After 15 years of consistent growth in the labour markets of Britain, North America and most of Europe, 2009 is turning out to be a difficult time to implement further welfare reform. In the UK, however, the pace of change has never been faster -just as one phase is being implemented, another even bolder plan is announced to make almost everyone on benefits actively seek or prepare themselves for work. At the same time, the Government recognises that it cannot raise the employment rate to 80 per cent, eradicate child poverty by 2020 or achieve disability equality by 2025 without devolving much of the planning and implementation of welfare to work and skills. Just as the country has reeled from the onset of a recession, the Government has announced plans intended to avoid a repeat of experience from previous recessions -and thereby avoid 'today's job losses becoming tomorrow's scars on our communities'.In this special edition of Local Economy, we critically examine the new policy drivers and assess whether these are logically consistent and capable of delivery. And we do so at a strikingly tough moment for labour markets across the world and in the UK especially. Whilst public decisiontakers press on with a policy framework designed in good times, we reflect on its implementation in a more volatile and less predictable labour

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During Summer 2006, the contest to secure substantial enterprise support for deprived areas in England began in earnest as the mid-September deadline for Round 2 LEGI bids loomed. Details of the successful (and unsuccessful) first-round bidders were forensically dissected by secondround hopefuls scouring the evidence for pointers towards producing winning bids, and four of the successful bids are showcased in the following In Perspective articles.LEGI represents the most significant source of economic development funding currently on offer when the alternatives have begun to dramatically dry-up. ESF and ERDF are winding down in many regions where RDA Single Programme funding has also tailed-off after several years of growth. So, local authorities are casting around with some urgency for a major source of financial support in future years.In late February 2006, the Government announced the ten successful schemes that would be financed from LEGI-a joint programme of the ODPM (now Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)), plus the Treasury and Department for Trade and Industry. LEGI was announced in the 2005 Budget and is worth £300 million over the three years to 2008-2009 subject to the comprehensive spending review.The Government says that LEGI is 'a long term commitment' and this was reflected in many of these bids, which outlined plans lasting for up to 10 years. All 10 schemes had the first three years of their bids funded in full

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Paul Convery (Figure 1) is senior vice president and chief medical officer for the Baylor Health Care System (BHCS). He joined the inner circle of BHCS in February 2006, having previously served as executive vice president and chief medical officer of SSM Health Care in St. Louis. SSM Health Care was the first health care winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Dr. Convery was with SSM Health Care from 1999 to 2006. In 2005, he served as interim president of 2 hospitals in St. Louis. Prior to joining SSM Health Care, Dr. Convery was the medical director of Southwest Medical Center, a large multispecialty group practice in St. Louis. He has experience in managed care and has served on both a hospital's and health system's board of directors. He practiced internal medicine for 22 years. In addition to his medical degree, he has a master's degree in medical management from Tulane University.Dr. Convery is a splendid addition to the Baylor top hierarchy. He has lectured extensively on the topics of developing physician leadership; improving patient safety and clinical quality in health care; implementing the Malcolm Baldrige process for organizational improvement in health care; and transitioning to electronic health records. He is also a very nice guy, and it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to ask him some questions about himself and his career. I think he will have a major impact on BHCS, and I highly compliment Joel Allison and Gary Brock for bringing this outstanding man to the Baylor community.William Clifford Roberts, MD (hereafter, Roberts): Dr. Convery, I appreciate your willingness to talk to me and, therefore, to the readers of the Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) Proceedings. May we start by your discussing your early life, some of your early memories, your parents, and your siblings?Paul Bernard Convery, MD, MMM (hereafter, Convery): I was born in Springfield, Illinois, and lived there until I went away to college (Figure 2). I was an only child. My father, William B. Convery, was a printer all his life. He grew up in a very Roberts: Was dinner at night a big deal in your family?Convery: Yes. We had dinner every night together sitting around a Formica kitchen table. My mother did not work outside the home. Her whole day was planned around preparing dinner. Our traditional, 1950s-type dinners were a very good experience.Roberts: Do you remember topics you discussed at dinner? Convery: We talked about things going on at school. It was during the 1950s when General Eisenhower was president. We always had stimulating conversations.Roberts: It sounds like your home was very pleasant and that your mom and dad got along very well.Convery: Yes, very much so. Roberts: What was your mother like?Convery: She had finished high school in a small town and came to Springfield to go to business college, probably something a little bit less than a junior college. She then worked in several different office jobs until she married. She was loving, smart, clever, and attractive. She kept all of t...