Archive for June, 2009
Many Consider Themselves Called, but in Truth Only Few Have Been Chosen
Posted by David Conway in Education, Human Rights, Religion on 30/06/2009
“The requirement that, if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or by conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act.”
So three appeal court judges decided last week.
A test which fails
Posted by Anastasia de Waal in Education on 26/06/2009
One of the latest changes amongst what appear to be last ditch attempts to win over the public on education policy is the introduction of ‘personality’ tests to ‘weed out’ weak teachers. Outlined in today’s Times Educational Supplement are proposals to use a diagnostic tool in teacher training institutions to work out who is and who isn’t suitable for teaching.
Follow the leader…
Posted by James Gubb in Health on 25/06/2009
More ridiculousness from the powers that be. One year down the line the Department of Health has finally got round to fleshing out details of its ‘top leaders programme’; c. 1,000 ‘leaders’ (up, it seems, from the original 250 planned) drawn from 50 NHS-related organisations identified as ‘needing the most senior leaders’ to go on a fancy leadership development scheme. You can only imagine the 1,000 clones walking out of the factory, primed in meeting the latest central initiative and playing the NHS game… or am I being overly cynical?!
Brussels plays the name game
Posted by Claire Daley in European Union on 24/06/2009
This week saw the parties of the newly elected European Parliament (EP) scrambling to formalise alliances that will allow them to access EU-funds and other benefits afforded to official parties in the EP, writes Luke Clark.
A Very Big ‘If’
Posted by David Conway in Health, Politics, Tax and Spend on 23/06/2009
Since 1999, the size of the NHS workforce has increased by 29 per cent. One in every 19 people in Britain now works for it.
A chief architect of that increase is Ed Balls, between 1990 and 2004 chief economic adviser to Gordon Brown. Last week in a widely reported radio interview, Mr Balls said: “If we can get the economy right – as I believe we are doing – I think we can see spending rising on health and schools in real terms after 2011.”
Since public borrowing increased last month by more than it has ever done since monthly figures began, this seems a very big ‘if’.
Looking at the Structure of Hospitals
Posted by Laura Brereton in Health on 22/06/2009
The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies held a seminar last week presenting some recent work of a few of my former London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine professors. ‘Investing in Hospitals of the Future’, by Bernd Rechel, Martin McKee et al., presents and compares various case studies of the buildings, costs and capacities of different hospitals around Europe. It’s a fascinating new line of research and something anyone interested in future health policy might want to review. Read the rest of this entry »