Advancing our cities and regions strategy

The Advancing our cities and regions strategy is an innovative approach to renewing and repurposing surplus and underutilised state property to deliver better community outcomes, create jobs and drive economic growth. Property Queensland within the Department of State Development is working with government land-owning agencies to identify sites that represent property opportunities that will deliver on government priorities, and generate economic development and community outcomes. To help achieve this strategy, eight economic and community zones have been identified where Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) will lead the delivery of a range of projects, many of which will be iconic developments to transform precincts and catalyse economic growth and diversification in our cities and regions. &nbsp

Can a case lead approach deliver the "craft and graft" of integration?

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and outcomes for adults with complex needs over time, within and between two teams that delivered integrated care across different Councils' services. The teams' approach to integration included two key features: a “case lead” way of working and the team itself operating as a single point of access (SPA) for residents in given neighbourhoods with high deprivation. Design/methodology/approach: The study was designed as evaluation research located in the realist tradition. Two teams acted as a case study to provide an in-depth understanding of how the case lead approach and SPA delivered the craft and graft of integrated working in the teams. Mixed methods of data collection included residents' ratings of their quality of life on five domains in an outcome measure over a six-month period. Residents and staff working in the teams also participated in semi-structured interviews to explore their respective experiences and receiving and delivering integrated care. The costs of care delivery incurred by residents were calculated based on their demands on public services in the year leading up to the teams' intervention and the projected costs for one year following this. Findings: The relationship between team context, case leads' inputs and residents' outcomes was mediated through the managerial style in the integrated teams which enabled case leads to be creative and do things differently with residents. Case leads worked holistically to prevent residents being in crisis as well as giving practical help such as sorting debts and finances and supporting access to volunteering or further education. Residents rated their quality of life as significantly improved over a six-month period and significant savings in costs as result of the teams' support were projected. Originality/value: The study used a multi-evaluation realistic evaluation methodology to explore the relationship between team context, case leads' inputs and residents' outcomes in terms that integrated services across different District and County Council Departments

Assessing LGUs' Health Service Delivery Performance: the Cases of Agusan del Sur and Dumaguete City

With the devolution of health service delivery from the Department of Health to local government units (LGUs) as mandated in the 1991 Local Government Code, how have the LGUs performed in their new task? And how have the local constituents responded to the new set-up? Read more on these...local government unit, health facilities, health service delivery, local government code, local service delivery

Multiple factors in the assessment of firesetters' fire interest and attitudes

Purpose: The number of measures available to practitioners to assess fire interest and other fire-related attitudes is limited. To help establish the utility of such measures, this study explored whether three fire measures contained multiple factors and whether such factors related to firesetting behaviour. Method: The Fire Interest Rating Scale, the Fire Attitude Scale, and the Identification with Fire Questionnaire were administered to 234 male prisoners (117 firesetters, 117 non-firesetters) and results were factor analyzed. To determine the relationship of the resulting factors with firesetting behaviour, their ability to discriminate firesetters from controls was examined and compared to the original scales. Results: Responses were best represented by five factors, four of which discriminated firesetters from non-firesetters. One factor demonstrated significant accuracy in discriminating single offence firesetters from repeat firesetters. Taken together the factors offered more clarity than using the original scale outcomes and showed equivalent predictive accuracy. Conclusions: The five factors identified may aid practitioners in helping to formulate the specific treatment needs of identified firesetters

Financial viability appraisals for site-specific planning decisions in England

In England, appraisals of the financial viability of development schemes have become an integral part of planning policy-making, initially in determining the amount of planning obligations that might be obtained via legal agreements (known as Section 106 agreements) and latterly as a basis for establishing charging schedules for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Local planning authorities set these policies on an area-wide basis but ultimately development proposals require consent on a site-by-site basis. It is at this site-specific level that issues of viability are hotly contested. This paper examines case documents, proofs of evidence and decisions from a sample of planning disputes in order to address major issues within development viability, the application of the models and the distribution of the development gain between the developer, landowner and community. The results have specific application to viability assessment in England and should impact on future policy and practice guidance in this field. They also have relevance to other countries that incorporate assessments of economic viability in their planning systems

