Councils on track to save £1.3bn
Councils nationwide are on track to deliver annual efficiency gains to the tune of £1.3 billion, according to official figures.
Published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the figures for the mid-financial year indicate that local authorities are achieving their cost-cutting goals - delivering improved services with greater efficiency.
Charity praises selfless Christmas volunteers
The work of selfless volunteers in the north-west has been praised by a leading charity.
A number of unsung helpers who will altruistically cancel their Christmas plans to help run charitable festive projects have received glowing commendations from the Community Service Volunteers (CSV) organisation for their dedication to protecting the vulnerable.
Domestic violence victims offered sanctuary
Every local authority in the country is being encouraged to introduce sanctuary schemes to protect the victims of domestic violence.
Communities secretary Ruth Kelly has published new guidance designed to help councils introduce safe rooms for victims as part of the initiative, replete with alarms, mortice locks, security lights, reinforced doors and CCTV in order to avoid uprooting beleaguered families.
Report proposes £700m in administration cuts
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has published a report proposing a cross-governmental cut in bureaucracy that could save up to £700 million per year.
Building on a draft published in 2005, the report outlines a level of regulatory simplification that would represent a significant step towards the ambitious plans to cut DTI administrative burdens by 25 per cent within the next three years.
Unemployed in job-saturated areas to lose benefits
Those who remain unemployed, despite a wealth of job opportunities, will cease to receive a jobseekers’ allowance in new plans unveiled this week.
Work and pensions secretary John Hutton told delegates at the Institute for Public Policy Research that unemployment remained high in parts of the country such as Manchester and Glasgow, despite a comparatively significant volume of vacancies.
