By Alan McGregor, Andrea Glass, Kevin Higgins, Lynne Macdougall and Victoria Sutherland Different approaches have been used over the years to tackle social exclusion. They include area based initiatives, such as health and education action zones, and central initiatives such as the welfare to work programme. The authors surveyed this patchwork quilt of local and central initiatives and found some of the causes for poor integration. They suggest ways in which better integration can be achieved.

One of the first local authorities to respond to government calls for the establishment of special bodies to protect vulnerable adults from abuse has issued its Adult Protection Committee’s first annual report. Blackburn with Darwen’s APC says the small number of abuse cases it has investigated are potentially “the tip of the iceberg” and many more could be being ignored simply because people are unaware of the seriousness of adult abuse.The committee has launched an information campaign highlighting the need for people in the area to speak out about the abuse of adults. It coincides with the publication of the report which looks at its work during the last year to protect vulnerable adults.

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Local councils are to get more support to help their overview and scrutiny committees to carry out their reviews of health services. It will include a one off payment of two-and-a-quarter million pounds to develop ways to assist local authorities in their new health scrutiny role.The Health Minister, Rosie Winterton said the payment was being made to the Centre for Public Scrutiny, which jointly with the Local Government Association, will aid the long-term development of health overview and scrutiny committees.

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Councils need an extra 17 million pounds if they are to meet their current emergency planning workload. A survey by the Local Government Association, which looked at work in district councils, shows that they spend just under 4 million pounds on emergency planning each year in spite of the fact they do not receive any Civil Defence grant from central government.The study follows an earlier LGA survey of top tier authorities in England and Wales. That revealed that those councils were spending more than 32 million pounds on emergency planning which is 13 million more than the grant they receive. Taking district council spending into account, it means local government spends a total of 36 million pounds on emergency planning each year – 17 million more than authorities get in grants for the work.

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Government targets for regional policy are too weak to reverse the North-South divide and need to be redefined, according to a report today which says the policies should aim to reverse regional disparities not just to reduce the rate at which the South is getting richer and the North is getting poorer.The report, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, also calls for Government Departments to be moved to harder pressed areas. It recommends that employment issues be given equal weight to productivity and says the Government’s focus on skills shortages and welfare-to-work programmes will not be enough to tackle high worklessness in poorer regions. The authors say more jobs need to be created in areas of high unemployment.

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A report by the Society of IT Management and Citizens Advice, the charity representing the national network of Citizens Advice Bureaux concludes that websites are falling short of meeting the needs of those citizens most likely to require information from public service organisations. Websites scrutinised included Department of Trade and Industry, Department for Work and Pensions, NHS and 16 local authorities.The evidence from the research shows that government websites have some way to go before they will be able to fulfill citizens’ needs for information and services in the areas tested. People entering relying on search engines to take them to sources of official information will far too often find themselves led to inappropriate websites if they use everyday language in their search terms, whilst relevant and appropriate sites are ignored. The performance of UKOnline as a signpost to e-government services is disappointing.

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By David ClutterbuckThe book highlights the vital role of the line manager in creating and enforcing policies that encourage work-life balance. This is one of the most important issues currently facing today’s workforce. A recent DTI survey showed that one in three employees would prefer flexible working hours to a 1,000 pounds pay rise. The book sets out what organisations can do about it and how such policies can be successfully implemented. It points out that line managers can be resistant to these policies as they may perceive a lack of support from above or be concerned over consistency – for example can they say yes to one person over part-time working and no to another. Research that showed that only one in four organizations actively encourage line managers to set a personal example of good work-life balance.

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Local councils in Wales could lose their planning control powers over the installation of television satellite dishes. The Welsh Assembly Government has launched consultations on possible changes to current regulations.The review will look at the planning considerations that need to be taken into account when installing satellite dishes and other types of antennae. At present, householders are able to install satellite dishes and antennae on their homes, but restrictions apply on the location, number and size of equipment that is allowed. In some sensitive areas, planning permission may be required from the local authority.

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Local authorities are being warned of the need to begin preparing for the introduction of new access duties in 2004 or risk ending up in court. The stark message comes from the Disability Rights Commission and the Local Government Association.From next year, any person or organisation providing a service will have to consider making improvements to their buildings to make them more user friendly for disabled people. This new legislation is likely to have a significant impact on local authority services. To help councils understand their new obligations the DRC has already launched its Open4All Campaign, which includes a website – www.open4all.org   http://www.open4all.org  -which provides practical advice and information.

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More than 80 councils across England have joined a drive to test a set of new tools designed to save local government time and money when it comes to improving customer care. They have been developed as part of the Government’s 4.275 million pound Customer Relationship Management national programme.It is claimed, too, that the system will also make it easier for people to communicate with their local councils by enabling each council to access an up-to-date picture of each citizen and their dealings with the authority across all its services.

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