The Living Wage

Book review of : The Living Wage, Donald Hirsch and Laura Valadez-Martinez. Agenda Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2017. ISBN 978-1-911116-46-

Building the next model for intervention and turnaround in poorly performing local authorities in England

This paper examines the design and implementation of the two recent models or strategies adopted for the intervention and turnaround of poorly performing local authorities in England in the two distinct periods of 2002–2008 and 2011–2015. The first was integral to the Comprehensive Performance Management regimes, while the second was developed under the Sector Led Improvement regime. The intention is not to determine which regime has, or had, the most merit or inadequacies, but rather to synthesise knowledge and identify areas that could be improved as policy and practice moves forward, particularly in the light of the recent general election in the UK. The paper finds that both models have merits as well as weaknesses, dependent upon context and policy priorities. It provides a review of when and where alternative models should be used, and a contribution to the development of the next regime. This, the authors contend, should have a greater emphasis on achieving more appropriate levels of public assurance than the current model is providing

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

The challenges facing public libraries in the Big Society: The role of volunteers, and the issues that surround their use in England

The use of volunteers in English public libraries is nothing new, however their use is becoming ever greater and one may argue that we are increasingly seeing a mixed economy of public library provision, in the wider arena of the Big Society. This paper presents the findings of a Delphi Study of 15 library managers undertaken as part of a Professional Doctorate exploring the challenges facing public libraries in England today, particularly focusing on volunteer use. An overview of relevant supporting literature is provided to help contextualize the research, particularly focusing on concepts such as the political background surrounding policy development, community engagement, the Big Society, and volunteering. Explanation of how the Delphi Study was conducted is given, together with a discussion of the key findings. Results show that opinions of library managers cover a broad spectrum. Although volunteer use is generally viewed by the respondents as a good thing, with potential to further enhance a service and aid community engagement, there are also a number of concerns. These concerns particularly relate to the idea of the volunteer as a replacement to paid staff rather than an enhancement to the service. Other key concerns relate to the quality of service provision, the rationale behind volunteer use, and the capacity of communities to deliver. Volunteer use in public libraries on this scale is a new phenomenon, and the longevity of such a development is largely unknown. This raises the question as to whether this is simply a large scale ideological experiment, or a move to even greater community engagement

Analysis of Property Values, Local Government Finances and Reservation of Land for National Parks and Similar Purposes

The impact on local government finances of the reservation of land for national parks in local government areas has been a bone of contention. This article identifies conditions in which the reservation of land for national parks increases total rateable unimproved property values in a local government area. The level of a local government's receipts from rates tends to move in the same direction as the total value of rateable property in its local government area. Thus, even though national parks and similar natural areas are not rateable, it is possible that the reservation of some local government areas for such protection can increase revenue from rates. However this is not always so and conditions for an increase in local government revenue are specified. Local governments may wish to maximise their income for discretionary expenditures rather than total receipts. Conditions are specified in which the reservation of local areas for national parks fosters - and conflicts with - this objective. Depending upon the nature of the relevant functions, local government finances may benefit from the existence of national parks in a local government area or be adversely affected by their presence. As far as we are aware, the conditions for this have not been previously specified

Revisiting the 'Missing Middle' in English Sub-National Governance

In the light of the new Coalition Government’s proposed ‘rescaling’ of sub-national governance away from the regional level, it is an opportune time to re-consider the strength and weaknesses of the city or sub-regional approach to economic development and to search, once more, for the ‘missing middle’ in English Governance. In this context, the article initially assesses the case for city or sub regions as tiers of economic governance, before examining the lessons to be learnt from the experiences of the existing city regions in the North East of England. It argues that while contemporary plans to develop Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) can be usefully considered within the context of the emerging city regional developments under the previous Labour Governments, a number of important challenges remain, particularly in relation to ensuring accountable structures of governance, a range of appropriate functions, adequate funding, and comprehensive coverage across a variety of sub-regional contexts. While the proposals of the new Government create the necessary ‘space’ to develop sub-regional bodies and offer genuine opportunities for both city and county LEPs, the scale of the sub-regional challenge should not be underestimated, particularly given the context of economic recession and major reductions in the public sector

