The number of people waiting more than a year for treatment in hospital has fallen by more than 20,000 in the last year. The Department of Health says the number of English residents who have waited over 12 months dropped by 3,000 between October and November – the biggest monthly reduction since March last year.The figures for November show 12,500 people have waited more than a year. Six of them have been waiting for more than 15 months for treatment – 3 fewer than in the month before. The total number of patients waiting for treatment in England fell by 9,500 to just under one million and forty-two thousand.

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The first steps are being taken in the next phase of research into people’s attitudes to standards of conduct among those who hold public offices. The Committee on Standards in Public Life has begun the tendering process for stage two of a long-term study to establish a benchmark of opinion about how office holders should behave.This phase of the process will focus on the expectations of the general public, rather than the attitudes of those in public office themselves.

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By Tom Coens and Mary JenkinsPerformance Appraisals are used in eighty percent of workplaces. Yet, ninety percent of organizations that use appraisal-and a similar percentage of givers and receivers of appraisal-are dissatisfied with the process. Abolishing Performance Appraisals, just released in paperback, offers practical suggestions for replacing performance appraisals with more progressive approaches to feedback and development. Exploring such areas as coaching, compensation, promotion, and legal documentation, this book challenges readers to think about the important questions surrounding the use of appraisal, such as: Why do you use appraisals? Do they accomplish your intended goals? What are their real effects? Do you really need any kind of appraisal system? The bottom line, the authors argue, is that the process of performance appraisal frustrates most employees and managers who use it.

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