By Colin Forrest
Motorist can no longer be sure that they have evaded a parking fine when they drive away without a ticket on the windscreen. The ticket may arrive by post. Changes to parking regulations allow evidence from CCTV cameras to be accepted, without any human intervention. The effect of this change is that councils have to operate a parallel enforcement process that gets the ticket to the motorist. The author looks at the problems this causes. 

By Alison Ballantyne
Bullying in school has been around for a long time, but the Government, councils, school management and teachers are working together to tackle the problem with a zero tolerance approach. The strategy being pursued by the London borough of Bexley was to create an anti-bullying team to give support and advice to victims and to provide an online database to present a real time picture of what is happening. 

By Dominic Swift
Public bodies that have adopted shared services have made substantial gains in efficiency. This success has reinforced the drive from the Treasury for greater efficiency savings from sharing. So if this is a way to cut costs why are organisations slow to get involved? The answers appear to be a lack of resources, workforce opposition and risk-averse organisational cultures. 

By Nicola Linkleter, Executive Director, Badenoch & Clark
The negative image of the public sector can act as a deterrent in attracting talented people. It is perceived as an industry that is “down-sizing”. Career prospects are viewed as slow burning to stagnant. The author believes that doing nothing to counter this negative image is a lost opportunity. 

Deprived neighbourhoods in the UK suffer disproportionately from the effects of criminality and anti-social behaviour. The common problems include out of control young people, drug dealing, gang culture, intimidation, weapons and violent crime. A long series of government programmes and the best efforts of regeneration professionals and the criminal justice system are producing limited results. 

By Graham Willett.
Children using technology are exposed to risks in schools, children’s homes, libraries, and youth clubs. It’s the job of councils across the UK to have a Local Safeguarding Children Board to manage these risks and develop e-safety strategies. The major risks come from using the internet and they include cyberbullying and viewing unsuitable online material. 

By Robert Maragh.
There is a growing view that services need to be shaped by and responsive to children and young people – but what does this mean in practice? Robert Maragh, Head of Integrated Children’s Commissioning in the London Borough of Newham, explains how his team makes sure that children and young people are involved at every stage of the commissioning process, and why services are improving as a result. 

By Nick Bradley
Recovering revenue for councils has become more efficient with the introduction of a range of technical innovations by Philips Collection Services Ltd. The author describes how an ‘own council brand’ penalty charge system facilitates telephone and web payments. 

By Donal McKillop and John Wilson
This article was first published in Public Management and Policy and is reproduced by permission of the Association. http://www.cipfa.org.uk/pmpa/index.cfm
Banks accounts have become a ‘must have’ in the 21st century, but a large number of people do not hold a current account. These people suffer disadvantage in receiving benefit payments, in employment and in the charges they pay for credit. 

By Esa Tihilä.
eProcurement made slow progress in the early period following its launch ten years ago. As well as user unfriendly and not very reliable technology it called for substantial investment in time and money. There was also a skills shortage in using the systems. All this has changed and eProcurement is starting to deliver on its long-standing promise of more streamlined supply chains, better relationships with the right suppliers, and significant savings on spend.