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LONDON January 25th, 2012 – TODAY the Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd MP, announces that £1.3 million from The Social Action Fund has been awarded to enable the creation of new not-for-profit organisation, We’re Altogether Better, formed to tackle social issues digitally.
We’re Altogether Better is run by the team behind the award-winning children’s charity, Beatbullying, which was established in 2002 and has received on-going Government support for its pioneering anti-bullying work.
Through this funding, up to half a million children and young people will be supported through the new not-for-profit organisation, and nearly ten thousand new volunteers will be recruited to significantly increase the support available to the most vulnerable in society. As the new organisation grows, millions of the most vulnerable and at risk young people across the UK will be supported.
Following an initial grant from the Transition Fund in Spring 2011, this latest investment enables the organisation to publicly launch and expand its online mentoring and advice services, such as CyberMentors, FutureYou and MiniMentors. It will also create a major new offering to families, and a programme to support people with mental illness, for launch in 2012-13.
Significantly, the Cabinet Office’s investment will also assist the new organisation to take to commercial market ‘Cosmo’, the unique software framework which powers its existing proprietary counselling and mentoring services.
Cosmo is a real-time chat and messaging platform that provides a safe online environment through which an organisation can engage with people directly and immediately. The software framework also includes diagnostic tools and administration dashboards that allow organisations to manage, monitor and evaluate their service provision effectively.
Chief Executive, Emma-Jane Cross, said:
-We are indebted to the Cabinet Office for its faith in the ambitions of We’re Altogether Better; never has there been a more urgent need to protect our society’s most vulnerable people.
-Thanks to this support, Beatbullying has made the distinct transition into a cutting-edge social action charity, inspiring digital volunteering for the 21st century. We will now be able to assist thousands of children, young people and adults across the UK, and in doing so, help progress the bold ambitions of the Big Society.
-We believe that We’re Altogether Better can help heal social fissures such as racism and violence, improve mental health, unburden the NHS, combat truancy and poor educational attainment, put young people into work, and enhance community cohesion and social mobility.
-In recent years, the need to improve the support provided to the most vulnerable people in society has been widely acknowledged. This forward-thinking funding from the Cabinet Office has created a modern, digital social action organisation that will meet this need.
-We have evidence that our services, including those this funding will enable us to extend, are successful. CyberMentors, which is powered by Cosmo, has already helped over 1.4 million children and young people and seen a 60 per cent reduction in child-on-child violence in schools where it is implemented.
-We look forward to helping many more people.
Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd said:
-In its ambition to support the aims of the Big Society, We’re Altogether Better will report back to the Office for Civil Society, and directly to Nick Hurd MP, on its success in the recruitment and development of the 10,000 new volunteers who will take social action online to help children and young people in crisis. We’re Altogether Better will also further report on progress of delivery of Cosmo into other civil society organisations.
For more information, visit www.werealtogetherbetter.org or www.wearecosmo.com (full websites are in development).
With the pressure to do more for less being felt in every corner of the public sector, senior executives could not be blamed for feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Delivering service improvements while simultaneously finding cost savings is no easy task, but a new generation of web-based technology is enabling thinly-stretched teams to marry objectives that once seemed irreconcilable.
A leading example is MATS© a process tracking platform that brings together workflow, communications and reporting tools into one simple package.
It allows staff to log the steps taken to resolve a particular case, whether it is an application, enquiry or complaint. The platform can be made visible to anyone within the organisation who needs access, therefore encouraging smoother progress and improved communication between departments.
At the same time, the system addresses the common problem of keeping the public informed of what is happening with their particular case. Large volumes of incoming chaser calls are a major drain on resources a 2011 report from ContactBabel calculated the average cost of handling an inbound call to be an astonishing £4.08. In addition to financial considerations, the frustration that arises from chaser calls, both for the caller and the call handler, can have a big impact on perceptions of the organisation. Also long-term consequences for employees can range from low morale and little or no job satisfaction leading to absences and high staff turnover.
However, a considerable majority of these calls are avoidable. In other words, public sector organisations can negate the need for such calls by keeping people informed of progress more proactively. The same workflow system described above is capable of generating automated updates to members of the public either via SMS text message, email or personalised web page when key stages of a particular process have been reached.
This is an important reassurance, providing people with useful information when and where they need it and dramatically reduces chaser calls.
The marriage of these two functions ‘ workflow and communication’ has the potential to deliver significant efficiency savings.
What’s more, as different teams and departments within the public sector come under increasing pressure to justify their roles, the availability of metrics is vital as proof of value. With MATS© for example, the system generates real-time management reports to help senior executives assess performance levels and identify problems quickly.
The mention of technology is often greeted with a sigh by public sector executives who have far too much experience of costly and complicated projects that inevitably require a lengthy period of installation and then don’t meet the specific needs they would wish for.
The latest web-based technology overcomes historic fears with fast, simple and inexpensive deployment. In addition, the fluid nature of such solutions makes them entirely mouldable to a virtually unlimited array of specific activities, and allows them to fit seamlessly around existing IT infrastructure and hardware.
MATS® has been successfully implemented by public sector organisations including Peterborough City Council, which was subsequently named one of the UK’s top six local authorities, as measured by the efficiency of its customer service operation.
What began as an initiative to help the council meet NI14 the national performance indicator that obliged almost 400 local authorities in the UK to reduce ‘avoidable contact’ with the community’ became an integral strategy in improving the wider efficiency of the organisation.
