Current Affairs Digest
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are changing medical diagnostics. Trained on vast datasets of images and research, AI tools are designed to interpret scans, refine images for clinical review and map anatomy ahead of treatment. AI has the potential to save clinician time, costs and workload. This briefing presents a range of studies on applications, accuracy and challenges.
In Focus
Ultra-processed foods have undergone a high degree of industrial processing and are typically high in calories, salt, saturated fat and sugar. Studies have linked these foods to obesity and other health risks. The government has expressed its concern over these potential links but has stated that the underlying causes are not yet fully understood. Therefore, government policy has focused on reducing the consumption of foods high in salt, saturated fat and sugar.
In Focus
Music forms part of the national curriculum up to key stage three. However, evidence suggests there is significant variability between schools in the provision of music teaching. The government has committed to improving and expanding music teaching in schools through measures in the ‘National plan for music education’, published in June 2022.
In Focus
Government plans for adult social care have undergone several changes in the last decade. In December 2022, the House of Lords Adult Social Care Committee published a report examining the adult social care system and making recommendations to make it a “progressive, visible, fairer and kinder system”. In July 2023, the government published a response. It pointed to commitments in its April 2023 white paper, including reform of the adult social care workforce, housing for people who required care and tackling delayed discharge and unnecessary admissions to hospitals.
In Focus
In February 2023, the government opened a consultation on its new children’s social care strategy. The House of Lords Public Services Committee held a short inquiry to gather evidence on the proposed reforms. Although the committee largely welcomed the strategy’s focus on creating stable homes and using family networks, it raised concerns including around funding and the scale and pace of reforms.
In Focus
Academy schools have grown significantly in number since the beginning of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010. In 2023, the government reiterated its support for academies, stating that it wants to “ensure all pupils and schools benefit from being in a high-quality multi-academy trust”. This article explores the development of government policy on academies and the extent to which multi-academy trusts help under-performing schools.
In Focus
Citizenship education is included in the national curriculum for secondary schools in England (and therefore compulsory in maintained schools) and forms part of a non-statutory framework in primary schools. Skills such as financial capability are also delivered through non-statutory personal, social, health and economic education. However, there have been several calls to strengthen citizenship and life skills education in schools, including from two recent parliamentary inquiries. This article examines those issues ahead of a forthcoming debate in the House of Lords.
In Focus
Fracture liaison services are designed to proactively identify people who have had a fracture which may have been caused by osteoporosis. Patients can then be assessed and given appropriate treatment or signposting, with the aim of treating the underlying condition and preventing future fractures. The provision of fracture liaison services in England has been referred to as a ‘postcode lottery’ by the Royal Osteoporosis Society, and evidence shows variation in quality and provision.
In Focus
In 2019 the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommended that paramedics be able to independently prescribe and administer a small number of controlled drugs, including morphine sulphate, diazepam and codeine phosphate. This followed an NHS England recommendation and would be subject to paramedics completing appropriate training. The government responded in 2022 to say it accepted this recommendation and would table regulations to effect this and associated changes when time allowed.
In Focus
Issues such as the growth in short-term lettings and second homes disproportionately impact housing issues in rural and coastal areas. This exacerbates an already complex housing situation nationally. Charities and campaign groups have called for government intervention, arguing that the negative impacts, such as a shortage of affordable housing, are hollowing out rural and coastal areas.
In Focus
Climate change is expected to have significant impacts across a range of domestic policy areas. Both the government and the independent Climate Change Committee, a statutory advisory body, agree on the need for significant adaption efforts to mitigate related risks. This summer the government is due to publish the latest edition of its five-yearly national adaption programme. This will detail how it plans to go about addressing climate risks and comes 15 years after the Climate Change Act 2008 became law.
In Focus
In December 2022, a House of Lords select committee published a report on the Children and Families Act 2014. It concluded the act was an example of “inadequate implementation” and had “largely missed” the opportunity to improve the lives of children and young people. In response, the government said the committee’s recommendations were at the heart of its plans to reform children’s social care. This article summarises the committee’s findings, as well as the government’s response.
In Focus
The 75th anniversary of the NHS’s foundation was on 5 July 2023. This article considers how spending on the NHS has changed since its inception and the debate about its funding model going forwards.
Research Briefing
The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (No. 2) Bill is a private member’s bill that would allow ministers to lower to 18 the age threshold at which qualifying workers are automatically enrolled into workplace pensions. It would also allow ministers to amend qualifying earnings limits so that pension contributions are calculated from the first pound earned. Ministers would have to obtain Parliament’s approval for any changes after first consulting on any proposals and reporting to Parliament on the consultations held.
In Focus
In September 2022, the House of Lords Public Services Committee found that “emergency access to healthcare is in crisis”. The committee outlined an action plan which it said set out how the government could address some immediate challenges in the short term and begin developing a new model for emergency health services which are fit for purpose in the long term.
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