The impact of regulations on overheating risk in dwellings

Many new and emerging regulations and standards for buildings focus on climate change mitigation through energy and carbon reduction. In cool climates, such reductions are achieved by optimising the building for heat retention. It is increasingly recognised however that some degree of climate change is now inevitable and new and existing buildings need to consider this to ensure resilience and an ability to adapt over time. In this context the current approach to regulation which largely remains focused on the ‘point of handover’ may not be fit for purpose. This paper focuses on a ‘typical’ dwelling designed to a range of standards, representing current or emerging approaches to minimising energy use, using a range of construction methods, where a number of adaptations are available to occupants. It considers, through the use of building performance simulation, how each configuration is likely to perform thermally over time given current climate change predictions. The paper demonstrates that the current approach to assessing overheating risk in dwellings, coupled with the regulatory focus on reducing energy consumption, could result in significant levels of overheating. This overheating could, in the near future, present a risk to health and result in the need for significant interventions

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

A novel peer-support intervention using motivational interviewing for breastfeeding maintenance: a UK feasibility study

Although most UK mothers start breastfeeding, fewer than half breastfeed exclusively for more than 1 week and only one in 100 breastfeed for > 6 months. Most stop breastfeeding before they had planned to. We wanted to see if it was possible to help women breastfeed for longer by using buddies trained in motivational interviewing. This is a form of counselling that motivates people to change their behaviour by exploring their thoughts and worries and helping them to set their own goals. The intervention we studied was called Mam-Kind. Mam-Kind buddies met mothers before their babies were born and provided support for 2 weeks afterwards. Before we embark on an expensive randomised trial of Mam-Kind, we wanted to see if it was acceptable to women and feasible to deliver. Eight buddies delivered Mam-Kind to 70 women from three areas with high levels of social deprivation and teenage pregnancy and low rates of breastfeeding. We interviewed mothers, buddies and health-care professionals to get their views. We found that Mam-Kind was acceptable and feasible to deliver. Mothers reported that buddies provided reassurance, were non-judgemental and were easily contactable. The buddies reported that it was sometimes difficult to use their motivational skills while providing breastfeeding support. It is feasible to design and collect appropriate health economic information. We used this information to refine the training and content of the intervention. The refined Mam-Kind intervention should now be tested in a controlled study to see if it really works to help women continue breastfeeding for longer