Skills and Knowledge
from the Homes and Communities Agency
Skills and Knowledge
from the Homes and Communities Agency
Glossary
Delivery of government services and information through electronic means such as the internet, digital television and other digital technologies.
Programme set up in 1997 to develop models of good practice in integrating services for young children and families.Further information » Sure Start
The ecological footprint gives an indication of the biologically productive areas of land and sea required to meet our consumption of food, energy, materials and for absorbing our wastes.Further information» Eco-footprinting » Stockholm Environment Institute
Eco-towns are small new towns of at least 5-20,000 homes. They are intended to exploit the potential to create a complete new settlement to achieve zero carbon development and more sustainable living, using the best new design and architecture.Further information » Eco-towns prospectus » Planning Portal
Number of people who are economically active aged 16-64 expressed as a percentage of all working age people.
Review of the local economy, typically involving a review of employment, business start-up, business survival, skills and enterprise support.
Most significant economic sector forming the basis of an area’s economy.
Approach to development that centres on public interventions, which assist the generation of wealth through business growth and start-ups, inward investment and the development of skills.
Number of people who are economically inactive expressed as a percentage of all working age people.
A term increasingly used as a result of the accession of new countries to the European Union. It describes the reasoning behind the movement of people from one area or country to another based on finding improved employment, education or housing opportunities.Further informationThe Impact of Free Movement of Workers from Central and Eastern Europe on the UK Labour Market (pdf) describes the key features of migration to the UK since accession and evaluates the impact of migration flows from these new EU Member States on the UK labour market. Employers' use of migrant labour (pdf) from the Institute for Employment Studies was commissioned by the Home Office and explores the recruitment and employment of migrant workers in the UK.This webpage on the points-based system provides key documents on the changes to the immigration system. » Border & Immigration Agency
Set of figures detailing economic patterns over a given period of time at the local and national level.
People aged 16 and over who are either in employment or unemployed but seeking employment.
People who are neither in employment nor unemployment. Includes people looking after a home, the retired and some students.
Defined areas with high levels of deprivation and low educational attainment that receive grants to raise education standards. Created in 1998, and now replaced by Excellence in Cities.Further information Education Action Zones (EAZs)
Study undertaken by Sir John Egan to highlight the skills and knowledge required to implement the Government’s Sustainable Communities Plan. A major recommendation was the creation of the Academy for Sustainable Communities.Further information » Department for Communities and Local Government
This concerns the energy used in sourcing, manufacture, delivery, and installation of materials in the building fabric and in materials used for the ongoing use of the building.
The total amount of energy required to produce a product or material. With regard to a building, embodied energy includes the energy used in sourcing, manufacture, delivery and installation of materials in the building's fabric, and in materials required for its ongoing use. It can be equal over the lifecycle of a building to the transient requirements for operational energy. Methods for embodied energy analysis include process analysis, input-output analysis and hybrid analysis.
Embodied environmental impacts are the intrinsic impacts of materials and other resources on the environment. This includes assessing the impact of the extraction of raw materials, their processing and manufacture, and their transportation. Measuring the embodied environmental impacts of a material or process offers a method of quantifying their comparative environmental benefits.
Emission functions relate emission factors (in g/km) of vehicles to average speed for vehicle type. These functions can then be used calculate single emission factor values for each vehicle type at average speeds on the four specified types of roads.
Emissions trading is an approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. A limit or cap is set on the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted. Companies or other groups are issued emission permits and are required to hold an equivalent number of allowances (or credits) which represent the right to emit a specific amount. The total amount of allowances and credits cannot exceed the cap, limiting total emissions to that level. Companies that need to increase their emissions must buy credits from those who pollute less. The transfer of allowances is referred to as a trade. In effect, the buyer is paying a charge for polluting, while the seller is being rewarded for having reduced emissions by more than was needed.
Skills possessed by individuals that enhance their chances of gaining employment.
Percentage of people of working age in employment.
A Government scheme to help long-term unemployed people. The initiative, which is confined to selected deprived areas, involves pooling funds for training, employment service support and money that would otherwise be spent on benefit. Further information Employment Zones: Helping you into work (pdf) Published in December 2007 by the Department for Work and Pensions, Ready for work: full employment in our generation sets out the Government's mission to raise the employment rate to 80% by 2020.» Jobcentre Plus » Department for Work and Pensions
Energy efficiency is a cost-effective strategy for building economies and meeting energy needs, without necessarily growing energy consumption. Efficiencies can be seen in construction techniques, materials, fuels and heat.
Energy from waste technology allows the recovery of energy from the burnable elements of the residual waste stream. Energy is produced through the gasification process - incineration plants can use the methane generated during incineration as fuel. The Town and Country Planning Association states that direct waste incineration could provide 5% of the UK's energy demand.