The introduction at Peterborough City Council of a specially-tailored MATS® system enabled the council to build up a broad picture of its call traffic. This helped define the source, scale and scope of contact from customers and how it could be addressed in ways that would reduce strain on customer service staff. With the use of automated responses in the form of SMS or email, for example customers were kept up-to-date with the progress of their case eliminating the need to make a call for information.
Mark Sandhu, Head of Customer Services at Peterborough City Council, said: What started as an NI14 proposition has become a strong aid to the council’s efficiency strategy it gives us information for meaningful conversations with back offices. MATS® is very much part of our future thinking to maintain and develop our preeminent position as a leading edge, efficiency focused council.
For further information, visit www.matssoft.co.uk or call 01234 321555.
Covering an area of about 500 square miles, Breckland is made up of the five market towns of Attleborough, Dereham, Swaffham, Thetford and Watton and also a number of industrial areas and rural communities.
The area’s ageing CCTV system has contributed to keeping crime rates low. Having deployed the system in the mid 90s, the council was keen to upgrade the system to one that was both cost effective and that offered flexible monitoring.
The council wanted to move away from traditional CCTV to a digital system that would make footage taken from across the region easy to locate and share. Using cameras that could be relocated to new locations gave the council flexibility and avoided the expense of installing new cameras.
A seamlessly digital solution
Having considered a variety of options, the council decided that an IP-based surveillance system that was seamlessly digital from the camera through to the transmission network and the recording platform with wireless technology, would best fit their needs.
Having considered specialist telecoms advice, the council then put the project out to competitive tender. Axis’ partner, Advance Monitoring Solutions (AMS) was awarded the contract for its innovative approach to the supply, installation and maintenance of a new cutting-edge surveillance system.
AMS is working with the council as part of a 10 year Public Private Partnership contract to develop the system commercially which will allow authorised partners such as residents or local businesses immediate access to footage.
Commenting on the system, John Wilkins, technical director, AMS, said: -Breckland District Council is one of the first councils to take the plunge and go entirely digital with its surveillance system. As the market leader in network video, Axis cameras offer the level of functionality required for this innovative system.
We are very impressed with the council’s open mindedness to realising how the very latest technologies can bring efficiencies and flexibility to public space surveillance in a way not previously seen within the industry.
Axis Communications was chosen to supply the network cameras and 70 AXIS Q-6032-E, outdoor-ready PTZ dome network cameras were installed in and around the region. Footage from the cameras is transmitted via an Alvarion wireless system.
PTZ cameras are ideal for live monitoring where the user needs to actively follow a person or object. Coupled with H.264 compression and 35x optical zoom lenses, the cameras are able to read car number plates at distances of up to 160 metres which is about the length of one and a half football pitches.
The cameras deliver high resolution image quality, coupled with high frame rates which are very important when dealing with fast moving objects and varying light conditions. The cameras are also designed to be discrete, easy to install, withstand harsh weather conditions and are also tamper proof.
The council is also using a number of rapid deployment mega pixel cameras from Axis which can be deployed in ‘hot spot’ areas as and when required.
Footage from the cameras is managed by AMS via its proprietary video management and monitoring system, Medusa.
Meeting the needs of the community
Grahame Green, community safety officer for Breckland District Council said: -The wireless system offers us a level of functionality and flexibility that our old system was unable to provide. It is now far easier and cheaper for us to relocate the Axis cameras as we no longer need to rely on costly fibre optics.
Breckland’s Public Place Partnership is delivering a host of benefits to the local area, with one of the main beneficiaries being the police. Norfolk Constabulary now has the ability to share images across the network so that any footage can be viewed remotely. This can help save the police a considerable amount of time and money as it means they don’t have to travel to the control room or a specified control centre to view footage.
Long term, the council fully expects its investment in the system to pay for itself by providing surveillance and security monitoring services to other people in the community such as local businesses and residents.
Grahame Green and his team are working together with AMS to ensure that the system is fully used by the police and other stakeholders. Grahame is confident that the system will help to ensure Breckland remains a safe place to live and work for many years to come as more residents and business users start to use the system to monitor their own properties.
Grahame Green concludes: -Transferring from a fixed analogue to a next generation digital surveillance system has been a challenge as we are one of the first councils to make this leap, but it was extremely well managed by AMS. We now have an extremely innovative, cost effective and flexible system that will serve our community well for years to come.
A THIEF, who stole Poppy Appeal tins in the run up to Armistice Day, has been jailed for 52 weeks.
Carl Anthony Mason, 29 of Creswell Avenue, Preston, appeared at Hyndburn Magistrates Court this morning (Wednesday 23 November) after pleading guilty to attempted theft of a charity box from the Lockside Tavern, Bolton Road; theft of a poppy tin from Santander Bank, King William Street, Blackburn and theft of a Poppy tin from Boots, Great Bolton Street, Blackburn.
He had four further offences taken into consideration.
He was arrested after members of the public recognised him in CCTV footage which had been released by the police. He was later charged and remanded in custody.
Blackburn town centre Sgt Dave Clarke said: -Mason committed an appalling and despicable crime. He took advantage of the goodwill of the local community and stole money which was intended to support men and women who have fought or served for their country.”
An ambulance service has been criticised for it response time in getting to the scene of a road accident.
The North West Ambulance Service has been criticised over its response time in getting an ambulance to a young woman who had been hit by a car in Oldham, Greater Manchester last week.
The 18 year old girl was hit by a car whilst crossing Egerton Street, near her school, in the town centre at around 2.00pm last Thursday.
