Date: 23 Jul 2021
Empowering county councils ‘game-changer’ for levelling-up
County leaders have written to the Prime Minister welcoming his commitment to empower county authorities and urging him to follow through on what they describe as a ‘game-changer’ for levelling-up.
Date: 23 Jul 2021
Sharp spike in government debt interest payments
A rise in inflation saw the government’s debt interest costs more than double to £8.7bn in June, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Date: 22 Jul 2021
Districts defend Cumbria two unitaries plan as county claims bias
District leaders in Cumbria have argued that plans to create two new unitaries in the county are the best option for reorganisation, after the Labour county leader claimed the government’s support for the proposals was politically motivated.
Last night the communities secretary approved plans that will see the Cumbria CC area split into eastern and western unitary councils, in contrast to Somerset and North Yorkshire where he gave the green light to proposals for single county-wide unitaries. All the proposals will require the endorsement of MPs to proceed.
Other Headlines
- NHS staff’s 3% pay rise ‘likely to come out of social care tax’
Date: 22 Jul 2021
A 3 per cent pay rise for NHS staff is likely to be funded from an increase in national insurance that was intended to pay for overhauling social care, The Times has been told.
The government announced yesterday that hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, including teachers, police, soldiers and prison officers would be given a pay freeze, prompting threats of strikes. The only sector granted an exemption is the NHS. Nurses, paramedics, consultants and other staff will be given a 3 per cent pay rise, in line with official recommendations.
- Self-isolation hits bin collections across country
Date: 22 Jul 2021
Dozens of councils across England have been forced to suspend bin collections due to staff self-isolating.
Most have temporarily stopped garden waste pick-ups, but some recycling collections have also been hit.
Some councils have said they are unsure when services will return to normal.
- How to fund Britain’s social care system [opinion]
Date: 22 Jul 2021
British governments on the left and the right have promised for 20 years to fix the country’s broken social care system. There have been white papers, green papers, commissions and reviews, yet social care has remained unreformed and underfunded. Boris Johnson’s government is right, then, to face up to the need to raise taxes to make the sector more sustainable. But it is on the brink of choosing the wrong way to go about it.
The need for more money is clear. Under the current system, some people have to sell their homes to pay for spiralling care costs, while too many others without private means are not receiving the publicly funded care they need. Between 2015-16 and 2019-20, the number of adults receiving long-term support arranged by local authorities fell from 873,000 to 839,000 even as the population aged. Meanwhile, because local authorities with tight budgets pay private care providers as little as possible, the 1.5m people who work in social care struggle with low pay, zero-hours contracts and insufficient training. Brexit and the pandemic have exacerbated long-running recruitment problems.
In need of about £10bn a year to implement reforms, the government is considering a 1 percentage point rise in national insurance contributions (badged as a special care levy). Ministers are right to seek a sustainable funding solution, but there are three reasons why they should think again about using national insurance.
- Johnson has flunked levelling up explanation chance, says MP
Date: 22 Jul 2021
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ‘flunked’ his chance to explain what levelling up means, the chair of a parliamentary committee has claimed.
Darren Jones suggested that, for the agenda to become more than just a soundbite, the Government needed to clarify how powers will be devolved to deliver a more equal economy and how progress will be measured.
- Seaside poor health overlooked, warns Whitty
Date: 21 Jul 2021
A national strategy is needed to tackle poor health and lower life expectancy in seaside towns, a report from England's chief medical officer says.
Chris Whitty says these places might have natural beauty but suffer from high rates of serious illnesses. Coastal towns have been "overlooked by governments" and had their "ill-health hidden", said Prof Whitty.
The report calls for cross-government action to address overlapping issues such as bad housing and poor health.
- Rebellion due over COVID-19 identification
Date: 21 Jul 2021
Boris Johnson has delayed plans to overhaul social care funding until the autumn despite reaching an agreement with senior ministers to fund it by raising national insurance.
The prime minister is expected to announce plans to increase payments by 1 percentage point, a penny in the pound, for employers and employees to raise £10 billion a year.
- Chancellor facing 'difficult' spending review
Date: 21 Jul 2021
Public services could face a £17bn funding cut in the spending review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned.
The IFS said that the chancellor's existing spending plans would mean up to £17bn less was spent on public services per year than was planned pre-COVID.
The economists warned Rishi Sunak has 'very little room for manoeuvre' in his forthcoming spending review due to permanent economic damage done by the pandemic and rising debt interest costs.
- Covid sparks 6% rise in spend with external suppliers
Date: 21 Jul 2021
Councils last year spent an extra £1.9bn with third-party suppliers on supporting vulnerable people and on public health as they sought to boost their pandemic response.
Two fifths of councils’ overall £64bn spending on third party suppliers in 2020-21 went on supporting vulnerable citizens and public health, according to research from Oxygen Finance and EY published today.
- North Yorks among councils still holding meetings remotely
Date: 21 Jul 2021
North Yorkshire CC is one of a number of councils that have been continuing to hold their meetings online rather than in person, despite the temporary regulations allowing for committee meetings to be held remotely having lapsed on 6 May.
There is now mounting pressure on the government to formally allow councils to hold meetings online, with several face to face council meetings recently disrupted by councillors being forced to self isolate.
- ‘Real concern’ over pent-up demand for services says lead counties chief
Date: 21 Jul 2021
The new chair of the Association of County Chief Executives has warned the government’s support for councils during Covid must not obscure the urgent need for a long-term funding settlement, amid growing concerns about pent-up demand for key services.
- Rebellion due over COVID-19 identification
Date: 21 Jul 2021
Conservative MPs are said to be preparing for a rebellion over COVID-19 vaccine ‘passports’ for nightclubs and large events. More than 40 Conservative MPs are reportedly prepared to vote against the plans, with Labour undecided on how to vote, according to reports. The LGA has called on the Government to offer incentives and empathy to encourage younger people to take up the COVID-19 vaccine, as discussions continue about vaccination ‘passports’.
- English care homes could lose 70,000 staff over mandatory Covid jab
Date: 21 Jul 2021
Up to 70,000 care home staff in England could leave the workforce or lose their jobs because the government is insisting they must be vaccinated against Covid, with women and ethnic minorities disproportionately affected, according to an official estimate.
In an impact statement from the government, officials believe between 3% and 12% of care home staff may still resist getting a Covid jab by the end of a 16-week grace period. The central estimate was that 40,000 could be left without jobs, but it could be as high as 70,000 or as low as 17,000.
In a separate statement on the public sector equality duty, the government said the policy of mandatory vaccination for care home staff was “likely to have a significant impact on ethnic minorities” as one in five members of the social care workforce are black, Asian or from another ethnic minority, a higher proportion than in the overall population of England.
- Councils will continue to draw on reserves, predicts Moody's
Date: 21 Jul 2021
Many councils will continue to draw on their reserves to manage the uncertain funding environment and offset budgetary pressures, international ratings agency Moody’s has predicted.
Moody’s suggested local authorities with ‘high exposures to more volatile commercial property revenue’ would be more likely to raid their reserves.
It also said it expected local authorities that entered the pandemic with low reserves or have very high funding gaps would ‘rely increasingly on exceptional support measures’.
- Councils forced to suspend waste services due to staff shortages
Date: 20 Jul 2021
Several local authorities have been forced to reduce or suspend waste and recycling services due to staff having to self-isolate and a national shortage of drivers.
Many councils have declared an 'emergency situation' after large numbers of staff have been told to self-isolate by the COVID-19 app. This has been compounded by a national shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers as a result of Brexit.
- PM plans national insurance rise to fund social care
Date: 20 Jul 2021
Ministers are believed to be planning a national insurance rise to fund adult social care.
It is thought that a plan to tax older workers, with over 40s only paying extra tax, was deemed unworkable. Instead Number 10 and the Treasury are believed to favour adding an extra 1p to national insurance contributions for both employers and employees.
- Michael King: ‘Listening to public complaints has fallen off the agenda’
Date: 20 Jul 2021
The pandemic has exposed how underfunded councils’ complaints functions are, with some having ceased processing complaints about statutory children’s services altogether, the local government and social care ombudsman has warned.
- Council finances unsustainable without reform, say MPs
Date: 20 Jul 2021
Reforms are needed to ensure the sustainability of local government finances, including an urgent solution to the funding of social care in England, the House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has said in a report.
The report ‘Local authority financial sustainability and the section 114 regime’ recognises councils have faced a variety of budget pressures in recent years.
This includes increased demand for services, especially social care, and acknowledges that these financial challenges have been exacerbated by Covid-19.
- COVID-19: Two jabs needed to enter nightclubs from September
Date: 20 Jul 2021
The Government has said people attending nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather in England will need to be fully vaccinated from the end of September. Latest figures show 35 per cent of 18 to 30-year-olds have not had their first vaccination. In the UK, there were 39,950 cases of coronavirus recorded on Monday, and another 19 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
- Key questions about plans for domestic Covid passports in England
Date: 20 Jul 2021
Johnson admitted on Monday that there was a “continuing risk posed” by nightclubs – prompting bafflement from some MPs about why he allowed them to open that same day but will not make proof of vaccination mandatory for another two months.
While the prime minister is using the documents partly to encourage more young people to get jabbed, there is nervousness in Downing Street about locking them out of certain settings before they have had a chance to get inoculated against Covid.
It has only been about four weeks since 18-year-olds in England became eligible to book their first dose, meaning the government intends to wait until the point at which all adults should have been able to get their second dose before making the certificates compulsory.
There is also speculation that the policy has been rushed out in response to scenes of revellers flocking to nightclubs – which have been shut since the start of the pandemic – before the full details have been nailed down.
- Commission calls for funding reset
Date: 20 Jul 2021
Local government needs a ‘funding floor’ at an agreed percentage of national income, a report on the future of the sector has said.
Speaking as the APSE Local Government Commission 2030 launched its final report, commission chair Paul O’Brien told The MJ the proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) handed to local government should be ‘probably somewhere between six and seven per cent’.
- Waste crime could be costing the UK nearly a billion pounds a year
Date: 20 Jul 2021
Waste-related crime is costing the country an estimated £1bn a year, a new report has found.
The Environmental Services Association (ESA) found waste-related in crime in England had increased by 53% in the past three years, costing more than £924m in 2018/19.
- Vaccinated social care staff no longer required to self-isolate
Date: 19 Jul 2021
Health leaders have been left divided by the Government’s announcement that fully vaccinated social care staff and NHS workers who have been told to self-isolate will be allowed to continue working.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) introduced the measure today as part of the effort to alleviate pressure on services. The change applies only to frontline NHS and social care staff where their absence may lead to what the DHSC describes as ‘significant risk of harm'.
- DPHs should ‘sit at the top table’
Date: 19 Jul 2021
The chief executive of the newly formed UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and head of NHS Test and Trace Dr Jenny Harries has warned that some councils have not allowed their director of public health to “sit at the top table” making key decisions alongside leadership teams, and highlighted a need to heed DPHs' voices “both at national and local level”.
In a wide ranging interview with LGC, Dr Harries, who is currently preparing the UKHSA for its formal launch on 1 October - when it will take over Public Health England’s functions of responding to threats to the nation’s health - says the organisation's role working with councils will be “critical going forward".
- Government announces strategy to regenerate high streets
Date: 19 Jul 2021
The government has unveiled their long-term plan to support the evolution and regeneration of high streets.
Last week, the Prime Minister set out his vision on how the government would level up and unite the country, as well as his commitment to breathe new life into town centres.
The ‘Build Back Better High Streets’ strategy is a key part of the government’s plan to level up and will deliver visible changes to local areas and communities across England.
- Second round of schools rebuilding programme announced
Date: 19 Jul 2021
A further 50 schools have been confirmed for the second round of the Prime Minister’s rebuilding programme.
The 50 schools included in this round include primary, secondary and special and alternative provision schools. New school buildings will be net-zero carbon in operation, helping meet the Government’s net zero target.
- County approves hybrid model of working for staff
Date: 19 Jul 2021
Nottinghamshire County Council will adopt a hybrid model of flexible working from October.
The council’s Hybrid Working Strategy, which will be fully rolled out across the authority by the end of October, will vary depending on the service, team, and individual involved.
- Javid tests positive for COVID-19
Date: 18 Jul 2021
Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who has received both vaccine doses, has tested positive for COVID-19. He has described his symptoms as "very mild", said he would continue to self-isolate and work from home. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have been identified as close contacts and will be participating in a daily contact testing pilot to allow them to continue to work from Downing Street.
- Care firm made £24m profits as Ofsted branded its children’s homes ‘inadequate’
Date: 17 Jul 2021
One of the country’s largest providers of care for vulnerable children – Cambian Childcare - recorded bumper profits of £24.5 million just two months before its homes were judged as failing. Children assessed at high risk repeatedly went missing, with inspectors criticising the response of staff at the home in Warrington.
- Police chiefs want criminal inquiry into Matt Hancock leak
Date: 16 Jul 2021
Officials investigating the leak of CCTV that led to Matt Hancock’s resignation raided two homes and seized computer equipment yesterday. Elected police chiefs said the investigation should become a criminal inquiry.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is looking into a data breach after footage of Hancock kissing an aide was leaked, said that two raids were carried out in the south of England. Elected police and crime commissioners said the investigation should be referred to the police because it was a serious security breach.
- Councils’ role in net zero
Date: 16 Jul 2021
Councils have an “essential” role to play in reaching the UK’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050 but have not received adequate information from government, according to a report by the National Audit Office. Two of the country’s most carbon-intensive sectors, transport and housing, are cited as key areas for councils, but the NAO say there is a “lack of clarity” around council responsibilities. Cllr Darren Rodwell, Environment spokesperson for LGA, said: “We have previously called for a national fiscal and policy framework to address the climate emergency, which should outline responsibilities for national and local government, with a commitment from national government to work closely with local public sector bodies. Net zero can only be achieved if decarbonisation happens in every place, community and household. Long-term funding for councils would mean they can properly plan ahead on the needs of their local communities as a whole to support this.”
- High Streets Strategy and last beneficiaries of towns fund unveiled
Date: 16 Jul 2021
The government has launched its long term plan to breathe new life into the country’s high streets and confirmed the final 15 town deals worth £335m as part of its £3.6bn towns fund.
As part of the new high streets strategy, councils will be given the power to take over derelict buildings through compulsory purchase orders so they can be converted into new homes if property owners stall on regeneration plans.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government says the strategy, which was mentioned in the prime ministers levelling up speech yesterday, will deliver “visible changes to local areas and communities across England, transforming derelict buildings, cleaning up our streets, and supporting a renewed sense of community for current and future generations”.
- Senior figures react to Johnson’s devolution vision
Date: 16 Jul 2021
Some county and unitary leaders have enthusiastically embraced the prime minister’s ambition announced yesterday to “rewrite the rulebook” on devolution and potentially offer county areas the same powers as those currently given to the major cities, while other senior sector figures are concerned his vision to devolve power to larger geographic footprints will be a “hugely retrograde step”.
- Combined authorities lack ‘maturity’
Date: 16 Jul 2021
Speaking to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Mayor of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, Ben Houchen, said: ‘If the Government was just to dump every single power on Tees Valley tomorrow the system would fall over – we don’t have the maturity to handle it.’
- Levelling up: Boris Johnson promises more powers for local leaders
Date: 15 Jul 2021
Boris Johnson has set out the "skeleton" of a plan to "level up" the country, by spreading power and opportunity more evenly.
In a speech in Coventry, the PM insisted his flagship policy will not make the "rich parts" of the UK poorer but would be a "win win" for everyone.
He also pledged to hand more power to local leaders, with the possibility of elected mayors for counties.
Labour described Mr Johnson's speech as "gibberish nonsense".
- Early support for vulnerable children halved
Date: 15 Jul 2021
Funding for services for vulnerable children in England has almost halved in the past decade, new analysis from Pro Bono Economics shows. The equivalent of £3.6 billion was spent on early intervention services by English authorities in 2010, but this fell 48 per cent to £1.8 billion in 2020, after inflation, with the most deprived areas seeing a reduction by an average of 59 per cent. The LGA has previously called for more funding and has highlighted that £1.7 billion has been lost from the Early Intervention Grant since 2010.
