News
£500,000 boost for action to reduce youth homelessness
11/06/07 19:04
A £500,000 fund is today being awarded to innovative
schemes to tackle youth homelessness, ranging from
crash pads for teenagers to supported lodgings and a
text message service offering housing options.
Housing Minister Yvette Cooper announced that 27
local authorities and partnerships would receive the
investment for their plans to reduce youth
homelessness.
National Statistics released today show that new cases of homelessness reported by local authorities have fallen by 17 per cent in comparison to the same period last year to 17,230 - the lowest level since the early 1980s. However, more than a third of new cases of homelessness last year were young people aged under 25. The funding builds on a package of measures announced last year in the Government's National Youth Homelessness Scheme, including a new target to end the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds by 2010.
Projects being funded include mediation schemes to resolve family relationship breakdowns, which is one of the biggest causes of homelessness, and supported lodging schemes which provide short-term respite support to young people, giving them a place to stay whilst they work through problems and increase the chances they can return to the family home.
National Statistics released today show that new cases of homelessness reported by local authorities have fallen by 17 per cent in comparison to the same period last year to 17,230 - the lowest level since the early 1980s. However, more than a third of new cases of homelessness last year were young people aged under 25. The funding builds on a package of measures announced last year in the Government's National Youth Homelessness Scheme, including a new target to end the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds by 2010.
Projects being funded include mediation schemes to resolve family relationship breakdowns, which is one of the biggest causes of homelessness, and supported lodging schemes which provide short-term respite support to young people, giving them a place to stay whilst they work through problems and increase the chances they can return to the family home.
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Reform of the planning system
06/06/07 18:15
This page on the Communities and
Local Government website gives links to
information about the reform of the planning
system, including the planning white paper and
associated documents, the review of planning
enforcement and the spatial plans in practice
project.
Rebuilding the NHS: A new generation of healthcare facilities
05/06/07 17:15
Capital expenditure on healthcare facilities has
increased from around £1.1 billion in 1997-98 to
around £5.5 billion in 2007-08. This record
investment has not just replaced old buildings with
new ones. For this Government, the investment has
served three key purposes:
• Improving the patient environment and experience in terms of more single rooms and better designed hospitals
• Modernising services - trusts have to reassess how they shape and configure their services and patient pathways, taking on board the provision of new IT, new equipment and new clinical areas
• Improving access and offering better choice by delivering a whole new generation of facilities so patients have more control over when, where and how they are seen
Click here to access Department of Health report.
• Improving the patient environment and experience in terms of more single rooms and better designed hospitals
• Modernising services - trusts have to reassess how they shape and configure their services and patient pathways, taking on board the provision of new IT, new equipment and new clinical areas
• Improving access and offering better choice by delivering a whole new generation of facilities so patients have more control over when, where and how they are seen
Click here to access Department of Health report.
English Partnerships fires starting gun in race to develop England’s first zero carbon communities
05/06/07 17:04
Expressions of interest invited to build 150 homes in
Bristol. Housebuilders were invited to submit
expressions of interest to build England’s first
large scale development of zero carbon homes today,
as national regeneration agency English Partnerships
published its pre-qualifying questionnaire (PQQ) for
a 150 home site in Bristol.
Hanham Hall – a 6.1 ha former hospital site in Bristol, owned by English Partnerships – has been identified as the first site in the country to be suitable for development under the agency’s Carbon Challenge. Read More...
Hanham Hall – a 6.1 ha former hospital site in Bristol, owned by English Partnerships – has been identified as the first site in the country to be suitable for development under the agency’s Carbon Challenge. Read More...
DRC investigation into health inequalities
04/06/07 16:58
Evidence gathered in the Disability Rights
Commission’s (DRC) investigation into health
inequalities experienced by people with mental health
and learning disabilities will be a key starting
point for the independent inquiry into healthcare for
people with learning disabilities to be chaired by
Sir Jonathan Michael, the Commission said today.
Read
More...
£1.6 million for farm health planning announced
30/05/07 18:52
Funding of over £1.6 million has been awarded by
Defra to projects across the country to help farmers
improve farm animal health and welfare.
Following an application process, twenty-seven different projects have received funding for a variety of farm health planning events and initiatives including farmer training, advice workshops and the development of farm health planning ‘champions’. Farm health planning means undertaking a range of measures to proactively manage disease risk on-farm. This involves good disease record keeping; identifying existing health problems on-farm and prioritising control measures for these; developing action plans for specific problems; and assessing whether measures have been effective and reviewing health plans where necessary.
