Contributors to this publication from the Municipal Journal and the Confederation of British Industry argue that the time is right for whole-place community budgets.

Governments have addressed public services and public sector reform from the perspective of the institutional providers rather than client citizens, communities, and business. The consequences of that are now clear for all to see. They are: fragmented services with insufficiently joint planning and action; a failure to share resources for the common good between providers; the enhancement or protection of organisational identity taking precedence over service improvement.

Read more on JOINING UP JOINING IN…

Attitude surveys of public sector employees before and after the Autumn 2011 Spending Review reveal a sharp increase in negative feelings after the Review, although it had no immediate practical impact.

Read more on EMPLOYEE RESPONSES TO PUBLIC SECTOR CUTS…

Most councils are coping with the cuts councils but they will face difficult decisions about how to meet their funding shortfall in the next few years. This is the conclusion of the Audit Commission report Tough Times.

Read more on COUNCILS WILL FIND INCREASING DIFFICULTY IN MANAGING CUTS…

The report demonstrates that older people are already a fundamental part of the government’s Big Society vision and considers how their level of engagement can be maintained and increased. The report was produced by Res Publica in conjunction with Independent Age.

Read more on AGE OF OPPORTUNITY: OLDER PEOPLE, VOLUNTEERING AND THE BIG SOCIETY…

The Department for Transport has set plans for taking forward the alternative transport initiative.

Using alternatives to travel can make good sense for all organisations. They can help to reduce congestion and increase productivity, contributing to economic growth, and can help reduce business travel, saving businesses money. They can help to reduce stress and absenteeism and have the potential to provide a boost to local economies and rural areas. Increased uptake of alternatives to travel can also help reduce carbon by reducing the need for business-related travel.

Read more on ALTERNATIVES TO TRAVEL: NEXT STEPS…

Job Centre Plus Advisers were successfully integrated into the children’s centres and the pilots achieved their main objective.

The flexibility of the Adviser’s role has been key to its success with customers and pilot staff alike. Some advisers did, however, find it difficult to manage the tension of balancing work-focused activities with less structured, ad-hoc engagement and outreach activities.

Read more on WORK-FOCUSED SERVICES IN CHILDREN’S CENTRES…

Around 10,000 young people leave care every year and they are more vulnerable and more dependent on public services than other young people. This report from Consumer Focus calls for a different response from service providers.

Read more on CARE LEAVERS PERSPECTIVES ON PUBLIC SERVICES…

Twenty year olds are three times more likely to reach 100 than people of their grandparent’s age, and roughly twice as likely to reach 100 than people of their parent’s generation.

Read more on DIFFERENCES IN LIFE EXPECTANCY…

The evaluation of pilot projects showed that the economic downturn is having an adverse effect on child poverty and that intervention to alleviate the impact of poverty is too narrowly focused.

Read more on EVALUATION OF LOCAL AUTHORITY CHILD POVERTY INNOVATION PILOTS…

Participatory Budgeting complements devolution from localism, community budgets and the Big Society. These are all new developments since it came on the scene in 2006. This report describes how it has evolved in a rapidly changing local government landscape.

Read more on PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE…