A round up of regeneration and regulation news stories from June – July 2008.
Skills envoy appointed to help social cohesion and economic prosperity in Europe’s biggest regeneration programme
Professor Sir David Melville CBE, Chair of Sector Skills Council Lifelong Learning UK, has been announced as the Skills Envoy for the Thames Gateway project. The regeneration project aims to give opportunities to the 190,000 people in the area that are of working age that are not in education or employment a choice of opportunities that were not there before. It is envisaged that 13,500 apprenticeships and 10,000 college places will be available for local people across the Gateway. Three new university centres are also being built with an expansion of Universities at Medway.
The tenth anniversary of the Public Interest Disclosure Act was marked by a launch of a new code of practice for organizations on whistle-blowing arrangements. The guidance, published by whistle-blowing charity Public Concern at Work in association with BSI British Standards explains why whistle-blowing is now seen as an essential element of risk management and how it can be used as a key tool in tackling fraud and crime. The Act protects workers from detrimental treatment or victimization from their employer if, in the public interest, they blow the whistle on wrongdoing. However, recent research suggested that only 40% of UK businesses provided a comfortable environment for staff wishing to report misconduct.
Contact Public Concern at Work
020 8996 7248 www.pcaw.co.uk
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