The Home Office yesterday launched its ‘Policing in the 21st century: reconnecting police and the people‘ consultation.

The consultation sets out the government’s vision for policing and how it will:

- cut crime and protect the public
- be more directly accountable to the public
- offer value for money

The introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners in place of Police Authorities is one of the issues to be discussed at a 14th October Westminster Briefing Conference entitled Community Safety Partnerships Under the New Government.

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The Government has published its much-anticipated Care and Support Green Paper. The Green Paper highlights the challenges faced by the current system and the need for radical reform, to develop a National Care Service that is fair, simple and affordable for everyone.

A forthcoming Westminster Briefing entitled “Caring for Older People: New Approaches to Provision and Support” on 8th September will provide participants with the opportunity to consider the Green Paper and the way ahead for older people.

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The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed yesterday during Prime Minister’s Question Time that the family wing at the controversial immigrant detainee centre Yarls Wood would be closed for good.

Subsequently a Home Office spokesperson stated “The new government has been clear in its commitment to end the detention of children and this includes those held in the family wing at Yarl’s Wood. We are currently working to find an alternative that protects the welfare of children, without undermining our immigration laws.”

The future of Child Asylum policy will be discussed at a forthcoming Westminster Briefing on 9th September entitled ‘Protecting Unaccompanied Child Asylum Seekers – Improving Local Provision Through Multi-Agency Working’.

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Public transport crime costs society £1.5 billion a year newly published DfT figures reveal.

Responding to the figures Transport Minister Norman Baker MP said:

“Passengers and staff rightly expect to travel safely and securely. Thankfully this research shows that crime on public transport is rare.  However one incident is obviously one incident too many, but at its worst it can lead to reduced patronage, damaged vehicles, high staff turnover, and ultimately the withdrawal of services.”

Tackling public transport crime will be discussed at a 15h September Westminster Briefing entitled Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour on Public Transport: Making Journeys Safer.

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The NHS in England has set aside nearly £1.7bn this year for reorganisation – more than seven times what it aims to save on management. The fund – held back from the front line – will help pave the way for GPs to take over budgets from managers. NHS boss Sir David Nicholson said it was there to kick-start the process. The government said significant savings would be made in the long term, but unions voiced concerns about the spending spiralling out of control.

Westminster Briefing is holding a Transforming the NHS Summit on October 19th, which will allow delegates to assess how the health service can overhaul itself in order to meet the reorganisation and savings challenge.

For further details on this event please click here

The Ministry of Justice’s Structural Reform Plan, launched yesterday, sets out the top five priorities for restructuring the criminal justice system:

• Reform of sentencing and penalties
• Rehabilitation revolution
• Courts and legal aid
• Reform of the prison estate
• Civil liberties

Issues surrounding the reform of sentencing and penalties and the rehabilitation revolution will be discussed at a 18th November Conference entitled Rehabilitating Offenders and Reducing Reoffending Under the New Government.

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The Government is set to hand GPs control of most health services and scale back trusts and health authorities in a radical overhaul of the NHS.

Under plans which are expected to be announced next week, doctors will be handed direct control of approximately 80% of the health service’s budget. Critics have claimed the proposals will not make the medical profession accountable for their decisions.

Westminster Briefing’s forthcoming “Transforming the NHS Summit” will provide delegates with an invaluable opportunity to understand the implications of the changes and discuss how such a transition can be effectively managed.

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The Academies Bill follows on from the Conservatives’ manifesto commitment to allow more state schools – including, for the first time, primary schools and special schools– to become academies. This will free them from local authority control.

The Bill is expected to have a swift passage through Parliament, with the government aiming to have the first new academies ready for the start of the next academic year this September.

A forthcoming Westminster Briefing entitled “Academy Status: What will it Really Mean?” on the 13th October will provide delegates with an opportunity to discuss the effect this reform will have on education in this country.  

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Provisions to make it easier for business to comply with discrimination law will be introduced from October the Government Equalities Office (GEO) confirmed last week. The Equality Act brings together nine separate pieces of legislation into one single Act simplifying the law and reducing the burden on business by making it easier for firms to comply with discrimination law.

The first wave of implementation of the Equality Act will go ahead to the planned October timetable following the publication of the first commencement order in Parliament this week.

A forthcoming Westminster Briefing entitled “The Equality Act and Employers: Addressing New Workplace Challenges” on the 12th October will provide delegates with an opportunity to discuss the implications of the Act on employers.

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A leading Treasury minister has said that greater support for credit unions and mutuals will be at the forefront of plans to reform the financial services sector.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban MP, stressed that the coalition Government will build on last year’s Legislative Reform Order and do “whatever it can to help the credit union movement to prosper.”

A forthcoming Westminster Briefing Conference entitled “The Future for Financial Inclusion: Getting Advice & Affordable Finance to Those in Need” will provide delegates with an opportunity to see how new proposals will affect frontline efforts to tackle financial exclusion.

