The government says new figures show it has fulfilled its manifesto commitment to recruit an extra 10,000 teachers by 2006. They indicate that the number of teachers has risen by nearly 25,000 since 1997 and that there are more qualified teachers in schools now than at any time since January 1984. But in an immediate response a teachers’ union leader has called for caution over the figures and questioned how many of the latest recruits are qualified.The statistics from the Department of Education and Skills show the number of teacher vacancies fell by a quarter in the year to January and that more than 122,000 teaching assistants are now supporting teachers in schools -twice as many as in 1997. In the same 12-month period the number of supply teachers working in schools fell by 2,600.

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Allowing anyone with a special interest in an election into a polling station could improve voter turnout in local elections according to the Electoral Commission. In a report to the Lord Chancellor and the Deputy Prime Minister it is calling for a change in the law which would see more people permitted to watch voting – including children.The Commission is an independent body which aims to increase public participation in the democratic process by modernization of the voting system and improving awareness and confidence. Following last year’s 32% turnout at local elections, its report is recommending changes to legislation to allow anyone with a ‘public service’ interest in observing elections to attend a polling station. It says access should be subject to the consent of the returning officer and governed by strict controls which would be set out in a detailed code for observers.

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By Mark Bevir and R A W RhodesTo understand governance, we ask who is telling the story from within which tradition. We argue there is no essentialist notion of governance but at least four conceptions each rooted in a distinctive tradition. The first section of the paper describes the relevant traditions: Tory, Liberal, Whig and Socialist. The second section describes the different notions of governance associated with each tradition; intermediate institutions, marketizing public services, reinventing the constitution and trust and negotiation. We explain these distinct conceptions of governance as responses to the dilemmas of inflation and state overload. In the conclusion, we summarize how and why traditions change, concluding, there is no such thing as governance, but only the differing constructions of the several traditions.

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By Steve Pearce Information is the basic material of public services and creating and moving documents is a core activity. When Fareham Borough Council analysed their document processes they found a patchwork quilt of systems and technology. Steve Pearce describes how they developed a strategy to bring dividends including the electronic transfer of documents.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the country’s Local Government Information Unit are joining forces in a move which it is claimed will give councils a stronger voice to argue for local government north of the border. COSLA President, Pat Watters, said the integration of the two organizations was a “feather in the cap” of Scottish local government.Councillor Watters said COSLA’s internal communications were crucial to its continued health and well-being. As the representative body for Scotland’s councils it was important that it put in place frameworks for communicating with all of Scotland’s 1,222 elected members. The expertise the Scottish Local Government Information Unit would bring to COSLA would be invaluable, he said, in helping it to better promote the good work it was doing for its member councils. “It is about giving COSLA an even stronger voice to argue for Scottish Local Government,” he said.  Paolo Vestri, the former Director of SLGIU said it had never been more important for Scottish local government to be represented by a strong unified association.

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The Prime has said dropping the private finance initiative would be a fundamental mistake at a time when the government is determined to press ahead with reform in the public services and a radical restructuring of the welfare state. But his comments have run into immediate criticism from public service unions with renewed calls for a review to establish whether or not the PFI brings value for money.Mr. Blair used his monthly televised Downing Street briefing to stress his continued commitment to reform, which was, he said, the big challenge facing the government and the Labour Party. “Our purpose is to take the 1945 welfare state settlement and radically redraw it,” he said. He outlined what he saw as a series of improvements in health and education but said there was a gap between people’s perceptions and the facts of what was happening in the NHS.

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By Murray Barrick and Ann Marie RyanThe subject of personality has received increasing attention from industrial and organizational psychologists in both research and practice settings over the past decade. But while there is an overabundance of information related to the narrow area of personality testing and employee selection, there has been no definitive source offering a broader perspective on the overall topic of personality in the workplace. Personality and Work at last provides an in-depth examination of the role of personality in work behavior.

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The General Medical Council, which regulates the profession, has been re-constituted with increased non-medical representation. Changes in legislation have allowed lay membership of the Council to be increased from 25 to 40%Health Minister John Hutton said: “This will help to strengthen the vital work of the GMC in public protection. The lay members will have an influential and important role to play in ensuring that further progress is made to modernise professional regulation for the benefit of patients and doctors alike.”

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Dissatisfaction about working relationships expressed by Community Empowerment Networks has resulted in the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister giving them greater freedom. The networks, funded by the community empowerment fund, were created to help the community and voluntary sectors participate in local strategic partnerships.The networks operate under the umbrella of the local Council for Voluntary Services who become the ‘accountable body’. Many networks have experienced difficult relationships with their CVS and under new guidance issued by the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit they will be able to take on the role of the accountable body or find another organization to fulfill the role.

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Reproduced by permission of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development The Institute, with funding from central and local government, has completed a research programme on implementation of the government’s modernization agenda. The briefing sets out the research findings. It summarizes case studies of organisations that have found ways to improve significantly the delivery and quality of the different services they provide. It found that the key factors are engaging, empowering and energising their people to achieve a step-change improvement in performance.