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This research addresses the deficit of empirical investigation of changes in industrial and warehouse property markets in the UK. It uses business rates (rating list) data for England and Wales to reveal changes in the quantum and distribution of premises over the last decade. Spatio-temporal analysis using geographical information systems identifies where new industrial and warehouse premises have been developed and examines spatial changes in the distribution of premises between the two sectors. The research focuses on the development of new large distribution warehouses (LDWs) to investigate whether there is a new pattern of warehouse premises located in close proximity to junctions on the national highway network. Findings confirm the emergence of a dynamic distribution warehouse property market where "super sheds" have been developed in areas with high levels of multi-modal connectivity. The comprehensive spatio-temporal analysis of all industrial and warehouse premises in England and Wales reconfigures the previously recognised Midlands "Golden Triangle" of distribution warehouses to a "Golden Pointer" and reveals the emergence of a rival "Northern Dumbbell" of distribution warehouse premises in the North of England. Further analysis using isochrones confirms that 85% of the population of Great Britain is situated within four hours average heavy goods vehicle drive time of these two concentrations of super sheds and over 60% of all LDWs floorspace is within 30 minutes' drive of intermodal rail freight interchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can Government and the Treasury reconcile two often contradictory aspects of the commercial property tax model in England? On the one hand, commercial property tax is required to be responsive to economic conditions, promoting investment in property and business. On the other hand, local commercial property tax, in part, is required to fund local public services. This situation reveals a contradiction in government tax policy that has a direct impact upon local, regional and national economic activity. This Viewpoint article considers the nature of commercial property tax in England, the business rate system, the competing pressures upon the business rate system before considering the main alternative on offer in England, land value tax. Despite the undoubted economic elegance of this instrument, any move towards land value tax should be approached with caution. Any solution to the current business rates impasse should not be led by a pragmatic focus on tax collection. Nor should prevalent issues, the high street, the need for digital tax or public finance demands be considered in isolation - they should be tackled together because they are part of the same complex situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Public Health workforce needs to adapt to a policy environment in which the need to improve public health is not only a key challenge but also has to be delivered within financial constraints. Methods A total of 14 qualitative individual interviews or focus groups (of up to 10 people), were conducted with senior Public Health staff in 12 local authorities and in Public Health England in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. Thematic analysis was applied to the transcribed interviews. Results Despite cuts in training budgets, junior staff were increasingly expected to deliver Public Health functions. There is also an absence of a career ladder for this core Public Health workforce. There were concerns that financial constraints would lead to reductions in Public Health skills with fewer staff to provide critical analysis. Formal qualifications were increasingly less valued. Instead staff were expected to have a broader skill set with an emphasis on experience. Entry points into Public Health careers need rethinking. There was an expectation that Public Health departments would ‘grow their own’. Conclusions Apprenticeship schemes could help maintain or enhance the professional status of Public Health and provide a training route for Public Health practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the challenges involved in planning the adaptation of the urban built environment. It approaches this subject by appraising a recently introduced national planning policy (the permission to convert office buildings into residential use without planning permission) in England. Drawing on interviews conducted with planning practitioners, it is possible to unravel the impact of this policy instrument at the coal face of the discipline. The office-to-residential conversion policy has removed the long-established process of local planning discretion in England in favour of a developer led planning policy. Consequently, there has been a tactical manipulation of additional planning tools, originally designed for other use, to re-exert influence at the local level by local planning authorities. Rather than greasing the wheels of office-to-residential conversion, the new policy has thrown a spanner in the works of a unique local planning process that was originally developed to manage urban change. The paper concludes by calling for local planners to reformulate their role in planning urban adaptation by reasserting their role as “market actors” through the development of city information models, the exploitation of professional communication networks and the transference of their own tacit knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine how Registered Intermediaries are used in the England and Wales to facilitate communication between vulnerable witnesses, victims and police investigators and criminal courts.Design/methodology/approach - The paper focuses on the need for early identification of the vulnerable person so that support measures can be put in place from the outset to assist them to provide their testimony.Findings - It is noted that real progress has been made by the introduction of legislation, specifically the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999), and the uptake by the police service of the subsequent special measures put in place. However, the criminal justice service cannot afford to be complacent as research demonstrates that the police and the courts need to be more effective in managing these issues.Originality/value - The paper recommends that support measures are widened to include witnesses and suspects being interviewed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, HM Customs and Revenue, the Department of Health and the Department of Work and Pensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to investigate the timing of land value uplift associated with an extension to an existing light rail transport system. It seeks to understand the amount of land value increase on residential properties at different stages of the infrastructure delivery process of the Tyne and Wear Metro (TWM) system in the North East of England. This is to shed light on the potential use of land value capture methods for subsequent extensions. Whilst there has been substantial international research into transport related land value capture methods, this tends to take place in atypical capital cities with buoyant land markets and/or entire transport systems. This is reflected in England, where research is less frequent in major conurbations outside of Central London, which are more typical of urban areas in this country. In response, the intention is to shed new light on this situation by updating historical research into the impact of the TWM. Its primary focus is the longitudinal performance of the 2002 Sunderland Metro Extension (SME). This historical appraisal of impact is sinnicant because it is important to understand when and how much uplift is generated. This in turn helps to evidence any justifications for subsequent extensions and funding via Land Value Capture. This study uses a novel time based analysis to quantify differences in property prices before, immediately after and fifteen years after the Sunderland Metro Extension (SME) was constructed. The original results show that property values increased immediately after the extension becomes operational, though no significant results were found 15 years later. • Land value impact in sub-optimal locations. • Land value uplift appears to occur immediately after construction. • Findings suggest that land value capture instruments should target capture immediately after construction of light rail extensions in sub-optimal locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]