The eight regional local authority leaders’ boards are to be scrapped. They took over most of the functions and staff of the old regional assemblies including transport, housing and planning. The Local Authority Standards Board will suffer the same fate. It was set up in 2007 to deal with complaints which local authorities could not deal with themselves.

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Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has written to the Audit Commission asking them to repeal guidance on bin collections. The Commission recently issued a Quick Guide to Waste Management which could be interpreted as a threat to councils that they could be ‘marked down’ if they did not adopt fortnightly collections.

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By Henry L. Thompson.

The author reveals the powerful and undermining effects of stress on good decision making, and what leaders can do about it.

The ability to make sound and timely decisions is the mark of a good leader. But when leaders with otherwise strong track records suddenly begin making poor decisions, as seen in the recent corporate scandals, the impact can be widespread. In The Stress Effect, leadership expert Henry L. Thompson argues that stress is often the real culprit behind this leadership failure. When leaders’ stress levels become sufficiently elevated, whether in the boardroom or on the front line of a manufacturing process, their ability to effectively use their emotional intelligence and cognitive ability in tandem to make wise decisions is significantly impaired.

Read more on THE STRESS EFFECT: WHY SMART LEADERS MAKE DUMB DECISIONS…