New housing association development and its potential to reduce concentrations of deprivation: An English case study

Social housing across Western Europe has become significantly more residualised as governments concentrate on helping vulnerable households. Many countries are trying to reduce the concentrations of deprivation by building for a wider range of households and tenures. In England this policy has two main strands: (i) including other tenures when regenerating areas originally built as mono-tenure social housing estates and (ii) introducing social rented and low cost homeownership into new private market developments through planning obligations. By examining where new social housing and low cost home ownership homes have been built and who moves into them, this paper examines whether these policies achieve social mix and reduce spatial concentrations of deprivation. The evidence suggests that new housing association development has enabled some vulnerable households to live in areas which are not deprived, while some better off households have moved into more deprived areas. But these trends have not been sufficient to stem increases in deprivation in the most deprived areas

Maternity and early years: making a good start to family life

Government report launching their strategic vision for the further transformation of maternity services and early years services. This document has been developed jointly by the Department of Health, The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, drawing on the views of mothers and fathers, children’s centre staff, local health practitioners and children

Commissioning for health improvement following the 2012 health and social care reforms in England: what has changed?

Background: The wide-ranging program of reforms brought about by the Health and Social Care Act (2012) in England fundamentally changed the operation of the public health system, moving responsibility for the commissioning and delivery of services from the National Health Service to locally elected councils and a new national public health agency. This paper explores the ways in which the reforms have altered public health commissioning. Methods: We conducted multi-methods research over 33 months, incorporating national surveys of Directors of Public Health and local council elected members at two time-points, and in-depth case studies in five purposively selected geographical areas. Results: Public health commissioning responsibilities have changed and become more fragmented, being split amongst a range of different organisations, most of which were newly created in 2013. There is much change in the way public health commissioning is done, in who is doing it, and in what is commissioned, since the reforms. There is wider consultation on decisions in the local council setting than in the NHS, and elected members now have a strong influence on public health prioritisation. There is more (and different) scrutiny being applied to public health contracts, and most councils have embarked on wide-ranging changes to the health improvement services they commission. Public health money is being used in different ways as councils are adapting to increasing financial constraint. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, while some of the intended opportunities to improve population health and create a more joined-up system with clearer leadership have been achieved, fragmentation, dispersed decision-making and uncertainties regarding funding remain significant challenges. There have been profound changes in commissioning processes, with consequences for what health improvement services are ultimately commissioned. Time (and further research) will tell if any of these changes lead to improved population health outcomes and reduced health inequalities, but many of the opportunities brought about by the reforms are threatened by the continued flux in the system

2015 Statewide Bridge Sufficiency Rating Report - Full

The main purpose of this report is to provide bridge sufficiency rating information for the bridges in each county to county officials as a convenient starting point for formulating a long-range plan to cope with their county bridge deficiencies. This information results from the data generated by the national Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) program authorized by the 1968 Federal-Aid Highway Act

National Evaluation of the Capacity Building Programme in English Local Government: Evaluation of the National Programmes: Annex 2: Evaluation of the National Programmes

The report is one of a series of outputs from the national evaluation of the CBP, being undertaken by a team of researchers at the Policy Research Institute (PRI) at Leeds Metropolitan University and the Cities Research Unit at the University of West of England. The Capacity Building Programme for local government was launched in 2003 as a joint Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) / Local Government Association (LGA) initiative to support capacity building and improvement activities within local authorities in England. The evaluation of the Capacity Building Programme has been underway since late 2004. A scoping phase was conducted until May 2005, including a short evaluation of the Pilot Programmes. The main phase of the evaluation commenced in September 2005 and encompassed four main phases (see Section 1.3: p10)