The girl suffered an injury to her head after colliding with the windscreen of the vehicle that was shattered, she lay on the roadside attended to by the public until the emergency services arrived.
Editor of GPSJ, Stuart Littleford, was one of the first at the scene along with the girls classmates from a nearby school and members of the public. They placed coats over her and tried to comfort her at the scene.
Stuart said, “Whilst helping out it was apparent that people had become concerned that after 25 minutes no emergency services had arrived, they could not understand why a girl with a potentially serious injury was lying in the road for so long, especially in a town centre with no help.
“I asked who had called the ambulance and a woman said she had around twenty minutes earlier, I rang again twice and asked for the police to attend due to the traffic situation. After around 25 minutes the first paramedic unit arrived and after around 45 minutes the larger ambulance turned up.”
“A number of people at the scene were really concerned as to what the delay was getting the emergency services to the scene, especially in a town centre.” he added.
One witness told GPSJ, “I know when the ambulance service were contacted they got told the girl had been hit by the car and had a bad head injury and that she was conscious and breathing, but I still think 25 minutes was far longer than expected in light of her injuries.”
Under the current target system, ambulance trusts should respond to 95 per cent of Category B 999 calls within 19 minutes.
Category B are where injuries are serious but not life threatening.
Across England last year (2009-10) the figure was 91.0 per cent. Only two of England’s 12 trusts met the target: South Western (95.8 per cent) and Isle of Wight (96.7 per cent).
The worst performing was North West Ambulance Trust, at 85.9 per cent.
North West Ambulance Service sent this response to GPSJ:
Director of Contact Centres at North West Ambulance Service, Paul Ferguson said: All 999 calls received by our control centres are categorised and given a priority by a medical priority dispatch system, based on the information provided by the caller. The speed and type of response is determined by the category of the call.
Our aim is to get to all patients as quickly as possible, prioritising those with life threatening conditions.
If the patient’s family would like to contact us about any concerns they may have, we are happy to discuss.
GPSJ understands the young woman has now made a good recovery and returned to school.
Blue Coat Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCSI), a leading provider of Web security and WAN optimization solutions, has recently announced that Hampshire Constabulary has reduced logon times for print, file share and reporting applications from as much as 20 minutes to only a few seconds with Blue Coat® MACH5 WAN Optimization appliances. This significantly reduces the amount of time officers spend on administrative and incident reporting tasks that take them away from their beats. To deliver the same experience to officers working in rural locations with low bandwidth, Hampshire Constabulary also deployed Blue Coat ProxyClient software for WAN optimization.
In the absence of local print and file servers, which were impractical from a cost and management perspective, police officers were forced to deal with painfully slow application performance, which limited the amount of time they could spend on patrol in their neighbourhoods, said Tony Hutchings, senior network engineer for Hampshire Constabulary. -The Blue Coat solution has minimised the amount of time and effort required to access applications through the remote server and has resulted in significant productivity gains for Hampshire Constabulary.
Hampshire Constabulary has almost 7,000 employees at 85 sites around Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. With officers located far from centralised applications, including print and file share systems, and others located in areas with limited bandwidth, basic administrative tasks often consumed large amounts of time. In addition to being cost prohibitive, installing and managing print servers at each police station posed an unacceptable security risk. Any deployment would require metal cages, extra ventilation and cooling and an uninterrupted power supply.
With the Blue Coat MACH5 appliances, Hampshire Constabulary dramatically reduced the time to logon to applications, print or access files. As a result, the IT and Communications department is no longer inundated with complaints about slow application and service response times. In addition to reducing the burden on the network administration team, officers can more quickly complete their required paperwork and return to providing a visible policing presence in the neighbourhoods to which they are dedicated.
As a result of the overwhelming improvement in productivity that the ProxyClient software delivered for remote officers, Hampshire Constabulary anticipates a broader roll out that will include all of the force’s laptop computers. ProxyClient software is currently available with MACH5 appliances at no additional charge.
In the current climate of local authority spending cuts, adding bandwidth to address slow application performance is not an option, even if that means officers spend more time on administrative tasks, said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president at Blue Coat Systems. The Blue Coat WAN optimization solution enables organisations to accelerate access to centralised applications and services without adding additional bandwidth capacity, so officers can quickly complete their administrative duties and return to their beats.
You can read more about how Hampshire Constabulary is enabling its workforce to be more productive in the case study at www.bluecoat.com/doc/13966.
Fund will seek to invest in infrastructure assets in Ireland – including assets being disposed of by the Government and commercial State enterprises and new investment projects
National Pensions Reserve Fund has committed a 250 Euro million as cornerstone investor
AMP Capital has been appointed as the investment manager of a major new infrastructure fund being established by Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM). The new fund – Irish Infrastructure Trust – will target investment in Irish assets including those designated for disposal by the Irish Government and Irish commercial State enterprises and also in new infrastructure projects in Ireland. It will seek up to 1 Euro billion from global and Irish institutional investors and has already received investment commitments of 300 Euro million from institutional funds including Euro 250 million from the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF).
AMP Capital will invest and manage the portfolio of infrastructure assets with full responsibility for all investment decisions.
AMP Capital Head of Infrastructure Europe Boe Pahari said: We are very pleased to be appointed as infrastructure manager for this Irish infrastructure fund which will provide institutional investors globally with a unique opportunity to invest in the Irish infrastructure sector.
