publicnet provides an alerting service for managers in the public sector, the National Electronic Library for Health (NeLH) and British Library have just launched a new specialist alerting service for health professionals in the NHS.NHS staff now have access to zetoc, which contains information from more than 20,000 scientific journals.
There is a recognition of the concern about political activity in appointments to the new Primary Care Trusts. An investigation found that because of the wind down of the old administrative system, data was unavailable or could not be collected or was sometimes incomparable. This situation was described as unsatisfactory and disappointing and the Commission is now working with the new NHS Appointments Commission, to make sure that lessons have been learned from the past and to assure the integrity of the new system.The Report also describes progress made in the past year in making sure that those making appointments are clear about their responsibilities and those making complaints are aware of what action has been taken. The new Code of Practice clarifies the rules for departments to follow in recruiting, training and selecting independent assessors and describes a sharper complaints system.
By Jeffrey L. BrudneyPublic managers today must confront daunting challenges imposed by shifting policy agendas, constrained financial resources combined with demands for public services, and increasing interdependence among public, private, and third-sector parties. In this volume, leading scholars contribute advances in the theory, methods, and practice in this burgeoning field. The selections address four key topics: the nature and impact of public management; creative new methods for public management research; reform, reinvention, innovation, and change; and new models and frameworks for understanding and improving public management.
Read more on ADVANCING PUBLIC MANAGEMENT: NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THEORY, METHODS AND PRACTICE…
The Government is to use new powers under the 1999 Local Government Act for the first time. It is to intervene at Hackney Council to safeguard local services, after years of corporate failure.Five Government Departments have issued ‘draft directions’ to the council requiring service improvements in education, social services, waste management, housing benefits and tough action to get the Council’s budget back in balance. The council has been given 14 days to respond.
Read more on GOVERNMENT USES NEW POWERS TO TURN AROUND HACKNEY…
‘Could do better’ is the verdict on councils’ ability to subject their services to the ‘best value’ test.Best value is the market-testing concept that challenges local authorities to provide their services at a cost and quality that their residents demand, and a new report suggests two-thirds of councils are either coasting or performing poorly.
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