China will continue to crack down on the practice of surrogacy, banning medical institutions and professionals from performing surrogate techniques of any kind, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said Wednesday. Many older Chinese coup… read more
The Welsh Government wants to improve results and aspirations of those who need extra support in the education system. £10m of the funding is part of the additional £100 million extra investment over the Assembly term to improve school standards.
The new funding will be supplemented by an investment directed from existing budgets – expected to be a further £10m over the remaining Assembly term. While this is subject to confirmation of budgets at the next spending review, protecting this funding will be a priority.
In December the Welsh Government revealed proposals for an ambitious law to create a bold new approach to supporting learners with additional learning needs (ALN). If passed, the Additional Learning Needs and Educational Tribunal Bill will completely overhaul the system for supporting pupils with ALN, affecting every classroom in Wales.
The £20 million of planned investment will support ALN learners in a range of ways over the next five years, including helping the education sector transfer to new system set out in the Bill, encouraging organisations to work closely together, developing the workforce and raising awareness of ALN.
Last year just 23% of learners with ALN achieved five good GCSE’s including Maths and Welsh or English compared to 59% of all pupils and Ministers want to improve on this.
Alun Davies said:
“Our aim is to raise standards and extend opportunities for all our young people. Children and young people with additional learning needs make up almost a quarter of our school population; we cannot raise standards without targeting resources and improvement activities towards this group of learners.
“This £20m funding package builds on investments we have already made in transforming additional learning needs provision in Wales.
“This funding will help develop the skills of frontline staff to better support ALN learners. It is essential that all staff including early years professionals, teachers, FE lecturers and support staff are all aware of the new approach.
“Our ambition is for classroom teachers and FE lecturers will have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of all learners. We want to ensure the new system is introduced in a way which ensures learners with additional learning needs are able to access the benefits of the new system as quickly as possible, balanced against the need to ensure services and professionals are ready to deliver it.”
Call 0121 232 5500 and use new single email from 27 February 2017 for enquiries to our National Crime Team.
A new number of 0121 232 5500 must be used from 27 February 2017 when calling the National Crime Team(NCT) and the Criminal Applications Team(CAT).
NCT will also only have a new single email – see below.
The new single telephone number of 0121 232 5500 should be used for enquiries about criminal legal aid applications, hardship and complex means assessments. For example, defendants who are self-employed from 27 February 2017.
9am to 5pm Monday-Friday – excluding bank holidays.
We’re making this change because providers have asked us to make it simpler to contact us.
In the past, for complex means assessments providers have been asked to contact our teams in either the Nottingham or Liverpool offices.
The change will also allow us to manage calls more efficiently, which should improve our service.
From 27 February all emails for the attention of NCT should be sent to:
Nationalcrimeteam@legalaid.gsi.gov.uk
These should still be sent to the office dealing with the application.
BirminghamCAT@legalaid.gsi.gov.uk
From: First published: 8 February 2017 This seminar will discuss notable good and bad CJS policies and debtate how commissioners can influence their design to ensure success, 14 March, 2017 featuring Harvey Redgrave Director of Strategy and … read more
The review will consider the success of automatic enrolment to date, and explore ways that the ground-breaking policy can be further developed. Three themes will be considered as part of this:
The 3 chairs will be:
Richard Harrington, Minister for Pensions, said:
Automatic enrolment has been a huge success but there is still significantly more work to do if we are to set the next generation on a path to a financially secure retirement.
This is why I am delighted to announce this expert advisory group who will work closely with government to look at what we can do to build on our success.
Ruston Smith, Trustee Director at Peoples’ Pension leading on providing advice on the theme of engagement, said:
Auto enrolment has been a game changer – over 7.1 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension so that they have the opportunity to save.
I’m delighted to join the advisory group that will be providing advice, insight and challenge to DWP on the review of automatic enrolment, and to lead the group’s work in how best to engage with current and future savers.
Simple and compelling engagement will be critical in helping people of all ages make the right choices for their future.
Jamie Jenkins, Head of Pensions Strategy at Standard Life, leading on providing advice on the theme of coverage, said:
Auto enrolment has enjoyed unparalleled success so far in helping millions more people start saving for their retirement. The behavioural nudge works.
As it approaches its fifth anniversary, it is a great time to review the coverage it provides. It is crucial that employers continue to play a pivotal role in its success, but that the review also looks at the savings needs of those individuals currently not benefitting.
It is a great privilege to take a leading role in this next stage of auto enrolment, and I look forward to working with the Department for Work and Pensions and the many stakeholders to explore the policy options available.
Chris Curry, Director at Pensions Policy Institute leading on providing advice on the theme of Contributions, said:
I am delighted to be asked to contribute to the review, and I am very much looking forward to helping the Department for Work and Pensions build on the successful introduction of automatic enrolment.
One of the greatest challenges that we face is in ensuring that individuals save enough to be able to enjoy their retirement, and it is very important that we collect strong and robust evidence on which to base any decisions concerning the appropriate long term contribution levels to workplace pensions.
The review will look to ensure that workplace pensions continue to meet the needs of individual savers, and employer, while remaining fair, affordable and sustainable for future generations. The department will publish a final report later this year.
Terms of reference for the 2017 automatic enrolment review advisory group (PDF, 85.5KB, 2 pages)
Please send your views about the review by 22 March 2017 to:
2017automatic.enrolmentreview@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
or
AE 2017 Review Team
Private Pensions Directorate
Department for Work and Pensions
First floor, Caxton House
Tothill Street
London
SW1H 9NA
Ruston Smith has been Group Pensions Director at Tesco and CEO of Tesco Pension Investment. His other roles include Chair of the PLSA, Trustee Directorships at People’s Pension and Standard Life and he is a Governor of the Pensions Policy Institute.
Jamie Jenkins is Head of Pensions Strategy at Standard Life. He was heavily involved in the work on the Retail Distribution Review and the resultant changes in sales practices across the industry. He previously led the Corporate Pensions Operation. He sits on a number of regulatory and trade body councils and advisory groups.
Chris Curry is director of the Pensions Policy Institute. Prior to becoming director at the Pensions Policy Institute, Chris was Research Director between 2002 and 2013. He was previously Senior Economist at Association of British Insurers between 2000 and 2002 and an Economic Adviser at the Department for Work and Pensions between 1992 and 2000.
Media enquiries for this press release – 0203 267 5144
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