Promoting parental responsibility
The current law automatically assumes married couples will
be jointly registered on their child's birth certificate whereas unmarried
parents both have to agree before a father's name can appear on the birth
certificate.
Sole registrations in England and Wales account for around
7% of birth registrations each year. They are often linked to social exclusion
as mothers who register solely are likely to be younger, poorer, and with lower
levels of educational attainment than those who jointly register.
Modernising European Union labour law
In its Green Paper about the need for labour market reform,
the European Commission (EC) argued that the increasing diversity of 21st
century working relationships means that existing labour law is no longer
adequate.
Proposals for freedom of information reform
reviewed
The Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000 came into force
in January 2005, providing a general right of access to information held by
public authorities in the UK.
The current charging scheme for handling
FoI requests is £600 for central government and £450 for other public
authorities, based on a set rate of £25 per hour for officials' time. Where the
estimated cost is below the limit, the information is provided free of charge,
but when the limit is exceeded, the public authority can either provide the
information for a charge or refuse to provide the information on grounds of
lack of cost-effectiveness.
Caring for our museums and galleries
'Caring
for Our Collections' (HC 176-I) examines issues of concern in the museums
and galleries sector, the archives sector and the audiovisual sector, including
funding. Particular reference is given to the adequacy of budgets and the
impact of the London 2012 Olympics on Lottery funding, and acquisition and
disposal policies, including due diligence obligations.
Quality of life for children in care
There is a significant gap between the quality of life of
children in care and other children - in 2006 only 12% of children in care
achieved 5 A-C grades at GCSE, 45% are assessed has having mental health
problems, 30% of care leavers aged 19 were not in education, employment or
training.
Openness in the family courts
The work of the family courts is crucial in ensuring the
welfare of the child is paramount when difficult decisions have to be made. It
is important that the courts can conduct their business with openness and the
confidence of the public.
Young black people in the criminal justice
system
Young black people are over-represented at all stages of
the criminal justice system; black people form 2.7% of the population aged
10-17 but represent 8.5% of that age group arrested in England and Wales. They
are more likely to be stopped and searched, less likely to be given
unconditional bail and more likely to be remanded in custody.
Finance Bill 2007 reviewed
This Report from the House of Lords
'The
Finance Bill 2007' (HL 121-I) examines the Finance Bill, which implements
measures from
'Budget
2007' (HC 342).
Flood defences in England examined
Around 469,000 households and businesses in England are at
risk of flooding with this figure likely to rise in the next century due to
factors such as climate change. The Environment Agency is responsible for
managing the risk from main rivers and the sea in England and Wales.
Saving for retirement
The White Paper
‘Personal
Accounts: A new way to save’ (Cm. 6975) proposed a new model for private
pension saving that would give employees the right to a workplace pension with
matching contributions from their employer and the government. The aim was to
make retirement saving the norm by designing a low cost scheme that would offer
simple choices.
Fair trade making “enormous progress”
Fair trade has been recognised by the European Parliament
as a key tool for development as it helps poor producers capture more of the
gains from their produce and trade their way out of poverty. In the UK there
has been increasing demand for fair trade products, and this has had an impact
in raising levels of corporate social responsibility.
However there is
still a backdrop of fierce price competition and reports of low wages and poor
working conditions for producers.
Departments must "reduce sickness rates by
30%"
Ministers have challenged all Departments to reduce their
2004 sickness rates by 30% by 2010.
This Report
‘The
Management of Staff Sickness Absence in the Department for Transport and its
Agencies‘ (HC 527) looks at the sickness levels in the Department of
Transport (DfT) and its seven executive agencies. Sickness levels at DfT
average 10.4 days sickness for each full-time employee, compared to a Civil
Service average of 9.8 days.
UKTI's five-year strategy reviewed
The role of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is to promote
both foreign investment into the UK and support UK exporters.
This
Report
'Marketing
UK plc - UKTI's five-year strategy' (HC 557), from the House of Commons
Trade and Industry Committee, looks at both this role and the key aspects of
its strategy.
Managing radioactive waste safely
'Radioactive
Waste Management: An update' (HL 109), a Report from the House of Lords
Science and Technology Committee, examines the Government's proposals for
radioactive waste management following the final recommendations of the
Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM).
(Available to
download)
NHS "lack of planning" over use of temporary
nurses
Properly managed, the use of temporary nurses can play an
important role in helping hospitals achieve flexibility. However their high use
can have a detrimental impact on patient care and satisfaction.
In 2001,
the Department of Health anticipated that a growth in the National Health
Service (NHS) workforce would lead to a decline in the use of temporary staff
but, in spite of this intention, temporary nurses still account for the same
percentage of the nursing budget (around 9%).
EU/US Passenger Name Record Agreement examined
This Report
'The
EU/US Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement' (HL 108) from the House of
Lords European Union Committee examines the Passenger Name Record (PNR)
Agreement between the United States and the European Union.
For every
flight into, out of or over their territory the United States requires detailed
information on all passengers and crew. Much of the information is collected by
the airlines - the Passenger Name Record (PNR).
New Boatmasters' Licence "should be suspended"
The Thames is the busiest and most complex inland waterway
in the UK and can be extremely challenging.
This Report
'The
new National Boatmasters' Licence' (HC 320-I), from the House of Commons
Transport Committee, examines the issues surrounding the introduction of the
new National Boatmasters' Licence, which aims to underpin safety on inland
waterways but has been highly controversial.
VAT changes needed to combat carousel fraud
Missing Trader Intra-Community Fraud, also known as
'carousel fraud' (where goods are repeatedly exported and imported within the
European Union (EU)), has caused a considerable loss of revenue.
It is
estimated that the UK lost between £3-4.75 billion in 2005-06.