26 September 2008
Young people under the age of 26 are to be offered free theatre tickets as part of a £2.5m government-funded scheme, it was announced on September 23. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said that the idea was 'a long-term and sustainable opportunity to engage young people and build a new audience over a period of time'. A spokeswoman said: 'Arts and culture have the ability to enhance and change people's lives. Free theatre follows on from free access to museums and, more recently, free swimming.' Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, denying that the scheme was 'a gimmick', said theatre 'can change people's lives, it can give them new insights, it can broaden their minds and help them achieve their potential'.
The Post Office has announced the closure of 43 branches in the west of Scotland, beginning in November. The Scottish National Party said the closures would have a devastating effect on communities. Sally Buchanan, Post Office network development manager for Scotland, said: 'These are difficult decisions which have not been taken lightly. We have considered very carefully all the comments made during the public consultation.' The closures are set to affect Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, Dunbartonshire and Lanarkshire.
Welsh ministers are to take powers to force public bodies to collaborate on service provision under plans announced by Local Government Minister Brian Gibbons. The step is part of an overhaul of the way service improvements are assessed by councils, national park authorities and fire and rescue authorities. Gibbons' measure also included a step away from judging improvement on the basis of service outputs and efficiencies. Action to encourage local wellbeing, sustainability and fairness will in future be accepted as equally valid ways of demonstrating improvement. 'This measure sets out how local government will contribute to public service reform,' Gibbons said.
The Healthcare Commission has congratulated the NHS for reducing MRSA infection rates in hospitals. Chief executive Anna Walker described figures issued on September 18 as 'a big success in the war against MRSA'. She said: 'Infections like this are not easy to control and they have had a real hold on hospitals in this country. The personal cost has in too many cases been terrible. It is important to remember that our work still shows variations in the performance of trusts.' The latest quarterly figures published by the Health Protection Agency showed that MRSA infections had fallen by 57% on 2003/04, when the government set a target of halving the number of cases.
Only 39% of people in Wales want the Welsh Assembly Government to have full law-making and taxation powers, according to a survey carried out by Aberystwyth University's Institute of Welsh Politics. The survey, of 2,500 people, also showed that 31% want to keep the present arrangements, and only 10% were in favour of full independence. The government, a coalition between Labour and Plaid Cymru, has pledged to hold a referendum on law-making powers by May 2011.
A survey commissioned by head teachers' unions has found that women are taking fewer headships. Only 32% of the heads appointed to secondary schools in the past year were women, compared with 40% in the previous year. John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, called for action to tackle potential obstacles to women seeking the top jobs. 'The government must urgently address those issues, like excessive workload, that may be discouraging highly qualified women, in particular, from taking on headships,' he said.
PFsep2008