Tell you how energy-efficient a home is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes have the lowest fuel bills and are in band A.An energy performance certificate is one of the components of a Home Information Pack (HIP). Further information » Home Information Pack website
Have a variety of definitions, and may perform any or all of the following services: auditing, developing packages of recommended measures, arranging financing, installing or overseeing installation of measures, resident and staff education, equipment commissioning, maintenance, measuring, verifying and guaranteeing savings. The defining feature however of an ESCO is its focus on energy management as opposed to just supply.Further information Defra overview of ESCOs (pdf)
The Energy White Paper sets out the Government's energy policy aiming to promote cleaner energy supplies of heat, electricity and transport.Further information Meeting the energy challenge: a white paper on energy
Partnership created to deliver sustainable regeneration in urban areas. Combining the regeneration efforts of English Partnerships (now the Homes and Communities Agency), Legal and General and AMEC, the fund paves the way for higher levels of private investment in towns and cities. Further informationPublished in 2000, Our Towns and Cities explains how Britain's towns and cities can function as economic powerhouses, helping to achieve the government's core objective of increasing sustainable growth and employment for all and bringing benefits not just to their own population but to the surrounding region.» www.englishcitiesfund.co.uk
Sites for industrial development within older urban areas that benefit from relief from paying business rates and relaxed planning restrictions.
Procedure to identify the likely environmental outcomes of certain types of development. Some developers will be required to produce an Environmental Statement outlining the significant effects of the proposed development on the environment.
Environmental burden is a measure of the potential of a group of substance emissions to exert an effect on a particular environmental impact category, such as global warming or ozone depletion. Environmental burden allows the most harmful emissions to be identified and reduced first.
An environmental management system (EMS) is a structured and documented system that can be used to manage an organisation's environmental performance and responsibilities and help them reduce their environmental impacts.
Partnership between tenants and their landlord to give tenants more control over the day-to-day running of their housing. So far most have been formed on urban estates but there are examples of rural EMBs that manage scattered properties. The areas managed by an EMB should reflect a recognised neighbourhood or community with boundaries and common interests. There are no rules on size but an EMB usually covers between 100 and 1,500 homes.Further information Estate Management Board characteristics and examples
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates every six months. The UK held the Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2005. In 2008, the Presidency is held by Slovenia and France.Further information» Council of the European Union
Targets EU structural funds on areas that have an economy falling well behind the European average for wealth creation.Further information Objective 1: The National Picture
Targets EU structural funds on areas that have suffered through the decline of a major industry.Further informationObjective 2: The National Picture
Targets EU structural funds towards new skills, vocational training and retraining to help workers adjust to changes in industry and systems of production. It also supports the promotion of lifelong learning.Further information Objective 3: The National Picture
Targets EU structural funds towards new skills, vocational training and retraining to help workers adjust to changes in industry and systems of production.
EC structural fund that aims to reduce inequalities in socio-economic development between the regions by supporting infrastructure projects, job-creation, local development and help for small-to-medium-sized enterprises.Further informationCommunities and Local Government: ERDF
Supports activities that develop employability and human resources in five key areas: active labour market policies; equal opportunities; improving training and education and promoting lifelong learning; adaptability and entrepreneurship; improving the participation of women in the labour market.Further information » www.esf.gov.uk
European funding allocated to less favoured regions with weak economic performance.More information
There are four structural funds:
These funds contribute to the economic development of disadvantaged regions across the European Union. A region may have access to one or more of the four structural funds depending on whether it has Objective 1 or 2 status. The UK has been allocated over £10billion in structural funds for the 2000-2006 timeframe. The European Commission is currently deciding upon strategy and funding allocations for the period 2007-2013. (definition by DTI)Further information The EU Structural Funds Manual gives a broad outline under which Structural Funds can be appraised and awarded. The United Kingdom National Strategic Reference Framework establishes the main priorities for spending the €9.4 billion in EU Structural Funds the UK will receive from 2007 to 2013.» www.go-se.gov.uk/european
Programme to drive up standards in schools in 47 areas of England.Further information » Department for Children, Schools and Families
Arrangements that will continue the process of renewal and development after funding from the renewal programme stops. Sometimes called a forward, continuation or succession strategy.
A service centre for the community, whereby schools open up their existing facilities to the wider community outside of traditional school hours - for example sports facilities, ICT suites and after-school clubs. Extended schools aim to integrate the school and the community, and to provide public services, which may not otherwise be accessible to the general population for a variety of reasons.Further information Extending schools: Access to opportunities and services for all (pdf) sets out information on developing extended services. Published in June 2007, Evaluation of the Full-service Extended Schools Initiative (pdf) is a report of the findings of the national evaluation of full-service extended schools.» Every Child Matters » Teacher Net
