Simply Understand

Short shorts: Alcohol labelling

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:34:00 +0000

This is the first in a new series. Consultations in 200 words or less! This is the options for improving information on the labels of alcoholic drinks to support consumers to make healthier choices in the UK from the Department of Health.

Get your ideas, thoughts and evidence in for 9 May 2010, email UKalcohollabelling@dh.gsi.gov.uk.

You're not supposed to drink more than 3-4 units a day if you're a man, or 2-3 if you're a woman, but not many people know how many alcohol units there are in different drinks, especially wine.

The drinks industry agreed in 2008 to put labels on their drinks about:

how many units there are in a bottle, can or glass
how many units you should drink,
and warnings not to drink if you're pregnant.

It hasn't gone very well. They've been really slow to put the labels on, and some companies haven't done anything at all.

Time for a rethink. Should we:

Let them keep their agreement and hope more people take it up
We'd only get labels on 40% of drinks sold in the UK by 2012.
Make another, stronger agreement with the drinks industry
Nearly 75% of drinks sold here could have the labels by 2014.
Make them put the labels on by law
100% coverage, but small businesses might lose out and we might not get as much imported alcohol if foreign companies don't want to play by our rules.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all need to agree on what we're doing.

Ordnance Survey: the options for change - or not?

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:59:00 +0000

This has been by far the hardest paper I've ever tried to translate. I don't think it's quite plain English. More plainer English.

I hope this is of some use to all the people out there who care quite deeply about maps, and the power geographical information and all the wonderful things we can do with mapping technology gives us, even if we don't always realise it!

If you're not fond of flash, you can download the Ordnance Survey GI: Plainer English paper too.

Ordnance Survey: a sneak preview

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:55:00 +0000

The full version of this Ordnance Survey paper is now up, have a look!

Because you've been waiting ages, here's my overview of the free maps package the government are (sort of) offering with every option for Ordnance Survey's future.

As for the rest, Simply Understand's kryptonite might well be business speak. It's on it's way. Not proving easy though. Definitely an area I need more experience in.

Free mapping data for all?

Back in November the government said some of Ordnance Survey's mapping data (also known as geographical information, or GI) would be released for free. Don't get too excited, because the date hasn't been set yet, and they're still not sure how they're going to afford it.

However, this consultation does talk about what they might be giving out:

Street level data (OS Street View)
Road features, building outlines, trees and water
Maps
1:25,000 scale - maps going down to fences separating land, like the Explorer maps
1:50,000 scale - 20km map tiles like the Landranger maps
1:250,000 scal e - all the major roads, railways and places for basic route planning
1:1 000 000 scale (Miniscale) - good for simple maps without too much information
Towns and place names (Gazetteer)
Postcodes (Code-Point)
There's still some debate about what it would take to have a proper national postcode database.
Local Authority borders (Boundary-Line)
Roads and landscape features (Meridian and Strategi)

This list might change, but there's potential to add more in the future, too. Ordnance Survey have to maintain and update the data too.

As you can see, there's some problems with postcode data. There's no one database with everything in it. There are quite a few postcode databases around, and they all do different things. At least two companies are involved too, Royal Mail and the NLPG, and at the moment they want to protect the money they make from their data.

A national postcode database

If we want one national postcode database, we need someone in government to champion the cause and find some solutions to problems with how to fund it and maintain it. Various government departments are trying to work with everyone and find a solution, but there's a lot to think about and it needs someone to help drive it.

Copyright

The idea is to have this map data available under Creative Commons.

How are we going to get to all this data?

There are four ways:

Just looking – for the general public, with search, printing and the ability to see the data. Probably no satellite images or directions service though.
Downloading – select an area of the map and types of information, and save them to your harddrive
API – free to access but will probably be limited in some way (perhaps traffic) to keep costs down.
Order on DVD, and get charged for the discs, postage and packing.

Ordnance Survey anticipates these will move with the times as technology gets better and faster.

The winners

New business
All this free data will help people create new, interesting and profitable services and products. In Canada a similar scheme has increased map sales quite a lot.

