PUBLIC BUILDINGS WILL NEED ENERGY RATINGS

Town halls, museums, galleries and other public buildings will have to have energy ratings, just like those on fridges and other appliances, and to display them to the public from next April. The idea is that visitors will be able to see the annual carbon emissions from each building as a way of encouraging energy improvements, reducing costs and ensuring public bodies lead the way in cutting carbon emissions.

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NEW DESIGN GUIDANCE SET TO TRANSFORM RESIDENTAIL STREETS

New guidelines on street design have been published and should make residential roads safer in future with slower traffic, and less clutter. The new ‘ Manual for Streets’ marks a reversal in the thinking behind ‘Design Bulletin 32’, which was first published in 1977, and now CABE, the Government’s advisory body on architecture, urban design and public space, expects to see a transformation in the quality of new and existing streets.

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By Haki Kapasi Negative undesigned outcomes are the hazard feared by policy makers and innovators. Those involved in developing a neighbourhood play toolkit to allow children to play without a threat from traffic or harm by strangers did not expect any wider community impact. The author describes how the pilot projects increased social capital by building networks within the community and expanding partnerships.

MORE MONEY FOR MOBILE ICT FOR CHILDREN’S SOCIAL WORKERS

Social services staff working with children are to get improved access to mobile Information and Communication Technology to help them adapt to new ways of working and to keep in step with technological developments. A total of 13 million pounds is to be allocated to local authorities.

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HOSPITAL INFORMATION DELAYS ‘PUTTING PATIENT SAFETY AT RISK’

The safety of some NHS patients is being put at risk because of delays by hospitals in sending essential information to GPs when those patients are discharged, according to a survey published today by the NHS Alliance. More than a third of doctors it questioned said the delays affected patient safety and almost 60 per cent said the clinical care of patients had been compromised.

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By Mike RacoThis book uses historical and contemporary materials to document the ways in which policy-makers have sought to use state powers and regulations to create better, more balanced, and sustainable communities and citizens. It charts the changes that have taken place in community-building policy frameworks, place imaginations, and core spatial policy initiatives in the UK since 1945.

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CIVIL SERVANTS ALERTED TO DANGER OF BECOMING ‘FAILURE TOLERANT’

Civil Servants are being urged to do more to pursue ‘high reliability’ and to avoid becoming ‘failure tolerant’. The view has been put forward by David Tranfield of Cranfield University, the National School of Government’s Sunningdale Institute Fellow. He argues that efficiencies are best facilitated by steps to create zero tolerance of failure.

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PROPOSALS FOR UNITARY AUTHORITIES MOVE TO NEXT STAGE

Ten more English counties could come under the control of a single unitary local authority if proposals which have been shortlisted for consultation become a reality. In three of the areas – Bedfordshire, Cheshire and Northumberland, – counter proposals have also been accepted for further examination. In all sixteen councils bidding for unitary status have been short listed.

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This document from the Department for Health and Communities and Local Government sets out a framework for commissioning services. It focuses on partnership between everyone that can contribute to promoting physical and mental health and well-being, including the business community, local government, government regional offices and the third sector as well as NHS organisations.The health and social care services are still too focused on commissioning for volume and price, rather than for quality and outcomes. Too much long-term care is provided in institutional settings. Health inequalities still exist. There is too much of a focus on treating illness rather than preventing it. There are too few providers, and little incentive to innovate.

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MANCHESTER SCHOOL MARKS MILESTONE FOR HIGHER LEVEL ASSISTANTS

England’s 15,000th Higher Level Teaching Assistant has started work this week. Nazish Mohammed has joined the staff at Heald Place School in Manchester to reach the milestone. The assistants are members of support staff in schools whose skills have been developed to meet a level set in national professional standards by the Training and Development Agency for Schools – formerly the Teacher Training Agency.

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