We have over 20 years experience in owning and managing infrastructure assets and are well positioned to effectively manage and add value to the fund’s investments. With the first close of the fund we are progressing an active deal pipeline consistent with our strategy of investing in quality Irish infrastructure assets across a range of sectors.
Irish Life Investment Managers Chief Executive Gerry Keenan said: -We expect considerable investment opportunities to emerge in the coming years with infrastructure assets which have traditionally been closed off from outside investment. This fund aims to provide long term investors with a stable income yield as well as the potential for capital growth from a substantial portfolio of assets which underpin the Irish economy.
National Pensions Reserve Fund Chairman Paul Carty said: -This commitment by the NPRF is a significant building block in the establishment of a Strategic Investment Portfolio that is focused on investments in Ireland. It has the added benefit of allowing the NPRF to fulfil its goal of investing on commercial terms and alongside other investors in Irish infrastructure.
A British manufacturer has teamed up with a nursery school owner to raise the standard of hand hygiene in educational settings after it was revealed millions of school days are missed each year due to avoidable illness.
Research also shows the spread of common bugs and infections throughout schools costs the UK economy millions of pounds and forces thousands of teachers to regularly take time off.
However, many of these illnesses could be avoided by simple improvements in hand hygiene. Donna Row, who runs the Yorley Barn Nursery in Suffolk and DaRo UV Systems – which makes hand hygiene inspection cabinets used by NHS organisations throughout the UK – have now joined forces to raise awareness of the importance of hand hygiene in educational settings.
Mrs Row decided to review her nursery’s hand hygiene policy during the recent swine flu outbreak and approached DaRo UV Systems after reading how its hand hygiene inspection cabinets had played a vital role in the reduction of hospital superbugs such as MRSA. The pair decided to carry out some research – which included gathering facts and figures from the Department of Education and the Office of National Statistics – and were startled by their findings:
Department of Education statistics show 58,90,790 school days were missed by children in England in 2009/2010 due to them being absent and the overwhelming majority of absences were due to sickness. The top five illnesses which cause children to miss school are the common cold, sore throat, stomach bugs, ear infection and conjunctivitis. These illnesses could be avoided if stringent hand hygiene practices were in place and implemented, meaning millions of missed school days could be avoided.
The Department of Education also revealed around 300,000 teachers take sickness leave each year, which equates to around 2,700,000 school days. It is estimated around half of staff sickness is also due to common infections, such as colds and stomach bugs. The annual cost of supply teachers and support staff to cover for sick days is around £3m.
Sickness in school environments also has a significant impact on the UK economy. A 2005 report by the Office of National Statistics estimated the cost of absence from work to the UK economy to be £11.6b. The same reports shows evidence that parents take more time off work than those with no dependents, as they often need to care for sick children.
Julian Cant, General Manager at DaRo UV Systems, said: We have been astounded by the results of our research. It is quite clear the spread of infections in schools causes children to miss school unnecessarily, forces teachers to take time off work and costs the UK economy millions of pounds.
-We know from our experience within the NHS that improved hand hygiene measures can dramatically reduce the spread of infections and cross contamination. Microbiologists and infection control experts now recognise without any doubt that stringent hand hygiene procedures will reduce infections and this is why we have seen such a dramatic decline in hospital superbugs, such as MRSA. Clearly, the educational sector needs to follow the example of the NHS and introduce comprehensive hand hygiene policies.
Together with the Yorley Barn Nursery the company has developed an innovative hand hygiene educational support package called Buster, which is being offered to nurseries and primary schools across the UK.
The Buster packs use cartoon characters to take children on a fun, educational journey about the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of infections. The packs use an ultra-violet light ‘glow box’ to ensure children are using the correct hand washing techniques. A special glitter lotion is applied to the hands and then washed off. Hands are then placed under the colourful Buster ‘glow box’ and any remaining lotion will fluoresce showing any flaws in the hand washing process. The Buster packs also come with exciting, fun-packed posters, stickers, certificates and an interactive activity book to teach the children about the importance of hand hygiene.
Donna Row said: It is clear many agencies are trying to re-educate parents and teachers of the importance of thorough hand washing, but until now there was no actual complete educational and support package, such as Buster, available to schools and nurseries. We are already using the Buster pack at Yorley Barn and the children love it, they really engage with the characters and have a lot of fun learning how to wash their hands properly.
The safety of our children is always paramount so it is vital they understand the importance of hand hygiene. We believe the Buster package could significantly reduce the amount of time both pupils and staff miss from school.
With further revelations in the media about teams of border agency inspectors being shipped in for inspections then moved out when the inspectors have gone, the Home Secretary says she will not resign as per her statement in Westminster yesterday the Home Office tells GPSJ.
A UK Border Agency spokesperson also said:
Keeping our borders secure is this government’s priority. Any allegations that checks were loosened without the knowledge of ministers will be the subject of an independent investigation to be carried out by the Independent chief Inspector John Vine.
Four brave police horses who worked for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are hanging up their horseshoes and retiring to The Horse Trust’s sanctuary2 in Speen, Buckinghamshire.
They have notched up nearly 50 years’ service between them and have been involved in a wide range of duties, including policing public order situations, crowd control at football matches and city centre patrols.
Three of the horses – Nickleby, Oliver and Fairfax – helped to police the recent disorder in Manchester city centre, and Nickleby and Fairfax’s last job was policing the Manchester derby match on 23 October.