...and losers

Ordnance Survey
This free scheme does mean OS will lose money. It will also cost just under £10m over 5 years to set up the service.
Their partners
The people who work with OS and add value to the existing mapping info will have a lot more competition.
Competitors
These are popular products which have some rivals, and we're setting the cost of these products at £0. Some competitors might lose out.
Map buyers
Less maps might get printed, because people are downloading and printing them instead. If this happens, the government might support a national series of maps.

There's more to come, but that ought to keep you all busy!

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:56:00 +0000

Now, I realise I'm cutting it a bit fine with the Ordnance Survey paper I've promised you. I hope to have it ready sometime this week. Turns out economics is one of those areas where I need to learn a whole lot before I can explain it to anyone! Ramsey pricing? Monopoly rents? Argh!

So in the meantime, why not:

send me some of those small things that have been confusing you lately
ask me any big questions you have about where you think Simply Understand should be going
tell me how shoddy my graphics are...
...I don't mind, ask anything you want!

What is a consultation, and how do they work?

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:58:00 +0000

Have a look at this little video I've made. It explains in a the most basic way what consultations are (when you want to change something) and how they work!

On your marks, get set, vote!

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:00:00 +0000

It's time for you to vote on what you'd like to see next at Simply Understand. For those who don't know, this is how it works - I take three interesting-looking Government consultations, and I let you fight it out for which one gets turned into an easy to understand version.

These are the three consultations up for the vote this time:

Should we get rid of the 'edited' electoral register?
The Ministry of Justice wants to know whether anything bad would happen if they got rid of the 'edited' electoral register. This is the public version of the electoral roll you sign up to when you move house - anyone who asks can see the information on it.
What should we do with Ordance Survey data to make it easier to access?
The Department of Communities and Local Government has a few ideas. You can tell them what you think the best one is.
What should the laws be for the new tax on the cables that carry our internet broadband connections?
The government has already said it's going to charge the internet companies that own the cables for our internet connections. They want to use the money to help get 90% of the country broadband connections. HM Revenue & Customs wants to know what you think of the laws they want to make so they can collect the tax.

Waiting times and health checkson the NHS

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:10:00 +0000

The NHS constitution has been around since January 2009.

It's a promise from the NHS to you that they will look after you properly, and that you have a right to be looked after well when you need to use NHS services like hospitals, doctors and dentists.

It's taken a while to get there, but from January 2010 all the different organisations that make up the NHS will have to pay special attention to what it says when they make their decisions about how you're going to get medical care.

The NHS Constitution gives you the right to:

free healthcare, except what the government says you should pay
high standards when you need advice or treatment
access medicines, as long as they've been properly approved
fair and equal treatment, no favouritism
refuse treatment if you want
understand what your options are
choose who you want to be your doctor
have a say in the treatment and care you get

The government says it's ready to add some more rights for you.

The right to not wait longer than 18 weeks for the medical care you need, and only 2 weeks if the doctor thinks you might have cancer. You may still need to wait longer if it's important to wait for the good of your health.

You would have this right from April 2010.

The government doesn't want this to be an excuse for people to sue the NHS whenever the waiting time goes over the limit. Instead they want it to be a way for people who've waited too long to get seen as quickly as possible.

If you do end up waiting too long, without agreeing it with your doctor first, then when you tell the NHS about it they will legally have to get you the appointment you need, or find another way.

This doesn't apply if you miss your appointments, though. It's your responsibility to make sure you turn up or cancel them in plenty of time if you can't get to them.

Understanding waiting times

The government wants to help you understand how long you should expect getting treatment to take, and they're thinking about giving out treatment plans so you can understand what you have to do.
They're also worried that in urgent cases like cancer, although doctors might have a very good reason for not explaining that you need to see a specialist quickly, so you get less stressed and worried by it, this sometimes means that people put off their appointments, which could be dangerous.
The government says that if there's a major national or local problem, for example a flu pandemic, NHS services would be allowed to have longer waiting times.

If you're over 40 years old but younger than 75, you would get the right to a health check every five years. This health check would test you for common problems – heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease and more.

Everyone would have this right from April 2012.

As part of the check, the doctor or nurse who give you the check would also help you with things like keeping healthy, how to get to and keep to the right weight, and how to stop smoking as all these things help make you less likely to get the diseases they're checking for.

They'll also be able to sort you out with medical treatments like statins, which help lower cholesterol.