- Council criticised for increasing care admin costs 200%
Date: 15 Jul 2021
The London Borough of Bexley has agreed to revise its social care charging policy after the administration costs for one resident’s care increased 200%.
The man complained to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman after the council increased the amount it charged him in administration costs for it to manage his mother’s domiciliary care package.
- Johnson puts counties in devolution driving seat
Date: 15 Jul 2021
The prime minister has announced a new “more flexible approach to devolution” and spoken of the “need to rewrite the rulebook with new deals for the counties” in a speech setting out the government’s vision for levelling up the country.
The speech, which has been enthusiastically welcomed by the County Councils Network, positioned devolution as a key element of the government's levelling up agenda.
- Minister fends off towns fund criticism
Date: 15 Jul 2021
The Government aims to detail how the success of the towns fund will be judged before the summer recess.
Local government minister Luke Hall said a monitoring and evaluation strategy would be published ‘hopefully before the summer recess’ as he fended off attacks on the fund.
Shadow local government minister Jeff Smith pointed out in a Westminster Hall debate the Government was yet to lay out how it was going to monitor and evaluate the fund two years after it was first announced.
- Local government funding cuts have ‘probably cost lives,’ study warns
Date: 15 Jul 2021
Cuts in local government funding over recent years have probably cost lives and reduced life expectancy, academics have warned in a new study.
The research, conducted by the University of Liverpool and published in The Lancet Public Health, found that between 2013 and 2017 council funding decreased by 33% or £168 per person.
It said that for every £100 reduction in funding, life expectancy fell by 1.3 months for men and 1.2 months for women.
- Government insists Everyone In is 'continuing'
Date: 15 Jul 2021
The Government has insisted the Everyone In programme is ‘continuing’ despite reportedly suggesting to some councils that they should close their hotels for rough sleepers.
A letter by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to 281 councils that have received money under the rough sleeping initiative for 2021-22 said one of the ‘funding principles’ was that they should close their hotels by the end of June this year.
- Councils push back over reserves raid threat
Date: 15 Jul 2021
Council chiefs have pushed back as the Treasury eyes up the sector’s reserves in the run up to this year’s Spending Review, The MJ understands.
Mandarins at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Government (MHCLG) have previously told councils they expect them to dip into their reserves to cover pandemic costs.
- Jenrick sets out ‘key principles’ to widen devolution beyond cities
Date: 15 Jul 2021
The communities secretary has set out the key principles for future devolution deals with councils and groups of councils that the government hopes to strike, signalling an appetite for “ambitious mayoral devolution deal[s]”, particularly in “city regions and major urban areas”, while also widening devolution "beyond the cities".
- Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners making a difference
Date: 14 Jul 2021
As the Government prepares to consult on plans to change how fire services are governed, a new report sets out how Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners (PFCCs) are already delivering efficient and effective fire and rescue services in parts of England.
- MPs approve compulsory vaccinations for care home staff
Date: 14 Jul 2021
From October, anyone working in a Care Quality Commission-registered care home in England must have had two vaccine doses unless they have a medical exemption. MPs voted to approve compulsory vaccinations for care home staff last night.
- PAC: Government audit proposals treat local government as ‘an afterthought’
Date: 14 Jul 2021
Whitehall's oversight of local government audit has become “increasingly complacent” and the proposed solution involves treating public audit as “an afterthought”, MPs have said.
- Council set to close offices in work-from-home drive
Date: 14 Jul 2021
A Home Counties council (West Berkshire) is set to close of two of its offices and pay staff working from home a bonus of £150 a year under plans expected to save it up to £200,000 a year.
- Price rises speed up again as economy unlocks
Date: 14 Jul 2021
The UK inflation rate hit 2.5% in the year to June, the highest for nearly three years, as the unlocking of the UK economy continued.
The Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation rose from 2.1% in May, the Office for National Statistics said, driven by higher food and fuel costs. The rate is higher than the Bank of England's 2% inflation target for a second month.
- £100m plan to slash council’s office space by three quarters
Date: 14 Jul 2021
A unitary authority (Cornwall) has unveiled plans to spend more than £100m on slashing its office space by three quarters, enabled by a rise in home working following Covid-19.
- At least 75,000 people in England wait six months for social care assessment
Date: 14 Jul 2021
About a quarter of a million vulnerable people in England are languishing on adult social care “waiting lists” for up to six months while they wait to be assessed by social workers, according to the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS). It said at least 75,000 people are waiting for an initial assessment of their care needs after contacting a local council for help, which it said was unacceptable and reflected the financial challenges facing councils after reductions in government funding over the past decade and a pandemic that had created staff shortages in care services.
- Send review delayed again amid concern over legal entitlements
Date: 14 Jul 2021
Children’s minister Vicky Ford has refused to confirm that the government will maintain all existing legal entitlements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (send) when the Send Review, which has just been delayed for a third time, is finally published.
The Department for Education's review, which has a remit “to boost outcomes and improve value for money” and end the “postcode lottery” of send provision, has been beset by delays since it was first announced in September 2019.
- Local leaders call for devolved powers to reach net zero
Date: 13 Jul 2021
Thirty-two cross-party leaders and mayors will today sign a joint communique calling for new powers to be devolved from Whitehall, including shaping local energy markets, decarbonising transport and tackling emissions from homes and offices.
The leaders are meeting at the International Net Zero Local Leadership summit organised by the UK100 network of council leaders and West Midlands CA.
At the summit this morning, Cop26 president Alok Sharma MP (Con) called on councils to pledge to hit net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, and use short term reduction targets to reach their goal. The pledge is part of the United Nations Race to Zero campaign that Mr Sharma is urging local authorities to sign up to in advance of the Cop26 UN Climate Change Conference, which begins in Glasgow on 31 October.
- Rob Bridge: Merging five Northamptonshire councils into one was not for the faint hearted
Date: 13 Jul 2021
"Seamless service transition was a challenge as a few legacy ‘surprises’ emerged, writes the chief executive of North Northamptonshire Council."
- Councils ‘offloading’ people with learning disabilities on NHS, MPs say
Date: 13 Jul 2021
MPs have called for councils to receive more funding – including the possible transfer of money from the NHS – to discourage them from trying to “offload” autistic people and those with learning disabilities onto the health service.
A Commons health and social care committee report today argues that these groups are better served by community support, rather than within the NHS and inpatient facilities where they risk being treated inhumanely.
- Covid-19: PM urges caution as 19 July unlocking set to go ahead
Date: 12 Jul 2021
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to confirm later the plan to lift almost all legal restrictions on social contact in England on 19 July.
But ahead of a news conference on Monday afternoon, Mr Johnson has urged people to be cautious.
"We must all take responsibility so we don't undo our progress, ensuring we continue to protect our NHS," he said.
- High street regeneration to be key part of PM's levelling up agenda
Date: 12 Jul 2021
The Prime Minister will set out his 'levelling up' plans later this week, including unveiling a new High Streets Strategy.
Boris Johnson is expected to put high streets at the heart of the plans, including making al fresco dining permanent and allowing takeaway alcohol for another 12 months.
Mr Johnson is also due to announce support for grassroots football, investment in infrastructure and skills, and measures to tackle the inequalities highlighted by the pandemic.
- Alarm over ‘freedom day’
Date: 12 Jul 2021
Half of the public want “freedom day” on 19 July to be delayed, according to a poll, while regional political leaders have said they will strongly advise people to continue wearing masks on public transport.
- Javid: tax rise could be ‘practical and obvious’ solution to social care crisis
Date: 10 Jul 2021
The Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid has said that we need “to have a proper, long-term sustainable settlement for social care”. In an interview, it is suggested that a new tax may be the “obvious” solution to finding a long-term system to fund social care.
- Javid casts doubt on social care plan by end of 2021
Date: 09 Jul 2021
The Government will set out "the general sense of direction" of its plans to reform social care “quite soon”, the new Health and Social Care Secretary has said. Speaking at the Local Government Association’s virtual conference in his first major address in the role, Mr Javid said: “At this point I don't want to put an exact date on it but the work is intense. I think that whilst we might not be able to announce the whole plan that we have been working on together with all the details there I think we can set out quite soon the general sense of direction in terms of a new offering on social care.”
- Councils' £3bn COVID Black Hole
Date: 09 Jul 2021
UK councils plan to make at least £1.7 billion worth of savings in the 2021/22 financial year while also using more than £500 million worth of reserves to balance the books, according to a BBC investigation. Cllr Sharon Taylor, Chair of the LGA’s Resources Board, Sharon Taylor, said the pandemic had highlighted an existing funding crisis brought about by a reduction in central government grants over the past decade.
- IFS: ‘Vital’ that fair funding review goes ahead
Date: 09 Jul 2021
Kate Ogden, research economist at the IFS, told the Local Government Association’s conference that this meant it was “vital” that the government’s delayed fair funding review of the local government funding system goes ahead.
Today, Ms Ogden said that while the Budget in March implied there would be a real terms 2.1% increase in the overall envelope of day-to-day government spending next year, the IFS has estimated that the budgets of unprotected departments would fall by 3.1%.
- Senior LGA figure calls for social care to be taken away from councils
Date: 09 Jul 2021
The chair of the District Councils' Network John Fuller (Con) has called social care a “drag anchor to local government” and claimed that if responsibility for the service is removed from councils, then “the purpose of local government becomes clear”.
Cllr Fuller was speaking at a session of the Commons' public administration and constitutional affairs committee’s inquiry into English devolution on Tuesday. His comments have already sparked anger among at least one county councils representative, who accused Cllr Fuller of “selling the sector down the river”.
- Review urges more funding for addiction treatments in England
Date: 08 Jul 2021
The government has been urged to boost spending on recovery services and treatment for drug addicts by an independent review.
The report by Dame Carol Black said cuts have left services "on their knees" and urged an extra £552m investment over five years in England.
It also advised a £15m boost towards jobs support for those in treatment.
- Steve Rotheram: ‘Ministers have gone cold on devo – but the genie’s out of the bottle’
Date: 08 Jul 2021
In the mind of Steve Rotheram (Lab), levelling up is about “strong foundations … you level things up by pouring more into the lower base”.
He believes that despite the government’s rhetoric, the “reality is that for most people in those left-behind areas, there’s nothing tangible in ‘levelling up’ that is a real attempt at giving us the opportunity to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, which is what most people want – not handouts. They want a fair share of investments so they can achieve their latent potential.”
- Javid vows to reform social care 'quite soon'
Date: 08 Jul 2021
New health secretary Sajid Javid has promised to bring forward plans for social care reform ‘quite soon’, but failed to commit to an exact timetable.
In one of his first major speeches as secretary for health and social care, he told the Local Government Association (LGA) virtual conference that his first priority was the pandemic.
But he added: ‘I’m not simply the COVID secretary. I am the secretary of state for health and social care.’
- More WFH chaos thanks to ministers’ mixed messaging
Date: 07 Jul 2021
Businesses faced fresh confusion last night as one minister said the Government was encouraging staff back to the office while another insisted they should not tell people where to work.
It has sparked uncertainty among bosses, with industry bodies calling for clearer guidance before the work from home requirement ends later this month.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said businesses had the support of ‘a strong Government message’ if they wanted to encourage staff to return to the office.
- Young people not a ‘lost generation’, says Children’s Commissioner
Date: 07 Jul 2021
T
he generation of children growing up during the coronavirus pandemic is not “lost” – and could become the strongest yet, the Children’s Commissioner has said.
Society must harness the “positive can-do spirit” of the Beveridge report produced during the Second World War to tackle “deep rooted problems” amplified by the Covid-19 crisis, Dame Rachel de Souza said.
Dame Rachel said society owes it to children to tackle these issues “for the huge sacrifices they’ve made for us, despite being the least at risk of becoming ill”.
- LGA calls for debate on impact of long Covid
Date: 07 Jul 2021
The LGA has called for a debate on the impact of long Covid on council services and the social care system on the first day of its Annual Conference. Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board said, “We are only beginning to learn more about the long-term effects of this disease and we need to start planning now for what could be a potential increase in requests for care and support and other council services due to Covid-related conditions. We need to have an honest debate about the potential implications of long Covid on resources and capacity on our overstretched and under-pressure social care system and other vital council services.”
- 20 years of economic interventions have failed to help poorest communities, report warns
Date: 07 Jul 2021
The last 20 years of local economic interventions have consistently failed to address the inequalities across the UK’s most deprived communities, a new report has warned today. Published by the Institute for Community Studies, the report found that over £50bn investment has contributed to 0% average change in the most deprived local authority areas.
- Half may miss September audit deadline
Date: 07 Jul 2021
A top auditor has predicted that as many as half of councils may miss this year’s September 30 audit deadline.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s annual conference last week, Grant Thornton partner Paul Dossett said he would not be surprised if a similar proportion of local authorities met the statutory deadline for completing the 2020-21 audit to last year.
More than half of local authority accounts missed the 2020 audit deadline in November. Mr Dossett told the virtual conference: ‘I wouldn't be surprised if this year’s September 30 date is a similar hit rate.’
- Final COVID support package for bus sector
Date: 07 Jul 2021
Bus operators in England have been allocated a final £226.5m support package from the Government 'to help ensure they continue to run vital services as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted'.
- Councils told to expect a rise in auditor interventions
Date: 07 Jul 2021
More auditor interventions through statutory recommendations and public interest reports to local authorities are likely to occur in coming years, an audit expert has warned.
- State pension predicted to rise by 8%
Date: 06 Jul 2021
Retired people could see a bumper rise in the state pension next year, according to official forecasters.
Predictions suggest that the link with earnings growth could mean an 8% rise in the amount paid from April 2022.
That would cost the government £3bn more than previously expected, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
- Jenrick tells councils to produce 10-20 year plans for their areas
Date: 06 Jul 2021
The communities secretary has urged every council to produce a “10 or 20 year plan" for its area and has revealed proposals for government departments to work with councils taking a more place-based approach will emerge in the upcoming levelling up white paper.
Speaking to the Local Government Association annual conference this lunchtime, Robert Jenrick said the government wants “every local council now to produce a 10 or 20 year plan for their town, or their city, their communities, and for government to work with you in a genuinely place based way”.
- Covid bubbles to be axed in England's schools
Date: 06 Jul 2021
Covid rules that have seen hundreds of thousands of pupils miss out on learning due to self-isolation are being axed in England, it is confirmed.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the system of sending "bubbles" of children home after a positive case would cease at the end of summer term.
The bubble system had been necessary to limit virus spread but was now causing disruption to pupils' lives, he said.
- Self-isolation to be scrapped for double-jabbed and children in England
Date: 06 Jul 2021
Fully vaccinated people in England will not have to self-isolate if a close contact tests positive for Covid from 16 August, the health secretary says.
Sajid Javid told MPs the same policy would also apply to anyone under the age of 18 from that date.
The government would give more details this week on self-isolation rules for international travel, he added.
- Jenrick's exit payment intervention
Date: 06 Jul 2021
An internal email from Mr Jenrick’s assistant private secretary revealed he thought the statutory guidance on special severance payments as it was originally drafted by officials was ‘not strong enough’.
- Section 114 chief: We will not be the last
Date: 06 Jul 2021
Slough Council’s chief executive this week urged other sector bosses to ‘trust your intuition’ to avoid their local authority following in her Section 114 footsteps.
The over-extended council last week became the second local authority in less than a year to issue a dreaded Section 114 notice after its borrowing quadrupled from around £180m to £760m in five years.
- Jenrick to reduce competitive bidding
Date: 06 Jul 2021
The communities secretary has pledged to reduce the number of funds councils have to compete for as part of plans to consolidate the sector’s funding.
Speaking at the Local Government Association’s virtual conference today, Robert Jenrick said there would be fewer competitions in the future, giving councils ‘more consolidated opportunities to access government funding’.
