The planning process could be made easier to help businesses and shops during the recession. Schools will also benefit from the proposals which would mean more than 25,000 non domestic planning proposals each year would no longer need full planning applications in a move estimated to save businesses at least 20 million pounds a year.
The environmental regeneration charity Groundwork and the National Housing Federation are joining forces to create hundreds of green jobs to improve neighbourhoods in England and Wales. The two organisations have been awarded 15 million pounds from the Future Jobs Fund and said it would create around 2,000 new jobs.
Read more on FUNDING WILL CREATE GREEN JOBS TO IMPROVE COMMUNITIES…
Bureaucracy and form filling are characteristics of public services. Police forces are no exception and beat officers have been spending almost half their time at the police station. The problem is being tackled vigorously and one approach is to introduce helmet cameras which record incidents and remove the need for a detailed report.
Read more on CUTTING PAPERWORK MEANS MORE BOBBYS ON THE BEAT…
The Audit Commission says elected councillors are basing important decisions on unreliable information. In a report today it says decision makers need the right information to help them make savings and that this is even more critical in the present recession.
Read more on COUNCILLORS URGED TO DEMAND BETTER INFORMATION FOR DECISION MAKING…
Opposition to congestion charging schemesis hardening according to research published today. The study, carried out by Ipsos MORI for the RAC Foundation also shows that more than half of motorists would rather risk being stuck in a traffic jam than make use of public transport.
Read more on SURVEY SHOWS GROWING OPPOSITION TO CONGESTION CHARGING SCHEMES…
Serious organized crime is a major threat to the UK and it is growing across the world. In the distant past crime was confined to a single neighbourhood, but today criminal networks span the globe, from Asia, Africa or South America, to the streets of UK towns and cities. Criminal activities include drugs, weapons, people trafficking, fraud, counterfeiting and financial crime. This strategy from the Home Office sets out how serious organised crime is to be tackled.
Read more on EXTENDING OUR REACH: A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO TACKLING SERIOUS ORGANISED CRIME…
Councils are warning that new laws which would make them responsible for managing flood risks could leave local authorities short of money for other services. The claim has come in local government’s response to consultations on the draft Floods and Water Bill.
Read more on COUNCILS CALL FOR GOVERNMENT TO THINK AGAIN ON FUNDING FOR FLOOD ROLE…
Parish and town councils are stressing that they are best placed to understand and respond to the needs of young people. The National Association of Local Councils has joined forces with the Commission for Rural Communities to publish a booklet highlighting the innovative steps councils are taking to involve young people and to represent them better.
Read more on LOCAL COUNCILS HIGHLIGHT STEPS TO INVOLVE YOUNG PEOPLE…
This report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Management explores the different ways in which organisations are finding creative solutions to talent management in the recession. Most organizations surveyed were in the private sector, but the findings will become increasingly important in the public sector as budget cuts start to bite.
Housing schemes across the country held up because of the recession could get a share of more than 900 million pounds of public money to get them back on track. The Government is stressing, however, that the move is not a handout to developers and that the help would come with tough terms attached.
Read more on PUBLIC MONEY WILL KICKSTART STALLED HOUSING PROJECTS…