Click here to read the full article.
Following an application process, twenty-seven different projects have received funding for a variety of farm health planning events and initiatives including farmer training, advice workshops and the development of farm health planning ‘champions’. Farm health planning means undertaking a range of measures to proactively manage disease risk on-farm. This involves good disease record keeping; identifying existing health problems on-farm and prioritising control measures for these; developing action plans for specific problems; and assessing whether measures have been effective and reviewing health plans where necessary.
Click here to read the full article.
Audit bodies join forces to drive value for money agenda
30/05/07 18:48
The UK's five leading audit bodies have developed a
suite of indicators to help public sector managers
challenge and improve the value for money of their
corporate services. A joint report, published today
by the Audit Commission, Audit Scotland, the National
Audit Office, the Northern Ireland Audit Office, and
the Wales Audit Office, includes five sets of
indicators which allow organisations to assess the
value for money performance of their:
• finance;
• human resources;
• information and communication technology;
• estates management; and
• procurement.
These services have been identified by the government as priority areas for increasing efficiency and releasing resources for use in delivering front line services. Local authorities and central government departments across the UK are facing pressure to make significant efficiency savings in the coming years, alongside more effective service delivery. The indicators are therefore underpinned by a focus on better outcomes for service users as well as value for money. The indicators have been designed to ensure that public bodies will be able not only to assess their own value for money performance but also compare their results against other public sector organisations everywhere in the UK.
Click here to read the full article.
• finance;
• human resources;
• information and communication technology;
• estates management; and
• procurement.
These services have been identified by the government as priority areas for increasing efficiency and releasing resources for use in delivering front line services. Local authorities and central government departments across the UK are facing pressure to make significant efficiency savings in the coming years, alongside more effective service delivery. The indicators are therefore underpinned by a focus on better outcomes for service users as well as value for money. The indicators have been designed to ensure that public bodies will be able not only to assess their own value for money performance but also compare their results against other public sector organisations everywhere in the UK.
Click here to read the full article.
Step forward on reducing climate change impacts from products
30/05/07 18:38
Carbon Trust and Defra join with BSI British
Standards to develop a standard method for measuring
the embodied GHG emissions in products and services.
Today the Carbon Trust and Defra announced that they will be working with BSI British Standards to co-sponsor the development of a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) for the measurement of the embodied greenhouse gases (GHGs) in products and services.
The aim of the work is to develop an agreed method for measuring embodied GHG emissions which can be applied across a wide range of product and service categories and their supply chains to enable companies to measure the GHG related impacts of their products and reduce them.
Once completed the single standard will ensure a consistent and comparable approach to supply chain measurement of embodied GHGs across markets, it will help companies understand the life-cycle climate change impacts of their products and highlight significant emissions reduction opportunities. The intention is that this is the first step in moving towards an internationally agreed standard for measuring embodied GHG emissions.
The announcement comes the day after the inaugural meeting of the project’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG), an independent body chaired by Jim Skea, Director of the Energy Research Centre and consisting of members from NGOs, government and academia.
BSI British Standards will oversee the development of the PAS using the Carbon Trust pilot methodology as a starting point. Through the work of the TAG and a broad 2 stage stakeholder consultation beginning this summer, new and existing best practice work in this area will also be considered in the PAS development. This process is designed to develop a credible, usable method through an open and consultative forum.
Click here for the full article.
Today the Carbon Trust and Defra announced that they will be working with BSI British Standards to co-sponsor the development of a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) for the measurement of the embodied greenhouse gases (GHGs) in products and services.
The aim of the work is to develop an agreed method for measuring embodied GHG emissions which can be applied across a wide range of product and service categories and their supply chains to enable companies to measure the GHG related impacts of their products and reduce them.
Once completed the single standard will ensure a consistent and comparable approach to supply chain measurement of embodied GHGs across markets, it will help companies understand the life-cycle climate change impacts of their products and highlight significant emissions reduction opportunities. The intention is that this is the first step in moving towards an internationally agreed standard for measuring embodied GHG emissions.
The announcement comes the day after the inaugural meeting of the project’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG), an independent body chaired by Jim Skea, Director of the Energy Research Centre and consisting of members from NGOs, government and academia.
BSI British Standards will oversee the development of the PAS using the Carbon Trust pilot methodology as a starting point. Through the work of the TAG and a broad 2 stage stakeholder consultation beginning this summer, new and existing best practice work in this area will also be considered in the PAS development. This process is designed to develop a credible, usable method through an open and consultative forum.
Click here for the full article.