By Marc Wood The national local government procurement strategy seeks to change the tradition of individual purchasing decisions by individual councils, often buying the same thing. Collective buying power can then be used to negotiate lower prices. The author presents a view from the coalface looking at the concerns of councils and suppliers.

A new national registration scheme for people working in health informatics has been welcomed as a contribution to the care and safety of patients in the National Health Service.Lord Philip Hunt, who chairs the National Patient Safety Agency said the system would help to improve quality and safety in patient care. 

Local councils are being offered help in getting their transport policies and related issues over to the media and to key stakeholders in their communities. The Improvement and Development Agency has developed a new Connecting with Communities resource module, called ‘Transport and The Media’.The new module, to be launched at a conference next week, has been developed in recognition of the fact that transport issues can have real impacts in every locality.