Local Government Reputation is important. How a local authority handles an emergency planning issue, such as a fire at a block of flats it owns, can impact on public perception…
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Reports that the “worried well” could account for up to almost a fifth of GP appointments costing up to £2 billion annually, may lead to some debate as to what…
A recently published Electoral Commission report on the accuracy of the electoral register indicates a significant under under-representation of people: There are 3.5 million people missing from the register in…
A book we have been reading a lot recently is the author Dan Pink’s new book Drive. Indeed ‘Tipping Point’ author Malcolm Gladwell has himself recently endorsed the book. In…
Times journalist, Daniel Finkelstein, writing in the Times today, writes about how politicians are failing to get their message across. However this is not just a problem for politicians. It…
We are pleased to report that Professor Jeff French will writing a number of postings for this Blog in the coming months. He will be covering a wide range of…
A new report from the think-tank Demos makes the important point that: “almost one in seven young people aged 16-18 are NEET. The personal and social costs are enormous- the…
The announcement that Lambeth is seeking to become a “John Lewis Council” in contrast to the concept of EasyCouncil that has been associated with Barnet, means that there is a…
Hardly a day goes by without a story appearing in the media about how dangerous these dogs are and how reckless their owners can be. Most recently, The Guardian quoted…
We know that reinforcing good habits is a good strategy, but the much bigger challenge is changing existing bad habits. The book Habit and Robert Cialdini’s Influence at Work team…
The Marmot Review of Health Inequalities post 2010 was published today and many will hope it will influence public policy in the years following the General Election. The key messages…
Obvious as it may sound, the General Election (which we can now assume will be in May) is likely to lead to change. This turbulent situation is shaping up makes to be the most uncertain and exciting election since the mid 70s. Anything could happen in the next three months.
An energised room bustling with enthusiasm is not what you expect when you hear the phrases ‘deliberation event’, ‘strategic partnership’ and ‘council members’ but that’s exactly what occurred on the…
The expansion of public services over the last decade, and the increasing requirements regarding evidencing of consultation has meant that consultations are held prior to every major public decision at…
In the early hours of this morning (Wednesday 9 December), away from all the Christmas merriment, when all was quiet about, something stirred on the internet. This something was the…
In recent weeks there has been a debate about equality and diversity. Many would argue that the case for diversity has been won. Mainstream politicians now apologise for past opposition…
Andy Burnham’s speech to the King’s Fund yesterday made it clear that the money will follow the results of patient experience. Whoever is elected to government next May is unlikely…
As someone who volunteers with a number of different organisations I felt compelled to write something on the subject of volunteering and the positive results it has on the individual…