Poverty and inequality are financial challenges for local authorities and threaten the cohesion of their communities.
The health, public health and social care round-up summarises new policy, research and publications that are relevant to elected members and officers interested in health and social care. It is intended to be a digested read and provides links to the source documentation of major reports for further consideration.
Gardens and Health, a new report from the King’s Fund, looks at the many and diverse relationships between gardens, gardening and health. Gardens and health brings the wide range of evidence on gardens and health together for the first time, looks at positive examples and examines the business case.
In what could be a crucial year for the future role of local government in education and children’s services, John Fowler looks at the implementing of the Education White Paper (EWP), Educational Excellence Everywhere, in the light of the Queen’s Speech on 18 May and the forthcoming Education for All Bill. The Queen’s Speech is short,…
On Your Radar provides regular updates on information from central government and other key organisations. This edition focuses on the Queen’s Speech. This OYR is recommended especially for new councillors to get up to speed with the national agenda and what is happening in parliament and in select committiees.
As part of the DfE's strategic planning for the development of the childcare market to ensure there is sufficient provision to meet the Government's manifesto commitment to secure an additional 15 hours childcare a week for working parents of 3 and 4-year olds, the DfE has published an economic assessment of the market and childcare…
This briefing will examine if female representation in local government elections in Scotland would benefit from the implementation of a gender quota similar to one that was recently introduced in the Republic of Ireland.
There has been much public debate on the role and content of Personal, Social, Health and Economics (PSHE) Education in schools in England in recent years, largely but not entirely centred on sex and relationships education, and the role of the national government setting, or otherwise, a curriculum fand whether it should be compulsory for…
Integrating health, education and social services to meet the mental health needs of looked after children is crucial if these young people are to lead independent adult lives. The Commons Education Committee has made recommendations for changes to statutory guidance, the way children’s mental health services are managed at a local level, the way mental…
Summary Draft guidance on community empowerment includes a number of implications for development planning, notably the requirement to prepare locality plans in areas of multiple socioeconomic disadvantage. Local authorities need to think about how they can knit together these new plans with their existing development plan responsibilities, with further changes anticipated once the Independent Review…
The Government is consulting on implementing its manifesto commitment to offer an additional 15 hours (to a total of 30) a week of free childcare following the passage of the Childcare Act 2016. This is the CSN briefing on the consultation. Consultation closes on 6 June 2016.