- Fair Funding Review ‘on ice’ for two years
Date: 06 Jul 2021
Fundamental reform of UK local authority finances is likely to be delayed further by up to two years, to assess Covid-19’s impact on local taxation, according to CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman.
- First shortlist unveiled for £120m zero emission buses funding
Date: 06 Jul 2021
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced its first shortlist from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, providing £120m to support the roll-out of zero emission buses across England.
Shortlisted authorities must now develop a business case for investment, with the Government awarding the first tranche of ZEBRA funding to the authorities with the strongest. Official guidance has been released to support councils developing their business cases.
- Jenrick pledges to rein in councils pursuing ‘risky commercial strategies’
Date: 06 Jul 2021
The communities secretary has revealed the government will publish plans “very soon” to “protect taxpayers' money from the minority” of councils pursuing “risky commercial strategies”, and has also spelt out plans for his ministry to take less of an "England only" approach to local government.
Speaking at the Local Government Association online conference today, he said “some councils” such as Croydon LBC and Slough BC - both of which have been forced to issue section 114 notices in the last eight months after funding themselves unable to balance their budgets - have “damaged the good name of local government and have wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers' money”.
- Whitty calls for more tailored local messaging amid Covid surge
Date: 06 Jul 2021
The chief medical officer has warned of a “significant amount more long Covid” with the country now in the throes of a Covid surge, and has urged councils to pivot to a “much more tailored approach to communicating with individual communities” to bring rates down.
- Jenrick to reduce competitive bidding
Date: 06 Jul 2021
The communities secretary has pledged to reduce the number of funds councils have to compete for as part of plans to consolidate the sector’s funding.
Speaking at the Local Government Association’s virtual conference today, Robert Jenrick said there would be fewer competitions in the future, giving councils ‘more consolidated opportunities to access government funding’.
He said: ‘One of my roles in the run-up to the Spending Review will be to encourage other departments to remove some of those ring-fenced, consolidated funds and simplify funding streams.’
- Grenfell prompts creation of building safety regulator
Date: 05 Jul 2021
A new regulator will be set up with the power to prosecute property developers that do not meet safety standards, the government has announced.
The new safety regime is designed to prevent any repetition of the Grenfell Tower disaster, which killed 72 people in 2017.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick will unveil the plans in the government's Building Safety Bill on Monday.
The new system would reassure "the vast majority" of residents, he said.
- Schools ‘bleeding out’ from Covid bubble system, council leaders warn
Date: 05 Jul 2021
Schools are “bleeding out” from the bubble system, council leaders have said as they warn the policy could be leaving the most vulnerable children at risk of serious harm.
Ministers have been urged to stop dithering and bring an end to the bubble system, whereby the whole class, or even year groups, of pupils are sent home for 10 days each time a child tests positive.
The policy is now coming under attack from local council chiefs and headteachers, as well as politicians and the Children’s Commissioner.
- Masks will become personal choice, says minister
Date: 05 Jul 2021
The Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, has said England will enter a period without legal restrictions where the public will have to exercise “personal responsibility” including on face masks.
- Boris Johnson to announce plans for greater control of health service
Date: 05 Jul 2021
Boris Johnson is to announce plans this week to take greater control of the NHS. The Prime Minister has reportedly told the Health Secretary Sajid Javid to put the Health and Care Bill before Parliament. Mr Javid is expected to lay the bill on Tuesday.
- Sunak ‘must keep extra £20 on universal credit’
Date: 05 Jul 2021
Six former Conservative welfare secretaries have said that the Chancellor must extend the “vital” weekly £20 increase in universal credit. Rishi Sunak announced in March that the increase would remain in place for a further six months until the end of September.
- Mobile phones could be banned from schools in England as early as January
Date: 05 Jul 2021
Mobile phones could be banned from schools in England by January as part of plans reportedly being considered by the Government.
- Town Halls have been ordered to fund women’s refuges
Date: 02 Jul 2021
Town Halls have been ordered to fund women’s refuges — in a win for The Sun.
Minister Robert Jenrick has written to every council “making abundantly clear" that government money must go to refuges to keep women and children safe.
Women’s Aid has been campaigning for him to intervene after cash-strapped councils started earmarking the money towards other services.
Last year, 114 people lost their lives to domestic violence.
- Net-zero plans
Date: 02 Jul 2021
The Government is reportedly planning to introduce a carbon reduction scheme that could put up the costs of gas and petrol as part of an attempt to decarbonise the economy.
- Slough Council issues section 114 notice following mounting money troubles
Date: 02 Jul 2021
MOUNTING financial pressures forces Slough Borough Council to declare it has gone bust, banning any new spending.
Today, the Labour-led council has issued a section 114 notice, which effectively means they are declaring themselves bankrupt
This notice indicates that the council does not have enough funds to deliver or balance its budget.
- Warwickshire launches recovery and investment fund
Date: 02 Jul 2021
Warwickshire County Council has approved plans to borrow up to £130m over the next five years, which it intends to pass on to businesses to help their long-term recovery from Covid-19.
- Croydon could write-off £52m in housing company loans
Date: 02 Jul 2021
The London Borough of Croydon may need to write-off up to £52m in loans to wholly-owned housing firm Brick by Brick, after rejecting the sale of the company.
- Whiteman: Councils that agreed capitalisation loans could follow Slough
Date: 02 Jul 2021
The seven other councils that agreed capitalisation loans with the government in recent months are those most at risk of following Slough BC by issuing a section 114 notice, according to the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.
The councils in question cited by Rob Whiteman are: Bexley LBC, Copeland, Eastbourne DC, Luton BC, Peterborough City Council, Redcar & Cleveland and Slough Councils and Wirral MBC.
- UK's furlough scheme starts to wind down
Date: 01 Jul 2021
More than a million workers came off furlough in May as the economy reopened, leaving the scheme supporting the fewest people since the start of the pandemic.
At the end of May, 2.4 million people still relied on the scheme for their income, the latest HMRC figures show.
The furlough measures are being phased out by the end of September.
- Chancellor hails sharp fall in furlough numbers as scheme starts to wind down
Date: 01 Jul 2021
The number of workers on furlough has fallen by nearly 1.2 million in a month according to official figures published just as the scheme starts to wind down.
Data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) showing 2.4 million people were using the coronavirus job retention scheme at the end of May, down from 3.5 million at the end of April, was hailed as "fantastic" by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
The biggest reduction came in "beverage serving" businesses, where nearly 180,000 went back to work, while "restaurants and mobile food service" firms saw a drop of 133,000 on furlough.
- Eight councils to undergo independent financial reviews
Date: 01 Jul 2021
Eight councils granted ‘exceptional support’ from the Government are to undergo independent reviews of their finances.
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has been appointed to look at financial and risk management, deliverability of savings and efficiency.
- Funding for deprived schools in England has shifted to wealthy areas, study finds
Date: 01 Jul 2021
Government promises to level-up funding in education have resulted in money being shifted away from schools in the most disadvantaged areas and invested in pupils in more prosperous areas of England, according to the official parliamentary spending watchdog.
A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found average per-pupil funding in the most deprived fifth of schools fell in real terms by 1.2% between 2017-18 and 2020-21, while it increased by 2.9% in the least deprived fifth.
- Social care tax rises
Date: 01 Jul 2021
Health Secretary Sajid Javid is said to be forming an alliance with Chancellor Rishi Sunak to insist that major reform of England’s social care system must be funded through higher taxes. Javid is reportedly keen on a Japanese-style levy on the over-40s to fund social care while the Treasury is looking at whether a dedicated tax could be introduced. Yesterday, the Alzheimer’s Society went to Downing Street to hand in a petition signed by more than 135,000 people on need to radical overhaul of care system. It referenced previous LGA analysis warning that costs of care have risen by more than £8 billion in the past decade.
- [OPINION] Is levelling up just a soundbite?
Date: 30 Jun 2021
A poll has named tackling homelessness, poverty, crime and unemployment as priorities for levelling up. But Dan Corry says these are not the problems ‘a new building or bridge or a tarted-up high street can solve’.
- ‘Jaw-dropping’ fall in life expectancy in poor areas of England, report finds
Date: 30 Jun 2021
Boris Johnson’s post-Covid “levelling up” agenda will fail unless it addresses declining life expectancy and deteriorating social conditions in England’s poorest areas, a leading authority on public health has warned, as he published figures showing the impact of the pandemic on Greater Manchester.
Sir Michael Marmot revealed the coronavirus death rate in Greater Manchester was 25% higher than the England average during the year to March, leading to “jaw-dropping” falls in life expectancy and widening social and health inequalities across the region over the past year.
The deteriorating health equalities picture in the region and across similarly deprived areas of the country was a result of longstanding, avoidable socioeconomic inequities and ethnic disadvantage, exacerbated by a decade of spending cuts and amplified by Covid and the effect of prolonged lockdowns, he said.
- Business Rates Revaluations Consultation Launched
Date: 30 Jun 2021
Government launches consultation on making business rates revaluations more frequent
Proposals designed to make system more streamlined and fair would see revaluations take place every three years - instead of five
Consultation announced as part of the Fundamental Review of Business Rates which will conclude in the Autumn.
- Government urged to create post-Covid 'golden age' of cycling
Date: 30 Jun 2021
The government can create a "golden age of cycling" if it capitalises on the surge of interest in it during lockdown, a transport charity has said.
At one point last year, almost four times as many journeys as usual were being taken by bike, but usage has gone back to normal levels since then.
The charity Sustrans says cyclists need to feel safer and wants more 20mph zones and more effective cycle lanes.
- Cash set aside for school catch-up plan is ‘peanuts’, warns education chief
Date: 30 Jun 2021
Britain’s underfunded school catch-up plan risks seeing the UK fall behind other nations for years to come, an education chief has warned.
The amount of cash the Government has so far pledged is “derisory” and could do long-term damage to the nation’s global standing, according to Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust.
“Countries compete on education. They don’t compete on battleships any more,” he told The Telegraph.
- Authority-owned property investment company assets fall by £12m
Date: 30 Jun 2021
An investment company set up to buy commercial property on behalf of two councils has suffered cumulative losses of more than £12.5m since it launched four years ago.
- Covid-19: End of England's Covid rules still set for 19 July
Date: 29 Jun 2021
The final easing of lockdown measures in England is still set for 19 July, the new health secretary has said.
Sajid Javid told MPs that ministers "see no reason to go beyond" that "target date".
He said that while cases were rising, the number of deaths "remains mercifully low".
- Covid: School isolation rules could end in autumn
Date: 29 Jun 2021
The Covid control system in England's schools, where groups of pupils have to self-isolate if one tests positive, could be scrapped in the autumn.
Ministers are looking at asking schools to introduce daily testing instead.
Official figures showed that in England alone this month, 172,000 children were self-isolating having potentially been in contact with a positive case in school.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has pledged to address the issue.
- Mobile phone ban plan to improve school behaviour
Date: 29 Jun 2021
Mobile phone bans and other ways to create "calm classrooms" are to be considered to help improve discipline in England's schools.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he wants to make the school day mobile-free, describing the devices as "distracting" and "damaging".
A consultation will ask the views of teachers and parents on how to promote good behaviour.
- Gangs warning for pupils missing majority of school
Date: 29 Jun 2021
There has been a big increase in children in England missing large amounts of school - on top of disruption from Covid, warns a report.
More than 90,000 pupils missed over half their lessons in the autumn term, said the Centre for Social Justice.
They could be "extremely vulnerable to being picked up by gangs", said think tank founder Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
- Councils rake in £1m a week from drivers after bus lane fines double
Date: 29 Jun 2021
Local authorities are making £1 million a week from bus lane cameras, prompting concerns that motorists are being used as cash cows to prop up finances.
Councils made a surplus of £56.8 million from bus lanes in the year to the end of March 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
It was down on a year earlier when £59.2 million was collected.
- England’s poorest areas left far behind with lack of social infrastructure
Date: 29 Jun 2021
A study by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on left behind neighbourhoods has found that England’s poorest neighbourhoods have by far the biggest shortages of basic social infrastructure such as parks, playgrounds, pubs, shops and sports facilities, and are also least likely to receive government funding to renew their community.
- £1bn business grants still to be allocated
Date: 29 Jun 2021
Nearly half of £2bn handed to local authorities for discretionary business grant funding has yet to be allocated, the Government has said.
Councils need to prove they have spent or ‘made a validated attempt to spend’ their allocated additional restrictions grant by Friday July 30 to qualify for a share of the latest £425m top-up announced at the Budget.
- Low income households could pay no Council Tax under authority's scheme
Date: 29 Jun 2021
Up to 8,000 low income households could pay no Council Tax at all next year under new proposals from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
Around 12,400 working age people in the borough currently receive up to 80% Council Tax discount under the authority’s Local Council Tax Support Scheme.
But the council is proposing to consult on changes to the scheme, which would lift the maximum discount from 80% to 100%.
- LGA to review county finances as new administration questions strategy
Date: 29 Jun 2021
The new joint Liberal Democrat and Labour-led administration at Cambridgeshire CC claims there are “serious questions” about its Tory predecessors’ financial strategy, and is enlisting the help of a Local Government Association peer review to address the situation.
- Labour warns UK needs more than 127,000 chargepoints by 2025
Date: 29 Jun 2021
The UK has only 15% of the electric vehicle charging points it needs to meet net zero, according to new analysis.
The Committee on Climate Change said there needs to be around 150,000 public charge points operating by 2025 but the research by Labour shows there is currently only 22,790 public charging points.
- Luton bails out airport with another £140m
Date: 29 Jun 2021
Luton BC is to borrow heavily to loan Luton Airport up to £139m to avoid having to sell it due to the impact of the pandemic.
In a private discussion at an executive meeting last night, it was agreed to loan the subsidiary company through which it owns the airport £119m to help “stabilise” it, as well as a contingency of £20m and “additional capital investment”.
- ‘Left behind’ areas receive less targeted funding, research reveals
Date: 29 Jun 2021
England's 'left behind' neighbourhoods receive less than half the charitable grants of other equally deprived places, new research has shown.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods shows the 225 most deprived areas in England received £7.77 in national charitable grant funding per head from 2004 to May 2021 on average. This compares to £19.31 per head for other equally deprived places.
- Lockdowns leave half of teenagers battling anxiety and trauma
Date: 29 Jun 2021
Half of teenagers have been left suffering anxiety and trauma in the wake of the Covid lockdowns, a major review has found.
A systematic review into the impact of school closures includes UK data on more than 2,000 young people questioned in depth about their feelings and experiences.
The research shows that 53 per cent of girls and 44 per cent of boys aged 13 to 18 were found to be suffering from trauma or PTSD in the months after the first lockdown. Sixty per cent of boys and 50 per cent of girls of the same age were classed as suffering from anxiety.
- School self-isolation hitting poor pupils hardest
Date: 29 Jun 2021
Children from the most deprived areas are hit hardest by school self-isolation, The Telegraph can reveal, prompting MPs, scientists and former ministers to demand an immediate end to the bubble system.
On Tuesday it was revealed that a record 385,500 pupils are off school as a result of Covid – the vast majority of whom do not have the virus.
Youngsters in the most disadvantaged parts of the country are almost twice as likely as peers in wealthier areas to be forced to self-isolate.
- UK 'must add 127,000 chargepoints by 2025'
Date: 29 Jun 2021
The Committee on Climate Change said there needs to be around 150,000 public charge points operating by 2025 but the research by Labour shows there are currently only 22,790.
The research also highlights a 'serious' regional disparity in the number of charging points as there are four times as many charging points in London than in Yorkshire.
Labour warns this will create 'two-tier transport' Britain and pricing some families out of car ownership.
- Javid to update MPs on lifting restrictions
Date: 28 Jun 2021
New Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid will today update MPs on when the remaining coronavirus measures will be lifted in England, coming less than 48 hours after it was announced he would take over following Matt Hancock's resignation. Boris Johnson has said the restrictions will ease on 19 July, but has also promised a data review to see if this can happen two weeks earlier on 5 July, with the Commons expected to be given the details of this review.
