The Information Commissioner has called on public bodies to end unnecessary secrecy and to be more proactive in disclosing information. Richard Thomas told a conference that the Freedom of Information Act had had a huge impact on public life and a growing number of local councils, government departments and other institutions were seeing the benefits of greater transparency.
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Representatives of Birmingham City Council are in the United States this week to talk about their success stories in increasing employment. They are taking part in ‘International Sister City Week’ in Chicago, which brings together people from cities in all parts of the world. Birmingham is showcasing regeneration initiatives designed to deliver jobs and prosperity. 

A scheme to improve the Old Market Square in Nottingham has won one of the country’s top architectural prizes. The scheme, described by the City Council as pivotal to the regeneration of Nottingham has won a Royal Institute of British Architects Award, which go to schemes that show high architectural standards and make a substantial contribution to the local environment.
The Square is one of the oldest and largest public squares in the UK and the redevelopment was unveiled a year ago. 

The money available for Planning Aid, which is designed to ensure people have the advice, skills and professional support they need to have their say over planning applications, is to be extended. The announcement has been made by the Communities and Local Government Secretary, Hazel Blears, and comes after criticism that proposals in the Planning Reform Bill now going through the Commons, would make the planning process less democratic. 

Campaigners are calling today for the Government to listen to the public and to drop what they call, ‘ill-conceived proposals for an unnecessary and expensive new planning quango.’ The Campaign For The Protection of Rural England is also urging the Government not to impose airport expansion without a proper public debate.
Paul Milner, CPRE’s Senior Planning Campaigner, is making the pleas to coincide with the Report Stage of the Planning Bill, which MPs are due to debate today. 

Results from a ten-year research project have shown that landfill sites can be restored and turned into woodland, parkland or farmland. It could mean an end to the common practice of closed sites simply being covered with a compacted clay cap to seal up the waste they contain. 

The Government is being warned today that continued complacency over investment in Britain ’s roads is not good enough, especially at a time of rising motoring costs. But in a report today the RAC Foundation says rising fuel prices could reduce road use and offer an opportunity to plan improvements.
Today’s analysis from the Foundation concludes that the combination of the present ‘high tax - low investment’ economy for drivers means they are getting poor value for money. 

Social services directors say they accept fully the implications of a report predicting that the costs of mental health services in England could double in the next 20 years unless savings can be made. The King’s Fund report warned that more cases of dementia and health and social care costs that were rising in excess of inflation, could see the annual bill for services reaching 47 billion pounds compared with the current 22 billion. 

Parents are being warned today not to rely on school league tables to judge how good or bad a school maybe. In an article published in ‘Significance’, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society, researchers from the University of Bristol conclude that Government use of league tables is unjustified.
Statisticians from the University looked at GSCE scores from secondary schools in England and compared the value added scores with straight forward GCSE averages. 

People with vocational qualifications are half as likely to spend a long time looking for work as those with a degree according to a survey published today. The study has been conducted by YouGov, ahead of the first national celebration of vocational qualifications in July. The study shows that holders of vocational qualifications report that they are 23 per cent more likely to feel ready for work from day one compared
with graduates.