Download or read book ODPM Annual Report and Accounts 2005 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-01-26 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating HCP 680, session 2005-06.
Download or read book ODPM Annual Report and Accounts 2005 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by Stationery Office/Tso. This book was released on 2006-05-04 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HCP 559, session 2005-06 (ISBN 0215027124)
Download or read book Government Response to the Committee s Fourth Report of Session 2004 05 on the ODPM Annual Report and Accounts 2004 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by . This book was released on 2005-07-21 with total page 7 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HCP 58, session 2004-05 (ISBN 0215021533)
Download or read book Communities and Local Government s Departmental Annual Report 2008 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In its report of last year on the Communities and Local Government's Departmental Annual Report 2007 (HC 170, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215037978) the Committee commented on the particular nature of the Department's work: on its unusual reliance for the achievement of the goals Government has set it on a plethora of other Departments, agencies, non-departmental bodies, local authorities and other stakeholders; on the long, devolved delivery chains by which those goals therefore have to be delivered; and on the skills of influence, brokering and negotiation which are required to achieve them. In this Report the Committee assesses the progress made since last. The most recent Cabinet Office Capability Review concludes that there has been a positive "direction of travel" for CLG in that period, but the Committee concludes that there is still some way to go before CLG can be said to be performing at the highest achievable level of effectiveness. The Department's overall performance against its Public Service Agreement targets is likewise moving in the right direction but still short of full effectiveness. Achievement of efficiency targets is applauded. Finally, the report considers examples of particular policies which highlight some of the Department's strengths and weaknesses, and follow up some issues in earlier inquiries. These issues include: eco-towns; the Decent Homes programme; Home Information Packs; Fire Service response times; Firebuy; the FiReControl programme. The report also considers the Department's response to the serious flooding of summer 2007, and to the reviews which followed; and the mismanagement of European Regional Development Fund monies.
Download or read book Local government finance written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-08-07 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir Michael Lyons, in his report "Place-shaping: a shared ambition for the future of local government" (2007, ISBN 9780119898545) proposed allowing local authorities to make marginal changes to the national non-domestic rate which businesses pay as their contribution to the provision of local services. The Government's recent green paper "The governance of Britain" (Cm. 7170, ISBN 9780101717021) contemplates enabling local communities to take decisions about how to use local funds, and a substantive response to the Lyons report is expected later in 2007. The Committee builds on these developments to argue that local authorities should be able to levy a supplementary business rate to increase or decrease the business rate paid by local businesses. Whilst the decision-making should be left to local authorities, the Government should set down some basic parameters to define the operation of supplementary business rates and confine the purposes to which any revenue generated might be applied. This reform to local government revenue should be seen as a first step in a development process of financial devolution.
Download or read book Local authority investments written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-06-11 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The collapse of Icelandic financial institutions in the autumn of 2008 brought to light not only the surprisingly large amounts of money invested by local authorities, but also the fact that local authorities had invested nearly £1 billion in Iceland, funds that were consequently at risk. This prompted the Committee to launch an inquiry into local authority investments, in order to understand current practice, to study the roles and responsibilities of various groups and individuals involved, and to make recommendations intended to limit the exposure of local authority funds to such risk in future. The unusual nature of the recent financial situation should not excuse failures that occurred in local authority financial arrangements. The inquiry reveals a degree of misunderstanding, misinformation and complacency on the part of some crucial players, both within local authorities and in the wider financial sector, which contributed to the putting of taxpayers' money at unnecessary risk. There is significant room for improvement in the guidance and codes of practice for local authorities: to be more explicit in certain areas in order to make the system more transparent; to explain where the responsibilities lie, both in executing and in overseeing treasury management, including more rigorous training and reporting; and to highlight the variations of service on offer by different external service providers. It was the role of external service providers, specifically some of the treasury management advisers, which caused the Committee most concern and the Financial Services Authority should investigate the services provided by them as soon as possible and should take a more active role in their regulation.
