What can councils learn from bees?
Nature, it turns out, can tell us quite a lot about how we queue, communicate and decide things. In his book Smart Swarm, Peter Miller explains how bees decide on the location of their new nest site. The location of a new nest is not a trivial choice, its life or death. The bees get…
Adult Social Care – funding and eligibility criteria
This policy briefing summarises a survey by the Dilnot Commission on public views about funding; it also discusses the recent legal challenge to raising eligibility criteria.
HoL inquiry into behaviour change
The House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee is investigating the use of behaviour change to achieve public policy objectives. It is critically examining the Government’s embracing of recently-popular “nudge” principles to influence people’s choices.
House of Lords inquiry into behaviour change
The House of Lords is holding an inquiry into behaviour change as a means of implementing government policy. One aim is to consider whether local authorities have sufficient expertise to ensure interventions are evidence-based and effective
Government response to Wolf Review of Vocational Education
Prof. Alison Wolf (Professor of Public Sector Management at King’s College, London) was asked last year by the Secretary of State for Education to review how to improve vocational education for 14-19 year olds and thereby promote successful progression into the labour market and into higher education and training routes. Her report (covered in a…
Event: What does the Localism Bill mean for councils?
The Localism Bill is the government’s flagship piece of legislation. It includes measures that will give councils a new Power of General Competence, establish new rights for communities to bid to run services, and revolutionise the planning system.
Government response to Wolf Review of Vocational Education
The Government has accepted all the recommendations of the Wolf Review of vocational education. Its response describes a programme of significant reform, and indicates a timetable for implementation between now and September 2012.
Law Commission Report on Adult Social Care
Social care is not the easiest area for the public to understand – though this situation will no doubt change as increasing numbers have to arrange support for older relatives – as touched upon in our Independent Ageing (pdf) report . The Law Commission Report provides an excellent basis on which to make the legislative aspects of social…
The Community Infrastructure Levy: An Overview
This briefing summarises and comments on a newly published overview of the Community Infrastructure Levy from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The coalition agreement and local government one year on
The coalition agreement is a year old. What has it meant for local government? This briefing looks at its key commitments, what was omitted but happened anyway, and the prospects for the next year.