Ann Firth, Groom Team Leader for Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP’s) Mounted Branch, said: “The disorder over the summer was challenging for the horses, as their initial reaction in a situation like that is to run away. They dealt with it really well though as they are big, brave horses that everyone loved riding as they knew they’d be safe. All four animals were stalwarts, and were often the first to be selected for operations as they could be used for all types of work and nothing scared them.
-They will be hugely missed, but everyone’s thrilled that they’re getting such a well-deserved retirement at The Horse Trust. After more than a decade pounding the streets of Manchester, it’s lovely that they’ll get to be horses again and can spend their days grazing in the fields at the sanctuary.”
Jeanette Allen, Chief Executive Officer of The Horse Trust, said: “We are delighted to offer Nickleby, Oliver, Fairfax and Jack lifetime sanctuary after their loyal and brave service to the police. Our staff will give them the loving care they need for the remainder of their years.”
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We are sure this will be of great interest to to writers and journalists – GPSJ Team.
Emap has recently announced a new content-led B2B exhibition: The Renewables Event. The show explores renewable energy solutions for major end users such as major corporations, manufacturers, retailers and the public sector.
The show will run alongside its two market leading events: The Energy Event and RWM (Resource and Waste Management), taking place on 11th and 12th September 2012 at the Birmingham NEC.
The free to attend event will attract Environmental Managers, Energy Managers and Sustainability professionals as well as senior business professionals, enabling them to :
Learn more about which renewable technologies provide solutions for business
Understand the investment required and the payback periods
Meet providers and experts who can provide suitable solutions
Discover more about incentives and schemes that will ease the cost burden
Alison Jackson, MD of Emap’s environment portfolio, points out, Energy costs are on a steep incline, making renewable energy solutions more viable, although there are considerable knowledge gaps. With the UK’s commitment to a low carbon future, energy users are deciding their strategy to achieve a greener energy mix. It was always our intention to increase our focus on renewable energy, once we had transferred the event to its new home in the NEC.
Research carried out since we acquired The Energy Event confirms that end users really want to learn more about commercial renewable energy opportunities. RWM already has a large energy from waste section and this new dedicated show will link it with the Energy Event to allow visitors the opportunity to see the broadest range of current and future energy technologies. The event will provide education, information and quality networking with solution providers.
The show will primarily focus on viable technologies that major energy users are now implementing:
Wind
Solar PV
Solar thermal
Energy from Waste
Micro CHP
Hydro
Bioenergy- including biomass, biogas and biofuels
Ground source heat pumps
The timing for the show is perfect, as end users look to reduce energy bills and find low carbon solutions. Whilst the UK’s Renewable Energy Strategy means that it must generate 15% of energy from renewables by 2020, it is currently only achieving around 3%. Making businesses pay the cost of carbon emissions coupled with incentives such as FITs means that UK businesses now have a better business case for investment. There is still a lot of uncertainty and unease surrounding the justification of the massive investments required. -Our show will inform end users, helping them to make the right decisions and purchase the right solutions, comments Jackson.
A trail-blazing Nottinghamshire County Council initiative, which boasts blanket success in keeping girls out of the youth justice system, has received recognition from the national body which works to prevent offending and reoffending by children and young people under 18.
Last week, the Council was named as runner-up in this year’s Youth Justice Board’s Innovation Award for a project which looks at what works specifically for girls when it comes to keeping them out of the penal system.
Part of the project, which was set up in 2008, delivers programmes in secondary schools across the county tapping into the particular needs of girls.
County Council manager for targeted support and youth justice, Rachel Tunaley, who is leading the subject, said: “To date our school programmes have had a 100% success rate in keeping girls out of the youth justice system.
“The youth justice system is predominantly focused on the male population quite simply because the vast majority of offenders are male, but research was carried out into why so many young women were breaching their statutory court orders. Following this, our staff received training on the risk factors for female offenders and the importance of gender-responsive working. It was this training that inspired us to design the Pearl Project.
“Research indicates that young female offenders have often had difficult early life experiences including childhood abuse such as neglect and exposure to domestic violence. This links in with issues such as low self-esteem and a lack of aspirations.
So far 12 schools have taken part in the group sessions for 11 to 14 year olds which look at issues relevant to girls such as peer pressure, nurturing healthy relationships and friendships, sexual health and self-image.
Congratulating Nottinghamshire County Council its innovative work, chair of the Youth Justice Board Frances Done said: “Well done to Nottinghamshire Youth Offending Service.
“This is an excellent example of how a Council has embraced the idea of working with young women and recognised their specific needs.
“Early intervention programmes such as this are vital if we are to steer young people away from becoming involved in crime in the future. Fewer young people who come into contact with the system means safer communities with fewer victims of crime.
The Council’s cabinet member for children and young people’s services councillor Philip Owen added: “We’re delighted to have won this high profile recognition for such innovative work – there aren’t many councils across the country which have adopted such a targeted gender-specific approach with their preventative work.
“The aim is to raise the aspirations of girls in Nottinghamshire, prevent them from becoming victims of domestic abuse and prevent them from becoming involved in anti-social behaviour or offending.
Depending on need, programmes in schools are followed up with
one-to-one support. And staff also organise ‘girls only’ days for young women often used as rewards for those who have voluntarily completed the sessions.
GPSJ has raised concerns around a possible security risk arising from the sale of unauthorised press cards on EBay that look very similar to the official UK Press passes used to identify professional journalists in various work situations.
These unauthorised press passes are being offering for sale on EBay for anyone to purchase regardless of any journalistic or media experience. By simply sending off their details and a photograph they can receive an official looking press pass complete with hologram and membership number. The colour and layout are almost identical to the real approved passes.
