NHS ROLLS OUT WORLD’S LARGEST HUMAN RESOURCES SYSTEM
 
More than 900,000 live records have now been set up on the NHS Electronic Staff Record, making it the World’s largest integrated HR & Payroll system. It provides a service for more than 400 organisations and is on time and on budget to be completed in spring 2008, when it will hold the records of all 1.2 million NHS employees. 

NEIGHBOURHOOD MANAGEMENT AT THE CROSSROADS
 
Five years after the first Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder projects were launched to improve public services and make them more responsive to local needs, particularly in deprived areas, local government has yet to commit to support this approach into the future through its own mainstream funds. 

Positive views were expressed at the road shows about the idea of a more mature conversation on performance and targets. LAAs are acting as catalysts for change, particularly in strengthening and improving partnership working. However, some participants were sceptical about the promised reduction in the reporting burden actually materialising.There was strong sense from participants that LAAs have been seen as a marginal within local authorities and by some partners.