Policy Alert 19th October 2012 AGMA For more information go to http://www.agma.gov.uk Children & Young People Michael Gove plans baccalaureate-style shakeup of A-levels Economy Cabinet Office launches Ambassadors programme to support fledgling mutuals Government to address staggering scale of uncollected debt Bill to boost growth and infrastructure goes before Parliament Aspiring entrepreneurs helped to kick-start new businesses Rochdale firm gets green light for government funding Ending abuse of village green legislation will unlock growth and boost aspiration Town halls anticipate non-payment of council tax by low earners Pickles calls for councils to reveal parking cash Environment & Sustainability Coalition will unlock energy investment Health & Wellbeing The NICE Tobacco Return on Investment Tool New principles set out for hospital food Improvement Launch of GOV.UK a key milestone in making public service delivery Digital by Default Local Government Ombudsman commits to greater openness and accountability Reports & Statistics 1 Catch up on the latest crime and confidence statistics Communication is the key to deaf children's development AGMA For more information go to http://www.agma.gov.uk Back to the top Children & Young People Michael Gove plans baccalaureate-style shakeup of A-levels Reforms expected to include eventual scrapping of A-level modules and introduction of dissertations of up to 5,000 words Back to the top Economy Cabinet Office launches Ambassadors programme to support fledgling mutuals Each Ambassador will work closely to deliver specific advice and support to emerging and existing mutuals. This will include troubleshooting, sharing their commercial expertise, promoting public service mutuals and identifying upcoming new projects. The programme will run for a year in the first instance. Back to the top Government to address staggering scale of uncollected debt New laws enabling government departments to share information on people and businesses that owe them money will be introduced. According to a recent study debtors owed money to multiple departments. The new law will make it easier to share information, understand debtors’ circumstances so that more effective and intelligent action can be taken to recover money and reduce losses. Debtors who try to beat the system will find it much harder while those in genuine hardship will get the support they need to clear their debt. Back to the top Bill to boost growth and infrastructure goes before Parliament The new Growth and Infrastructure Bill will set out a comprehensive series of practical reforms to reduce red tape which can delay and discourage business investment, new infrastructure and job creation Back to the top Aspiring entrepreneurs helped to kick-start new businesses 33,000 extra jobseekers will be given help to set up their own business. The New Enterprise Allowance scheme, provides expert coaching and financial support, is be extended and made easier to get behind those who have the determination to start up their own business. 2 Back to the top Rochdale firm gets green light for government funding Holroyd Precision will start building its new European headquarters in the area after being given the green light for funding from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund. The company will receive £2.8 million from the fund which will support the development of a new factory and an R&D European innovation centre, securing 187 existing jobs and creating 137 new positions. The North West region has received £77million from round three of the fund, which will create nearly 11,000 direct jobs and an estimated 8,900 indirect jobs. This is on top of the 46 successful bids from rounds one and two of the fund, of which 32 have already started Back to the top Ending abuse of village green legislation will unlock growth and boost aspiration New plans in the Growth Bill will ensure communities that wish to see land developed in their areas will no longer be overruled by an abuse of Town and Village Green legislation. Current legislation means that building work that has been granted planning permission or is undergoing community consultation can be delayed while the legal process of considering a Town and Village Green (TVG) application takes place. Back to the top Town halls anticipate non-payment of council tax by low earners Local authorities implementing benefit changes next year have admitted that they expect up to half of lowincome residents will refuse to pay council tax. Back to the top Pickles calls for councils to reveal parking cash The transparency drive was announced after Whitehall figures showed the annual income from parking was £1.27bn last year, and follows the wide-ranging amendments to The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency, which will introduce not only transparency standards on parking charges but also pay and expenditure over £500. Back to the top Environment & Sustainability Coalition will unlock energy investment Ed Davey yesterday assured businesses that the Government will provide the certainty investors are looking for in its forthcoming Energy Bill, unlocking billions in energy infrastructure investment vital for keeping the lights on, emissions down and bills affordable. Back to the top 3 Health & Wellbeing The NICE Tobacco Return on Investment Tool A new interactive tool developed by NICE and Brunel University will help local authorities count the cost of tobacco-related harm in their communities. The tool also models the longer-term cash savings that authorities can expect by putting tobacco control strategies in place. Back to the top New principles set out for hospital food New standards setting out what patients should expect from NHS hospital food have been announced by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. A set of basic principles covering the quality of food, nutritional content and choice for patients will be backed up by new assessments led by patients. Back to the top Councils have raised concerns about their public health role, after it emerged the size of some of the contracts local government is set to inherit could consume almost all of local authorities’ funding allocations. Two councils that believe their funding allocations outlined by the Department of Health earlier this year will not cover the cost of contracts for services such as sexual health whilst the DoH has pledged to give councils funding equivalent to primary care trusts’ expenditure on public health, so that services don’t have to close. However, errors in PCTs’ calculations and a requirement for councils to run extra services have led some to identify a gap between DH funding and their service obligations. Forcing councils to ask PCTs for extra funding, lobby the department or renegotiate contracts. Papers due to be discussed at a Lewisham LBC cabinet meeting next week show the authority faces a £115,000 shortfall in public health funding. Its funding allocation is expected to be £18.05m, while its inherited contracts are worth £16.1m. Once running and staff costs are taken into account, it faces a shortfall. The document implies that Lewisham PCT will have to make up the shortfall by cutting services if the issue is not addressed when final allocations are announced - expected to be in December. Bexley LBC – have said the difference between the value of their contracts and their indicative funding levels would undermine the localisation of public health. Boroughs will be forced to take tough decisions about which public health contracts they can continue to commission. The Department of Health issued a statement that said: “No local authority is going to get less funding in real terms for 2013-14 than estimates of current spend on public health- LGC 18th Oct Back to the top Improvement Launch of GOV.UK a key milestone in making public service delivery Digital by Default GOV.UK, the new online home of government services and information has been released which aims to create a single domain for government. Back to the top Local Government Ombudsman commits to greater openness and accountability following a report by the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee published in July. By April 2015, the LGO Scheme will have introduced a new business model which 4 handles complaints faster, delivers effective and proportionate dispute resolution, offers higher levels of customer satisfaction and delivers value for money. Back to the top Reports & Statistics Catch up on the latest crime and confidence statistics Back to the top Communication is the key to deaf children's development Is a small-scale survey examining good practice in services supporting deaf children in three local authorities highlighting effective joint working across. Inspectors found early diagnosis and timely access to support to be crucial. The allocation of support from ‘teachers of the deaf’ was important to helping parents come to terms with the fact their child was deaf and how they could best help them, playing a pivotal role in providing and coordinating support and promoting deaf awareness among school staff. Back to the top Kalsoom Iqbal Policy Officer Corporate Services-Performance & Transformation 19/10/2012 5 6