16 May 2008
The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a new strategy to help the estimated 12,000 young people in Wales not in training, education or employment. It is expected to include legislation to provide a greater choice of courses in schools and colleges and to encourage councils, schools and colleges to work together on more flexible learning options. Deputy minister for skills John Griffiths said: 'We want to ensure that as many young people as possible choose to stay in learning after the age of 16.'
Former culture secretary Chris Smith has been appointed chair of the Environment Agency, replacing Sir John Harman. Lord Smith is currently chair of the Advertising Standards Authority. He said: 'I have been committed to raising the profile of environmental issues for more than 20 years, during which time the environment has risen to become one of the top priorities for the government and the public.'
Two-thirds of British adults of all ages think the government does not take older people seriously, according to a survey from Help the Aged. The research, published on May 9, shows that three-fifths of people believe that the older a person gets, the worse they are treated by society, and the same proportion worry about how they will be treated when they reach the age of 65. Kate Jopling, head of public affairs at Help the Aged, said the government did not think age discrimination was a 'big deal' and that 'the lack of legislation against age discrimination in our society makes a mockery of older people'.
Health minister Lord Darzi has published five pledges to the public, patients and staff on how NHS reforms will be handled. The pledges, published in Leading local change on May 9, come ahead of the cancer surgeon's final report on the future of NHS reform. Darzi said the pledges would ensure changes were transparent, locally led, clinically driven and evidence-based. 'The focus of my report on the next stage of NHS reform will be how we can enable local clinicians and patients to be the driving force of improvement and change in the NHS,' he said. British Medical Association chair Hamish Meldrum said the principles were 'impossible to disagree with' but that their impact would depend on the details, such as the nature of the involvement of local people and staff.
MPs have criticised the Department of Health's reform of the junior doctors' training programme. The introduction of new speciality training arrangements in 2007 was 'disastrous', according to the Commons health select committee. The Modernising Medical Careers reform introduced a centralised recruitment system, the Medical Training Application Service, which proved unpopular with doctors and employers. Most of the criticism was reserved for chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson, who was the architect of the reforms. The committee's Modernising medical careers report says Donaldson had failed to take responsibility for last year's crisis, while the medical profession was more concerned with factional interests than the common good.
Extra support for homeowners facing repossession has been announced by the government, as figures showed mortgage possession orders at their highest since the early 1990s. Chancellor Alistair Darling and housing minister Caroline Flint announced a £10m package for homeowners facing difficulties on May 9, as the Ministry of Justice released figures showing a 17% increase in mortgage possession orders for the first quarter of 2008, compared with 2007. The support package includes an extra £9m for Citizens Advice Bureaux to give debt advice and an expansion of legal aid at county courts.
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