- Social care leaders urge reform now to combat ‘perfect storm’ of problems
Date: 28 Jun 2021
A “perfect storm” of problems in social care is putting it in the worst position it has ever been in, according to health and charity leaders who are urging the Government to publish its long-delayed plans on how to reform the sector. Care providers are losing staff in seaside areas as hospitality opens up again, while newly opened supermarkets are luring care workers away by offering better pay and conditions, according to the head of Age UK, while a combination of Brexit, new immigration rules and the pandemic mean many care staff have left the UK and are unlikely to return.
- Small businesses warn of 18-day gap in support
Date: 28 Jun 2021
Small firms need more help to bridge an 18-day gap as coronavirus limits continue but financial support packages wind down, the Federation for Small Business says. A number of measures aimed at helping firms, such as a business rates exemption, will end on 1 July and the FSB is concerned that there will be a gap in financial provisioning which will put more pressure on already-struggling businesses, after many had budgeted to be able to trade from 21 June.
- 100,000 pupils failed to return to education full-time when schools reopened
Date: 28 Jun 2021
Almost 100,000 pupils have become the 'lost children of lockdown' due to the impact of the pandemic on the education system, a leading think-tank report says. Analysis of official figures by the Centre for Social Justice has identified 93,514 pupils who were mostly absent between September and December, with the figure for those off school more often than they were present increasing by more than 50 per cent on the previous year.
- Beauty spots turned into impromptu 'clubbing venues’ with piles of rubbish left in wake
Date: 28 Jun 2021
Rural campaigners have warned that the continued closure of nightclubs and concert halls has led to some young people treating country parks and scenic spots as festival and clubbing venues, leaving behind piles of rubbish and detritus. Local residents and council workers have been left picking up the pieces, but the Countryside Alliance also urged local authorities and landowners not to take draconian measures, such as closing beauty spots, saying other measures could be introduced to make sure they could be enjoyed by all without being ruined.
- Sajid Javid new Health Secretary
Date: 27 Jun 2021
Former Chancellor and Home Secretary Sajid Javid has replaced Matt Hancock as the new Health Secretary. Hancock resigned on Saturday afternoon after being found to have broken coronavirus regulations on social distancing in May.
- Nearly half of UK councils still don't recycle kitchen leftovers
Date: 27 Jun 2021
More than 27 million people’s household food waste is going to landfill or being incinerated. Under the Government’s Environment Bill, all councils in England would collect this waste separately by 2023, but some are pushing for this to be brought forward. Cllr David Renard, Environment spokesperson for the LGA, said: “The LGA supports the ambition for an increase in recycling rates and the local government sector is ready to take on the challenge of improving recycling levels and the overall waste service it provides to its residents. However, cost is a significant barrier to the introduction of weekly food waste collection and we support the Government’s commitment in the Environment Bill to ensure that councils are fully resourced to meet new costs regardless of whether or not they have been providing a food waste service voluntarily.”
- Inflation to rise above 3 per cent this year, warns Bank of England
Date: 25 Jun 2021
Inflation will rise above 3 per cent this year but the unexpected surge will prove “transitory”, the Bank of England warned as Rishi Sunak played down concerns about rising prices.
The central bank had expected inflation to peak at 2.5 per cent this year but solid consumer demand and a rapid pick-up in energy prices has taken it by surprise. Inflation will climb from 2.1 per cent and “exceed 3 per cent for a temporary period”.
- Auditor voices ‘serious concerns’ over council’s finances
Date: 25 Jun 2021
Peterborough City Council’s external auditors have raised serious concerns about the financial situation of the authority, which has become reliant on additional government support.
- Council faces spiralling costs of remedying fire-risk building
Date: 25 Jun 2021
Mounting costs relating to a block of flats with dangerous cladding could lead to a local authority lending millions to a council-owned company – money it admits might not be fully paid back.
- Revealed: Budget increases for key services due to Covid
Date: 25 Jun 2021
There has been a more than five-fold increase in the use of reserves by councils to cover revenue expenditure in their 2021-22 budgets compared to last year, with the latest data showing sharp rises in the amounts budgeted for adults, children’s and cultural services.
- Council capital spending to reach five-year high in post-Covid bounce
Date: 25 Jun 2021
Local government capital spending is forecast to hit a five-year high this financial year as councils borrow to kickstart projects following Covid-related delays.
Total capital expenditure across councils in England is expected to be £30.7bn in 2021-22, £6.9bn (29%) higher than in 2020-21, when it was £23.8bn, according to figures published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.
- Pandemic will force changes to next year’s GCSEs and A-levels
Date: 24 Jun 2021
Pupils sitting GCSEs and A-levels next year — and even in subsequent years — could see their exams adjusted to take account of the disruption they have faced, the education secretary has said.
Gavin Williamson told MPs he wanted to see pupils sitting the exams, rather than being assessed by teachers, next summer, but that there were likely to be “adjustments and mitigations” to ensure fairness to pupils now in years 10 and 12.
- Fear for English children living in ‘education deserts’
Date: 24 Jun 2021
More than 200,000 children live in an area with no good or outstanding primary schools, a report will reveal tomorrow.
One in every 25 primary age children — equivalent to 218,000 — lives in a local area containing only underperforming primary schools, according to research from the think tank Onward and New Schools Network, which supports new free schools.
It shows 306 areas across England where the only primary schools available are rated either inadequate or requiring improvement by Ofsted. The authors say this means that parents in these areas have far less choice, which limits their children’s educational opportunities.
- Children needing foster care ‘to rise by 33%’ leaving councils struggling to cope
Date: 24 Jun 2021
The number of children needing foster care in England could rise by around a third within the next decade, but many councils are unprepared, research warns.
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) forecasts that almost 77,000 children could be in foster care by 2030 based on current growth – up 33 per cent compared to current numbers.
Growth in the number of approved foster care families would have to rise 2.9 per cent annually to meet this demand, it says, but in all but one of the past five years it has been significantly lower.
- Inflation spike creates watching brief for treasury officers
Date: 24 Jun 2021
A recent rise in inflation has local government treasury leaders thinking about interest rates, writes Gavin Hinks.
Should local government be worried about rising inflation? The increasingly shrill reports about climbing rates has experts thinking hard about the implications. Some see little to worry about. Others see more uncertainty and say council treasurers appear to be entering a period in which the the usual financial elements behave counter to expectations.
- Council tax debt rises to £4.4bn
Date: 24 Jun 2021
Council tax debt increased by £841m last year due to the pandemic reducing or delaying recovery action, official figures have shown.
The new figures, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, show the total amount of council tax outstanding was £4.4bn as of 31 March 2021.
- Cyclists worst hit as fatality rate rises
Date: 24 Jun 2021
Deaths on Britain’s roads fell by 16% last year but traffic levels were down 22%, meaning that fatality rates rose. The latest government figures also show a 40% rise in the number of cyclists killed.
- Lincolnshire districts set to join forces with eye to unitarisation
Date: 24 Jun 2021
Three Lincolnshire districts are set to enter into a strategic partnership with an eye to future unitarisation.
Next week councillors at South Holland DC, Boston BC and East Lindsey DC will consider plans to enter a strategic alliance, which they believe will “position themselves well” for future devolution and reorganisation.
- CIPFA to provide further clarity on borrowing restrictions
Date: 24 Jun 2021
CIPFA is proposing to boost the information it provides on proposed borrowing restrictions on borrowing for yield in its update to the Prudential Code.
- Quarter of a million children in England missed school last week due to COVID-19
Date: 23 Jun 2021
A quarter of a million children in England missed school last week because of COVID-19 infections, self-isolation or school closures, making it the most disrupted week since schools fully reopened in March. Department for Education figures show that one child in every 30 at state school was out of the classroom on 17 June, including 9,000 pupils with confirmed COVID-19 cases, 16,000 with suspected cases and more than 7,000 whose schools had shut entirely because of coronavirus outbreaks.
- Northern English cities faced ‘avalanche’ of debt during COVID-19 – study
Date: 23 Jun 2021
Affluent people in richer southern England neighbourhoods were typically able to save £12 for every £1 saved by people in poorer neighbourhoods in mostly northern cities and towns during the pandemic, according to a study by the Centre for Cities thinktank. It has warned of a “north-south” economic divide opening up more widely when the Government’s COVID-19 support package is phased out in the autumn, with some parts of the country potentially benefiting from the “champagne bottle effect” of savings and others facing increased levels of problem debt.
- Social care reforms delayed until at least Autumn
Date: 23 Jun 2021
Social care reforms are reportedly unlikely to be announced until the autumn at the earliest amid continued disputes within government over how to pay for them. Boris Johnson is understood to have ruled out using rises in income tax, VAT and national insurance to pay for social care in England, making it “extremely difficult” for the Chancellor to find the £10 billion needed.
- Does local government need a new red flag system to signal looming financial crisis?
Date: 23 Jun 2021
Andrew Hardingham examines calls for a new early warning system for section 114s notices and finds there are already many mechanisms in place, if only they were used properly and heeded.
- £483m government investment to boost and improve school buildings
Date: 23 Jun 2021
Pupils across England are set to benefit from improved school facilities due to almost half a billion pounds being invested in school buildings this year.
£483m from the Department for Education’s (DfE) Condition Improvement Fund will go to 1,199 schools.
- London council prosecutes firm over jams
Date: 23 Jun 2021
Thames Water has been prosecuted by a London borough after creating what the council said were unnecessary traffic jams three times in less than a fortnight.
In two separate magistrates' court hearings the utility firm was ordered to pay £8,254 in fines and costs after it admitted three breaches of the law by failing to obtain a valid permit to carry out works on the public highway.
- Return of the Covid passport could keep pubs open
Date: 22 Jun 2021
Covid passports could be used to keep pubs and restaurants open this winter under plans being drawn up by ministers.
Boris Johnson yesterday warned that although it is ‘looking good’ for the lifting of restrictions on July 19, Britain could still face a ‘rough winter’ if cases surge.
Plans for the widespread use of so-called Covid passports were put on the back-burner earlier this year following a backlash from MPs and parts of the hospitality sector.
- Smart traffic lights get green light for cutting emissions by a quarter
Date: 22 Jun 2021
A new generation of smart traffic lights could be introduced after a government-backed trial showed that eliminating unnecessary stops at junctions can cut emissions by a quarter.
Research suggests that congestion levels and pollution were reduced using the technology which tells motorists how fast to drive on the approach to lights to avoid hitting them on red.
- We have a duty to build more homes, Robert Jenrick tells Tory heartlands
Date: 22 Jun 2021
The Government has “a duty” to the next generation to build more homes, Robert Jenrick said on Monday as he defied Conservative MPs who want him to water down controversial planning reforms.
The Housing Secretary insisted that it was only fair that ministers should reform the current system so that young people could “aspire to own the keys to their own home”.
The comments came after Tory MPs used a Commons debate to press the Government to dilute planning reforms that were blamed for last week’s shock defeat in the Chesham and Amersham by-election.
- Government borrowing eases in May
Date: 22 Jun 2021
Government borrowing fell in May compared with the same month last year, with the economy in recovery mode after lockdown measures eased.
Borrowing - the difference between spending and tax income - was £24.3bn, official figures show, which was £19.4bn lower than May last year.
However, the figure was the second-highest for May since records began.
- Poorer white pupils let down and neglected - MPs
Date: 22 Jun 2021
White working class pupils have been failed by decades of neglect in England's education system, a report by MPs says.
The Education Select Committee says poorer white children underachieve and have been "let down and neglected".
It says use of the term "white privilege", suggesting white pupils are at an advantage, is the "opposite" of the reality for poor white pupils.
- Social care: Ministers urged to 'act now' on funding reform
Date: 22 Jun 2021
Social care organisations have urged ministers to publish long-awaited plans to overhaul how the care system in England is funded within a month. A letter signed by a range of signatories, including Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, Anna Severwright of care reform movement Social Care Future and Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said care reform should be seen as a key part of the wider plan to upgrade England’s infrastructure, and must go further than simply ensuring care bills are capped to prevent people having to sell their homes to pay for care. The signatories call for a short-term cash injection to stabilise the care system, followed by a longer term investment plan to make the system simpler and fairer, and a new deal for staff to deliver improvements in pay and training. A meeting between the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Health Secretary to discuss reforms was reportedly cancelled yesterday.
- Duty to share data across health and social care planned
Date: 22 Jun 2021
The government plans to create a new statutory duty to share data between health and social care services.
A draft strategy published today by the Department for Health & Social Care says the government will “create a new duty on health and care organisations to share anonymous data” so it can be “more effectively and seamlessly shared across the system”.
- Council to buy Bunkabins and park homes to house homeless people
Date: 22 Jun 2021
Cornwall Council is buying park homes and cabins to help meet the demand for emergency accommodation as a result of COVID-19.
- Somerset CC to open up to 10 new children's homes
Date: 22 Jun 2021
Somerset CC is to open up to ten new children’s homes by 2026, admitting it is too reliant on larger for-profit providers in children’s social care.
The council will also invest over the same period in higher needs foster carers and specialist therapeutic education for the children.
- Birmingham makes ‘great strides’ on financial management
Date: 22 Jun 2021
In July 2019, CIPFA gave the authority just one out of five stars for its financial management capability, citing a damaging lack of accountability for fiscal performance and unachievable savings targets.
Following CIPFA’s original review, Birmingham implemented a finance improvement programme, and in May the institute raised its rating to three stars, a council report to be discussed a cabinet meeting next week said.
The report said: “Birmingham City Council has made great strides in addressing the issues that constrained overall financial management capability.
“It would be our considered view that Birmingham City Council should be considered to be an exemplar in the transformation of financial management capability given the extent of improvement achieved over the last two years.”
- Plea for urgent cash injection for social care system as ministers delay talks on reform blueprint
Date: 22 Jun 2021
The beleaguered social care system needs an immediate cash injection to avert a deepening crisis during the next stages of the coronavirus crisis, Boris Johnson has been warned by sector chiefs.
They also urged the Prime Minister to produce a 10-year reform blueprint for social care within a month as anger grew over the renewed delays in facing up to the issue.
Ministers are only committed to setting out their proposals by the end of 2021 – a full two and a half years after Mr Johnson said he had plans ready to implement.
- Autumn booster jab plan needed – health leaders
Date: 21 Jun 2021
Doctors and NHS trusts have said the Government must start planning for the autumn booster jab rollout now, as it will involve bigger challenges. Doctors said that questions needed answering such as how long immunity from the original COVID-19 jab lasts and whether children will be vaccinated.
- More than four million parking tickets issued despite car use plummeting
Date: 21 Jun 2021
Private parking companies handed out 4.4 million parking tickets in 12 months despite car use falling during the pandemic, according to analysis of government data by the RAC Foundation. The research found firms handed British drivers an average of 12,000 tickets every day during 2020/21.
- Parents back longer school day to catch up after Covid
Date: 21 Jun 2021
Nearly half of voters believe the government is failing to help children catch up on education, polling for The Times shows.
More than half of parents believe not enough is being done to help support children whose education has been disrupted by Covid-19.
One third of Tory voters said the education recovery was insufficient, along with two thirds of Labour supporters and three fifths of those who vote for the Liberal Democrats.
- 'Great hope' restrictions can end early on 5 July and UK not in third wave, says vaccine expert
Date: 21 Jun 2021
The UK could open up "sooner rather than later" thanks to the huge numbers of people being vaccinated - and the country is not experiencing a third wave of infections, a vaccine expert has told Sky News.
Brendan Wren, professor of vaccinology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that having more than 81% of the adult population with a first coronavirus jab, and 59% with both doses is "very encouraging".
Asked whether the success of the vaccine programme means England will not need to wait until 19 July to fully open up, he said: "We'd still need to be vigilant - but vigilance and vaccination are the two words.
