Seventeen authorities have been named as centres of excellence in an initiative that recognises local transport plan areas that have a proven track record in delivering transport improvements on the ground and meeting local targets and the objectives they set for themselves during the first round of Local Transport Plans.The Department for Transport will provide 100,000 pounds a year to the Transport Authorities that have become centres of excellence to support them in providing peer-led activities for transport planning and delivery for local authorities.

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NHS trusts across the country are taking part in ‘Think Clean Day’ today to raise the profile of hospital cleaning and to show what can be achieved in a short time.A poll of cleaners, released to coincide with the event, shows that they believe employing more cleaning staff is the most important step that could be taken to improving hospital cleanliness at a time when it is under scrutiny because of the increase in the numbers of patients being infected with MRSA.

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By Jeremy BeechamThe author, who was Chair of the Local Government Association from 1997 to 2004, sets out his views on how localism could best embody the spirit of community. He argues that three decades of centralism have weakened the capacity of local councils to identify and meet the needs of their local communities. Councils are seen increasingly merely as agents of central government policy. The limited success of central command and control is leading the Government to consider a more decentralized approach, but this is not consistent across government departments, nor does it necessarily imply devolution to the town hall. Some proponents of new localism advocate by-passing local government in favour of separately elected single service bodies: a process likely to undermine representative democracy and increase depoliticization.

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