Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has ordered an inquiry after widespread protests against the decision by Wirral Council to replace 11 public libraries with five multi-purpose buildings. The inquiry will consider whether the plans accord with the council’s statutory duty to provide a ‘comprehensive and efficient’ public library service. Burnham said: ‘My strategic adviser on library matters, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, has made it clear to me that there is a significant gap in the available evidence on the likely impact that the Wirral’s plans… will have on the community.’
Civil service head Sir Gus O’Donnell has commended five government departments for ‘improvements across the board’ — despite mixed capability review results. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for International Development, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have all been re-reviewed under the Cabinet Office scheme. But the MoD was rated ‘strong’ in only one of ten assessment areas, and ‘well placed’ [to improve] in a further three. For most criteria, including all related to delivery, the ministry was given a lower ‘development area’ rating, results that were mirrored by Defra’s. The DCMS received no ‘strong’ ratings , with two out of four areas requiring ‘urgent development’.
The Wales Audit Office has invited an independent review into its operations. The review team includes the deputy auditor general for Scotland, Caroline Gardner; Sir Alistair Graham, former chair of the committee on standards in public life; and John Purcell, former auditor general for Ireland. WAO head Jeremy Colman said: ‘The Wales Audit Office is no different from any public body that we audit or inspect. Any mature organisation needs to be open enough to reflect on its weaknesses as well as its strengths.’
Simon Fraser, who is currently director general for Europe and globalisation at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has been appointed permanent secretary in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. His appointment follows the retirement of Sir Brian Bender. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: ‘With his European and international experience, he is perfectly qualified to lead the department. He is the leader the department needs as it plays its part in helping Britain through the recession.’ Fraser takes up his new role in May.
The public sector in Wales might be facing an unfair burden in the battle to meet carbon reduction targets, Welsh Assembly members have warned. In a report on April 1, the Assembly’s sustainability committee warned that the private sector would be unable to ‘deliver a meaningful contribution’ to the One Wales coalition government’s targets. As a result, it was concerned about the role the public sector would be expected to play in meeting the 3% per year reductions by 2011. The committee recommended that targets in the private sector be made mandatory after a five-year period of voluntary action.
The body set up to support British exports is broadly meeting its performance targets, auditors have said. A National Audit Office report, published on April 3, found 52% of businesses aided by UK Trade & Investment claimed their performance improved as a result. The figure exceeds the organisation’s 50% requirement, although user satisfaction at 75% is short of the 80% target. The NAO warned that UKTI must improve its cost model to enable it to more accurately estimate if its services are value for money.