- Lift Covid restrictions when 70 per cent are double-jabbed, Susan Hopkins says
Date: 21 Jun 2021
Seventy per cent of adults need to have had both doses of the vaccine for Boris Johnson to lift remaining restrictions on July 19, a scientific adviser has said.
Dr Susan Hopkins, strategic adviser for coronavirus at Public Health England, raised hopes that people who had received two doses would soon be exempt from isolation rules.
She suggested that the government should “aim for” 70 per cent in an attempt to ensure that what the prime minister has termed next month’s “terminus date” is not delayed again.
- Remote working sees major cities lose billions in spending, research warns
Date: 21 Jun 2021
Five of the UK’s largest cities could lose £322m a month in city centre spending if people work from home in the long-term, according to new analysis.
Research by the the Centre for Economics and Business Research (cebr) found the pandemic caused £11.9bn of displaced city centre spending in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle and Cardiff between March 2020 and May 2021.
It estimates these five cities will see employment hub spending fall by more than £300m a month compared to pre-pandemic levels if office workers maintain hybrid work patterns indefinitely.
- Councils highlight role of libraries in national recovery from COVID-19
Date: 21 Jun 2021
Councils are warning investment in libraries is crucial to help children catch up on lost learning and support local communities post-pandemic.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said many libraries adapted quickly when they were closed down due to COVID-19 restrictions such as providing virtual services, online reading groups and support for families receiving free laptops.
Many will also be providing free online activities and games as part of an an enhanced Summer Reading Challenge to supplement children’s reading skills.
- Government postpones ‘do or die’ meeting on social care in England
Date: 21 Jun 2021
A “do or die” meeting on social care involving Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock has been postponed, it is understood, as the government came under renewed pressure over delays in setting out a policy for the sector.
The discussion between the prime minister, the chancellor and the health secretary, billed as a chance to set out broad policy objectives for social care, had been scheduled for Tuesday. It is not known why it was postponed, or when the meeting will take place.
Adult social care leaders have written to Boris Johnson calling for him to urgently set out a broad 10-year vision for transforming England’s creaking social care system.
- Leicestershire to reject £15m grant
Date: 21 Jun 2021
Leicestershire County Council is set to reject a £15m road grant from regeneration quango Homes England amid concerns over financing the costs of additional local infrastructure.
- Self-isolation grants refused in 6 out of 10 cases
Date: 19 Jun 2021
Councils in England are rejecting more than six out of 10 applications for grants to help people self-isolate, according to responses from 94 local authorities to freedom of information requests by the Trades Union Congress. Some councils said they had to refuse some requests because they did not produce the right paperwork or did not meet strict eligibility criteria, while a quarter of the councils who responded also said they had run out of funds to make the payments at some point during the programme.
- Government to set new targets on air pollution
Date: 18 Jun 2021
The Government will increase funding to local authorities and set new legal targets on air pollution in a bid to prevent further deaths.
In response to the Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths Report, ministers have agreed to increase the Air Quality Grant scheme for local authorities by £6m a year and launch a public awareness campaign about air pollution.
- Two million requests for care have been rejected in past two years
Date: 18 Jun 2021
Two million requests for care have been turned down by local councils since the Prime Minister pledged to 'fix social care', new research has revealed.
New analysis for the Care and Support Alliance (CSA) shows two million formal requests for care and support from adults aged over 18 have been rejected in the past two years - the equivalent of 3,000 every day.
- Call to give councils greater role in creating jobs and training opportunities
Date: 18 Jun 2021
The Government should use the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill to give councils a greater role in tackling unemployment and skills shortages, the Local Government Association (LGA) has argued.
It is calling for the Bill to introduce a joined up, place-based employment, skills and careers system.
- Councils levy over £1m fines for COVID offences
Date: 18 Jun 2021
Councils have issued over £1m in fines to businesses for COVID offences, an investigation has unveiled.
Research by the Manifesto Club found local authorities have used powers granted during the pandemic to issue 1,201 penalties to businesses for violating COVID restrictions. This includes a failure to enforce social distancing or allowing households to mix on premises.
- Children’s care providers under scrutiny
Date: 18 Jun 2021
Children’s care providers have seen bumper profit margin increases over the past year according to a study of the top 20 companies in the sector by Revolution Consulting for the LGA, despite local authorities struggling to provide care. Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Not only should providers not be making excessive profit from these placements, but their income is almost solely reliant on fees paid by councils who are reporting severe budget deficits in children’s services and experiencing substantial impact of COVID-19 on their income.”
- Children miss out out on free school meals funding
Date: 18 Jun 2021
A “worrying” number of poorer children will miss out on funding that provides free school meals due to a change in the way it is allocated. New figures show that more than one in five children in England are eligible for free school meals, but additional funding will be based on data from last October rather than January, leaving out a large number of children who have become eligible between those dates. The LGA has previously estimated that the change would mean schools in England could lose £118m funding for poorer pupils this year.
- New minor traffic offence powers
Date: 18 Jun 2021
Councils in England and Wales will be able to issue fines of up to £70 for moving traffic offences under new powers to be introduced in December. It is the first time local authorities outside of London and Cardiff can issue fines for offences such as banned turns, box junctions and driving in formal cycle lanes, which are currently enforced by the police only. Cllr David Renard, Transport spokesperson for the LGA, said that councils had been 'calling for powers to make our roads safer and less congested', adding that it was 'good news' that local authorities will be given the responsibility to fine motorists breaching the rules.
- Government actuary proposes greater pension cost cap flexibility
Date: 18 Jun 2021
The Government Actuary’s Department has proposed new measures to allow greater flexibility over action taken due to rises or falls in public pension fund costs.
- Croydon may need higher 2020-21 bailout amid ongoing turmoil
Date: 18 Jun 2021
"Significant sums” are still being queried by auditors in Croydon LBC’s 2019-20 accounts - with the auditor having sought advice from a QC over one outstanding issue - while a number of “significant risks” remain over the current year's budget.
- Care services too focused on investigating families in crisis, says review
Date: 17 Jun 2021
Child protection services in England are too focused on investigating families in crisis and do not provide enough early support, a report says.
An independent review of council-run children's social care said services to protect vulnerable children were in urgent need of investment and reform.
It concluded that with an increasing demand for help, the current system was unsustainable and failing young people.
- All councils in England and Wales handed powers to fine drivers £70 for minor traffic offences - such as yellow-box junction infringements - from December
Date: 17 Jun 2021
All councils in England and Wales can apply for powers to issue fines of up to £70 to drivers for moving traffic offences before the end of 2021, it has been confirmed by the Department for Transport today.
In a statement this week, Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Transport, Baroness Vere, said that from December, local authorities 'will be able to enforce moving traffic offences, such as banned turns, box junctions and driving in formal cycle lanes'.
The DfT confirmed to This is Money that all councils will be able to make an application to take responsibility for the enforcement of these minor contraventions from December.
- Free school meals: Poorer pupils miss out in funding change, say unions
Date: 17 Jun 2021
A "worrying" number of poorer school pupils will miss out on extra funding because of a change in the way support is allocated, unions say.
New figures show more than one in five children in England are now eligible for free school meals - an increase of 420,000 children since March 2020.
But extra funding for schools will be based on data from last October rather than the latest figures for January.
- Proportion of children securing first choice secondary school places falls
Date: 17 Jun 2021
The proportion of pupils gaining places at their first-choice secondary school has fallen, figures show.
Nearly one fifth of children have missed out on their top choice of secondary school, rising to more than two in five pupils in some areas of England, according to data from the Department for Education (DfE).
It comes as the number of applications to secondary schools in England rose by 0.8 per cent to just over 605,200.
- Virtual meetings have boosted local democracy, survey finds
Date: 17 Jun 2021
Nine in 10 councils believe local democracy has improved as a direct result of online council meetings, a survey has found.
Some 74% of councils reported higher public attendance due to meetings being held online while 72% said citizens and communities wanted to engage more, according to the survey by the Speakers’ Corner Trust charity.
- Council property deals plummet due to Covid-19 and borrowing changes
Date: 17 Jun 2021
The coronavirus pandemic and tighter government lending rules led to a 41% real-terms contraction in councils' payments for land and buildings last year, according to provisional outturn figures.
- PSAA proposals ‘pay lip service’ to smaller audit firms
Date: 17 Jun 2021
Proposed reforms by local audit administrator Public Sector Audit Appointments will fail to bring smaller companies into the sector, according to a senior partner at a 60-strong accountancy firm.
- Liability benchmark could save sector ‘tens of millions of pounds’
Date: 17 Jun 2021
A proposed liability benchmark to help local authorities manage their debt needs could save the sector tens of millions of pounds, according to an industry expert.
- Bank of England code ‘protects’ authority-to-authority borrowing
Date: 17 Jun 2021
The Commercial Markets Code was launched in 2017, to restore faith in the financial markets following the 2008 recession and the London Interbank Offered Rate scandal.
Speaking to the CIPFA Treasury Management Conference this week, Jonthan Pryzer senior advisor at the BoE, also said that code also covers repurchasing markets and stock trade, relevant to pension funds.
- Children's social care a 'Jenga held together with Sellotape,' says damning review
Date: 17 Jun 2021
The children's social care system is too focused on investigating families rather than providing them with support, according to an independent review of services.
Led by Josh MacAlister, the review details problems in the children's social care system in England.
The review found that a focus on investigations had created an 'increasingly adversarial' system that is both less able to support parents and protect children.
- Eviction ban on firms behind on rent is extended by nine months
Date: 17 Jun 2021
A ban on landlords evicting firms for unpaid commercial rent, which was due to end on 30 June, is being extended for another nine months. Treasury Secretary Stephen Barclay said the delay in easing lockdown restrictions presented additional challenges to business. He also announced plans for a binding arbitration scheme to resolve disputes between landlords and commercial tenants, which should be in place for when the eviction ban is lifted.
- Rob Whiteman: There is a pressing need to make council accounts more transparent
Date: 17 Jun 2021
The inability of elected members to understand financial information inhibits effective governance, writes the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.
- Government announces £16m for virtual school heads programme
Date: 17 Jun 2021
The Government has announced that more than £16m is now available to councils to ensure there is a local champion for children with a social worker in every local authority in England.
The funding will enable local authorities to extend the role of virtual school heads from September this year. Virtual school heads are in charge of promoting the educational achievement of looked-after children.
- Sunak announces launch of UK Infrastructure Bank
Date: 17 Jun 2021
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the launch of a UK Infrastructure Bank which the Government argues will help level up the country by funding infrastructure projects.
First announced by the chancellor alongside the Spending Review, the UK Infrastructure Bank will have an initial £12bn of capital to deploy and will be able to issue £10bn of government guarantees.
- COVID-19 vaccine to be required for England care home staff
Date: 16 Jun 2021
COVID-19 vaccinations are to become compulsory for staff in care homes for older people in England, it has been reported. Care staff are expected to be given 16 weeks to have the jab - or face being redeployed away from frontline care, or lose their jobs. Consultations will begin on the same rule for other health and care staff.
- Adult social care services face ‘deluge’ of requests for support
Date: 16 Jun 2021
Adult social care services are facing a “deluge” of requests for support from vulnerable and older people as society starts to open up after the pandemic, according to a survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services. Councils are also facing a spike in demand for social care support for people with mental illness, victims of domestic violence and abuse, and rough sleepers, according to another finding of the survey.
- Scientists warn of consequences of lockdown delay
Date: 16 Jun 2021
Delaying the final lifting of lockdown for much longer than four weeks may create greater pressures on the NHS by pushing a peak of COVID-19 cases into the autumn, scientific advisers to the Government said yesterday.
- Health department has ‘poor oversight’ of local care market
Date: 16 Jun 2021
The Department of Health and Social Care is ‘complacent’ about the risks of financial failure in local care provision, according to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee.
In a report, the committee said funding cuts mean authorities pay providers below a sustainable rate, leaving many at risk of going under.
Despite this hand-to-mouth existence, the Department of Health and Social Care has “poor oversight of the system and seems complacent about the risks of local market failure”, the report said.
- Adult social care services face ‘deluge’ of requests for support
Date: 16 Jun 2021
Adult social care services are facing a “deluge” of requests for support from vulnerable and older people as society starts to open up after the pandemic, according to council care chiefs in England.
There has been a big increase in people needing help after their condition deteriorated while waiting to be admitted to hospital for treatment, as well as a surge in those needing support after being discharged from hospital.
An ongoing lack of resources – English councils have lost £7.7bn from adult social care budgets between 2010 and 2020 – means people needing support face longer waits for less care, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) warned.
- Eviction ban on firms behind on rent is extended by nine months
Date: 16 Jun 2021
A ban on landlords evicting firms for unpaid commercial rent is being extended for another nine months.
The ban, which stops landlords taking tenants to court for non-payment, was due to end on 30 June.
Treasury Secretary Stephen Barclay said the delay in easing lockdown restrictions, announced on Monday, "present additional challenges" to business.
- Parents of children with special needs tell Ofsted of Covid despair
Date: 16 Jun 2021
Families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) have been left “exhausted” and “despairing” by the pandemic which has affected their children disproportionately, according to a report by the schools watchdog in England.
Parents told Ofsted they had been forced to leave their jobs to care for their children as essential services shut down, while others documented the deterioration in their child’s progress, with some youngsters suffering anxiety, depression, hair loss and sleep loss as a result of the Covid disruption.
“These last few months have undone years of work with my child and we have had to start at the beginning again,” one parent told inspectors. “It was a very dark place for a very long time,” said another, while a third added: “I’m absolutely shattered. No respite. Increased stress.”
- £36 million contract for new MOD Police Patrol Craft
Date: 16 Jun 2021
A £36 million contract has been awarded to Marine Specialised Technology to deliver 18 new police patrol craft for the MOD and Gibraltar Defence Police (GDP) Forces.
- Lockdown easing delayed to 19 July
Date: 15 Jun 2021
The Prime Minister has announced the final stage of easing lockdown restrictions in England is to be delayed until 19 July, meaning most remaining curbs on social contact will continue beyond 21 June, when they had been due to be lifted. Boris Johnson said there would be a review after two weeks and he was "confident" the delay would not need to be longer, while the gap between vaccine doses for over-40s in England will be reduced from 12 to eight weeks and the target to offer all adults a first dose will be brought forward to 19 July.
- Limits on weddings in England to be scrapped from 21 June - but rules on singing and dancing remain
Date: 15 Jun 2021
The limit on the number of people who can attend weddings in England will be scrapped from 21 June - but rules on singing and dancing will remain, the government has announced.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed the 30-person cap on wedding ceremonies and receptions will be removed as planned, as he announced a four-week delay to the lifting of all COVID restrictions.
Other restrictions being eased before the new Freedom Day on 19 July will see at least 40,000 football fans allowed inside Wembley to watch the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final.
- SEND services in Suffolk to be reviewed
Date: 15 Jun 2021
An independent review into Suffolk County Council’s special educational needs and disability services is to be conducted following criticisms by families.
The review will focus on the processes, communication protocols and family-facing elements of SEND services to determine if current systems are sufficient.
- Councils receive extra COVID support as lockdown easing delayed
Date: 15 Jun 2021
The Government has announced additional support to help Birmingham, Blackpool, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Liverpool City Region and Warrington tackle the Delta variant of COVID-19.
The news of the extra support came on the same day as the Prime Minister announced a four-week delay to the planned easing of lockdown on 21 June. Mr Johnson says the ‘terminus date’ for the end of lockdown will now be 19 July.
- Ministers 'knew early years was underfunded' argues charity
Date: 15 Jun 2021
The Government has been accused of knowingly under-funding local authorities on 'free childcare' places by the Early Years Alliance.
The educational charity said that data obtained through freedom of information requests shows that the Government only paid local authorities two-thirds of what it estimated they would need to fully fund the scheme.
- Ban on commercial evictions introduced during the pandemic to be extended until 2022, govt source says
Date: 15 Jun 2021
The government is to extend the ban on commercial evictions introduced during the pandemic until 2022, Sky News understands.
