Consultation News

The consultation on a new apprenticeship standard is ‘deeply flawed’ and ‘bordering on a joke’, sector leaders have said. The consultation on a new apprenticeship standard is ‘deeply flawed’ and ‘bordering on a joke’, sector leaders have said. The one-page consultation, which ends on Wednesday (17 May), is seeking employers’ views on what should be […]

The home secretary has said NHS trusts should “make sure they do upgrade” their IT systems in response to the huge cyberattack which hit the NHS yesterday. Amber Rudd told the BBC: ”I would expect NHS trusts to learn from this and make sure they do upgrade,” She indicated that the Care Quality Commission looked

Proposals to ban parents in Scotland from smacking their children have been opened up for public consultation. The move is ahead of a proposed member’s bill in the Scottish Parliament which aims to give children equal protection from assault. It has been put forward by Highlands and Islands Green MSP John Finnie. It is backed

Developers have performed a u-turn on holding a public consultation on revised housing plans – a decision labelled as a “disgrace” by campaigners. Last month, Hallam Land Management submitted updated proposals to build 760 homes, a new school, care home and employment space at Vearse Farm in Symondsbury. After initially stating a public consultation would

A West End councillor has called for Dundee City Council to urgently revisit city centre security patrol changes. Councillor Fraser Macpherson has urged the council to organise a consultation exercise after recent changes to security patrols in Dundee city centre. Security guard presence within City Square and night-shift cover at Dundee House have both been

Any incoming government must address this trio of fundamental issues if health and social care are to be sustained, says Anita Charlesworth With the local elections over, political attention is now firmly focused on the countdown to the General Election. Over the weekend the NHS figured prominently – with announcements on mental health services and

Simon Stevens has said “there is no version of reality” in which the priorities of the Five Year Forward View delivery plan will not be needed, regardless of who wins the general election. The NHS England chief executive reasserted his commitment to the Next Steps plan despite an election being unexpectedly called within a month

The city’s Voluntary Service Council says that £2.7m of cuts will mean the end of prevention services and increased pressure on Birmingham City Council-run services. A group of Birmingham charities has called on the city’s council to reverse plans to cut all its grant funding for charities, which is worth approximately £2.7m a year. The

A consultation on the UK’s Air Quality Plan has been launched, with clean air zones at the forefront of the proposals. The consultation document sets out steps the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland propose to take to improve air quality in towns and cities.