The next decade will see the biggest ever shift of power from Whitehall and Westminster to the regions and local communities, according to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown.He used a speech at the opening of new facilities at Wolverhampton University to set out his vision for what he called “new localism” which would see Britain moving away from centuries of being weakened by centralisation to become a country strengthened by local centres of initiative, energy and dynamism.

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National Health Service Boards in Scotland are being given more money – but  they have been warned this must lead to improved services to patients.Allocations will increase by an average of almost 8 per cent in the coming financial year with a record 4.997 billion pounds being distributed between the 15 Boards.

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By Kees Van Der HeijdenThis book helps managers to overcome ‘the future will resemble the past’ thinking and instead harness multiple perspectives through scenario thinking. Scenarios are shown to overcome thinking flaws and assist in sense making. The Sixth Sense links scenarios to strategy and action, showing how to use scenario thinking ‘in practice’ and is the next step on from van der Heijden’s previous book, Scenarios: The Art of Strategic Conversion.

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