On Wednesday, ministers are expected to announce that the moratorium for business tenants will not expire at the end of this month as planned and will instead continue for at least the rest of the year, according to a government source.
It is believed that restrictions on landlords using laws permitting them to recover rent arrears by selling a tenant's goods will also be continued.
- Lockdown easing in England to be delayed
Date: 14 Jun 2021
Senior ministers have reportedly approved a decision to delay the ending of all COVID-19 restrictions in England beyond 21 June. Most current rules will remain in place for a further four weeks after this date. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the delay later at a press conference.
- Furlough will not be extended
Date: 14 Jun 2021
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak will reportedly not extend the furlough scheme, despite the expected delay to ending lockdown. The wage support scheme is due to start being phased out at the end of this month.
- Key figures in Northants turnaround recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours
Date: 14 Jun 2021
Two of the key figures who led efforts to turn around the situation at Northamptonshire CC following its financial collapse in 2018 are among the local government figures recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
- Alarm growing over Covid financial support cliff edge
Date: 14 Jun 2021
Concerns have been raised by areas currently under enhanced restrictions due to Covid surges that the government has not committed to further funding to pay for the measures councils are being expected to take to combat outbreaks.
- Delta variant increases hospitalisation risk but vaccine protection remains high, study suggests
Date: 14 Jun 2021
The risk of being hospitalised with the Delta (Indian) variant of coronavirus is around double that of the Alpha (Kent) strain, but two vaccine doses still provide strong protection against it, new data suggests.
However, the level of protection against the Indian variant of COVID-19 may be lower than with the Kent variant, early research published in The Lancet suggests.
- Restaurants and pubs ‘face collapse’ during extended England lockdown
Date: 14 Jun 2021
Business groups have warned that pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs face significant hardship or collapse after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in England was postponed for four weeks without new financial support from the government.
Full reopening without measures such as social distancing will not be allowed until 19 July, Boris Johnson said on Monday, with a review in two weeks’ time “unlikely” to result in an earlier relaxation.
But the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, shied away from offering any fresh funding package to prop up hard-pressed businesses that cannot trade profitably, or at all, under the restrictions.
- Lockdown easing in England delayed to 19 July
Date: 14 Jun 2021
The final stage of easing lockdown restrictions in England is to be delayed until 19 July.
It means most remaining curbs on social contact will continue beyond 21 June, when they had been due to be lifted.
The limit on wedding guest numbers will be removed but venues will still have to adhere to other rules.
- Revealed: Government thinking on future role of LEPs
Date: 14 Jun 2021
Government plans for the future role of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) have emerged as part of a large-scale Whitehall review, which the country’s most senior representative of LEPs claims will lead to their “evolution" rather than their demise, as some had predicted.
- Ofsted to rate schools ‘outstanding’ only if they can prove they are helping the poorest children
Date: 13 Jun 2021
Plans being considered by ministers would see Ofsted only able to rate schools as “outstanding” if they can prove they are helping children catch up with lost learning. Under the proposals, schools would not be eligible for the top rating unless they can show inspectors that they are narrowing the achievement gap between the poorest pupils and their wealthier peers.
- Households ‘will have up to 7 bins each’
Date: 11 Jun 2021
Up to seven bins may be needed for some households under new plans to standardise rubbish collections, the District Councils Network says. It suggests the plans could see four separate bins for dry recyclables, as well as ones for garden, food waste and non-recyclables. Cllr Dan Humphreys, DCN’s Lead Member for Enhancing Quality of Life, said: “These proposals are poorly thought out and will create costly chaos and confusion up and down the country. What works for residents in villages and rural areas won’t work for people living in flats in a busy town or city.”
- Councils welcome fall in rough sleeping numbers
Date: 11 Jun 2021
Council leaders have welcomed the drop in the number of rough sleepers, arguing it shows what can be achieved when central and local government work together.
- Waste collection plans to cost £680m a year, councils warn
Date: 11 Jun 2021
Government plans to standardise kerbside waste collections will cost £680m a year, district councils have warned today.
The District Councils’ Network (DCN) said the proposals will create ‘chaos and confusion’ as households could need as many as seven bins each.
- Finance chiefs may have to ’embrace the uncertainty’ in financial planning
Date: 11 Jun 2021
Adrian Jenkins looks at the unenviable task of financial planning in local government given the “suite of moving parts” affecting the sector.
Is there any point in making any financial forecasts for 2022-23? The range of possible outcomes and scenarios is so bewilderingly vast that any forecasts seem to miss the point or, rather, fail to capture the full range of uncertainty. And yet, local authority finance directors have to put together financial plans for next year, and it is much better to base those plans on assessment of the range of scenarios rather than wait to see what comes out in the settlement in December.
- 30 towns to share government’s £725m Towns Fund
Date: 10 Jun 2021
30 towns in England will share £725m of the government’s Towns Fund to boost their local economies, create jobs and help them build back better from the pandemic.
- Hancock: government needs more powers to intervene in social care
Date: 10 Jun 2021
The health secretary has said that the pandemic has highlighted a need for government to have more powers to “come in firmly” to intervene directly in social care.
Speaking to a joint session of the Commons health and social care and science and technology committees today, Mr Hancock claimed that as secretary of state, his powers over social care at the start of the pandemic were “extremely limited” because formal powers “rest with local government”.
- Hancock claims he followed ‘clinical advice’ on care homes policy
Date: 10 Jun 2021
The health secretary has contested Dominic Cummings’ claim that he misled the prime minister on care homes policy in the early stages of the pandemic, saying he followed "clinical advice".
Last month, the PM’s former chief adviser Mr Cummings told MPs he and Mr Johnson had been told “categorically” in March 2020 that people would be tested before returning to care homes, and only subsequently found out that this had not happened.
- Hillier in financial sustainability transparency warning
Date: 10 Jun 2021
The chair of an influential government spending watchdog has warned of a lack of transparency around the financial sustainability of councils.
In her annual report, chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Meg Hillier, expressed concerns about the state of local government audit and said the secrecy surrounding government discussions with councils in trouble meant problems may not be spotted until it is too late.
- Surrey chief part of four-strong team of Liverpool commissioners
Date: 10 Jun 2021
Surrey CC’s chief executive Joanna Killian will be part of the team of independent commissioners who will oversee improvements at Liverpool City Council, local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced.
- Patel reveals rota replacement scheme for unaccompanied asylum seeking children
Date: 10 Jun 2021
A new rota scheme will better distribute responsibility for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) among councils, home secretary Priti Patel has revealed.
It comes after Kent CC and Croydon LBC called on the Home Office to stump up more cash and to force other councils to take their share of UASC.
The rota scheme would replace the much-criticised voluntary national transfer scheme that was launched five years ago.
- PSAA outlines proposals to increase audit quality
Date: 10 Jun 2021
Proposals released today putting a greater emphasis on quality in the awarding of local government audit contracts would see fees rise if adopted, according to an expert.
- Addiction treatment harder to get since councils took over, says Tory MP
Date: 10 Jun 2021
Fewer people with alcohol and drug problems are being treated since responsibility for their care was shifted from the NHS to local councils in England, a former Health Minister Dan Poulter MP has suggested. In an article in the Health Service Journal, he publishes details of a freedom of information investigation which he says shows patients’ care has become poorer, specialist detoxification beds are now harder to access and the cost of treatment has increased. He has called for responsibility for the services to return to the NHS. Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Councils are committed to ensuring that all those who need help with alcohol and drug misuse get the right support and treatment. Any suggestion of moving public health responsibilities would be irrational, deeply disruptive and clearly undermine the progress made so far.”
- Waste collections
Date: 09 Jun 2021
More than 1.4 million households in 22 councils had their household waste picked up once in every three weeks in 2020, compared to 74,000 in 2015, according to research from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). The LGA said councils have been working tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to keep vital waste collection services running.
- Former CIPFA president headed for chief executive role
Date: 09 Jun 2021
Carolyn Williamson has been recommended as the next chief executive of Hampshire CC.
Councillors are expected to confirm the appointment in a vote at their next meeting on June 21.
Ms Williamson is currently Hampshire’s deputy chief executive and director of corporate resources, having joined the council in 2010.
- Profits from English children’s care homes indefensible, bosses to be told
Date: 09 Jun 2021
The children’s residential care home sector is “broken” and dominated by private companies that make excessive profits despite delivering consistently poor outcomes for young people, a government adviser is to say. In a speech this morning to the Independent Children’s Home Association, Josh MacAlister, the head of the Government’s review of children’s social care, will warn children’s homes bosses they must cut “indefensible” profits and improve the experience of young people in care or run the risk of intervention.
- June 21 lockdown lifting set to be delayed by fortnight
Date: 08 Jun 2021
Britain’s roadmap for easing lockdown could be delayed by a fortnight with cabinet ministers increasingly pessimistic after a “downbeat” briefing from Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance.
The delay would enable all over-50s to be fully vaccinated and leave sufficient time for jabs to take effect before restrictions are lifted.
- Parliament: Shake-up of England's electoral map outlined
Date: 08 Jun 2021
Parts of the North of England and the Midlands will lose parliamentary seats while areas in the South gain under proposals for a shake-up of England's electoral map in 2023.
The Boundary Commission for England says the aim is to make Parliament fairer by giving each MP a roughly similar number of voters. It means redrawing and renaming some seats.
- 26 towns to receive share of £610 million fund to revamp their communities
Date: 08 Jun 2021
Twenty-six English towns have received a slice of £610 million in Government funding to help them rebuild their economies in the wake of the pandemic.
The money, which comes from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund unveiled in July 2019, is intended to kickstart urban regeneration and boost green transport infrastructure, tourism and jobs.
It is also intended for education and vocational training courses, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said.
- Staff burnout in social care and health at 'emergency level'
Date: 08 Jun 2021
Workforce burnout in social care and the NHS has reached an ‘emergency level’, MPs have warned today.
In a new report, the Health and Social Care Committee says only a total overhaul of workforce planning can provide a solution to the crisis.
The committee found staff shortages were the biggest driver of workforce burnout. Workforce planning has also been driven by the funding available, rather than the level of demand and staffing capacity.
- Hampshire faces £80m budget gap
Date: 08 Jun 2021
A consultation has been opened by Hampshire CC on ways to address a budget shortfall.
The council expects a gap of at least £80m by 2023/24 as a result of pressures on funding and increasing demand for services.
Hampshire has made savings totalling £560m over the past 13 years.
- McArdle: Northants downfall due to ‘dangerous over-confidence’
Date: 08 Jun 2021
The lead commissioner sent into Northamptonshire CC after its collapse, Tony McArdle, has told LGC that the stricken county was “the architect of its own failures", and that its financial troubles were a “symptom” but not the cause of its demise.
- Councils press for bin collections overhaul funding
Date: 08 Jun 2021
Councils have pressed the Government to fully fund any nationwide changes to bin collections.
The MJ understands chief executives urged the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to identify and fund all additional costs in a meeting this week.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is proposing to make kerbside collections more consistent and require free garden waste and separate food waste collections.
- 'Jabs are working' as Covid hospital cases plunge
Date: 07 Jun 2021
Just three people from those taken to hospital with the Indian Covid variant had been double vaccinated, the Health Secretary has revealed.
Matt Hancock told MPs that hospital cases were "broadly flat" and just three of the 126 people admitted with Covid from the Indian strain had received both doses of a vaccine. He added that 65 per cent of those who ended up in hospital with the Indian variant had not received a single jab.
"The jabs are working," he said. "The majority of people in hospital with Covid appear to be those who haven't had the vaccine at all."
- ‘Grief and confusion clashed with unconditional love and joy’: The hidden lives of young carers
Date: 07 Jun 2021
According to the last census, there are 166,000 young carers in England, but recent research suggests that the actual figure may be as many as 800,000 – that’s six young carers in every secondary school classroom. Despite being so prolific, carers are often hidden from view – attempting to juggle their caring role with school but too terrified to seek support. Carers Week 2021 runs from 7-13 June and aims to raise awareness of the everyday challenges facing young carers.
- Controversial Somerset poll backs district plan
Date: 07 Jun 2021
A controversial poll on reorganisation in Somerset has come out in favour of a district-based proposal.
The district council-organised referendum was highly criticised by the county and the secretary of state last month after a printing error sent voters to a spoof website instead of the county-based One Somerset proposal.
Local government secretary Robert Jenrick wrote to the district council leaders over what he described as the ‘serious failure’ that ‘risks undermining the reputation and standing of local government’.
- Surrey council leader to chair County Councils Network
Date: 07 Jun 2021
Surrey leader Cllr Tim Oliver has been elected chairman of the County Councils Network (CCN).
He has said recovering from the pandemic, rebuilding economies and tackling climate change would be among the priorities for the network.
- Child migrant legal threat to Home Secretary
Date: 07 Jun 2021
Child migrants arriving in Dover may be turned away by Kent County Council (KCC) as its services are overwhelmed, the council has said. KCC has taken its first steps in legal action against the Home Secretary Priti Patel over the issue.
- Jenrick hints opportunity for remote meetings legislation if roadmap shifts
Date: 07 Jun 2021
The communities secretary has raised hopes efforts could be “redoubled” to find an opportunity for legislation to allow remote and hybrid council meetings to take place again - but only if the easing of restrictions is postponed beyond 21 June.
- Taxpayers could end up paying 'more for less' as council tax rises while services are cut
Date: 04 Jun 2021
Taxpayers could end up paying “more for less” as council taxes are hiked while services are cut in response to the pandemic, MPs have warned.
Councils across England are facing budget black holes due to “over-optimism” from the Government over the impact of Covid-19.
And it means households will have to stump up an extra 4.3% on average in council tax in 2021-22.
- Local government severance guidance ‘expected shortly’
Date: 04 Jun 2021
A new consultation on guidance for special severance payments to local government workers will be published soon by the government, according to Public Finance.
- Income losses and lack of data hamper Whitehall’s support of councils in the pandemic
Date: 04 Jun 2021
MPs point to problematic information and the loss of income as major obstacles for local government finances after Covid-19 hit.
A report from MPs underlines what many local government finance chiefs already know: when the pandemic crashed across Britain last year it hit local government finances hard.
- Work from home advice could continue beyond June 21
Date: 03 Jun 2021
Advice to work from home could continue beyond June 21 as the price of lifting other coronavirus restrictions, under plans being discussed in Whitehall.
Government sources on Thursday confirmed that officials were examining whether to retain the “work from home” guidance as a mitigating measure, in the event that Covid hospitalisations and deaths surge in coming weeks.
Boris Johnson has pencilled in June 21 for the final step in his roadmap out of legal restrictions, which would see all constraints on social contact lifted and the cap removed on the numbers allowed to attend large events.
- Eight in 10 councils forced to overspend on children’s social care
Date: 03 Jun 2021
More than eight in 10 councils were forced to overspend on children's social care budgets last year due to soaring demand, new research has shown.
- Councils in 'mad dash to splash the cash'
Date: 03 Jun 2021
Frustrated councils are racing to spend their additional restrictions grant funding after the Government stubbornly refused to offer any flexibility ahead of a looming deadline.
- Uproar at move towards 'national bin service'
Date: 03 Jun 2021
Councils are preparing to fight government plans to create what they fear will be a ‘national bin service’.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) wants to make the materials councils collect at kerbside more consistent across England to reduce confusion among the public - part of the biggest changes to waste services in years.
- Education advisor resigns following funding dispute
Date: 03 Jun 2021
Kevan Collins, the government's education recovery commissioner, has resigned following a "furious" row erupted with the Treasury over the department's rejection of his proposals for a £15bn school funding package.
- Councils ‘must raise game’ to tackle housing shortage
Date: 02 Jun 2021
Housebuilders accused of “land banking” have turned the screw on local authorities, claiming they are to blame for the undersupply of homes in Britain.
The Home Builders Federation (HBF), which represents Britain’s biggest housebuilders, said local authorities needed to grant between 104,000 and 115,000 extra planning permissions per year in the next two to three years to ensure the government can deliver 300,000 homes a year in England by the mid-2020s.
