Policy Announcements, Wednesday 16 May

Government

• The Police Service has a crucial role to play in meeting the challenges of 21st century security, Home Secretary John Reid said today. Speaking at the Police Federation annual conference in Blackpool, the Home Secretary highlighted how the Government and police have worked together to meet these challenges - with Neighbourhood Policing now successfully introduced to police forces across England and Wales. Putting the Police Service at the heart of public protection - from the personal, to the community to the national level - the Home Secretary said that the service would need to respond to the demands of the public, both in terms of their expectations of the police and a criminal justice system that supports the rights of the victim. 
• Mothers and their unborn babies are to be targeted for help as part of the latest drive to prevent social exclusion. Tony Blair has given his backing to the Nurse-Family Partnerships programme following a meeting with healthcare workers who will be piloting the scheme. A £7.5m government trial of the US initiative - aimed at using early intervention tactics to prevent vulnerable youngsters from falling into difficulty and becoming involved in anti-social behaviour - was launched earlier this month. The pilots are in place in 10 areas nationwide, including London's Tower Hamlets and Manchester. Under the scheme, those considered most at risk receive weekly visits from health workers or nurses from when the mother is 16 to 28 weeks pregnant until the child is two. They will offer mothers advice on diet, exercise, relationships and parenting skills.
• Schools Minister Andrew Adonis today launched new guidelines to ensure effective and early action is taken to improve weak and failing schools. It makes clear to both local authorities and schools that the Government will not tolerate schools being allowed to slide into failure or drift into mediocrity. In addition, authorities will be able formally to warn schools where there are clear indications they can do better and there is a danger of Ofsted failure.
• Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, today invited every maintained secondary school in England to choose 20 free books for their library as part of a £600,000 initiative to encourage more teenage boys to read for pleasure. Schools will be able to select the books from a new "Boys Into Books" list commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills and created by the School Library Association (SLA). It has put together a collection that incorporates classic novels with action, adventure, fantasy, crime, horror and sports titles, as well as fact-based books, history and humour.

Conservatives  

• The Conservatives have failed in their bid to scrap Home Information Packs, after losing a vote in the Commons. The government said the packs will cut the number of transactions which fall through and encourage people to make homes more energy efficient. But the Tories had argued they will increase costs without achieving goals.