The government also wants to talk about what rights they should be thinking about for the future.

In the government's last survey, a lot of people thought that being tied to a GP surgery because you live in a particular area wasn't very useful, so the government is already getting rid of that.
People also thought that if doctor's surgeries opened on evenings and weekends then life would be much easier for them. The government wants to think about making this part of the NHS constitution.
The NHS thinks it can give everyone access to an NHS dentist by March 2011. When they hit that target, the government wants to think about putting it in the NHS constitution.
There are a few pilot schemes around where people just like you are being given the money to get the care they want. When these pilot schemes have finished and the government has seen the results, they'll look at putting it in the NHS constitution.
When you're at the end of your life, you might want to spend that time at home instead of in a hospital. There's lots of things to sort out about how the NHS helps people cope with death before we get to this, but the government hopes they'll be in the right place to look at it by 2013.
The government also says that in 2011 and 2012 they want to set a new standard of a week (maximum two weeks) so you can get cancer tests and results done more quickly.
They also want every region in England to have a Constitution Champion who can help make hospitals and surgeries ready for questions about the constitution and patient rights, and who knows the constitution inside out so they can help patients understand their rights and responsibilities.

That's great / really good / really bad / could do with improvement – but what can I do about it?

Get your ideas, comments, questions and observations to the Department of Health by 5 February 2010:

Email NHSConstitution@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Reply online
Post your thoughts to:
NHS Constitution Consultation Response
Richmond House 601
79 Whitehall,
London SW1A 2NS

Direct payments for Health Care (a request)

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:23:00 +0000

The government's looking at giving patients the ability to spend directly on the care they need, not just being put on a waiting list or going to an NHS therapy service that's too far away. I got an email asking if I could translate the consultation on this before I put the last poll up. They also asked if I could do the Energy one, so I put it in the poll.

Unfortunately not enough people were interested in hearing about the government's Energy plans, so I hope you're looking forward to the NHS constitution paper (that will probably be my next post, but I'm going on holiday so it might be a few weeks, sorry all!).

To keep you busy in the meantime, here's a simple version of the Department of Health's Direct payments for Health Care. Please note this is NOT the Easy Read version the original paper promises, I don't know where that is... :)

Remember, you need to respond by 8 January 2010 if you have strong feelings about this paper.

You can download the simple version, or if you've got flash you can read it here:

Which consultation should I simplify next?

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:49:00 +0000

It's been a while, but it's time for a new public vote!

Tell me which of these three consultations you'd like to get to grips with, and I'll make it into something a little easier to understand.

National Policy Statements for Energy Infrastructure - the government wants us to look at the way the country uses energy - how we use gas power, nuclear power and green power.
Reforming Asylum Support - the government wants to have another look at the way we decide who gets asylum in the UK, and who doesn't.
The NHS Constitution: A consultation on new patient rights - the NHS wants to update its promises to include a fixed time for you to get specialist attention after your GP refers you, and give some people health checks for things like heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease. They also want to talk about what they could include next time around.

Whew! All of these look quite important. Happy voting!

Credit cards and store cards: an official translation

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:19:00 +0000

Simply Understand started nearly a year ago with the not-so-simple idea of making a small corner of the UK's democracy more, well, democratic!

Everyone know how much of a struggle it can be to get your story heard by government institutions. Consultations are supposed to be one way for us to get through, but so often they're so complicated and overwhelming. Sure, sometimes they deal with complicated subjects, but no matter how complicated they are, don't we all have a right to understand and contribute to them?

With that in mind, today Simply Understand's been given it's first chance at a 100% genuine, official consultation makeover! The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills are consulting on Credit cards and store cards. Their 100 page original consultation has been reduced to just 10. You can:

Download the PDF
Listen to the podcast (voiced by debonair blogger and writer Matt from Ebonics and Irony)
Or visit the credit consultation website, and leave a comment or vote.

The first step?

Is this the first step on the road to making all government consultations easier to understand? It could be, but only if it actually works. And that means more people replying, more people downloading and more people listening and understanding. And if you read it through, and there are bits you don't understand - well, I think that's helpful too, and you should tell them that. Because if you can't understand it now, how's it going to help anyone?

Pass it on!

