Landlords have welcomed a consultation by the Department for Work and Pensions seeking views on sharing Universal Credit claimant information with social landlords and local authorities.
Allpay, the public sector payment specialist, said that the scheme would help landlords to assess and provide targeted support to their tenants in relation to managing their financial affairs.
Read more on LANDLORDS SUPPORT SHARING OF UNIVERSAL CREDIT DATA…
More than one in three employers report that absence levels have increased because their staff are struggling to cope with their caring responsibilities outside of work. But new figures from the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, show that just one in six organisations have policies in place to help achieve a better balance between their home and working lives.
The annual CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey shows that savvy employers put policies in place to help staff fulfil their caring responsibilities outside of work while continuing to meet the demands of their job. Flexible working arrangements are by far the most common type of support (68%), followed by compassionate leave (53%) and paid or unpaid carers’ leave (48%).
Read more on CARING RESPONSIBILITIES RISING BUT EMPLOYERS NOT RESPONDING…
The Investment Migration Council has been formed by leading experts within the immigration and citizenship-by-investment industry to bring together the foremost stakeholders within the field and to give the industry a voice.
The Council will help to improve public understanding of the issues faced by clients and governments and promote education and demand the highest professional standards and ethics among its members.
The Chairman of the Council, Professor Dr. Dimitry Kochenov of the University of Groningen, Netherlands, said, “The IMC will set industry standards on a global level, and interact with other professional associations, academic leaders, governments and international organizations in relation to investment migration”.
The investment migration industry has grown significantly over the past decade. Immigration and citizenship options for investors have become topics of significant interest among international clients as well as practitioners and companies providing services to such clients. Likewise, countries are increasingly keen in attracting more foreign direct investment through investor immigration and citizenship programs.
Read more on INVESTMENT MIGRATION COUNCIL GIVES INDUSTRY A VOICE…
The Department of Health and NHS England are struggling to allocate funding fairly to local commissioners of healthcare, according to the National Audit Office.
A total of £79 billion has been allocated to local commissioners in 2014-15, equivalent to £1,400 per person. Following the reforms to the health system in 2013, the three different sets of commissioners (clinical commissioning groups, NHS England area teams and local authorities) receive separate funding allocations to commission services for their local populations.
Read more on WATCHDOG WARNS OF INEQUALITY IN HEALTHCARE FUNDING…
The civil service has appointed its first chief executive, with a remit to drive digital transformation across Whitehall.
John Manzoni, currently head of the Major Projects Authority in the Cabinet Office, will step up to the new CEO role on 13 October. The role effectively combines some responsibilities of the former head of the civil service Sir Bob Kerslake and former Cabinet Office chief operating officer Stephen Kelly. Manzoni will work alongside cabinet secretary and now head of the civil service Sir Jeremy Heywood.
Read more on CIVIL SERVICE CREATES CHIEF EXECUTIVE JOB TO DRIVE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION…
The Social Value Act requires people who commission, or buy, public services to consider securing added economic, social or environmental benefits for their local area. This power has been used successfully with service contracts in the past year and a review is now considering extension to all contracts.
Read more on POWER TO DEMAND SOCIAL VALUE MAY BE EXTENDED TO ALL PUBLIC SERVICE CONTRACTS…
An electronic tax disc system comes into effect tomorrow, 1 October. The cost savings that will be made at DVLC raise questions about potential savings that could be made in other parts of the public sector by going digital.
Read more on TAX DISC GOES DIGITAL AND POINTS THE WAY FOR MORE DIGITAL SWITCHES…
By specifying the end result, rather than the process of achieving it, a Dutch hospital has slashed the cost of bed cleaning by 35 per cent.
The Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam asked the bidders to design a more cost and environmentally efficient solution to disinfect the hospital’s 70,000 beds and mattresses.
New approaches to organisational change need to be top of the agenda to secure transformational change.
Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has show that relational leadership is key for motivation, while collaborative storytelling enables both leaders and employees to participate actively.
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Universities and FE colleges have saved £11.4 million across their procurement budgets by using cost-effective supply frameworks.
The University Caterers Organisation, TUCO, provides frameworks for members with transparent fees, flexible purchasing and the benefits of the buying power of the organisation.
TUCO has built an enviable reputation operating on behalf of Higher and Further education institutions, which make up its core membership. However, as part of a new approach and growing market presence, it is increasingly extending its free-to-access frameworks to in-house local authority catering teams in the wider education sector, and NHS trust hospital caterers.
By opening up access TUCO’s already extensive buying power is strengthened, ensuring its position as a market leader. Its commitment to ‘better buying’ for its members has seen it develop unmatched sustainability policies, bringing dozens of SMEs and local producers onto its supplier lists and supporting members to create best practice initiatives.
Mike Haslin, TUCO Chief Operating Officer, commented:
“£11m is a significant figure and there is more that our members can do by joining together to further increase the benefits of community buying. The figure helps to highlight our commitment to procurement best practice and reflects the importance of extending and developing new links with related organisations outside of traditional membership.
We have worked hard over the past 12 months to provide more ways for those working in the public sector to enjoy greater value, security and opportunity from their purchasing decisions, offering framework agreements that save unbeatable rates of time and money through automatic compliance factors. As a not-for-profit organisation, we consider ourselves a perfect partner for public service operators, and it is our hope that we can continue to help share an ethos of procurement best practice without a profit-making agenda.”
Recently negotiated TUCO framework agreements include fresh and frozen meat and fruit and vegetables. TUCO collaborates with some of the leading suppliers in the sector, as well as actively seeking partnerships with smaller, local partners.
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