The way has been cleared for local education authorities to develop safe walking and cycling routes to school and for some of them to tackle the congestion created by the daily school run through innovative schemes.The Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling announced funding of ten million pounds for authorities to create the new safer routes. The Links to Schools programme will extend the National Cycle Network, to bring it closer to schools, making it easier and safer for pupils to walk or cycle. The department says 230 schools will benefit directly from the funding to 100 local authorities. The grant will go to Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity, which built the 8,000 miles of the National Cycle Network. It will now oversee the building of new links from the Network to schools in different parts of England.

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Managers in local and central government are calling out for business leaders who produce results, demonstrate trust and respect their teams, but only four in ten claim to see such behaviour in their workplace, according to new research. The study from the Department of Trade and Industry and the Chartered Management Institute, highlights areas where managers in central and local government expect more than they get.The report, “Inspired Leadership – an insight into people who inspire exceptional performance” lists three main characteristics that public sector managers want to see. They are genuine shared vision, real confidence and trust in teams, both of which were mentioned by 95 per cent of respondents, and respect for employees, colleagues and customers, cited by 86 per cent. But fewer than 4 in 10 of those surveyed believed their own leaders regularly demonstrated these attributes. The single most important factor the managers wanted to see in their leader was inspiration.

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Social enterprises have no shareholders and they engage with the community. They are also efficient businesses with a not-for-profit reputation for being open and accountable. The government wants to see more social enterprises competing for public sector contracts. But how do they develop their businesses and where do they see their future? These are some of the questions discussed.