Six good quality early years services have been praised for their joined up thinking and named as Sure Start Children’s Centres. The schemes are the Somerford Children’s Centre in Dorset, and five based in Leeds, the Bramley, Chapeltown, Hawksworthwood, Beeston and Windmill Centres.They join a growing network of centres each providing integrated access to five key services, early education, childcare, health services, family support and help into employment. The government hopes they will act as a model for the transformation of children’s services.

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Four hundred Community Wardens are to be recruited by local authorities across Scotland as part of a campaign against anti-social behaviour. In total the country’s 32 local councils will spend thirty million pounds on measures to combat the problem over the next two years.Other measures will see some authorities expanding mediation services to deal with problems before they get out of hand and an increase in the number of specialist teams run by councils to deal with anti-social behaviour.

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The four scrutiny spotlight briefing papers cover health, children’s services, procurement and budgets and finance. They are designed around the four principles of effective scrutiny, focusing on: critical friend challenge; reflecting public concerns; owning the scrutiny process; and making an impact on public services. They are written in association with the Local Government Association.Published by the Centre for Public Scrutiny PO box 364, Hayes, Middlesex,UB3 1US. tel. 020 8867 3298. fax. 020 8867 3215. email. idea@eclogistics.co.uk.

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