A report commissioned by the industry group said figures published by the Local Government Association last month, showing more than 1.1 million homes granted planning permission over the past decade had not been built, were “misleading”. It said the total, which compares the annual volume of permissions with the number of homes developed, included “double counting” because some permissions would be replacements to reflect design or technical changes to permissions granted in previous years.
- Schoolchildren to get 100 million hours extra lessons in Covid recovery plan
Date: 02 Jun 2021
Pupils will be offered up to 100 million hours of tuition as part of a £1.4 billion Covid recovery package to help them catch up on learning lost during the pandemic, it was announced today.
The ambitious plan for England includes extra tutoring for six million pupils and additional training for 500,000 teachers. Sixth form students could also receive an extra year if they cannot complete A-level courses in time. Boris Johnson said: “Young people have sacrificed so much over the last year and as we build back from the pandemic, we must make sure that no child is left behind.
- Education bodies slam £1.4bn recovery fund
Date: 02 Jun 2021
Schools will receive £1bn to support up to 6 million 15-hour tutoring courses for disadvantaged school children, in addition to the expansion of the 16-19 tuition fund to help with maths and English teaching, the government announced today.
The remaining £400m will used to develop new programmes for early years teachers, as well as expanding current training courses.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of teaching body, the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “This is a hugely disappointing announcement which lets down the nation’s children and schools at a time when the government needed to step up and demonstrate its commitment to education.
- Councils should have legal duty to provide ‘early help’ says report
Date: 02 Jun 2021
A new report is calling for a legal duty on local authorities to provide early help to children and families, rather than providing what is easiest to measure.
Research by the National Children’s Bureau and the University of Cambridge argues that early help can help prevent children reaching a crisis where interventions by social workers are necessary, at a considerable expense to the public purse.
- Tony Travers: Levelling up should focus on FE and devolution
Date: 02 Jun 2021
Boris Johnson’s flagship agenda is being used to make the case for change in many policy spheres and to preserve the Union, writes the director of LSE London.
- Lockdown easing debate intensifies
Date: 01 Jun 2021
Environment Secretary George Eustice said the Government could not rule out a delay to the planned lockdown easing. Some scientists have called for the easing to be postponed for a few weeks while business leaders say any lockdown extension would be hugely damaging to the economy.
- School day ‘to be extended’
Date: 01 Jun 2021
The school day will be extended by half an hour under a leaked government plan to help Britain’s children to recover lost learning. Sir Kevan Collins, the Government’s education recovery commissioner, is reportedly set to call for all children to receive an extra 100 hours of schooling each year from 2022, with a minimum 35-hour week. Extra tutoring for five million pupils and additional training for 500,000 teachers is also said to be part of the unpublished plan.
- Sunak seeks tech business tax deal
Date: 01 Jun 2021
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reportedly urged US President Joe Biden to agree a deal on the taxation of tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. Finance ministers from the G7 group of leading industrialised nations, including the UK and US, will meet in London on Friday.
- Next settlement an opportunity to head off s114 dangers
Date: 01 Jun 2021
an Bates considers the underlying changes required to avoid further s114 notices.
I was interested to read a recent headline that claimed that a third of south east councils were not ruling out a section 114. The piece was based on a small number of authorities and their views on a balanced budget, but articles like this are now common place; a worrying trend.
- Eviction ban ends
Date: 31 May 2021
About 400,000 renters have had eviction notices or been told to expect them, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says. It comes as England's coronavirus eviction ban comes to an end today.
- Banned insulation still used on schools
Date: 31 May 2021
An estimated 70 schools may have been built with combustible insulation since it was banned on tall buildings to prevent a repeat of the Grenfell Tower fire. About 25 new hospitals, care homes and sheltered housing complexes were also thought likely to have been constructed using flammable insulation.
- 75 per cent of new COVID-19 cases are Indian variant
Date: 28 May 2021
Up to three quarters of new coronavirus cases in the UK could be the variant first identified in India, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Cases of the variant have risen by 3,535 to 6,959 in the last week, with yesterday’s total number of cases standing at 3,542. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said England “may need to wait” for the lifting of all restrictions on June 21.
- Thousands of girls ‘failed’ by police and social services
Date: 28 May 2021
Police and social services have been accused of failing to protect thousands of girls as young as 11 at risk of sexual abuse. Research by The Times found that children known to be at risk of abuse have gone missing more than 55,000 times in the UK over the past three years.
- Meg Hillier: early warning system needed for local government
Date: 28 May 2021
A new mechanism is needed to provide the government and public with an early warning system prior to the publishing of section 114 notices, Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier told PF.
- Free council parking for NHS and social care workers to end
Date: 28 May 2021
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said that a scheme allowing NHS and social care workers to park for free will end on June 21. Trade unions have criticised the move but the Government said that individual councils can chose to fund free parking themselves if they choose.
- Counties see fastest growth in number of people claiming out of work benefits
Date: 28 May 2021
County councils have warned that a 'narrow and simplistic focus' in the levelling-up agenda risks England's economic recovery from the pandemic.
- £500m scale of Covid-19 council tax hit revealed
Date: 27 May 2021
Government support will not cover the half-billion-pound scale of lost council tax receipts in the year following the outbreak of Covid-19 – leaving councils facing service cuts – according to sector figures.
- Cummings slams 'useless' Whitehall procurement system
Date: 27 May 2021
Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s former adviser, described the Department of Health’s procurement system as “completely useless” at dealing with Covid-19, but praised chancellor Rishi Sunak in explosive testimony to MPs.
- EXCLUSIVE: Finance reforms in 2022-23 'challenging but possible'
Date: 27 May 2021
Proposals for 75% business rates retention and the results of a fair funding review, which were originally due to be introduced ready for the last financial year, have already been delayed twice.
Now, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government civil servants have told the sector that introducing the reforms from April 2022 would be ‘challenging but possible’.
- Government urges against travel to eight COVID-19 areas
Date: 25 May 2021
The Government is advising people not to travel into and out of places hit hardest by the COVID-19 variant first identified in India unless necessary, it has emerged. Health officials said it was spreading quickest in Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside. Residents in the affected areas are also asked not to meet indoors.
- Rural areas face threat of 400,000 new homes
Date: 25 May 2021
A new analysis of planning policy commissioned by the Campaign to Protect Rural England has found that nearly 400,000 homes will be built on greenfield sites in the south of England over the next five years. Its data suggests large parts of the countryside could be built on by councils to meet revised housebuilding targets.
- More disadvantaged children at risk of missing school since lockdown
Date: 25 May 2021
A report by the think tank Social Finance has found disadvantaged children are the least likely to return to school after lockdown. It found there was a 25 per cent increase in persistently absent school children.
- Districts reprimanded by Jenrick over ‘offensive’ spoof campaign website
Date: 25 May 2021
The communities secretary has sent a strongly critical letter to the leaders of the district councils in Somerset, accusing them of potentially “undermining the reputation and standing of local government in the country” by directing local electors to a spoof website containing “offensive” material and “sexist and derogatory depictions of women”.
Robert Jenrick had already been angered by Mendip, Sedgemoor, and South Somerset DCs and Somerset West & Taunton Council’s decision to plough ahead with a referendum on reorganisation proposals, alongside but separate to the government’s own consultation on the issue which closed last month. The poll cost the districts more than £300,000 to carry out.
- Councils snubbed as government changes Covid guidance without telling them
Date: 25 May 2021
Public health teams and council leaders in the eight local authority areas hardest hit by the India Covid variant have reacted with shock at “confused messages” from government, after it restricted travel in and out of their areas without telling them.
Bedford and Blackburn BCs, Bolton, Kirklees, and North Tyneside MBCs, Leicester City Council and Hounslow LBC appear to have only been made aware of updates to government travel guidance when they were informed yesterday by journalists, several days after the government updated its own advice online without publicising it.
- Half of UK children playing out with friends less since pandemic
Date: 24 May 2021
Many children are playing outside less with their friends, playing alone more and are less active than they were before the pandemic, according to a UK survey that will add to concerns about the lasting impact of the lockdowns on children’s wellbeing.
The Save the Children poll found that more than nine out 10 children (92%) felt the way they play had changed since the Covid pandemic. Half (51%) said they were playing outside with their friends less, a third (34%) were playing alone more, and almost a quarter (23%) were playing less sport than before.
- Parents oppose longer school days to help children catch up
Date: 24 May 2021
Parents are against plans to increase the school day to help pupils bounce back from the pandemic.
Sixty per cent oppose extending hours, while 30 per cent agree, according to YouGov polling for The Times. However, there is backing for radical reform of education, just as The Times Education Commission — a year-long project to examine the future of education — is launched.
Lengthening the school day has repeatedly been identified by Sir Kevan Collins, the government’s education recovery commissioner, as a way of making up for lost learning. He has suggested that it could feature in his imminent recovery plan for the education sector, which is expected to set out a three-year, £15 billion package to help children behind in core subjects.
- Covid: Parts of England to trial self-isolation support
Date: 24 May 2021
More ways of supporting people to self-isolate in areas with higher coronavirus infection rates are to be piloted in nine parts of England.
There will be "buddying" services for people needing mental health support and alternative accommodation for those in overcrowded homes.
Social care support and translation services will also be available.
- Road funding will be cut by more than a fifth this year, warn council chiefs
Date: 24 May 2021
Councils have warned they face a £400m reduction in local road maintenance budgets this year.
Analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) reveals overall capital funding allocated to councils for local road maintenance will fall by 22% to £1.39bn in 2020/21.
The LGA said this lost funding could pay for more than 9.5 million road repairs – the equivalent to 64,000 repairs in each local council area.
- Chance of England Covid restrictions ending on 21 June ‘looking good’
Date: 23 May 2021
The prospects for ending all coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England on 21 June are “looking good” as long as people are careful, said Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, while other scientists said the latest variant could spread widely even with high vaccination coverage and the public were urged to get second shots.
Harries was speaking as the government revealed that more than a million people had downloaded the NHS app, which now enables people to prove their vaccination status if they want to travel – suggesting many are hoping for a foreign holiday soon. More than 22.6 million people in the UK have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
Harries was upbeat on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, but said people still needed to take precautions for the time being, particularly as new variants of coronavirus continue to circulate.
- New guidance on council-owned companies to be published
Date: 21 May 2021
Councils will soon be issued guidance on governance arrangements for local authority trading companies (LATCs) by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
CIPFA said it was developing the guidance in the wake of failed commercial ventures in Croydon and Nottingham.
The guidance - set to be published in the Autumn - will focus on reducing risk and building stronger assurance processes, while supporting chief finance officers to improve good financial management.
- Council companies lose £600k
Date: 21 May 2021
North Yorkshire CC’s commercial ventures are facing a loss of more than £600,000 following a year of COVID-19 disruption.
The council had budgeted for a £99,000 loss from its companies, which were all brought under the Brierley Group umbrella four years ago.
Total revenue lagged behind budget, amounting to £59.9m but costs were cut to £53.4m with use of Government support including the furlough scheme, resulting in a loss after tax for the 2020/21 financial year of £639,000.
- Doctors hit back at NHS bosses over orders to see patients face-to-face
Date: 20 May 2021
Doctors have mounted a backlash against orders to see patients face-to-face, with their union passing a vote of no confidence in NHS leaders.
On Thursday, the British Medical Association’s (BMA) GP committee said medics had been let down by NHS England’s senior officials after patients were told they had the right to see GPs in person.
The U-turn last week came after the Patients’ Association and the Royal College of GPs raised concerns about the NHS proposal for “total triage”.
- Death rate in England is lowest since records began
Date: 20 May 2021
The proportion of people dying in England fell in April to its lowest level since records began, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
Just 851.2 people per 100,000 died last month – the lowest figure since the ONS started recording mortality rates in 2001. At the height of the first wave of the Covid pandemic last April, death rates were 1,859 per 100,000.
The latest figures show that 38,899 people died in April – 6.1 per cent fewer than the five-year average.
- Schools set to lose £118m funding for poor pupils
Date: 20 May 2021
Schools in England could lose £118m funding for poor pupils this year, the Local Government Association says.
The education department is bringing forward the annual date for counting those eligible for the pupil premium, which it says will help plan budgets.
Pupils who have become eligible between October 2020 and January 2021 will not now be counted until October 2021.
- Ministers under pressure to revoke law which makes it illegal to sleep rough, as 10 people a week prosecuted
Date: 20 May 2021
Ministers are under mounting pressure to repeal Victorian-era legislation which is used to prosecute 10 homeless people a week and still criminalises rough-sleeping.
The Government has promised that the Vagrancy Act will be revoked and replaced, but it was not included in the Queen’s Speech last week – meaning legislation is unlikely to come forward in the next year.
Figures published on Thursday show that in 2020, the number of people prosecuted under the act halved following an effort to get rough sleepers off the street during the pandemic. However, there were still 573 prosecutions – mostly for begging.
- ‘A step in the right direction’ – sector responds to local audit proposals
Date: 20 May 2021
Government proposals on local audit have gained a qualified welcome from the sector – but questions still remain, say experts.
Yesterday, the government proposed that the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority, announced as a replacement for the Financial Reporting Council last year, will be strengthened with new powers to oversee the local government audit system.
Additionally, the government confirmed that a liaison committee to oversee the governance of the new audit arrangements and ensure they are operating effectively.
- Report makes case for Annual Proportional Property Tax system
Date: 20 May 2021
A think tank has argued council tax and stamp duty should be scrapped and replaced with an Annual Proportional Property Tax (APPT).
In a new report, Bright Blue said the current property taxation system in England is 'distortive and regressive'. It concludes that APPT would be the best replacement on both economic and political grounds.
Under the proposals, local authorities would be given the freedom to impose separate APPT tax rates from central Government to fund public services.
It also recommends a 25% surcharge for second home owners and a Development Levy set at 20% for the market price of new developments.
- Councils charged triple the recommended mark-up on IT products
Date: 20 May 2021
Councils are paying more than three times the recommended mark-up on technology products, a new study has revealed.
The analysis by Probrand found that before the pandemic, the average margin paid by local councils on technology was 9.8%. The Society of IT Managers states that organisations should be paying no more than a 3% margin to suppliers.
One council was found to be paying margins of nearly 580% on its purchases, nearly two hundred times higher than the recommended mark-up.
- Opinion: Councils must meet their SEND legal duties
Date: 20 May 2021
The suggestion that local authorities are on the road to bankruptcy because of disabled children and young people with the highest needs perpetuates the myth of sharp-elbowed parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities ‘challenging the system’. The clear implication is that a group of children and young people with the most complex needs are costing the public purse too much by claiming more than their fair share of resources, and that this is unsustainable.
The reality is quite different. There is a weight of unequivocal evidence to show that local authorities routinely fail to comply with the SEND legal framework, making unlawful decisions about provision for children with SEND and breaching children’s rights to the statutory support they need and are legally entitled to.
- Councils urge government to ‘retreat carefully’ with COVID-19 support
Date: 19 May 2021
The Government must “retreat carefully” when it removes measures introduced to support struggling families during the COVID-19 pandemic, the District Councils Network has warned. Cllr Giles Archibald, the DCN’s Better Lives spokesperson, said: “The coronavirus crisis has hit many people hard and the economic impact will continue to be felt for some time. Therefore it is vital, that as we come out of the pandemic, we don’t rush to unravel the unprecedented level of support the Government rightly provided to protect families at risk of hardship and homelessness.”
- Indian variant hotspot data set to determine roadmap future
Date: 19 May 2021
The Government will analyse hospital data from Indian variant hotspots to show next week whether the easing of restrictions is likely to be seriously disrupted. Sewage is also being monitored to give early warning of variant outbreaks in other parts of the country.
- NHS and local government ‘need financial sustainability to deal with future crises’
Date: 19 May 2021
The health service and local government both need long-term financial sustainability if the government is to successfully respond to the next national emergency, the National Audit Office has said.
