Growth in lower life expectancy in England’s deprived areas
Health inequalities between the rich and poor in England are increasing, as discussed in ‘Tackling Inequalities in Life Expectancy in Areas with the Worst Health and Deprivation: Department of Health’ (HC 186).
The Department of Health has made a serious attempt to improve life expectancy in poorer areas of the country but will fail to reach targets set out in 2000 by 10% if current trends continue for 2010.
Committee suggests that street availability of cocaine has not been affected by enforcement
Cocaine is a dangerous drug linked to heart disease, long-term erosion of cognitive brain function, and has extremely toxic effects when combined with alcohol. In 2008 some 235 sudden deaths were associated with cocaine.
Cocaine powder use in the UK has quintupled from 1996 to 2008-09, contrary to the overall trend in illicit drug use in the UK. Any successful policy against cocaine must address both supply-side enforcement and demand reduction.
Work and Pensions Committee calls for the establishment of a Welfare Commission
In this report, 'Decision Making and Appeals in the Benefits System (HC 313)' the Work and Pensions Committee reiterates its call for the establishment of a Welfare Commission to create a fairer and simpler benefits system that claimants can understand and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) can administer more accurately.
The report concludes that the vast majority of decisions DWP makes are accepted by claimants and lead to the right benefits being paid on time to those who are eligible. However, the level of official error in the benefits system has increased substantially since 2000-01.
Green Paper sets out measures to help families cope in times of difficulty
The demographic and social changes of the last 30 or 40 years have been profound and have led to much greater diversity in family patterns. However the evidence is clear that it is strong, stable relationships between adults in the home - parents, grandparents and other caring adults - and among all these adults and the children in a family, that have the biggest impact on children's happiness and healthy development.
'Support for All: The Families and Relationships Green Paper’ (Cm. 7787) sets out a wide range of measures to support all families as they bring up their children and to help families cope with times of stress and difficulty.
Curb alcohol consumption by rising prices urges the Health Committee
This report 'Alcohol' (HC 151-I) calls for a radical change in the Government's approach to the health and social problems caused by the rising consumption of alcohol in England and Wales.
Consumption per head has nearly tripled since 1947, and 31% of men and 21% of women are drinking hazardously (more than 21 units per week) or harmfully (more than 50 units per week). It is estimated alcohol abuse in England and Wales kills 30-40,000 people a year and costs the economy £55bn. Excessive consumption also leads to serious accidents, disorder, violence and crime.
Government outlines Equality plan
A substantial body of equality legislation has been introduced over the last four decades but such legislation has become complex and difficult to understand.
This publication, 'Framework for a Fairer Future - The Equality Bill (Cm. 7431)', sets out the Government's aims for the forthcoming Equality Bill, which will simplify and strengthen the law and introduce a new Equality Duty on the public sector.
Plans to tackle teenage drinking proposed
This publication, 'Youth Alcohol Action Plan' (Cm. 7387), from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), the Home Office and the Department of Health sets out the Government's aim of addressing the problem of teenage drinking.
UK Immigration Statistics for 2005
Immigration control regulates the entry and refusal of
entry of passengers into the UK; the conditions of stay and any variations
following entry; settlement and deportation. In 2005 the estimated number of
international arrivals from outside the Common Travel Area rose by 5% while
asylum applications, excluding dependants, fell by 24%.
Only 56 % of calls to DWP call centres
answered
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) delivers
benefits, pensions and employment services to 28 million customers in Britain.
In 2004-05, the DWP spent £190 million using contact centres to provide
customer services.
Following a National Audit Office (NAO) report
'Delivering
Effective Services through Contact Centres' (HC 941), the Committee has
examined the cost-effectiveness, accessibility and quality of customer services
provided.
"Banking the unbanked": promoting financial
inclusion
Financial exclusion can impose significant costs on
individuals and be a barrier to employment and enterprise.
Many people
are still facing problems in opening basic bank accounts and operating them to
maximise their value.