The salary survey by the Society of IT Management shows that local authorities are competing well with the private sector when it comes to attracting and retaining high calibre ICT professionals. It shows an average salary increase of 4.8% in local authorities compared with an average 3.5% increase reported in the private sector.Local authorities are also doing better in terms of overall recruitment, but there are difficulties. The proportion of authorities experiencing retention problems rose from 17% in 2004 to 23.5% this year, and 31% experienced recruitment difficulties compared to 27% last year. The private sector is experiencing much greater recruitment difficulties, with 58% citing problems this year – more than double the figure in 2003. Within local authorities, a ‘shortage of suitable candidates’ was cited as the main reason for recruitment difficulties, which was mentioned by 84% of the sample compared with 63% last year.
Young people who experience the death of someone close to them need better support services, including ‘death and bereavement’ education in schools according to a study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published today.The report says the help available to young people through schools and bereavement organisations is patchy, and varies greatly in quantity and content.
There is to be a three-year study of the the new local system for making local development plans. Announcing the project, the Planning Minister Yvette Cooper, said it would be a valuable source of shared knowledge and experience.The new Local Development Framework system began in September 2004, replacing the previous regulations under which all planning issues had to be addressed as part of a single development plan. These often took years to be agreed or changed. The local development framework is designed to be a flexible portfolio of documents tailored to the needs of an area and easy to update.
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