Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Articles from Roy Rowlands | Selfgrowth.com
- Network Rail devolution complete from today - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2011 from Roy RowlandsNetwork Rail has been split up into separate geographic business units with their own route managing directors from today, to allow devolved investment decisions to be made concerning tracks and stations. This move aims to align these decisions more closely to local passenger needs. In ...
Views: 322 - Bombardier wins €17.7m maintenance contract - by Submitted on Nov 14, 2011 from Roy RowlandsScotRail has awarded Bombardier a €17.7m (£15.2m) contract to provide operational support and spare supply for the Class 170 Turbostar fleet. This extends an existing agreement to November 2014. The contract, worth £15.2m, will see bogie overhauls supplied via Bombardier’s Crewe CRO facility ...
Views: 659 - Second legal ruling quashing council cuts decision - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA council’s plans to cuts its adult social care budget have been ruled unlawful by a High Court judge in landmark case. Two severely disabled adults, referred to in court as JM and NT, brought the case against Isle of Wight council, which Mrs Justice Lang said had failed to comply with its ...
Views: 412 - Rail regulations facing abolition are ‘not red tape’, say campaigners - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsPassenger groups and opposition MPs are alarmed at the possible consequences of the scrapping of hundreds of railway regulations under the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’. Even the National Rail Conditions of Carriage could be scrapped or watered down and made voluntary, and operators could ...
Views: 574 - NR prepares for Monday’s ‘big bang’ shake-up - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsNetwork Rail is preparing for the launch on Monday of the rest of its devolved routes. Scotland and Wessex have been operating since May as distinct business units, with their own route managing directors, and from November 14 they will be joined by the East Midlands, London North Eastern, ...
Views: 963 - More than 800 signal boxes to become redundant - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsNetwork Rail has given more details about its plans to concentrate signalling operations in just 14 rail operating centres over the next 15-30 years, to save £250m a year, cut delay times and enable more trains to be run on the network. More than 800 signal boxes would become redundant, and a ...
Views: 909 - Consultation on potential health trust merger of two NHS trusts begins - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsConsultation with hospital staff and health watchdogs has begun around the potential merger of North West London Hospitals NHS Trust and Ealing Hospital NHS Trust. The boards of the two NHS trusts approved the outline business case for merging the two organisations at board meetings held last ...
Views: 439 - Criminal sanctions increase for assaults on NHS staff - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2011 from Roy RowlandsNHS Protect has released figures today showing that sanctions taken against people who assault NHS staff have increased by almost a quarter on last year, despite a 19% decrease in the number of reported physical assaults. 1,397 criminal sanctions were applied following 18,060 reported ...
Views: 441 - Localism Bill to become law - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Localism Bill has cleared Parliament and is on its way to Royal Assent. There were have been changes from the original intentions on councillors’ standards, the mayoral provisions, sustainable development and financial incentives on planning, and fixed-term tenancies in social housing. ...
Views: 380 - Head teachers vote to strike over pensions - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe National Association of Head Teachers has come out strongly in favour of strike action on the ‘day of action’ on November 30, with 75.8% voting in favour on a 53.6% turnout. The union’s general secretary, Russell Hobby, said: “I have spoken at length to many school leaders and not one ...
Views: 358 - Council freeze on care home payments ruled illegal - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA High Court decision on council payments of elderly care fees could have huge implications across the country. A judge ruled that Sefton council in Merseyside acted illegally when it froze payments to a residential care homes two years ago. Most English councils will now have to review ...
Views: 439 - Circle completes take-over deal at Hinchingbrooke - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 from Roy RowlandsDespite months of delays, the Government has now signed off on the Circle takeover at Hinchingbrooke hospital in Huntingdonshire. Managers at Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust said today: “This is not privatisation.” Circle was named as ‘preferred provider’ to become the first private ...
Views: 448 - Pharmacy shortages worsen as drugs sold abroad - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 from Roy RowlandsPatients’ groups have said it is “unacceptable” that so many pharmacies have shortages of drugs. At least 80% of pharmacies are often unable to immediately supply drugs, with almost all having to spending hours trying to locate them from wholesalers and other retailers. Many blame the export ...
Views: 499 - Hospitals top energy efficiency league - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 from Roy RowlandsFour NHS trusts have come joint top of a league of more than 2,000 organisations for energy efficiency performance. Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Colchester General Hospital and Essex County Hospital, labelled it a “tremendous achievement”. The other three ...
Views: 426 - Ambulance services call for clarity on commissioning - by Submitted on Nov 10, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Government must “urgently clarify” commissioning arrangements for rural ambulance services, the network representing the trusts involved has said. In a new report, the NHS Confederation’s Ambulance Service Network welcomes the move from time targets to outcomes, but says the current ...
Views: 388 - TOCs demand Government action on cable theft - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsTrain operators in the West Midlands, a cable theft hotspot, are appealing to MPs to “get touch” on the criminals responsible and trying to educate passengers about the scale of the problem. Representatives of Virgin Trains, London Midland, Network Rail, British Transport Police and ...
Views: 472 - Transport committee back HS2 – with caveats - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Transport Select Committee has given its qualified backing to HS2, saying the network will provide a “step change in the capacity, quality, reliability and frequency of rail services between our major cities” – as long as it does extend north of Birmingham. The cross-party committee of ...
Views: 408 - Reprieve for Brompton from High Court judge - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsChildren’s heart surgery at London’s Royal Brompton has won a High Court reprieve, after a ruling declaring that the planned closure of the unit as part of a wider reorganisation was unlawful. Sir Ian Kennedy’s evaluation of the three hospitals offering children’s heart surgery decided that ...
