A principle raw material of all public bodies is information and for many this means operating a paper handling factory with a range of manual processes. This feature describes the situation before Argyll and Bute Council installed an electronic workflow management system to create a paperless office and the way it is now. It also outlines the benefits of banishing paper, including a payback on the investment within two years.
Sixteen successful bidders will share 29 million pounds in the first round of funding to provide Extra Care Housing, which allows older people and other vulnerable adults to maintain their independence while being supported round the clock. The announcement of extra funding means 1,420 places will be provided.The scheme provides 24-hour support from social care and health teams to people living in their own private flats or bungalows. They can have access to meals, domestic support, leisure and recreation facilities and, where necessary, nursing care and security. In some cases the schemes allow people to buy their living space.
Local people are to be given a say in how courts are run under new regulations which have been developed after wide consultation on the framework for 42 community-focused Courts Boards in England and Wales.The measures were set out by Courts Minister Chris Leslie with the publication of new regulations and a report called ‘Courts Boards: Constitution and Procedures A Response Paper’ and the publication of the results of a three-month public consultation process.
Read more on NEW BOARDS GIVE LOCAL PEOPLE SAY IN RUNNING OF COURTS…
The Civil Service summer placement scheme for 2004 is being expanded by some 60% and it will be opened up to disabled graduates. The scheme is run by the Cabinet Office and the inclusion of disabled graduates is part of a drive to ensure that the Civil Service meets the Government’s commitment to achieving greater representation of minority ethnic staff, women and staff with disabilities at senior levels.A wide range of summer placements will be offered to disabled people to gain valuable work experience and forge the next vital link in establishing their careers. The Cabinet Office hopes to dispel discriminatory attitudes and practices by placing trainees in various government departments where they will be introduced to the interesting and varied challenges in today’s modern Civil Service.
Read more on CIVIL SERVICE SUMMER SCHEME EXTENDED TO DISABLED GRADUATES…
The setting up of nine regional centers of procurement excellence will boost implementation of the national procurement strategy launched last Autumn. The strategy seeks to change the tradition of individual purchasing decisions by over 400 separate councils, often buying the same thing. The main aim is to enable councils to use their collective buying power to negotiate lower prices or work with suppliers to develop improved products and services to get better value for the 40 billion pounds spent annually. The Procurement Strategy sets out how central and local government, working together with partners from the public, private and voluntary sectors, intend to set about improving local government procurement.The new centres will drive innovative change in procurement by providing expertise to other councils and by building on existing good practice. They will be funded by 3.6 million pounds from the joint Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Local Government Association capacity building fund.
Read more on LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT STRATEGY REACHES KEY STAGE…
By Steven JonesThis article discusses the various initiatives that have been introduced to measure and improve local government performance in the UK over the past decade. It explains why the Local Government Improvement Programme (LGIP) is the most aligned to the modernization and performance improvement agendas. The author uses a new outcome-based measurement model to assess how the six local authorities which piloted the LGIP responded to the ‘areas of concern’ identified by review teams. The analysis suggests that there are a number of organizational determinants that underpin successful performance improvement and which could have wider currency for both the UK and European local government sectors.
By James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. PosnerThe Leadership Challenge is grounded in extensive research and based on interviews with all kinds of leaders at all levels in public and private organizations from around the world. In this third edition, the authors emphasize that the fundamentals of leadership are the same today as they were in the 1980s, and as they’ve probably been for centuries. In that sense, nothing’s new. Leadership is not a fad. While the content of leadership has not changed, the context has-and in some cases, changed dramatically.
Patients in three pilot surgeries announce their arrival by touching a pad with their thumb. Using the thumb again in a kiosk inside the surgery they can access their medical records. They can inspect their consultation record, common test results, such as blood count, as well as letters to and from the practice. They can also get access to leaflets and information about conditions at the touch of a button. Print- outs are available for all the screen displays.Dr Fisher, the project executive and clinical lead, said “The arrivals system has definitely saved time for receptionists without a feeling of distance or poorer service for patients. Access to records has also gone well. There has been some reorganisation at reception to ensure fingerprinting is carried out systematically. It takes only a few seconds, but with 8500 patients, that still takes up time.”
Read more on SUCCESSFUL TRIAL OF DOCTOR’S SURGERY OF TOMORROW…
Prime Minister Tony Blair has set out a blue print for a transformed Civil Service capable of serving governments of any colour in the era of globalisation. His vision is an organization that can successfully implement change, rather than, as sometimes in the past, act as a shock absorber seeking to maintain the status quo.Outlining the features of the new culture Tony Blair contrasted the approach of the Civil Service and the Armed Forces in the Foot and Mounth crisis. The intervention of the armed forces was critical because they didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer; they used rules as a means to an end, not an end in themselves; and as the situation changed, they changed. He stressed that the Civil Service is not like the Armed Forces, but this style of leadership is widely successful because it requires leadership at every level, with people willing to take responsibility for a challenge and able to inspire others.
London councils are tackling the problem of under represented ethnic minorities in their finance departments. Ethnic minorities account for 25% of London’s economically active population, but this is not reflected in senior finance posts. A recruitment drive encouraging applicants from underrepresented ethnic minorities into local government finance careers has produced 40% of trainees from this background.The trainees have each signed a four-year employment contract with one of the London boroughs included in the scheme and the individual employers will decide salary, funding levels and study leave. The trainees will join together to study the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s Professional Accountancy Qualification three-year day release course at the CIPFA Education and Training Centre in central London. Their first modules will be Financial Accounting and Management Accounting.
© PublicNet is a KnowShare production | Technology by Jag Singh + Hilton & Hilton Ltd | Admin Log in