Email, Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, heck even Myspace it, or just print it out and give it to people (double sided to save paper). The more people see this, the more chance we've got to encourage more easy to understand consultations!

Keeping it fresh

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:02:00 +0000

For anyone that's signed up to it, I'm in the process of cleaning out my lovely RSS feed of UK Government Consultations. Seems a fair few government departments have been revamping their websites lately and disturbing it!

I'm also trying to make it more comprehensive by putting in consultation pages from every Department, Commission or other organisation that runs them from this brilliantly difficult to navigate DirectGov list.

So far, I've got to F. This may take some time...

Now, when I'm done, I'll have found the next three candidates for a new vote. My first pick is Defamation and the internet: the multiple publication rule from the Ministry of Justice. Catchy name, huh? See what you think.

And if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

The vetting and barring scheme

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:28:00 +0000

As you may know, there's a new system that's been developed to try and protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse which means that a lot of people will have to register with an organisation called the Independent Safeguarding Authority (the ISA), possibly as well as getting CRB checks (at least in the beginning).

This is a hopefully helpful and entirely unofficial summary of the information they've put on their website, and this one's entirely in web form, for the critics!

Who doesn't need to register?

Anyone under 16
If you're a friend looking after a child or vulnerable adult with no contract or particular expectation of payment, that's fine. It's the same if you're a family member (which includes living in the same house and treating each other as family).
If you're a parent or friend of the child or adult who needs care and you hire someone to look after them, you don't need to register, but all other employers do.

If you're not changing your job or volunteering role you don't have to apply until 2011, but employers will probably be asking you to apply earlier than that to get the paperwork over with.

If you're a parent or guardian employing home tutors, nannies or carers you can check if they're registered with the ISA or not. If they're on the banned list they shouldn't be looking after kids or vulnerable people, though – that's illegal.

Who does need to register?

If you're applying for a new job or take up a new role from October 2009 you need to apply to the ISA, and get a CRB check. There'll be a combined form out later on so you don't have to do them separately. (Ed: I think this is right, but I'm not entirely sure)

You need to be registered (either now or eventually) if you:

Look after kids and vulnerable adults a lot, overnight, or have a lot of contact for short amounts of time, for example: teaching, training, care, supervising, advising, treating kids or vulnerable adults, and ferrying people around.
Are foster parents or look after fostering arrangements
Are employed in childcare
Are a school governor, director of social services or a trustee of some charities – any positions of authority which give you responsibility for the welfare of childrens/vulnerable adults.

What is ISA registration going to involve?

The form isn't out yet so we don't know much about it. It will hopefully be out by October 2009.

This is what we do know:

you will need to supply valid ID with your application
if when you apply the ISA find anything relevant they need to tell you about it.
if they find nothing then they have to tell you that too – unless you've applied for an enhanced CRB check at the same time (where they will tell you anything you find anyway).
you'll be checked regularly to make sure the info is up to date and you haven't done anything that would mean you get barred.
you will have to pay a small fee, unless you're a volunteer and then it's free.

If you're no longer working with children or vulnerable adults and can prove it, you can ask the ISA to stop recording you.

Who can see my info?

Your employer can only see that you have registered, they can't see the details.
ISA case workers and the police will be able to see details.
If you're on a register like the Teaching Council or Medical Council, the people who look after the register are allowed to find out whether you're registered with the ISA, barred, or being investigated for possible barring.

What happens after I've got my registration?

Once you've got your ISA registration, your employers, social care agencies, local authorities and other public health organisations will have to report to the ISA on the way you act with the children or vulnerable adults in your care.

Parents and private companies that want to bring the ISA's attention to your behaviour will have to go through an intermediary.

If you harm a child or vulnerable adult, cause them harm indirectly, put them at risk of getting hurt, attempt to harm them, or if you ask or encourage someone else to hurt them, it may go on your record or get you put on the barred list.

If I'm barred, can I work with children or vulnerable adults at all?

If you are on a barred list, you can still do these things as long as your employer makes sure things are safe and within the rules:

Support work in a general health settings, the NHS and further education. (Like cleaners, caretakers, shop workers, catering staff, car park attendants and receptionists.)
If you work for an organisation that has access to sensitive records about children and vulnerable adults.
Support work in adult social care. (Like day centre cleaners and those with access to social care records.)

