09 May 2008
Up to half of the people who moved to the UK from the 2004 European Union accession countries have already left, according to research from the Institute for Public Policy Research. The think-tank's report, Floodgates or turnstiles?, estimates that just over a million migrant workers have arrived from the eight central and eastern European countries that joined in 2004. But around half of these have subsequently returned home. Danny Sriskandarajah, IPPR's head of migration research, said: 'Our findings challenge the widely held assumptions that most of those who have arrived are still here, that more will come and most will stay permanently. It is a question of when, not if, the great eastern European migration slows.'
Health minister Ivan Lewis has outlined seven principles to help health and social care staff support people to live independently and remain healthy. The Common Core Principles, which will be available to employers, managers and workers in health and social care services, will help staff to develop the skills they need to help people take more responsibility for their own health and wellbeing. Lewis said the principles were 'intended to be a resource for reflection, challenge and practice change'.
The government's policy of fining the parents of truanting children has not been a success, the Liberal Democrats have claimed. Figures published by the party indicated that more than 35,000 parents have been fined for condoning their children's absence from school over the past three years, while truancy itself has increased by the equivalent of more than 2 million school days over the same period. LibDem schools spokesman David Laws said a community-wide approach, involving parents, police and local welfare officers, would be more effective than the government's top-down approach.
Bus companies in the UK received £1.44bn in public subsidies in 2006/07, according to a study commissioned by the Local Government Association. The study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that the 37.1% capital return for the bus market was higher than that for other regulated utilities, but that this was primarily due to the 'fundamental differences between the economics of local bus markets and capital-intensive regulated utilities'.
Identity and Passport Service chief executive James Hall has been appointed registrar general for England and Wales. He will be the eighteenth registrar general since the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837. Hall's appointment follows the transfer of the General Register Office to the IPS on April 1. He said he was 'delighted and honoured' to take on the role. 'I am especially looking forward to working with our partners in local government who deliver registration services to the public to ensure this continues to be an excellent customer-focused and effective service.'
The government has published its plans for developing a low-carbon economy, saying the country must remain at the forefront of the green industrial revolution. Responding to a report from the Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance, the government published Building a low carbon economy: unlocking environmental innovation and skills on May 1. The plan identifies four prerequisites for an environmentally friendly economy: a long-term, consistent policy framework to give business confidence to invest; support for innovation; using home-grown talent to develop skills; and fostering partnership between government, business, trade unions, higher education bodies and other
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