A project is being launched to build the capacity of social enterprises to compete for 2012 contracts and to deliver a dramatic change in the procurement policies of stakeholders.
The Office of the Third Sector is funding the project to help social enterprises access procurement opportunities for 2012. 

This report outlines findings from a survey to establish trends in the provision of day care for children under eight prepared for the Department for Children, Schools and Families.The number of registered full day care providers has increased from 11,811 in 2005 to 12,694 in 2006, continuing the trend from 2001. Two-thirds of providers are managed by a private sector organisation. This figure has increased from 59 per cent in 2005. 

Two years after the first community interest companies were founded they are delivering an increasing range of services and ploughing profits back into the community. The companies are pursuing social objectives and contributing to the success of the social enterprise movement and its expansion.
More than 1200 registered community interest companies now provide a wide range of services. They include community groups working with local authorities. 

A survey of attitudes of public sector employees shows that managers in national and local government need to focus more on securing commitment and to put greater effort into staff development to improve employee engagement. The report also challenges HR professionals to take a more proactive role in supporting managers. 

This independent report for the Department of Work and Pensions assesses the effectiveness of Employment Zones introduced in 2000 to test a new, market oriented approach to reducing long-term unemployment through a work first, outcome-related model of delivering employment services.
The evidence shows that EZs are more effective than comparative New Deal programmes in terms of their success in placing mandatory customers into work and helping them sustain employment for 13 weeks. 

Case studies of local authorities that have gone through the process of reform to unitary status have been pulled together by the Improvement and Development Agency to assist councils that are currently undergoing the change. The IDeA says those councils that have been through the process have a wealth of experience to offer. 

One in three households would pay less council tax if the benefit system was reformed, according to a report commissioned by the Local Government Association. The study, written by Peter Kenway from the New Policy Institute, also shows that the same reforms could mean greater financial support for six million people. 

By Nick Bailey and Mark Livingston. Regeneration of deprived areas is a major challenge and there is a constant search for new evidence on which to base policies. The authors challenge some of the assumptions made about population turnover and their conclusions have a significant impact on local regeneration programmes. They show that there is a potential risk that policies designed to promote income or tenure mix may inadvertently exacerbate problems of population turnover if they target single people or couples through the development of starter homes.

Bodies that give money to charities to deliver services or as grants need to do more to check that the organisations involved are fit for purpose, according to the Association of Charitable Foundations, UK Workforce Hub and the Governance Hub. They say recent research has shown that all too often funders do not look behind the scenes at how organisations are run. 

This book responds to such searching questions as how exactly do we earn the loyalty, trust and commitment of our people? How do we balance the needs of our organisations to do more with less with the need to create environments in which people can grow, develop and achieve their aspirations? The answers lie within each of those through whom so much can be achieved.The book questions how much of a team’s full potential team leaders actually see. It argues that many simply don’t know.