Download or read book Equality written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-08-02 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee undertook this enquiry to examine the issues surrounding the establishment of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) and to further the debate on equality in preparation for the introduction of a Single Equality Bill. Despite some practical concerns that the CEHR might not be ready in time, that its budget will not be sufficient, and there might be some loss of expertise, the Committee supports the creation of a body that will bring together all the strands of equality and human rights. At the same time the Government should press ahead with a Single Equality Bill to remove simplify current provisions, remove anomalies; and promote action to prevent unfair discrimination.
Download or read book Is there a future for regional government written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-03-14 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This inquiry was prompted by the fact that although it is more than twelve months since a referendum rejected the plans for a regional assembly for the North-East, there has been no new direction for the Government's regional policy. The Committee focused on two main questions: how does the current system of regional governance actually work; and what role city-regions play in the future development of regional policy. In conclusion it recommended "the Government should commit itself to a clear city-regions policy, indicating the extent of city-region feasibility, and the powers and resources which will be made available, so that this alternative to regional governance can be properly explored."
Download or read book Affordability and the Supply of Housing written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-06-20 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee's report finds that the Government's plans for a major house-building programme are based on the widespread belief that increasing the volume of housing stock is the most important way to tackle the crisis of unaffordable housing in the UK; however, as housing policy is increasingly based on household growth projections, it is important that these projections are kept under review as firmer information becomes available. Promoting homeownership is an underlying objective of the Government's programme, but although it offers unparalleled opportunities for some households to accumulate wealth, it is not a viable option for many others, and therefore the provision of social housing for rent should be given equal priority. A simple supply and demand model cannot be applied to the housing market, and the multitude of factors affecting house prices means that it is very difficult to support an increase in housing supply simply on the basis of improving affordability. The report also highlights concerns that local authority powers to prioritise developments on brown field sites in urban areas should not be eroded; and that the house-building programme in the wider South East will have to be carefully managed as it is an area with major water shortages and significant flood plains.
Download or read book Communities and Local Government written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-01-03 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The single theme that underlies this report on the performance of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is: delivery. The DCLG faces unusual challenges as a result of how it is structured and its reliance on the performance of other departments, agencies, local authorities for the achievement of its goals set by the Government. Most of the money for which DCLG is responsible is spent for it by someone else - by over 450 local authorities, 47 local fire brigades, by large government agencies such as the soon-to-exist Homes and Communities Agency with a £2.2 billion budget. The challenge of delivery is examined under several headings: the capability review carried out by the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit; the ten public service agreements (focussing particularly on decent homes, fire and rescue services, race equality and community cohesion and gender equality); home information packs; FireLink and FiReControl, two major technology projects currently under way and both overdue and exceeding planned costs. On the Departmental report, the Committee welcomes the higher standard of the report, and the improvement in provision of full and clear information to Parliament and the public. A concern remains about the number of staff reporting feeling bullied, harassed or discriminated against.
Download or read book The Balance of Power written by and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-05 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The balance of power between central and local government matters because it affects the responsibility and accountability for delivery of services and improvements to local people and communities. Democracy is strengthened where local people understand what local government is responsible for in terms of both policy and resources, where they can hold to account local government for its performance, and where, crucially, they believe that local government can make a real difference. Local authorities should have the freedom to shape the development of their communities and the scope to unlock the full potential of local innovation. Yet the predominant trend, particularly since the second world war, has been for central government to increase its powers and responsibilities at the expense of local government. This report looks at the current role of local government, assessing where it could be more proactive in making best use of existing structures, and where change is required elsewhere - by central government and its agencies and by Parliament - to increase the scope for autonomous local government activity. It considers the role of central government, and the advantages to be gained at both the local and the national levels from adopting a "minimalist" as opposed to a "maximalist" role in relation to local government, advocating further cultural change within central government to facilitate a decentralised balance of power structure. The Committee also addresses the pressing need for reform of local government financial arrangements, with a view to enabling local government to raise more of its own money.