There is only one officially recognised press pass in the UK and is approved by the UK Press Card Authority, a number of gatekeepers then issue the passes to eligible people working in the media, the holder of the card is also verified by New Scotland Yard and is given a password to enable their identity to be checked by anyone needing to do so. It is also recognised by ACPO the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Although it is not a legal requirement for any journalist to carry a press pass the various gatekeepers who issue them have spent a long time organising the scheme and designing the cards to ensure that holders are recognised as bona fide reporters and media workers.
The card is recognised by ACPO and all police forces are made aware of what a genuine pass looks like and that anyone carrying one should be given access and accommodated where possible to report freely from incidents and situations where normal members of the public would be excluded.
The sale of unauthorised passes is obviously a serious security issue especially when anyone carrying these similar looking cards could be allowed into sensitive buildings and allowed access to VIP’s including royalty and government ministers. Although most police and press officers are trained to recognise the approved card, a quick glance at these similar ones could allow anyone, including terrorists, to gain access to a wide range of potential targets in certain situations.
Journalists who show a valid press card can normally gain full access onto Downing Street and into Westminster. Although security checks, including a body search and x-ray of baggage are carried out, there is still the potential risk of a rogue card holder being given access and then disrupting a meeting. Or for a potential terrorist organisation to do a close up pre attack reconnaissance mission.
These are just a few potential dangers from people carrying bogus press cards that have no connection with the media and who wish to cause disruption and possibly worse in security sensitive areas.
We contacted the seller of these passes and he told us he was doing nothing wrong and a press card did not entitle anyone to get into any meeting or interview, we told him they looked very similar to the only UK authorised card and this was also in his description.
We contacted the UK Press Card Authority to alert them to these cards, they then tried to purchase one of these cards of EBay but had their money refunded and the cards were then removed from the site. A spokesperson for the UKPCA said they thought these cards were in breach of their copyright and should be removed. Some journalists we spoke to also reported the matter through EBay’s complaints procedure as a potential copyright infringement.
Dominic Cooper of the Chartered Institute of Journalist said, “Members of the public should be aware that the defacto Press accreditation for genuine journalists in the UK is the National Press Card. This card, issued by the UK Press Card Authority, carries the support of the journalistic industry and the authorities in the UK.
“The guidelines for the issue of this card are strict and there is a method by which a card carrying journalist may be reported for inappropriate use of the card or unacceptable behaviour. For these reasons it is endorsed by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
“From time to time there become available so-called press cards, or press passes, which are offered to anybody who cares to apply. Such cards are sold only for profit, and there are no checks made on the individual who applies. As such they have no standing and anybody who purchases a card in this way should not be surprised if they find their money has been wasted.”
John Toner of the National Union of Journalists said he was also concerned about this matter.
“These cards are not official press cards and anyone in doubt of the validity of a press card should check the back and look for the card verification number, ” he told GPSJ.
“If there is no number then the card is not valid and we spend a lot of time educating people like the police on these matters.”
The Home Office refused to comment and said it was a matter for the card issuers and checks at sensitive buildings should be carried out by the police and security services.
The fact is that a number of these unauthorised cards have already been sold on EBay and possibly through other outlets, the potential risk now is that one of these could have found its way into the hands of a terrorist, political activist or somebody intent on making a statement in a very public way with an attack or stunt against a high profile target. It is to be hoped that the police and other agencies are checking press cards properly and looking for the security features built into the genuine ones.
Legal expert Cleland Thom, director of CTJT, said: “These cards are worthless. But they’re potentially dangerous, not just for security. If people used them to gain some kind of financial advantage, they could be arrested for fraud. Buyers ‘beware.’
A spokeswoman for ACPO said, Any type of forged or fake identity cards is always a concern, however it should be understood that access to sensitive or high risk areas does not rely alone on the production of an ID card like this. Police and security services will seek to make addition checks when and where necessary. If anyone is offered these cards for purchase they are urged to report it to the UK Press Card Authority who in turn should report it to the police.
Clearly there are many possibilities for breaches of security with people holding these cards who are not authorised. It is to be hoped that the authorities take particular care in checking the authenticity of press cards in the future and if in doubt contact New Scotland Yard to verify the holder is genuine.
Wandering lonely as a cloud
Public sector optimism for cloud computing seems as buoyant as ever, despite the mist surrounding the government’s cloud policy yet to clear.
According to research from Xantus Consulting, released in September, the public sector sees the cloud as a positive opportunity to change the IT landscape, despite the government’s apparent focus on shorter-term, tangible cost-savings through data centre consolidation and a less cloud-focused approach.
Despite a change of government, the departure of Government CIO, John Suffolk, and a re-write of the IT strategy, cloud remains very clearly on the horizon for many central government departments, even if the G-Cloud banner may have been taken down.
Bright clouds
In fact, the biggest benefits of cloud may lie not with central administration, but with local authorities.
In terms of the ‘big picture’, Xantus’ research showed that The Cloud is clearly being seen as some kind of solution across all public and private sectors, with 98 per cent of those surveyed having already undertaken some level of feasibility study for using cloud services within their organisations.
Moving further towards implementation, the public sector is clearly way ahead. A third of public sector organisations have agreed a business case for some form of cloud-based computing, against just under 20 per cent in the private sector; a further third of public sector departments have already examined and deployed a system, against just 10 per cent of corporates.
