This paper from the Social Market Foundation suggests that if the Government’s Community Empowerment strategy doesn’t change, the disconnection between citizens and government will only get worse. It argues that although the Government’s intentions are laudable, the structures put into place aren’t tackling the problems. 

The Department for Children, Schools and Families report on 16-18 year olds shows that 78.7 per cent were in education, training or employment. This is the highest ever rate and an increase of 1.6 percentage points on the previous year. The total number increased by 36,000 to 1.59 million which is also the highest number ever.
The proportion not in education, employment or training (NEET) was 9.4 per cent, down from 10.4 per cent in the previous year. 

The 2008 survey from the Chartered Institute for Personnel and development shows that 80 per cent of organisations do not currently use Web 2.0 online methods to attract or recruit employees with only 8 per cent planning to start using the technology in the next year.
Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. 

This pamphlet from the TUC seeks to inject a trade union perspective into the debate about public policy issues. It analyses successive market initiatives by different governments and shows that the original justification for contracting out was that it would simply deliver cash savings. 

Central and local government and the NHS are at the bottom of the league table for marketing multi-channels according to a survey by Marketing UK sponsored by CDMS.
Public bodies have invested heavily in developing new access channels for their services, particularly by providing online facilities to allow customers to download information, submit forms and carry out financial transactions. There has only been a modest investment in encouraging people to use the new channels. 

This report from the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations assess the current third sector- trade union relationship and outlines the potential for a step-change in dialogue.
The report highlights the win-win situation that can be gained by trade unions and the third sector working more closely together, and sets out some practical proposals to make that happen. 

This report from the Institute for Public Policy Research argues that the police service in England and Wales suffers from an accountability deficit. At the national level fragmented governance means that no actor in the system has the power to effectively incentivise performance improvement or drive through change and reform. 

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. 

Research funded by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the Health and Safety Executive and Investors in People has led to the development of a competency framework setting out the key management behaviours for managing stress at work.
Work-related stress accounts for over a third of all new incidences of ill health. Stress and other mental health problems are the second biggest cause of working time lost to sickness absence, costing the UK an estimated 26bn pounds a year. 

This article describes a project in the United States designed to allow the public to assess how well local councils are performing.
The general public assesses the performance of councils by indicators that differ from those used by councils themselves. They are not concerned about throughput or operational statistics, which councils and central government consider vital. Their concern is the outcome and this is the measure of success.