Download or read book Fire and Rescue Service written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2006-07-12 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government detailed its plans to reform and modernise the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) in its White Paper (Cm 5808, ISBN 0101580827) published in June 2003, and these subsequently became law under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. The Committee's report examines the progress made to implement this challenging reform programme, following on from a previous report by its predecessor Committee (HCP 43-I, session 2003-04; ISBN 0215014936) published in January 2004. The Committee has focused on a number of key issues, including: the impact of the introduction of regional control centres and new FireLink radio services; fire prevention and risk assessment; governance and funding arrangements; staffing issues and policies to promote diversity within the FRS; performance measurement and management; and progress on joint working approaches between the FRS and other emergency services. Findings include: the unprecedented changes being implemented represent a positive change in emphasis for the FRS to a more pro-active role in fire prevention and risk management; the Government needs to make a stronger business case to convince and reassure the FRS that the project to create nine regional control centres (called the FiReControl model) will bring enhanced resilience and efficiency; and that the Government should ensure the new FireLink radio project includes the fire-ground technological upgrade.
Download or read book Would You Live Here written by Jim Bennett and published by Institute for Public Policy Research. This book was released on 2006 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Forest Policies and Social Change in England written by Sylvie Nail and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-05-08 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forestry has been witness to some dramatic changes in recent years, with several Western countries now moving away from the traditional model of regarding forests merely as sources of wood. Rather these countries are increasingly recognizing their forests as multi-purpose resources with roles which go far beyond simple economics. In this innovative book, Sylvie Nail uses England as a case study to explore the relationships between forests, society and public perceptions, raising important questions about forest policy and management both now and in the future. Adopting a sociological approach to forest policy and management, the book discusses the current validity of the two principles underlying forestry since the Middle Ages: first, that forestry should only exist when no better use of the land can be made, and second, that forestry itself should be profitable. The author stresses how values and perceptions shape policies, and conversely how policies can modify perceptions, and also how policies can fail if they do not take perceptions into account. She concludes that many of the issues facing English forestry in the 21st century – from leisure, health and amenity provision, through education and rural as well as urban regeneration, to biodiversity conservation – go well beyond both national borders and the scope of forestry. Indeed forestry in the 21st century seems to be less about planting and managing trees than about being a vector and a mirror of social change. This novel synthesis provides a valuable resource for advanced students and researchers from all areas of natural resource studies, including those interested in social history, socio-economics, cultural geography and environmental psychology, as well as those studying landscape ecology, environmental history, policy analysis and natural resource management.
Download or read book Young Adult Offenders written by Friedrich Lösel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This latest volume in the Cambridge Criminal Justice Series focuses upon young adults and their treatment in the criminal justice system. The subject is very topical because there is increasing evidence that a rigid distinction between ‘youth’ and ‘adulthood’ is not appropriate in modern societies. For example, important developmental tasks such as finishing one’s education, finding regular work and the foundation of one’s own family are now completed later than in former times; neuropsychological brain functions are still developing beyond age 18; and desistance from criminal offending occurs most rapidly in early adulthood. Despite such evidence, the United Kingdom and other countries have largely neglected policies for young adult offenders in comparison with young people under 18. Although there seems to be no general transnational solution for this problem, there is a clear need for differentiation. This book brings together leading authorities in the field to analyse theoretical, empirical and policy issues relating to this neglected group of people, exploring different approaches to both crime prevention and offender treatment. It will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and policy makers in the fields of criminology, criminal justice, prisons, probation, forensic psychology and psychiatry, sociology, education and social work.
Download or read book Communities and Local Government s departmental annual report 2009 and the performance of the Department in 2008 09 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-05 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating HC 1038-i-ii, session 2008-09. The DCLG departmental annual report 2009 was published as Cm. 7598 (ISBN 9780101759823)
Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue written by Stationery Office (Great Britain) and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