Jumping hurdles
The most significant blocks to implementing cloud based services is integration with existing IT estates and the complexity involved. When it comes to managing cloud services, compliance was stated as the biggest internal block for the public sector.
But again, the public sector’s optimism shone through with 70 per cent of public sector respondents seeing rapid resolution to the challenges, while almost 10 per cent of private sector counterparts could not see any chance of resolution in the foreseeable future.
A wind of change for local authorities
The most significant benefits from cloud computing appear to be amongst local authorities, which can score massive, authority-wide returns through purchasing cloud-based finance, payroll and HR applications plus large process-driven governance areas such as planning.
So, for a cluster of 10 regional authorities, for example, significant cost savings are certain through a collaborative approach to cloud services. Just as well, because, according to the Xantus report, a quarter of public sector respondent expected returns of around 50 per cent.
In essence, for the public sector to maximise The Cloud (whether ultimately called G-Cloud or not) and IT departments to sell the true benefits, four key areas require examination:
Environmental – By reducing the amount of hardware required by each Department or Authority, the public sector can significantly lower carbon emissions associated with delivering ICT services.
Agility – cloud can provide greater agility and speed in delivering policy and services underpinned by lower-cost, shared infrastructure. Re-using existing assets, reducing procurement time and costs simply adds to implementation speed.
Effectiveness and efficiency – cloud will fundamentally contribute to cost savings for OEP and facilitate and accelerate public sector OEP targets.
Collaboration – smarter ways of collaborative working are on the horizon through integration of government information and data sources. In fact, 40 per cent of public sector respondents to the Xantus survey saw improved partner and supplier working as a key benefit.
Clear skies?
Undoubtedly, public sector cloud computing is here to stay. Yet, overall direction on cloud remains unclear from central government, despite recent confirmation of a £2bn public services network (PSN) framework. In the meantime, the public sector can only maintain its optimism for cloud in the hope that the landscape becomes clearer sometime soon.
The author is Clive Read, Principal Consultant at Xantus Consulting.
www.xantus.co.uk
Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Dynamic Tour took place at Central Hall, Westminster, London on the 4th October, GPSJ editor Stuart Littleford attended the event which included a live demonstration of the OpenTouch converged multimedia communications solution which brings together multiple parties across multiple devices and on multiple media.
Xavier Martin, Vice-President of Product Marketing and Communications Solutions at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise gave the live demonstration of OpenTouch, and explained how Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise is developing innovation to the enterprise via this new suite of communication solutions.
There was also a opportunity to take part in breakout sessions as well, Stuart spoke to John Parmiter, Head of ICT Development at Warwickshire County Council and Stuart Smith, who is responsible for Public Sector UK for Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. The interview was recorded and can be heard below.
Photos by Stuart Coleman Photography – click here for site
Altro has introduced the new Altro Multiscreed EP Naturals system and improved its popular Altro SoloSafe screed to ensure its award-winning range of resins is better than ever. Produced in the UK using a proportion of post-consumer recyclate, Altro’s new ranges offer enhanced performance and increased colourways giving even more reasons to choose Altro.
The new Altro Multiscreed EP Naturals system has real designer appeal with tones evoking natural stone and polished concrete, and accent colours to contrast. Combining clear resin and coloured graded aggregates, nine colourways are available in either a silk or matt finish.
This three-part, solvent-free epoxy resin system offers excellent performance producing a high strength floor screed with low potential for slip and exceptional abrasion and chemical resistance. Altro Multiscreed EP Naturals contains up to 25% post-consumer recyclate.
It is installed at a nominal thickness of 4mm and can be coved and laid to steps or drainage falls. The durability you’d expect from Altro is underwritten by a ten-year manufacturer’s warranty. With improved installation characteristics and cleanability, Altro Multiscreed EP Naturals replaces previous Altro Multiscreed and Altro Pastelscreed ranges.
In another development to the Altro resins range, Altro SoloSafe screed now performs even better than ever due to a new and improved formulation. Rapicure Technology ensures reduced down-time for this 5mm-depth, low odour, quartz screed, which is ideal for a wide variety of areas where speed of installation and a rapid return to service are essential.
The self-sealing screed can be formed into coves and is easy to clean and hygienic. Altro SoloSafe offers effective inbuilt slip resistance in barefoot and shod environments. It contains up to 30% post-consumer recyclate.
London. September 23, 2011: Intellect, the trade body for the technology industry in the UK, has today welcomed the Home Affairs Committee report, New Landscape of Policing, which has adopted several suggestions made by Intellect in evidence to the committee.
The report recommends the creation of a single national register of approved suppliers for police IT and has urged the newly created Police IT body to reduce procurement timescales as a high priority. Both issues raised by Intellect.
Terry Skinner, chair of Intellect’s Criminal Justice and Emergency Services group told the committee that because of bad procurement processes police forces were overspending on IT by at least 20 per cent and that procurement times in the UK were almost double those in Germany and Italy.
Today he said: -We are pleased to see that the committee has picked up on many of the key issues we raised and is pressing for urgent action to be taken on them. By tackling these issues we can ensure that IT procurement across all police forces is dramatically improved and costs reduced.”
Intellect’s criticisms of police IT in its evidence has struck a chord, but Intellect feels the report should have been more explicit in its explanation of the situation the police forces find themselves in. Skinner did this in his oral evidence saying, -instead of engaging with the ICT industry to explain a problem and the outcomes they want to address, the public sector procures bit-part technology that may not deliver the desired objective.”
The report also urges the new IT body to consider at an early stage what processes should be involved before awarding a major new contract is the best way of meeting the business aim.