So what's illegal now that wasn't before?

You can be sent to prison or fined up to £5000 for newly employing an unregistered or barred person to work with children or vulnerable adults. It's illegal for employers not to check if somone is registered.

It's also illegal to do anything you have to be registered to do, if you are not registered or you're barred.

Shaping the future of care together

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Several friends have asked me to translate this paper. It's been covered in the Guardian and other papers with quite a bit of controversy, so I was quite reluctant to do a proper paper.

Given it's sensitivity for a lot of people living on disability benefits at the moment, I want you all to be extra careful when you read this, and if you can bear to wade through the original document I strongly encourage it.

You can download the Simply Understand translation of Shaping the future of care together, or read it below:

The right to control for disabled people - in 59 seconds!

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:33:00 +0000

I said in my last post that I'd been challenged to squish my latest consultation translation into 60 seconds, and here it is.

As you'll know from my previous podcast on carrier bag charges in Wales, I'm not the most confident speaker, but I think this one works much better than the last one.

Got to work on my monotone, but I'm going to keep calling it deadpan until I get rid of it...

59 seconds, too. Always have to go one better!

Listen!

The right to control for disabled people

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:46:00 +0000

I want to be the first to say that a lot of effort has obviously gone into making this consultation appear accessible, as well as the normal consultation, there's also an Easy Read version. There are also some great toolkits, including a DVD - the Office for Disability Issues has done a great deal to encourage people to get involved, and long may that continue! We're all for that sort of thing around here.

However, (isn't there always a however) it's not enough. I was surprised how little of the 80 page original paper made it into the 7 page translation. So much so that I really feel like I have missed something really crucial. Please, please tell me if I have!

Don't want to read the translation below, you can download it. You can also listen to the 60-second version!

Gone in 60 seconds!

Steph Gray has challenged me to shorten this consultation to a 60 second radio burst. I'm not going to pretend I'm not quaking in my size-5s at the thought, but watch this space.

The Easy Read problem

I can't help but think that most Easy Read versions miss a fundamental point. They are usually longer than a normal consultation document. The jargon might be explained, but it's still there!

These are major stumbling blocks - if you find it difficult to read or concentrate for too long, how easy is it to slog through 90 pages and remember 10 or more unfamiliar terms at the same time? Not easy at all.

The way easy read versions get made needs some serious re-examining. Involving literacy professionals would be a great start. Involving people with literacy problems would be a better one.

[Podcast] Charging for carrier bags in Wales

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:28:00 +0000

Yes, it's true, I am venturing into the amazing and frankly scary world of podcasting!

I cannot stress enough that this is not going to rock your world. I am one (relatively) shy and inarticulate woman wrestling unsuccessfully with a microphone and some crappy animation.

Having said that, please feel free to tell me what I can do better, and even whether there is any actual potential in this!

New poll - vote for your next translation

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:19:00 +0000

There's a new selection of consultations for you to vote on for July 2009 - fill in the poll to the right, or let me know your choice in a comment!

Here's some background info:

Adapting to Climate Change – ensuring progress in key sectors
This consultation is less fun than it looks, it's more about identifying which organisations need to tell the government (and you lot!) what they've done to change their environmental impact.
Consultation on the Right to Control for disabled people
This paper admits that disable people often don't feel in control of what they can do and how they do it, and is looking to change this.
Consultation on Legislation to Address Illicit P2P File-Sharing
Most of you will probably know what this is - what to do about illegal downloading in the UK.

Connecting the dots

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to Open Tech UK. I was surprised they even let me in the door, these things are usually password protected...

Once I got over the initial shyness, I managed to talk to plenty of people who really care about getting people involved. They included:

the Open Rights Group - these guys are big on responding to consultations that involve every aspect of our internet life. You can help them out with their responses. They also gave me a malteser.
Tom Watson MP, previously Minister for Digital Engagement before his resignation from the cabinet. He ran away clutching a handful of Simply Understand leaflets.
The guys at MySociety (especially Matthew Somerville). All their websites are amazing, like FixMyStreet and TheyWorkForYou.