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The government has dropped a planned review of the smoking ban in England. The previous Labour administration had promised it would be looked at again in autumn 2010, but the coalition says it has “no plans” to do so.

A forthcoming Westminster Briefing entitled “A Smokefree Future: New Approaches to Tobacco Reduction, Protection and Support” will provide participants with the opportunity to consider the coalition Government’s current thinking and future initiatives to tackle smoking in society.

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The DWP has released it’s new Framework Agreement for employment related support services, including the new Work Programme which will take the place of Flexible New Deal and other welfare to work initiatives.

The framework sets out the expectations and broad criteria which potential supplier organisations will have to fulfill to enter the procurement process.

On 18th November Westminster Briefing will be discussing the framework and the new Work Programme at a conference entitled ‘Welfare to Work Reform: Investigating the Implications for All Stakeholders’.

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Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that the policing pledge and public confidence target will be scrapped with immediate effect.

She has also announced that legislation to introduce a ‘directly-elected individual’ to oversee and hold police forces to account will be introduced later in the year.

On 14th October Westminster Briefing will be discussing these issues at a conference entitled Community Safety Partnerships Under the New Government.

To view further details please click here

George Osborne has cut growth and borrowing forecasts in the coalition government’s emergency Budget which also raises VAT to 20 per cent from next year.

The chancellor announced that VAT is set to increase from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent, as part of the biggest package of tax increases and spending cuts in a generation

Westminster Briefing will be hosting a number of events where the impact of spending cuts outlined in the budget will be discussed.

To view details of our Policy & Practice Briefings please click here

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Big hikes in rail fares, more potholes and huge cuts in bus services could be the result of cuts in transport budgets, according to the campaign group Campaign for Better Transport. In the first in-depth look at the implications for transport of the Government’s deficit reduction programme, Campaign for Better Transport’s “Smarter Cuts” report sets out choices in transport spending.

To view the report please click here

Richard Hebditch, Campaigns Director at the Campaign for Better Transport, will be speaking at a 2nd November Westminster Briefing Conference entitled Local Transport Under the New Government.

To view more details about this event please click here

The coalition Government has intimated that integration between higher education and further education institutions will be at the heart of its plans to secure the future of post-16 learning.

In a speech at Oxford Brookes University, the Universities Minister David Willetts said that if “local providers opted for teaching highly-regarded degrees, it could improve students’ employability.”

Westminster Briefing will be providing an opportunity for stakeholders across the higher education and further education sectors to debate the Government’s plans in two separate conferences.

For further details on the forthcoming “Participation in Higher Education” conference please click here.   

For further details on the forthcoming “Reforming Further Education” conference please click here.

Richard Lambert, Director General of the CBI, has suggested the country’s worst univeristies could be closed. Speaking to the Government, he posed the question:

“Would it take the politically explosive but probably economically sensible decision to close or merge the worst run institutions? Or would it instead attempt to bail them out?”

Access to higher education and the the impact such a policy may have on the participation of non-traditional students will be disccued at a 25th November Westminster Briefing conference entitled “Participation in Higher Education: Protecting and Improving The Drive for Wider and Fairer Access“.

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Chancellor George Osbourne will clarify plans to overhaul regulation of financial services in the UK later this month, according to media speculation.

Following widespread uncertainty over exactly which responsibilities the Government will strip away from the FSA, Mr Osbourne looks set to outline the Treasury’s position at a Mansion House speech on 16th June.

Westminster Briefing will be holding a Financial Services Sector Knowledge seminar on 22nd July, giving participants an early opportunity to understand how changes to the regulatory system may affect financial institutions. 

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A health watchdog has added its voice to calls for a minimum price per unit of alcohol in England. The recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is in guidance on reducing the harm from excess drinking.

NICE says about one in four adults is drinking too much and damaging, or at least risking, their health. The coalition government agrees that alcohol misuse is a problem, but does not support a minimum price.

Westminster Briefing is holding an event entitled “Action on Youth Alcohol: Progress So Far and The Next Steps To Be Taken” on the 12th October, giving attendees the opportunity to see the current and future challenges of alcohol policy.

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There was widespread concern today at the decision by the Welsh Assembly to suspend the Mortgage Rescue Scheme in Wales, amid claims that a bid to make public sector savings could hurt homeowners.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson Peter Black said that abandoning the programme would put “great strain on local authority resources and potentially put families out onto the street.”

Westminster Briefing is holding an event entitled “Supporting Homeowners Through Tough Times: Providing Accessible Advice & Finance, Preventing Exploitation” on the 8th July, giving attendees the opportunity to see if cutbacks will cause a radical rethink in the way struggling homeowners are helped.

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Prison healthcare is still not good enough – four years after it was revamped to bring it up to NHS standards, a report claims. The joint Care Quality Commission and the Inspectorate of Prisons study said while there were signs of improvement, a number of areas of weakness remained. The inspectors carried out reviews of 21 NHS trusts, responsible for more than a quarter of England’s jails.

