New figures from the Local Government Association show that two thirds of schools in England have adopted its standard school year. The LGA has estimated that that up to nine million families could save more than five hundred pounds a year in childcare costs if all schools followed the same pattern.
Charging for local services makes a significant contribution to council finances. In 2006/07 councils received around 8 per cent of their total income from charges and this is about half as much as they raised in council tax. This report from the Audit Commission looks at ways that councils can maximise the benefits of local public service charges.
The Audit Commission is encouraging councils to make better use of information as a way to improve services through better decision making. This is part of a public service wide move to sharpen up information management. The paper from the Commission follows a Cabinet Office publication last year on ‘The Power of Information’. The National Archives and the National Audit Office will shortly publish ‘Why Information Matters’ which will look at the importance of improving information management from a central government perspective.
Read more on WATCHDOG SUPPORTS DRIVE FOR BETTER INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ACROSS PUBLIC SECTOR…
Children born today will be 17 in 2025 and the Department for Children, Schools and Families wants to build a scenario of the likely big issues and questions that will face them. Parents, teachers, employers and children are invited to take part in the research programme Beyond Current Horizons by voting online about the educational challenges of the future.
Almost half of organisations in the UK no longer award employees an across the board annual pay rise or cost of living adjustment, according to this year’s Annual Reward Management survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Manufacturing, production and private sector service firms are the least likely to provide such a pay rise. But the decline in the yearly traditional pay rise seems to be spreading throughout employment sectors.
Agencies providing job services, childcare, health and financial advice, the voluntary sector and colleges and universities, are joining up to help people get work and get on at work. This new initiative from the Department for Universities Innovation and Skills will be piloted in London and become fully operational across England by 2010/11.
Read more on PILOTS LAUNCHED TO HELP PEOPLE GET A JOB AND MOVE TO A BETTER JOB…
The number of people successfully completing apprenticeships in health and social care has tripled in the last two years and increased six-fold since the start of the new millennium. Around 500 apprentices per month are being awarded completion certificates. Adult Apprenticeships are also on the increase, with over 70 being successfully completed during 2007.
Read more on HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE APPRENTICESHIPS GAINING POPULARITY…
By Christina Dykes
This article was first published in Public Management and Policy and is reproduced by permission of the Association. http://www.cipfa.org.uk/pmpa/index.cfm
Without political conviction our local representatives would at best be mere managers and we would lose some of the checks and balances that a democratic system brings. But all is not well with local representation. The recruitment and selection of councillors leaves much to be desired. The result is an unbalanced mix of local representatives, mostly white males. The situation is compounded by inadequate training. These are challenges for political parties and the new Councillors Commission.
Read more on THE ROLE OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN POLITICAL LEADERSHIP…
Local government is pursuing many initiatives requiring youth involvement but there is lack of coherence across disparate engagement efforts. This is a key message from research by the Carnegie UK Trust and published the report ‘Empowering Young People’.
Read more on LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO DO MORE TO GET YOUTH INVOLVEMENT…
GPs will soon be issuing ‘well notes’ as well as ‘sick notes’. This move, sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions, will encourage GPs to offer fitness to work advice to patients and employers as part of the Government’s plans to reduce the 2.64 million people on incapacity benefit.