And I got to be overexcitable in the general direction of Ben Goldacre and Heather Brooke (MP expenses whistle-blower extraordinaire) about Simply Understand. They didn't run away *too* fast, but I wouldn't blame them if they had!

Oh, and I nearly forgot that I heard some very exciting hints about a BBC literacy project. Should be great when it's done!

There will be a new vote next week, so look out for it. In the meantime, if you have anything you'd like me to translate into plain, jargon-free English, let me know with a comment, join the new Simply Understand facebook group, message me on Twitter or email. Pick one!

Charging for carrier bags in Wales

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:36:00 +0000

This was as a request from a friend. The original is available on the Welsh Assembly website. You can also download the translated PDF.

New translation on animal welfare

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:24:00 +0000

It's far too late, and despite my best efforts it's still terribly wordy, but here it is, and you have two and a half days (until the 3 July 2009) to reply to it. I understand it's a controversial subject, so no ranting please, unless it's constructive and sent directly to the consultation email address!

You can download the PDF here if you prefer not to use the version below.

Important information about swine flu!

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:48:00 +0000

So said the leaflet that has dropped through every door in the United Kingdom.

At my last ever literacy volunteering session in Birmingham (at the wonderful Brasshouse Language Learning Centre, with the tutor Nerys and all the adult literacy students), we went through this oh-so-important leaflet, and came up with stumbling blocks all over the place! Why would you use words like "pandemic", "strain", or "respiratory" in a leaflet meant for everyone to read?

As a small tribute to all the students I've worked with over the past two years, I've tried to make a more readable version. The production values are lower, it's a bit shorter, but it's pretty simple to read and understand (I hope!). Download the PDF here.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-to-Guides & Manu flu NHS

I will be translating the Animal Testing paper at some point in the next two weeks - I'm moving to London to start a new job, so it will take a while to get settled in and find a reliable internet connection! Thanks for your patience, and keep reading and commenting.

What should I translate next?

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:39:00 +0000

The next set of consultations is up for you to vote on! The one you chose will also (hopefully!) be taken up by the clever people at Write to Reply - who will be displaying my translation side by side with the real consultation, and you can comment on each paragraph, too.

This month's options are:

How alcohol is sold and supplied - from the Home Office
A future strategy for adults with autistic spectrum conditions - from the Department of Health
Protecting animals used in scientific research - also from the Home Office.

The vote closes on 2 June 2009. Thank you!

Working together to protect crowded places: part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:49:00 +0000

The second half of this consultation is a little something for building planners, designers and local authorities. It's supposed to be a handy guide suggesting how to build security into public places, but at nearly 80 pages, "handy" doesn't quite cut it. This one is a little less complicated, at 7 neat pages. Download it here if you prefer not to use the version below!

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-to-Guides & Manu security terrorism

Coming soon (hopefully tomorrow) - a new voting poll! In the meantime, you can sign up to get new consultations by email! And don't forget, I do requests, so email me or send me a message on Twitter (@understood) and I can get right to it.

Working together to protect crowded places - a translation

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Tue, 05 May 2009 07:31:00 +0000

More than 80 people voted in the latest translation request poll (thank you!), and most of you voted for me to translate the protecting crowded places consultation from the Home Office.

This is actually two consultations in one. The first on general guidelines for how local authorities and businesses should tackle increasing their security against terrorist attack, the second a practical guide on how to do that.

I have (attempted) to (completely unofficially) translate the first paper. The second should be available soon. If you have any opinions or thoughts on this paper, please follow the instructions on how to respond at the end. You can download the paper, or read it below.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-to-Guides & Manu security terrorism

As always, if you are having any trouble understanding any of my translation, or find the layout confusing, please let me know.

Home Office consultation on internet privacy

noreply@blogger.com (Corinne Pritchard) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:23:00 +0000

As a request, here's a totally unofficial translation of the Home Office consultation on internet privacy, and the new laws they hope to put in place to help security and intelligence services access information. Read below or download the PDF.

Publish at Scribd or explore others: How-to-Guides & Manu security data

Thank you all for your votes on the latest poll, a record-beating 80 people have voted, and the winner is another Home Office consultation, Protecting crowded places, which I'll publish for you over the weekend.

Don't forget to sign up for new government consultations in your inbox.