The week ahead: 06/02/12-11/02/12
Author: Arun Marsh, the Guardian Professional Public Leaders Network |
David Miliband has today (Monday 06 February) launched a report (pdf) with the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, saying youth unemployment has reached ’emergency point’ and failure to take urgent action will cost the Treasury 28bn over the next decade.
The public accounts committee (PAC) take evidence on ‘accountability’. Witnesses will be Sir Nick Macpherson permanent secretary, HM Treasury and Sir Bob Kerslake head of the civil service and permanent secretary, department for communities and local government they will be looking at the dialogue betwween the committee and the government at 3.15pm.
At 10 am on Tuesday the transport committee takes further evidence for its inquiry into the government’s road safety strategy from police organisations and fire officers, from the European Parliament and from the EU Transport Safety Council.
The justice committee is looking at the budget and structure of the Ministry of Justice with evidence from the private sector at 10:30am. Then Andy Keen-Downs, chief executive, The Prison Advice & Care Trust (PACT), Sarah Payne, chief executive, Wales Probation Trust at 11:15.
The culture, media and sport committee opens its inquiry into library closures at 10:30. The committee is investigating what powers and obligations the government has regarding closures. In this first session the committee takes evidence from Miranda McKearney, director of the Reading Agency, Abigail Barker of Voices for the Library and the Library Campaign, and Sue Charteris, author of the Charteris Report which found that planned closures in the Wirral were incompatible with the government’s statutory duties.
On Wednesday an interesting collection of witnesses including ‘Astronomer Royal’ Lord Rees; Santander chair, Lord Burns and Sir David King, former chief scientific advisor to government and director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford appear before public administration select committee to discuss the lessons to be learned from business and science for strategic thinking in Government. 09.30, Committee Room 16.
The controversial health and social care bill returns to the Commons on Wednesday.
The health select committee publishes its report on social care including recommendations for the future of the sector ahead of the government’s social care white paper expected later in the spring.
The PAC take evidence on the Work Programme at 3:15pm. The National Audit Office have said The Department for Work and Pensions has introduced the programme quickly, which has had benefits, but also increased the risks. It is feared that assumptions about how many people the programme will get back into work are over-optimistic.
The Theos thinktank begins a new series of debates this week on the role of religion in public life. The fortnightly debates are aimed at senior civil servants and parliamentarians and will cover a range of issues, including welfare, radicalisation and the role of faith in schools. The first in the series – at Rusi in Whitehall from 5.30pm on Wednesday – will be of particular interest to those working in diverse communities, as Therese O’Toole, Kim Knott, Trevor Phillips and Dominic Grieve discuss religious identity in “superdiverse” societies.
Anyone wanting a steer on Labour’s policies around communities and civic identity should look to the speech being given by Maurice Glasman at a Localis event on Thursday. The ‘Blue Labour’ peer will also be giving his verdict on the coalition’s big society project, and suggesting where the opposition may position itself in the run up to the next general election.