Westminster Briefing are holding a Conference entitled “Lord Bradley’s Recommendations One Year On: Progress and Next Steps for Offender Healthcare” on the 28th October that will be reviewing the current and next steps for offender healthcare.

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Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill

The Bill would see the appointment of directly-elected individuals to increase police accountability and allow a greater degree of community involvement in setting policing priorities.

On 14th October Westminster Briefing will be holding a conference entitled Community Safety Partnerships Under the New Government where this measure will be disccused.

To view further details please click here

A Decentralisation and Localism Bill was annonced in today’s Queen’s Speech.

The Bill will ‘devolve greater powers to councils and neighbourhoods and give local communities control over housing and planning decisions’ as well as give local councils a ‘general power of competence.’

On 16th November Westminster Briefing will be holding a conference entitled ‘The Future Policy Landscape For Local Government: Enhanced Powers In Difficult Times?’ investigating the impact of the Bill as well as other policy and spending commitments which will effect local government.

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The NHS is bracing itself for a “brutal” round of cuts – and staff fear they are in the firing line. Several major hospitals have already said posts will go and more announcements are expected soon. A £2bn pot is being set aside in England to pay for one-off costs, such as redundancies and redeployments, to help fund the cuts. Managers were told by the Department of Health before the election to hold the money back.

A forthcoming Westminster Briefing Summit entitled “Transforming the NHS Summit 2010: Building a 21st Century Health Service” will provide participants with the opportunity to consider the ongoing and future changes within the NHS to ensure that it can do more with less but still deliver quality healthcare.

To view further details please click here

Michael Gove’s first act as education secretary has been to reverse Labour’s rebranding of the department.
In an e-mail to civil servants Gove said: “In the weeks ahead, I want us to offer all schools the chance to enjoy academy-style freedoms so that heads and teachers across the country can be liberated. This will be the focus of the legislation we hope to bring forward later this month.”

Westminster Briefing is holding a conference examining the proposed education reforms on October 20th, which will allow delegates to examine the ’shape of schools to come’.

For further details on this event please click here

Members of the new coalition cabinet have gathered for their first meeting this morning, as prime minister David Cameron puts the finishing touches to the new government.

Westminster Briefing will be hosting a number of events looking at the impact of the new government.

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To view details of our All Day Conferences please click here

To view details of our Sector Knowledge Seminars please click here

Credit rating agency Moody’s has said that the unclear result from the general election “does not directly threaten” the UK’s debt rating. Analysts had expressed fears that political uncertainty could lead to a downgrading of the country’s creditworthiness and affect the economic recovery.

Westminster Briefing will hold a Financial Services Sector Knowledge event on 22nd July, providing delegates with the chance to understand more about how rating agencies and other financial institutions work and the impact these organisations could have on the UK economy.

To view further details please click here

To view details of the ePolitix election focus on justice and home affairs please click here.

On Tuesday, 6th July Westminster Briefing will hold a Criminal Justice Sector Knowledge Seminar. This will give delegates a comprehensive overview of the stakeholders, institutions and structures of the Criminal Justice sector.

To view further details please click here

Senior doctors have called for an incoming government to consider closing casualty and children’s departments, in an open letter to the Guardian. Signatories, including large sections of the medical establishment, believe that significant service redesign and reconfiguration will prevent job losses and improve patient care.

The issue of how a remodeled health service may look will be debated at Westminster Briefing’s forthcoming Transforming the NHS Summit. Delegates will be provided with an opportunity to debate what needs to be done if the NHS is to maintain a high standard of patient care whilst making significant efficiency savings.

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Major cuts in NHS staffing levels which could have “disastrous” consequences are likely after the election, the leader of the nurses’ union has warned. Royal College of Nursing leader Peter Carter believes the cuts will be much worse than the deficit crisis of five years ago when thousands of posts went.

Sir David Nicholson, the chief executive of the health service, has already warned that up to £20bn of savings will have to be found by 2014. This works out as a saving of about 5% a year. The three main parties have all said savings can be made by improving productivity, by tackling management waste and redesigning services.

A forthcoming Westminster Briefing Summit entitled “Transforming the NHS Summit 2010: Building a 21st Century Health Service” will provide participants with the opportunity to debate how the NHS can make the most of limited funding and deliver quality healthcare.

To view further details please click here

Credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard and Poors have come under attack by US senators, following an investigation into the origins of the financial crisis.

Both institutions were heavily criticised for their failure to recognise the risk associated with financial products in the run up to the credit crunch and for being too easily influenced by the banks that paid their fees.

On Thursday 22nd July Westminster Briefing will hold a Financial Services Sector Knowledge Seminar. This will give delegates a comprehensive overview of the stakeholders, institutions and structures at the heart of the UK financial services sector.

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Following discussions with the opposition parties, the Government last night tabled amendments to the Children, Schools and Families Bill to enable some parts of the Bill to be passed into law before Parliament is dissolved.

Further details about forthcoming Education and Children’s Services events  can be found here.