Views: 388 - Cancers being diagnosed faster, research shows - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsDiagnosis times for cancer are down, new data shows, especially for bowel, oesophageal and pancreatic cancers. Of six cancers examined by researchers, bowel cancer showed the biggest improvement, with it now being found on average 75 days after a patient first visits their GP with symptoms to ...
Views: 424 - Transport committee backs HS2 – with caveats - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Transport Select Committee has given its qualified backing to HS2, saying the network will provide a “step change in the capacity, quality, reliability and frequency of rail services between our major cities” – as long as it does extend north of Birmingham. The cross-party committee of ...
Views: 427 - MPs recommend Bank of England reform - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Commons Treasury Select Committee wants Parliament to be able to veto the appointment of Bank of England governors, for them to serve single eight-year terms, and for the governance of the Bank to be radically modernised. The ‘Court’ – the board of the Bank – should have 12 members down ...
Views: 419 - Academic study says 600,000 could lose incapacity benefit - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2011 from Roy RowlandsAn independent report into the reforms of incapacity benefits suggests 600,000 will be “pushed out” of the system altogether, with the headline total of 2.6m people set to be cut by nearly 1m by 2014. Researchers from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research Centre at Sheffield ...
Views: 378 - Thames Hub plans ‘pie-in-the-sky’ – Medway Council - by Submitted on Nov 07, 2011 from Roy RowlandsArchitect Lord Foster’s Thames Hub plans have been criticised as “pie-in-the-sky” and even “potentially lethal” by one of the councils affected. The project would cost at least £50bn, but could generate huge financial benefits, as well as creating thousands of skilled jobs in engineering, ...
Views: 598 - DDRF hears of ‘massive’ opportunities for suppliers - by Submitted on Nov 04, 2011 from Roy RowlandsSir Roy McNulty told delegates at the DDRF annual conference that the way the railways are now run is “absolutely not common sense” as rail workers and unions protested outside the meeting against his recommendations, which they say will mean job cuts and a worse service for passengers. They ...
Views: 367 - Partnership on Dignity in Care starts work - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe commission on dignity in care begins today, led by the Partnership on Dignity in Care alliance, which wants to improve care for elderly patients in hospitals and care homes. The NHS Confederation, the Local Government Association and the charity Age UK have joined together to collect ...
Views: 388 - N. Ireland could implement minimum pricing - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Scottish Health Secretary has announced a new bill to set minimum pricing for units of alcohol in Scotland, which is also being considered in Northern Ireland. An exact price per unit of alcohol is expected early next year, and may have changed from the previous price suggested of 45p. ...
Views: 457 - New drug starves tumours - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA new drug that cuts blood flow to tumours, starving them of necessary nutrients, is being trialled. The phase one clinical trial of the drug L-NNA is taking place at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in north-west London on 40 patients with advanced tumours. It aims to establish the correct ...
Views: 390 - Future plans for NHS Wales revealed - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Welsh health minister, Lesley Griffiths, will explain Labour’s plans for the future of NHS Wales today, in a statement to AMs. The local health boards are in the process of finalising proposals for reorganising services before plans are reviewed by the National Clinical Forum. ...
Views: 470 - New brain tumour techniques trialled - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA phase 2 clinical trial, GALA-5, has started in the UK for a new surgical technique to combat brain tumours. The Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust (SDBTT) is working in partnership with Cancer Research UK to fund the trials, and if proven to be safe and effective, a larger phase 3 trial ...
Views: 480 - Schools emissions rising - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsSchool carbon emissions are on the rise due to an increase in electricity consumption, according to new research. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Shinawatra University, Thailand, studied 25,000 Display Energy Certificates (DECs) from 2008-9, which show buildings’ annual ...
Views: 359 - New offer for public sector pensions - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsMinisters are set to outline an ‘enhanced offer’ to unions on public sector pensions. The two sides are holding a special meeting at the Cabinet Office to discuss the proposals. Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, will announce the offer, which is understood to focus on more ...
Views: 405 - Government anti-gang plans revealed - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsThe Government’s new anti-gang plans seek to intervene in the lives of young people at risk of becoming members, and help those already involved in gangs to escape. The Department for Work and Pensions aims to tackle 120,000 problem families in England and Wales, with the introduction of ...
Views: 427 - Second home owners’ discounts could be cut - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsCommunities Secretary Eric Pickles wants councils to have more flexibility over council tax discounts for second home owners, allowing them to further reduce the discounts if they prefer. If councils cut the discounts offered to second home owners, this could reduce the typical band D tax ...
Views: 417 - Solar panels project provides training opportunities - by Submitted on Nov 03, 2011 from Roy RowlandsA solar panel scheme run by partnership with E.ON and Nottingham City Council has just been completed in Aspley, providing cheaper energy for residents and training for engineers who did work experience on the project. It is one of the single largest domestic PV schemes ever delivered in the ...
Views: 459 - Rail freight forecasts published & Virgin West Coast Main Line contract extended - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2011 from Roy RowlandsRail freight forecasts published Rail freight forecasts, published yesterday by MDS Transmodal on behalf of the Rail Freight Group (RFG), show ‘strong’ prospects for growth in the industry. Increasing demands on the rail network mean that volumes of rail freight are expected to double ...
Views: 455 - MHRA consultation launched & NHS managers could face removal - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2011 from Roy RowlandsMHRA consultation launched The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has launched a formal public consultation on the consolidation of UK medicines legislation, to simplify and clarify the law for regulating medicine. Draft regulations will be tested to ensure they are ...
Views: 426 - £15m saved in Cabinet Office bonuses & ‘Edging away from Care’ report published - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2011 from Roy Rowlands£15m saved in Cabinet Office bonuses Figures from the Cabinet Office show that cuts to the number of civil servants receiving bonuses has saved £15m in six months, as only the top 24% performers in the service are now rewarded. A further £45m is reported to have been saved after ...
Views: 487