Archives for March 2006

RETHINKING WORKING-CLASS DROP OUT FROM UNIVERSITY

Features, PublicNet: 31 March, 2006

By Jocey Quinn, Liz Thomas, Kim Slack, Lorraine Casey, Wayne Thexton and John Noble Access to university has been seen as a route out of poverty for young working-class people but, many who have entered higher education have been choosing to leave early. The authors explored causes of drop-out and found that the inflexibility of higher education is a major factor. They conclude that leaving early need not be seen as a disaster and they suggest measures to promote lifelong learning.



COUNCILS FACE PLANNING CHALLENGE AS GRANT ALLOCATIONS ARE ANNOUNCED

Headlines, PublicNet: 31 March, 2006

Local authorities still face a challenge to deal with planning applications more efficiently while still making the right decisions. That was the view of Housing and Planning Minister, Yvette Cooper, as she gave details of the final allocations to be made under the Planning Delivery Grant, which rewards local authorities for improved performance in their handling of planning applications.The latest 135 million pounds in grants brings to more than 480 million the amount of Government money injected into the system though the PDG. The minister congratulated successful authorities and said she hoped more would follow their example. “It is great that local planning authorities are already improving their performance. However, there is still a challenge for authorities to deal with applications more efficiently whilst ensuring they make the right decision for their community,” she said.

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STAFF SEE DEALING WITH E-MAIL AS BAR TO PRODUCTIVITY

Headlines, PublicNet: 31 March, 2006

Public sector staff are being overwhelmed by e-mail, according to a study which says many of them see dealing with their electronic inboxes as interfering with their productivity. The problem faces civil servants, council workers, and school and hospital staff.The research was carried out among readers of E- Government Bulletin and was published ahead of next month’s ‘Email management ’06’ national conference, which the specialist publication is sponsoring. Just over half of those questioned for the survey of more than 200 public sector managers and workers said dealing with routine e-mails was a barrier to productivity. The majority of those taking part also felt the time spent sorting through messages would increase over the next year.

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SURVEY FINDS SCRUTINY IS GROWING AND IMPROVING IN QUALITY

Abstracts, PublicNet: 30 March, 2006

This annual survey from the Centre for Public Scrutiny shows that the amount and quality of scrutiny work now undertaken by local authorities is a clear indication that the function is being fully utilised to hold decision-makers to account and that it influences service performance.The survey investigated the nature and impact of Overview & Scrutiny Committees across local authorities in England & Wales in 2005 and found that councillors are more engaged in a variety of different investigative approaches and a wide range of sources is used to build an evidence base. There have also been steady increases in resources and support for scrutiny.

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DOCTORS RAISE FEARS OVER PUBLIC HEALTH TRAINING CUTS

Headlines, PublicNet: 30 March, 2006

Doctors’ leaders are warning that flagship government policies to improve public health will be undermined unless cuts in the number of training posts are reversed and there is an end to the loss of key jobs. Public health doctors from The British Medical Association say the squeeze on training is recklessly short sighted.The BMA warning came after figures from the Faculty of Public Health showed there would be a 40 per cent reduction in training posts in the specialty this year. It says that the Public Health specialty needs to expand to tackle the health gap between the best and worst off people. Dr Justin Varney, a junior doctor member of the BMA’s Public Health Committee , said, “Public health doctors are strategically placed, co-ordinating across health, government and social services to tackle obesity, oversee local initiatives like reducing heart disease, and lead the UK’s immunisation and screening programmes.”

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STUDY CHALLENGES ASSUMPTIONS ON MIXED TENURE ESTATES

Headlines, PublicNet: 30 March, 2006

The assumptions that mixed tenure housing developments reduce property prices or that they make homes harder to sell, are dismissed in a new report today from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. “More than tenure mix: Developer and purchaser attitudes to new housing estates” has analysed local property values compared with those on mixed estates and has also looked at the experiences of residents and developers.The study has found that ensuring the quality of other aspects of a development could eliminate the risk of an adverse affect on prices and ease the task of finding buyers. It concludes that the mixed communities in the study are successful and not characterised by the problems often linked with exclusively low-income areas.

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT TRANSFORMATION AND THE COUNCIL WEBSITE

Abstracts, PublicNet: 29 March, 2006

This briefing from the Society of IT Management describes how councils can achieve a website that satisfies the criteria ‘useful, usable, and used’ and why this matters more than ever in the digital age.It describes the role of the website in council transformation, provides details of the best council sites in 2006 and sets out the benefits of joining up council services via websites and portals.

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NEIGHBOURHOOD PATHFINDERS ‘LEADING TO JOINED UP SERVICES’

Headlines, PublicNet: 29 March, 2006

A new report says central government, local councils and other providers are facing a “make or break” moment over the delivery of services to neighbourhoods. The study, ‘Neighbourhood Management – at the Turning Point?’, has found evidence of more joined-up, accessible and responsive services in areas with Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders.The NMPs were set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2001, with the aim of giving people in the areas an opportunity to improve local services. The independent report, produced by SQW, says the 35 pathfinders are a valuable tool in regenerating deprived areas and it backs the idea of rolling out the pathfinder model more widely. It warns, though, that the NMP approach is in danger of being a missed opportunity if its value is not recognised.

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POLICE MERGERS ‘BASED ON FLAWED ANALYSIS’

Headlines, PublicNet: 29 March, 2006

Proposals to merge police forces are based on misleading and misguided analysis, according to research published today by the independent think thank Policy Exchange. The study says big forces would be no more efficient or effective than smaller ones, even in dealing with serious cross-border crime, and it suggests the mergers may be an attempt to bring in regional government by the back door.”Size Isn’t Everything: Restructuring Policing in England and Wales”, has been written by Barry Loveday, Reader in Criminal Justice Administration at Portsmouth University. It recommends that instead of merging forces the Government should allow them to federate voluntarily where necessary. It suggests, too, that the remit of national policing agencies should be extended and that more power and responsibility should be given to Basic Command Units. Finally it recommends the modernisation of policing working structures and practices.

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NOT BOSSES BUT LEADERS

Book News, PublicNet: 28 March, 2006

By John Adair.This pioneering work from leadership expert John Adair has transformed understanding of how leadership works and how executives can become leaders. Accessible guidance on exactly what is needed to become a leader is presented in the form of a dialogue with a young executive who is soon to become a strategic leader. Each fundamental aspect of leadership is exposed and explained in a concise and lucid way. The author presents a study of what a leader actually has to do. It doesn’t depend on historical models but springs from the day-to-day realities of management.

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