Field trialling of a pulse airtightness tester in a range of UK homes

A new low pressure ‘quasi-steady’ pulse technique for determining the airtightness of buildings has been developed further and compared with the standard blower-door technique for field-testing a range of typical UK homes. The reported low pressure air pulse unit (APU) has gone through several development stages related to optimizing the algorithm, pressure reference and system construction. The technique, which is compact, portable and easy to use, has been tested alongside the standard blower-door technique to measure the airtightness of a range of typical UK home types. Representative of the UK housing stock, the homes mostly have low levels of airtightness, resulting in poor energy performance, poor indoor air quality and poor thermal comfort. Some of these homes have been targeted for retrofitting and a quick, low cost and simple method for accurately determining their airtightness has clear advantages for correctly predicting the benefits of any improvements. A comparison between the results given by the two techniques is presented and the field trials indicate that the latest version of the pulse technique is reliable for determining building leakage at low pressure. Repeatability of multiple APU tests in the same house is found to be within +/-5% of the mean. A test where the leakage is increased by a known amount shows the APU is able to measure the change more accurately than the blower-door test. The APU also gives convenience in practical applications, due to being more compact and portable, plus it doesn’t need to penetrate the building envelope. The field trials demonstrate the pulse test has the potential to be a feasible alternative to the standard blower-door test

Examining the Psychopathology of Incarcerated Male Firesetters using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III

Research to date has been equivocal on the relationship between firesetting and psychopathology, and has been impeded by studies lacking adequate control samples. The present study examined psychopathology in a sample of incarcerated adult male firesetters (n = 112) and prison controls (n = 113) using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III. Firesetters demonstrated multiple elevated scores on personality and clinical syndrome scales. Logistic regression showed that the borderline personality scale was the strongest personality scale discriminator between firesetters and controls. Major depression and drug dependence were the strongest clinical syndrome scale predictors. However, both clinical syndrome scale predictors appeared to be mediated by borderline personality scores indicating that firesetters are best characterized by responding indicative of borderline personality traits rather than other psychopathological deficits. The results suggest that, relative to other offenders, firesetters face challenges with impulse control, affect regulation, stability of interpersonal relationships, and self-image

Healthcare professionals' views on supporting young mothers with eating and moving during and after pregnancy: An interview study using the COM-B framework

Young mothers under the age of 20 often have poor nutrition and low levels of physical activity, adversely affecting outcomes for themselves and their babies. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of healthcare professionals in supporting young women around eating and moving during and after pregnancy. Seventeen semi‐structured interviews were conducted with midwives, family nurse practitioners and health visitors involved in the care of pregnant and post‐natal mothers under the age of 20 in England and Wales. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and coded within the theoretical framework of the COM‐B model to three areas of capability, motivation and opportunity. For capability, participants were broadly divided between those who had specialist knowledge and training in communication skills to support health behaviours in this population and professionals reliant on tacit knowledge. For opportunity, having enough time was seen as critical because young women's difficult social contexts meant supporting improved health behaviours required relationships of trust to be built. For motivation, participants reported that supporting young women with eating and moving was part of their role. However, the decision to prioritise this support sometimes related to perceived need based on BMI and this was complicated as young women were still growing. Motivation was additionally connected to professionals’ own body experiences and health behaviours. Moving habits were less frequently discussed than eating as professionals described how young women tended to walk a lot in their daily lives or found that young women were not interested. Results suggest that to support eating and moving behaviours with young women, professionals need to be trained in communication techniques, enabled with the time to hold space for young women and be able to reflect on their own attitudes and beliefs to support a rounded model of health and wellbeing