Cycling campaigners are calling for changes to road rules to reduce the risks for riders. They want more 20mph. speed limits and suggest one-way streets should be made two-way for cyclists. The national cyclists’ organisation, CTC, said bike users should not break the law even if current regulations failed to make roads safe. 

A local council has been ordered to make public details of a contract with a commercial partner after the Information Commissioner’s Office dismissed claims that releasing the contract might prejudice the commercial interests of the council or the contractor.
Mid Suffolk District Council will now have to publish the contract, including the financial details, relating to repairs and maintenance work at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre. The Council has 35 days to release the information. 

This document sets out the Government’s strategy for a new phase of public service reform. The introduction is written by the Prime Minster, Gordon Brown.
The creation of a world class public service is a key priority for the Government. While many public sector organizations are already world class, some are not. Many services, when taken as a whole, are not yet able to offer the world class service that the public increasingly expect. 

A new paper from the New Local Government Network says more devolution within the health service could help improve the delivery of services. It suggests that
local authorities should be given a greater role and share their expertise with Primary Care Trusts. The paper disagrees with a recent report from the King’s Fund, which questioned the need to devolve health
services further. 

Eight authorities are facing action after setting what the Local Government Minister, John Healey, has judged to be excessive council tax rises. One, Lincolnshire Police Authority, will have to set a new lower tax
rate this year and will have to re-bill local
residents.
In a Commons statement John Healey said,” The Government is sending a clear message to all authorities. 

By Graham Willett.
Children using technology are exposed to risks in schools, children’s homes, libraries, and youth clubs. It’s the job of councils across the UK to have a Local Safeguarding Children Board to manage these risks and develop e-safety strategies. The major risks come from using the internet and they include cyberbullying and viewing unsuitable online material. 

Local councils are calling on insurance companies to do more to ensure that people forced out of their homes by last summer’s floods can return to them. The call came from the Local Government Association as it
responded to Sir Michael Pitt’s review of last year’s events.
The review includes a recommendation that local councils should take the led on the management of flood risk. 

Directors of Social Services are concerned that care needs are not being given sufficient importance under new inspection arrangements for health and social care
providers. The new Care Quality Commission is due to replace three existing inspectorates and will begin work next April.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services has, though, welcomed the new body’s tougher new powers and the widening of the current definition of the level of personal care that is subject to regulation. 

Since 1996, the Audit Commission has run the National Fraud Initiative once every two years. The data matching exercise compares sets of data to identify inconsistencies or other circumstances that might indicate fraud or error. The 2006/07 exercise detected fraud and overpayments of 140 million pounds. This was up from 111 million pounds in 2004/05. 

Expensive design and technology equipment is lying unused in some schools because of a lack of specialist teachers. A report today from Ofsted says that while design and technology is the most popular GCSE foundation subject there needs to be a national development plan to drive improvements.