COUNCILS SHOWING VISION TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE
Local councils are showing the leadership and vision that is needed to improve local environments, according to the Director of the New Local Government Network. Chris Leslie was speaking after the International development Secretary, Hilary Benn, called for a new type of politics to tackle climate change.
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TRUSTEES GET NEW E-LEARNING TOOL
A new e-learning scheme has been unveiled to help trustees of voluntary sector organisations to improve their skills. ‘Learning To Drive’ has been produced by the Governance Hub in partnership with the Suffolk Association of Voluntary Organisations. The Hub has been developed as part of the ChangeUp programme to build capacity in the voluntary and community sector.
COUNCILS FEAR METAL THEFTS PUT LIVES AT RISK
Rising scrap metal prices have led to an increase in thefts of road signs, drain covers and copper and in some cases that is putting lives at risk, according to the Local Government Association. It says the number of crimes being reported by councils up and down the country has risen with the price of scrap.
By Blythe Robertson An ability to share data is a critical success factor for multi-agency working. The Scottish Executive has launched the eCare Framework which allows the NHS, local authorities, police and other agencies to share personal data. It has also set up a National Data Sharing Forum to provide overall governance of local and national activity. The author describes how the Framework was set up to give common view of the citizen across all agencies that need to share data and the benefits it brings.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME PROPOSALS CRITICISED AS CONSULTATION BEGINS
Consultations have begun on a revised Local Government Pension Scheme. Employees will be expected to pay bigger contributions as part of a package of reforms designed to ensure there is no added burden to council tax payers. The proposals, announced by Local Government Minister Phil Woolas, follow discussions between the employers’ side and relevant trade unions. The announcement marks the beginning of a 12-week consultation period but the leading Local Government union is already warning its members won’t pay more for less.
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By Kelly Hannum, Jennifer W. Martineau and Claire Reinelt (Editors)With the increase in the number of organizational leadership development programs, there is a pressing need for evaluation to answer important questions, improve practice, and inform decisions. The Handbook is a comprehensive resource filled with examples, tools, and the most innovative models and approaches designed to evaluate leadership development in a variety of settings.
PARTNERSHIP HELPS LONDON BOROUGHS IMPROVE AND SHARE EXPERTISE
Four London boroughs are to share almost a million pounds to help them bring about improvements in their councils and to share expertise with other boroughs across the political spectrum. The support for the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Harrow, Havering and Merton includes funding from Capital Ambition, London’s Improvement Partnership.
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COUNCIL’S ‘WORLD FIRST’ ACCLAIMED AS READING FAILURE RATE FALLS
A local authority in a deprived area of Scotland is being hailed today for achieving a world first in adopting measures to eliminate reading failure among school pupils in its area. A report from the Centre for Policy Studies says the rate of children who cannot read adequately has already been reduced to six percent in West Dunbartonshire and by next year it is expected that no child will fail to reach the standard. The equivalent rate of reading failure in England is 21 per cent.
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There are more than 55,000 social enterprises in the UK. These are businesses with primarily social or environmental objectives, principally reinvesting surpluses in the business or community. This action plan sets out a vision for creating the conditions for thousands more to thrive.The major challenge for social enterprise businesses is to deliver public services in a different way, using the skills and expertise of users and frontline workers. In meeting this challenge they also contribute by bringing back into the economy people who were previously excluded, or by improving the environment or society. The businesses are diverse, ranging from small, community-owned village shops to large companies winning multimillion pound contracts. They are generating more than 27 billion pounds turnover and contributing more than 8 billion pounds to GDP a year.
LEGALISING GRAFFITI COULD CUT VANDALISM SAYS SURVEY
Legalising graffiti would reduce vandalism, according to the results of a new survey on the use of community art projects and murals as a means of controlling graffiti. The study was conducted by GraffitiHotline, which asked for responses from local council graffiti officers, councillors, community police officers and residents’ groups as well as public art project co-ordinators.
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