By Catherine Needham

New moves towards transferring the purchasing power of the public sector towards individual users of public services are radical and empowering, but a debate is urgently needed on the way these reforms are to be implemented according to this report from the PMPA.

Read more on COMMISSIONING FOR PERSONALIZATION: FROM THE FRINGES TO THE MAINSTREAM…

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is releasing a policy paper today which it says will help the Government to streamline the ‘byzantine system of quangos’ operating in the field of education and skills policy – and potentially save more than 500 million pounds.

As the debate continues about the size, scope and efficiency of quangos, the CIPD argues it is vital to look again at why they exist and whether they should remain in existence given cutbacks in government spending. It is calling for a thorough review of quangos and suggests four newly-devised and rigorous ‘tests’ are applied to six significant education and skills bodies.

The tests ask if it is appropriate for the quango to receive taxpayers’ money for the job it does, whether it offers value for money, if it is ‘crowding out’ or competing with the private or third sector and, in the case of quangos with few or no competitors, is the private or third sector able and willing to provide the same function?

The quangos covered in the paper are the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, the Learning and Skills Network, Lifelong Learning UK, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education and the nine Regional Development Agencies. The CIPD’s Policy Adviser on Skills, Tom Richmond, says if the Government dissolved or sold off the quangos more than 500 million pounds could be saved in two years. “With so much money at stake and with imminent spending reductions across many government departments, the role, purpose and operations of each individual quango must therefore be revisited as a matter of urgency,” he said.

Read more on CALL FOR THOROUGH REVIEW OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS QUANGOS…

Leaders from the voluntary sector are to be invited to a meeting next month to discuss the coming cuts in public spending. It is being staged by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, which is concerned at what it calls ‘the tidal wave of cuts’ the sector is likely to face.

Read more on THIRD SECTOR SUMMIT TO DISCUSS ‘TIDAL WAVE’ OF SPENDING CUTS…

This survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development reveals how public sector organizations are responding to the budget cuts.

59 per cent of public organizations are cutting staffing levels this year compared to 51 per cent in the private sector.

Read more on PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS…

Local authorities have made only limited progress in involving voluntary, community and private groups in providing youth services, Ofsted inspectors say in a report today. They have also found that targeted support from councils and their partners is helping to meet the needs of vulnerable young people but a focus on providing services for ‘at risk’ young people risks undermining activities available to all young people.

Read more on OFSTED SAYS FOCUS ON VULNERABLE PUTS WIDER YOUTH ACTIVITIES AT RISK…

Council leaders have stressed that everyone could play a part in saving huge sums of money by not creating litter. The Local Government Association was responding to figures from Keep Britain Tidy that show English local authorities spend 858 million pounds a year cleaning litter from streets.

Read more on COUNCILS URGE EVERYONE TO COMBAT LITTER AND SAVE MILLIONS…

Edited by Nick Mahony, Janet Newman and Clive Barnet.

This book rethinks the public, public communication and public action in a globalising and mediated world. It looks at how publics are brought into being and how to develop research agendas into their formation. It offers a rich set of methodological resources on which other researchers can draw and explores the boundaries between theory, research and politics.

Read more on RE-THINKING THE PUBLIC: INNOVATIONS IN RESEARCH, THEORY AND POLITICS…

Teachers will demonstrate in London today over the Government’s decision to scrap the Building Schools for the Future programme. The rally, organised by the NASUWT teaching union, follows a survey by the Local Government Association, showing more than 161 million pounds has been spent by councils on preparing rebuilding schemes which have now been cancelled.

Read more on TEACHERS RALLY TO HIGHLIGHT ANGER OVER BSF PROGRAMME CUTS…

People living in sheltered housing have been connected to the world wide web and online activities under the Get Digital scheme and now more are being urged to get involved. It is estimated that 4,000 residents have been helped by the grants.

Read more on MORE SHELTERED HOUSING RESIDENTS FUNDED TO GET ONLINE…

This programme is now available to view on localgov.tv the online television channel for public service modernisation. It looks at the way that e-learning is enabling local authorities to develop and share learning strategies, make significant savings and improve the ability of employees to deliver efficient services.

Read more on E-LEARNING IS CUTTING COSTS…