By Neil Hollins The development of wireless technology is bringing opportunities to do things in different ways. The author explains how mobile staff in local government can link directly into systems at base, process requests and get information. He also describes an implementation approach.

Despite strong government endorsement ‘flexible working’ has not yet permeated the public sector in any significant way. It offers the ability to shape work around the way people live their lives and brings considerable benefits in terms of staff morale and productivity.An online debate ‘Fit for Work’ sponsored by the Public Policy Forum will seek to find out why this is so. It aims to identify the key issues in adopting flexible working practices to help ensure the public sector can realise the benefits and thereby improve staff morale and retention.

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Following the launch of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Community Support Officer scheme, it is planned to recruit more than 1,000 officers across the UK. They will play a complementary role to police officers in tackling disorder and anti-social behaviour and carrying out routine patrols to increase visible policing and provide reassurance to the public. They will also free up police officers for fighting crime.Although there was unease amongst some chief constables and members of police authorities, many of whom thought that community support officers are diluting the police service, over half the police forces have agreed to adopt the scheme. An assurance has been given that the support officers are not ‘policing on the cheap’ and they will not replace police officers. They are an additional resource aimed at further reducing crime and the fear of crime. Further funding will be made available to forces over the next three years to ensure support officers become a firm part of the future policing plans in the UK.

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