The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has made a direct appeal to workers in the public sector to ask for suggestions for making services better and cheaper. In a short video on the Spending Challenge website http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ he invites them to submit their ideas online for helping to cut budgets by 25 per cent. A letter signed by the Prime Minister and his deputy has also been sent to everyone working in the public sector.

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A new report from Ofsted on food in schools shows that most pupils have a good understanding of what makes up a healthy diet. It also finds that in the majority of schools visited, food is attractive, nutritious and well prepared. Many schools have succeeded in increasing the take-up of free school meals by giving better advice and support to parents.

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The involvement of parents in the education of children is vital, but as they move on to secondary school communication channels are fewer and the independence which comes with growing up weakens the links. This article describes how technology can strengthen the links so that parents are in touch with schools and are kept up to date about what is happening with their children.

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The culture of local government will be changed and the rules of central control will be re-written. The Government is committed to ensuring that localism is delivered and that there is a real devolution of power to local people. This pledge was given by Local Government Minister Bob Neill.

Read more on MINISTER PLEDGES THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENT WILL GO LOCAL…

Proposals have been announced which could lead to the closure of 103 magistrates courts, about one third of the total. This is the first move in a new policy which Criminal Justice Minister Nick Herbert described as creating a system shaped by the principles of freedom, fairness and responsibility.

Read more on COURT CLOSURES MARK START OF NEW APPROACH TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE…

By Stephen Jenner

This book distils the learning from practical experience and academic research and represents a significant contribution to the challenge of transforming government and public services in an environment of ever-tighter finances.

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The proposed reductions in public spending are right at the top end of the scenarios that had been considered by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives. Steve Freer, Chief Executive of CIPFA expressed relief that there is now a clear set of proposals to rebalance public finances, but voiced the concern of the Institute that the Government is being very ambitious in attempting to tackle this challenge in a single Parliament.

Read more on BUDGET TOUGHER THAN EXPECTED FOR PUBLIC SERVICES…

The Emergency Budget will bring cuts of 25 per cent in budgets and a two year pay freeze for the majority of public service workers. The Budget was preceded by the announcement of a review to examine the pay of public service managers and a commission to find ways to make pensions more affordable and sustainable. The effect of these developments will be to change the public service employment landscape beyond recognition.

Read more on BUDGET HERALDS NEW PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT LANDSCAPE…

This programme is now available to view on localgov.tv the online television channel for public service modernisation. In the programme Shaun McCarthy, Chair of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, explores the challenge of creating the greenest Olympics to date.

Read more on OLYMPICS 2012: A SUSTAINABILITY MODEL FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES…

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.

Read more on AXE FALLS ON REGIONAL LEADERS’ AND STANDARDS BOARDS…