Francis West, Intellect’s programme manager said: -The committee’s recommendation to introduce a single national register of approved suppliers is a common sense move that would save suppliers and police time and money. When an SME conducts business with one police force it is beyond understanding that they then have to go through the same amount of paperwork 42 times with the other forces.”
An interview with Debbie Abrahams MP – Oldham East & Saddleworth for GPSJ.
This interview took place in early Summer 2011 so some answers will be relevant to that particular period only.
Stuart Littleford: What do you think the labour party needs to do to secure a victory in the next general election and do you feel the state of the economy at the moment is the fault of the last Labour government?
Debbie Abrahams MP: I think we need to do what we are starting to do around the ‘Refounding Labour Initiative’ which is what we should be doing all the time, engaging with communities and identifying their needs and issues and responding to them in the policies we develop. There is a big push on this now and the shadow cabinet team are going around the country to feed in ideas from local people.
I don’t believe the recession is the Labour governments fault despite what the current government would like us to believe, if you look at President Obama’s speech a few weeks ago he made it very clear the recession started in the United States and was the fault of the banks, with it being a global recession we have suffered as well.
SL: What are the main concerns of your constituents in the Oldham East & Saddleworth area?
DA: A whole range of different issues are being raised by my constituents at the moment, I do have regular surgeries, and as an example the NHS and police cuts are a real concern and also issues around immigration.
SL: How would you address any concerns raised by business owners in Oldham?
DA: Business people have been in touch with me on a regular basis, one recent example is a local haulier who raised the problem of late payments, he waits in many cases up to 90 days to get paid which for a small company is a huge problem. We are launching our ‘Be Fair – Pay on Time’ campaign, you are now the first to find out actually, it is important that large business pay on time.
The ‘Federation of Small Businesses’ had one of their best feedbacks on this issue.
SL: How do you think the government should address the poor level of manufacturing output at the moment?
DA: We have not seen any growth over the last six months and one thing businesses needs to make them invest money is stability, so we need to make sure the growth we need is secured.
SL: The Chancellor of the Exchequer seems to have no plan B at the moment and plan A is simply not working anymore , what do you feel needs to be done to stimulate growth and recovery?
DA: We have mentioned cash flow and we also need to make sure that banks are lending and this is a major problem, we need people in jobs and the government is going to be borrowing £46 billion pounds over the next six years.
SL: Are the Bank of England doing the right thing by not raising interest rates and do you feel that would cause severe hardship to people who have recently taken out mortgages?
DA: I think it is right what the Bank of England is doing, we can remember when interest rates went up a few years ago, we nearly lost our house and we don’t want a repeat of that, so it is right that the interest rate has been cut to the level it now is.
SL: Do you feel there has been more support for labour with the coalitions cost savings starting to hit harder or do you think the public understands that these measures need to be taken?
DA: We have definitely benefited from the disappointing view people have had about the Liberal Democrats, the cuts to frontline services, like the police, that affect people’s everyday lives are having an effect, I have people in my surgery saying they are being affected by NHS cut backs and people feel very disappointed about these things.
SL: I recently produced a documentary on the ‘Oldham riots’, do you think much has changes since that dark time ten years ago and are the communities in Oldham more integrated?
DA: I recognise ten years on from the riots this is a subject of key interest and the review in your own media shows that there has been some moves forward but not always felt on the ground, I will listen to your news definitely for this, we have seen some moves around the ‘Waterhead Academy’ and we need to make sure we have a fully representative public service and also in business to focus on equality.
SL: 26 men have been arrested over a period of several months in relation to the sexual exploitation of teenage girls in neighbouring Rochdale since 2008 – this has been happening in Oldham with arrests and convictions in recent times do you think this is just the tip of the iceberg and is this a racial problem at all as some people suggest?
DA: Any exploitation of children is reprehensible and these crimes should have the full force of the law behind them to catch the perpetrators and I don’t think it is associated with any particular group of people and these people should be addressed through the law. We need to make sure we are addressing the problem and look at the underlying causes that makes people do this sort of thing.
SL: What is your prediction for the economic outlook for the rest of this year?
DA: I wish I could be more positive but the independent forecast is very poor and the OBR has downgraded its view of how we will grow this year but it has said there may be better growth next year. But we do need to be focusing on jobs and we are cutting too far too fast and the way we are going to recover from this recession and grow is about jobs and we should be investing in those.
Stuart Littleford MCIJ spoke with
Debbie Abrahams MP for Oldham East & Saddleworth.
Photographs courtesy of Stuart Coleman
www.stuartcolemanphotography.co.uk
WRG is celebrating the outcomes of an 18-month drive to enhance its portfolio of more sustainable and efficient waste management and renewable energy generation options.
A renewed focus away from disposal activity has seen the business successfully introduce a range of new waste treatment and energy initiatives, some of which where be showcased at the recent RWM with CIWM Exhibition, at the NEC, Birmingham.
The starting point for these new approaches was last year’s Recycling Waste World National Energy from Waste conference in February 2010 at which WRG unveiled plans to introduce wind turbine energy generation on both its closed and operational landfill sites.
Planning committee approvals have already been received for the installation of two turbines at each of two sites in the East Riding of Yorkshire – Carnaby and Gallymoor – with a total capacity of up to 6MW of electricity.
Further wind farm planning applications have also been submitted for a total of 14 large turbines at three other sites, and for single turbines at five other sites. A significant number of other projects are at the pre-planning stage.
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