Under a pilot scheme taking place in some parts of the country, a single assessment results in a cash allocation that is given to the user or their family directly - in the form of a personalised budget.

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Putting all those measures together can provide a picture of trends that are developing over time, even if a single report can't provide a precise assessment in a particular month of the overall labor market.

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The Department for Children, Schools and Families is piloting a possible replacement in the form of "single level tests" that children would take to confirm their teachers' assessment that they had reached a higher national curriculum attainment level.

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Still, the Treasury concluded in 1997 that it would do better within the single currency area than outside it, so it is likely to stick with that assessment.

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"Every single emergency patient who comes through the door of an NHS hospital should have an individual risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment plan and post-operative care plan prioritised according to need, " he said.

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