By Roy Houston Much valuable information is not available to central and local government because it is ‘buried’ in the mass of data stored, particularly in the accounting systems. Today’s technology is sufficiently powerful to help, but obtaining the information and being able to use it are major challenges. The author looks at getting the big picture out of the detail and then adding value by applying external information.

Britain is leading the way in Europe in overall public sector spending on ICT and we are near the top in terms of per capita spend and spending as a proportion of gross domestic product, according to new research.The study – ICT Spend in the European Public Sector – has been produced by Kable and details spending across the 25 member states of the European Union as well as in Norway and Switzerland. The report estimates that total expenditure on ICT in the European public sector will be in excess of 87 billion Euros this year and that it will reach 94 billion by 2007.

Read more on UK PUBLIC SERVICES LEAD EUROPE IN ICT SPENDING…

The first steps in a training programme designed to better equip local authorities to meet the requirements of the new Housing Act are being taken this month. The ‘Housing Act 2004: National Training Programme’ is being delivered by the IdeA with the aim of training more than 1000 council officers the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and licensing requirements of the Act in time for the government’s implementation date of October this year.The programme is being backed by 5 million pounds in Revenue Support Grant funding from the ODPM. The first module is being delivered from this month onwards, in partnership with Warwick University Law School. Further modules are in development, and will be delivered through a mixture of regional and sub-regional seminars, formal training, e-learning tools, and the IDeA Knowledge website. Some parts of the programme will be free but others will operate on a subsidised rate.

Read more on COUNCILS GET HELP TO PREPARE FOR HOUSING ACT PROVISIONS…

Figures today show that the Education Maintenance Allowance has helped almost 300,000 young people stay in education. The Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Ruth Kelly, is calling on all those who may be eligible for the payments to apply now to start receiving allowances in September.So far, the figures show, 295,000 young people have already received the weekly payment since its launch across England a year ago. The allowance is designed to be a financial incentive paid to young people to continue their studies after the age of 16 in a wide range of education, such as vocational courses up to NVQ level 3, academic courses such as A-levels or to resit GCSE exams at school or college.

Read more on NEW ROUND OF EDUCATION MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCES LAUNCHED…