Received a phone call from a civil servant at the cabinet office today regarding our research publication 'Towards a future for public employment'. One of the Ministers had asked him to review the document and he was contacting me to emphasize how impressed he was with some of the key findings.
Following on from the launch of our email publication on developing a competitiveness continuum the Audit Commission have contacted us and asked APSE to get involved in their study on competition and contestability.
Saddened today to hear of the death, at only 57 years old, of broadcaster Tony Wilson at the weekend. Tony was the music mogul who created the Factory Records label associated with the Happy Mondays etc. and put the mad into Manchester.
Fly into Belfast from Glasgow today for a number of meetings before returning to Manchester. Have lunch with our new Northern Ireland Chair, Cllr Arnold Hatch from Craigavon Council and then its onto meetings with civil servants from the DOE and the Assembly Minister, Arlene Foster MLA.
In Scotland today to meet up with an old friend and colleague, Andy Kerr, who until the Scottish Parliament elections in May was the Health Minister and looked set to take over the baton from former First Minister Jack McConnell at some point during the current parliament if Labour had been successful.
Returned from holiday in Cyprus today to the usual deluge of emails, I was only away for a week but 256 messages had descended on my inbox.