Proposals to centralise the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency and close all regional offices have been agreed. Consultation on the proposals started at the end of last year.

The DVLA will centralise operations from March 2013 and will close its 39 local offices by the end of 2013. It is estimated that the annual saving from the move will be £26m.

Read more on DVLA REGIONAL OFFICES TO CLOSE AS DOWNSIZING CONFIRMED…

Cloud computing has become mainstream in 2012 for providing IT facilities, but the public sector is slower to move into the cloud than private companies.

Cisco commissioned independent research amongst IT decision makers, in enterprises with more than 1,000 employees across a broad range of vertical sectors including government. The results clearly show that cloud has moved from hype to reality, with cloud now seen as a mainstream element of IT strategy.

Read more on PUBLIC SECTOR BEHIND THE CURVE AS CLOUD COMPUTING BECOMES MAINSTREAM…

Private sector business support services are playing an increasing role in the public sector as budget cuts bite.

The Smart Money study looking into the UK business support services market such as outsourcing, consulting and advisory services, operational support, logistics and facilities management, found that with investment deals of £1.7b in the first quarter of this year, the total for 2012 could be double that of 2011. The Study is published by Grant Thornton the business and financial adviser.

Read more on PUBLIC SECTOR RELYING ON BUSINESSES TO GIVE MORE SUPPORT…

The Mutals Taskforce believes that delivering public services by mutuals is an effective way to improve services and cut costs. It calls for mutualisation to be a mainstream option for public service delivery. But it found little support for mutualisation beyond Whitehall.

Read more on TASKFORCE CALLS FOR RAPID EXPANSION OF MUTUALS BUT RECOGNISES WIDESPREAD INDIFFERENCE…

Public sector employers are struggling to recruit and retain senior staff. They face increasing problems as skilled individuals shy away from the sector as the impact of the cuts is felt and the image of the sector wanes.

Read more on CUTS AND POOR IMAGE HIT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF SENIOR PUBLIC SECTOR STAFF…

The Civil Service Reform White Paper aims to move the culture away from what is considered to be old-fashioned and outdated, towards a 21st century business culture. The model behind the White Paper is the lean and efficient modern corporation.

Read more on CIVIL SERVICE REVAMP AIMS TO DOWNSIZE AND CHANGE THE YES MINISTER CULTURE…

Ofsted has criticised schools that take case by case action on bullying. It wants schools to influence the culture and take preventive measures to get a better grip on the situation.

Read more on WATCHDOG WANTS A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO BULLYING…

All 150 larger councils have taken the Community Budget cash offer to help them in turning round troubled families in their areas.

Communities and Local Government have drawn on the budgets of six other departments so that a three-year budget of £448 million is available to support councils who sign up to the scheme. It is estimated that some 120,000 families put a £9 billion drain on public spending, amounting to £75,000 per family per year, with £8 billion of this spent on reacting to, rather than getting to the root causes of their problems.

Read more on COUNCILS RESPOND TO COMMUNITY BUDGET CASH OFFER…

MyCSP, the first central Government mutual which last month won the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme, has secured 15 new contracts.

MyCSP Ltd’s innovative Mutual Joint Venture model gives employees a 25 per cent ownership stake, representation at board level and a share in profits. It ends the binary choice between private and state provision. The Equiniti Group’s Paymaster business has a 40 per cent stake, and the Government has retained a 35 per cent stake so taxpayers benefit as the business grows in value.

Read more on PIONEER MUTUAL GETS MORE BUSINESS…

A survey by the Department of Health reveals that over 70 per cent of people believe that the government has not got the right policies for social care.

Public Perceptions of the NHS and Social Care is a regular survey that provides a useful check on public sentiment and experience relating to the NHS and social care. The study has been running at regular intervals since spring 2000. It is commissioned by DoH and conducted by Ipsos Mori.

The survey highlights the growing pressure on social care services. With further local government budget cuts to follow, it signals an impending crisis in social care and the risk that this will undermine the performance of the NHS.

Richard Humphries, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund said: “It is significant that nearly half the money allocated from the NHS budget to improve joint working between health and social care is being spent on propping up existing services and mitigating the impact of budget cuts. Using NHS funding as a sticking plaster does not address the pressures facing social care.”

Read more on PUBLIC CONCERN AT SOCIAL CARE POLICIES…