- Lockdown reverses 40-year decline in smoking
Date: 19 May 2021
A study by Richard Sloggett, former policy adviser to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, has found a surge in smoking among young people during the pandemic has put a 40-year decline in the habit into reverse. It projected 600,000 more smokers than previously thought next year as more people have taken up smoking to deal with the stress of unemployment and mental ill health during COVID-19.
- COVID crisis exposed council underfunding, says watchdog
Date: 19 May 2021
The COVID crisis exposed existing weaknesses in public services, including the underfunding of local government and the neglect of social care, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said.
In its latest report on the response to the pandemic, watchdog has warned local government finances – which were already underfunded – had been ‘scarred by the pandemic and will not bounce back quickly once the pandemic ends’.
It suggests the Government had failed to properly prepare for a pandemic, leaving ministers without a ‘playbook’.
In his introduction, comptroller and auditor general Gareth Davies said the pandemic had ‘laid bare existing fault lines within society, such as the risk of widening inequalities, and within public service delivery and government itself’.
- Councils charged triple the recommended mark-up on IT products
Date: 19 May 2021
Councils are paying more than three times the recommended mark-up on technology products, a new study has revealed.
The analysis by Probrand found that before the pandemic, the average margin paid by local councils on technology was 9.8%. The Society of IT Managers states that organisations should be paying no more than a 3% margin to suppliers.
One council was found to be paying margins of nearly 580% on its purchases, nearly two hundred times higher than the recommended mark-up.
The study also found mark-ups spiked 'dramatically' during the first national lockdown, rising to more than 50% on average for all tech buyers.
- Government announces new local audit leader
Date: 19 May 2021
The Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority, announced as a replacement for the FRC last year, will be strengthened with new powers to oversee the local government audit system.
ARGA would provide annual reports on the state of local audit and take over responsibility for the updated Code of Local Audit Practice - the guidelines councils are required to follow, the government said today.
Local government minister Luke Hall said: “It is essential that we have an effective and transparent local audit system that ensures value for money for the taxpayer.
- Joint chief of county and unitary set to retire
Date: 19 May 2021
The chief executive of Cambridgeshire CC and Peterborough City Council Gillian Beasley is retiring, it has been announced today.
She began her working career in 1983 as a trainee lawyer with Leeds City Council. In 2008 she was awarded an OBE for her work in local government.
Her deputy chief executive at Cambridgeshire, Chris Malyon, also recently retired, according to the Cambridgeshire Times.
- Final £576m allocations of future high streets fund announced
Date: 19 May 2021
The final allocations of the government’s future high streets fund have been made, bringing the fund to a close almost three years after it was first announced.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government announced today that 57 more areas have now received £576m of funding, in addition to the 15 areas which received allocations worth £255m in December.
In total, 72 English high streets have shared more than £830m from the scheme. This falls short of the £1bn the fund was intended to be worth at the time it became part of the wider £3.6bn Towns Fund when Boris Johnson took over as prime minister. This is partly because £107m was channeled out to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport to support the regeneration of heritage high streets.
- Nottinghamshire pressed to abandon reorganisation
Date: 19 May 2021
A motion will be tabled at Nottinghamshire CC calling for reorganisation proposals to be dropped.
Members of the county council Independent Group, led by Ashfield DC leader Cllr Jason Zadrozny, will put forward the motion at the meeting on 27 May.
Proposals for a single unitary council covering the whole county were drawn-up by the Conservative administration last year.
- Social care evidence
Date: 18 May 2021
Sarah Pickup, LGA deputy chief executive, used an evidence session before the Health and Social Care Select Committee to discuss the potential options open to the Government on adult social care reform, including increases to taxation and a social care premium to help ease the burden of the cost of care.
- Government to improve reporting and transparency of LGPS
Date: 18 May 2021
New government guidance will aim to improve reporting and transparency by Local Government Pension Scheme pools to bring them into line with international funds, a civil servant said today.
- Council criticised for handling of COVID-19 business support
Date: 18 May 2021
A north Yorkshire district council has defended itself after criticisms that there was a lack of transparency in the way it administered the discretionary grant scheme designed to help businesses impacted by COVID-19.
- Auditors defend council governance
Date: 18 May 2021
Accountancy firms have defended the governance of council finances despite widespread delays in completing audits.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) raised concerns about the lateness of local government audits with Grant Thornton and EY.
Head of public sector assurance at Grant Thornton, Mark Stocks, told them: ‘My view is that council governance is strong across the board.
- County leader in planning power grab
Date: 18 May 2021
A council leader has called for counties to be given planning powers for ‘big infrastructure’ as he seeks to break the deadlock with a district.
Leicestershire CC had originally been given until the end of last year to accept or decline £15m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) towards the south section of the Melton Mowbray southern distributor relief road.
However, wrangling has continued between the county and Melton BC, with Leicestershire leader, Cllr Nicholas Rushton, describing the negotiations as ‘turgid’.
- Ministers lambasted by select committee
Date: 18 May 2021
Ministers have been lambasted over their performance before a select committee.
Business minister Paul Scully and his local government counterpart Luke Hall were accused of failing to give straight answers to questions about levelling up to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
Chair, Labour MP Darren Jones, said: ‘Given levelling up is supposedly a flagship policy for the Government, I have to say with respect to the witnesses that was one of the poorest ministerial sessions I’ve chaired.
- Tiers may return if Indian variant takes hold
Date: 18 May 2021
Ministers are considering contingency plans for local lockdowns or a delay to reopening after 21 June in response to concern about the spread of the coronavirus variant first found in India, it is reported. Officials are said to have drawn up plans modelled on the Tier 4 restrictions introduced last year, under which people would be advised to stay at home and non-essential shops and hospitality would be closed if the new strain was not brought under control.
- New laws for house buyers, renters and homeowners coming this year
Date: 18 May 2021
New rules will see ground rent banned and a potential ‘lifetime deposit’ come into force this year, giving tenants more rights against law-breaking landlords and excessively high charges in flats. Notice periods, which had been extended to six months as an emergency measure during the pandemic, will be set at four months from 1 June and then return to pre-pandemic levels from 1 October subject to public health advice and progress with the roadmap. LGA Housing spokesman Cllr David Renard said: "We recognise that the ban on eviction enforcement, which provided vital reassurance to renters during the pandemic, cannot continue indefinitely. However, councils remain concerned over the potential rise in homelessness households may face, and the pressure this will add to already over-stretched homelessness services. It is vital there is a plan in place to support and protect households to stay in their homes, in as many cases as possible."
- Covid vaccines offered to teenagers at Indian variant hotspot Bolton
Date: 17 May 2021
Health officials in Bolton have defied the government and fast-tracked jabs to residents as young as 17 as the town battles to avoid a new lockdown.
More than 9,000 people in the area were vaccinated against the coronavirus over the weekend with hundreds in their twenties and thirties queueing up.
The government said that people younger than 38 would not be eligible for vaccinations but the town’s doctors have offered on-the-spot assessments to everyone in hotspot areas.
- Burnham calls for Labour push on devolution
Date: 17 May 2021
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has called on his party to provide ‘wholehearted support for true devolution’.
Writing for a national newspaper, he called for Labour to ditch its mind-set of being ‘lukewarm’ about English devolution, a policy that he described as a ‘potential gamechanger’ for British politics and the party.
Mayor Burnham said Greater Manchester had ‘only received half-hearted support’ in its dispute with the Government over tier three restrictions last year and urged his national colleague to ‘come up with a Labour version of levelling up’.
- Green light for councils' legal action worth £10m
Date: 17 May 2021
Legal action that could see an estimated £10m business rates windfall paid to councils has been cleared for a hearing.
An attempt to have the case struck out by the commercial property owners involved was defeated after Rossendale BC and Wigan MBC appealed to the Supreme Court.
The case centres on rates avoidance schemes in which a short lease is granted to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company, which is then dissolved or put into liquidation to escape liability for business rates.
- Increasing confidence jabs work against Indian variant
Date: 16 May 2021
The UK has "increasing confidence" that Covid-19 vaccines work against the Indian variant of the virus, the health secretary has said.
Scientists believe that the variant is more transmissible and cases of it nearly tripled to 1,313 in the past week in England.
But Matt Hancock said early lab data showed vaccines remained effective.
He said the majority of those in hospital in Bolton - a hotspot for the Indian variant - were unvaccinated.
- Lockdowns ease in England, Wales and most of Scotland
Date: 16 May 2021
People must continue to play their part in stopping coronavirus, Boris Johnson has said, as lockdown rules ease in England, Wales and most of Scotland.
Millions can now socialise indoors in limited numbers, hug loved ones and visit pubs and restaurants indoors.
The ban on foreign travel has also been lifted and replaced with new rules.
- Indian variant: Second jabs could be brought forward to tackle rise
Date: 14 May 2021
Second vaccine doses could be brought forward and local restrictions introduced to help tackle the Indian variant in the worst-affected areas, the UK government has said.
Minister Nadhim Zahawi said steps could also include vaccinating younger people in multi-generational households.
Meanwhile, a top scientist has warned lifting restrictions on 21 June is in doubt because of the Indian variant.
- Boris Johnson told to deliver 10-year social care plan or risk derailing health reforms
Date: 14 May 2021
Ministers must draw up a fully costed 10-year plan for social care or risk missing a “1948 moment” for the health service, MPs have said.
The Health and Social Care Committee said today(FRI) that plans to unpick disastrous Tory health reforms, underpinned by a new law in the Queen’s Speech, could be derailed by the lack of a long term plan for social care.
Integrated Care Systems will be set up to boost links between the NHS and local councils, in a move away from reforms by ex-Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to encourage competition between health bodies.
- UK economic bounceback set to outpace peers after big 2020 decline
Date: 14 May 2021
The 9.8% contraction was the UK’s worst in 100 years and larger than almost all of its peers, with Spain the only major economy to perform worse, according to a paper by ratings agency S&P Global.
The agency forecast 11% growth cumulatively over 2021 and 2022 for the UK, compared with 8.7% for the EU.
“All things going well, despite Brexit, the UK’s GDP growth should outpace that of most of its peers,” the agency said.
A stringent lockdown was partially to blame for the decline in activity, the agency’s paper said.
- Delays for Special Needs Plans
Date: 14 May 2021
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are facing up to a five year wait for their education, health and care (EHC) plans to be approved by councils, according to a report by Ofsted. The report comes as official figures show a rise in the number of children with SEND, with 15 per cent of children now classed as having special educational needs and disabilities. Cllr Teresa Heritage, Vice-Chairman of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said the continued rise in numbers applying for EHC plans was “a pressing issue” for councils.
- Court ruling closes business rates loophole
Date: 14 May 2021
The Supreme Court has allowed a group of local authorities to pursue a claim for business rates against landlords who transferred properties to special purpose vehicles, in a case which could result in millions being paid to councils.
The case centred on the transfer of properties by landlords to special purpose vehicles, which were promptly shut down meaning they avoided paying rates to authorities in Wigan and Rossendale.
The High Court and Court of Appeal ruled in favour of landlords in 2019, but the Supreme Court allowed an appeal from local authorities today to challenge the original verdict.
The Supreme Court decision said: “The leases were ineffective to make the SPVs the owners of the relevant properties, with the result that the defendants remained liable for business rates.”
- Employers offer 1.5% 'paltry' pay rise
Date: 14 May 2021
Councils are facing a £279m increase to the national pay bill after offering 1.5m employees a 1.5% increase for 2021-22.
The offer from the national local government employers, who negotiate pay on behalf of 350 councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, falls well short of the unions’ joint claim for a 10% rise.
- ‘Disappointing’ pay offer for council employees announced
Date: 14 May 2021
Council employees have been offered a pay increase of 1.50% from 1 April 2021.
The National Employers, who negotiate pay on behalf of local authorities, made the offer to unions today. The three main trade unions - Unison, Unite and GMB - are expected to meet next week to decide whether to accept it or not, but have described it as "disappointing" and "paltry".
The move comes after the negotiating body the National Joint Council submitted a pay claim in February, calling for a 10% rise. The National Employers decided to wait until after the local elections had been completed before they responded.
- Ban on bailiff evictions to be lifted next month as Covid support ends for tenants
Date: 13 May 2021
A ban on bailiff-enforced rental sector evictions in England will end on May 31, the Government has confirmed.
The ban was introduced as an emergency measure during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bailiffs have been asked not to carry out an eviction if anyone living in the property has Covid-19 symptoms or is self-isolating.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said renters will continue to be supported as national Covid-19 restrictions ease.
- Every patient to have right to see a GP as NHS abandons ‘total triage’
Date: 13 May 2021
The NHS on Thursday night performed a climbdown over plans to use online and telephone "screening" for GP appointments and announced that every patient would now have the right to see their doctor face-to-face.
The Telegraph revealed on Wednesday that family doctors had been told to introduce a system of "total triage", meaning those seeking to see their GP were being discouraged and told to have an online or phone discussion first.
But NHS England has now ordered that the system be abolished amid a mounting backlash from patients' groups and doctors. New guidance to all GPs will instead say that every practice in England must make "a clear offer of appointments in person" and respect the preferences of patients.
- Pupils in England ‘waiting up to five years for special needs plan’
Date: 13 May 2021
Children with special educational needs and disabilities face long delays and bureaucratic hurdles before getting extra support from local authorities in England, with those from better-off families able to pay for private services, according to a report by Ofsted.
The watchdog found headteachers complaining that some pupils in mainstream schools waited up to five years for their education, health and care (EHC) plans – making them eligible for additional support – to be approved by councils.
Its report comes as official figures show rising numbers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).
- Half of pools, gyms and leisure centres in England at risk, prime minister told
Date: 13 May 2021
More than half of public leisure facilities in England could close in the next six months unless the government provides greater financial support, the prime minister has been warned.
Around 400 gyms, pools and community centres have already shut since the start of the pandemic. However Tanni Grey-Thompson, the chair of ukactive, has told Boris Johnson there is a “grave fear” across the industry that more will go bust, with more than 2,000 facing uncertainty and possible risk of closure, widening the health inequalities across Britain.
- Watchdog asks police to investigate council accounts
Date: 13 May 2021
The national watchdog said it will interview officers and members at Porthcawl Town Council to understand the reasons behind decisions made regarding the council’s accounts for 2019-20.
South Wales Police has been called in amid concerns that some parts of the interviews could be beyond the watchdog’s jurisdiction.
A council statement said: “Audit Wales have now arrived at a position where they will need to interview members and staff of the council to gain a complete view of certain events and decisions.
- New index reveals most and least prosperous local authorities
Date: 13 May 2021
A new index to track the Government's progress on its 'levelling up' agenda has been launched today by a think tank.
The Legatum Institute has published the UK Prosperity Index revealing the prosperity of every local authority in the UK highlighting considerable variation between and within regions.
It reveals that the most prosperous regions of the UK are the South East, South West, and East of England. The most prosperous local authorities are Wokingham (pictured), Waverley, Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, and Woking.
- County Councils Network announces interim chair
Date: 13 May 2021
The County Councils Network has appointed the leader of Somerset CC as its interim chair after his predecessor lost his seat in last week’s election.
The group had been led by David Williams (Con), who was leader of Hertfordshire CC. However, he became one of the highest profile local government casualties of the elections when he was defeated by just 41 votes.
Somerset leader David Fothergill (Con), who was CCN’s adult social care and health spokesperson, will now take over as chair until July, when a permanent CCN chairman-elect will be appointed following elections within the largest political party, the Conservatives.
- Level best? What the Queen's Speech tells us - and does not - about 'levelling up'
Date: 13 May 2021
The government has finally plotted a target destination for 'levelling up' but many questions remain unanswered – not least on local government resourcing – says Joe Fyans, head of research at think tank Localis.
- MPs revolt over new planning reforms
Date: 12 May 2021
MPs have criticised the Government’s proposed reforms to the planning system announced yesterday as part of the Queen’s Speech. The new reforms would ensure that land would be designated for either growth or protection, making it easier for developers to secure planning permission for new housing. Former Prime Minister Theresa May MP said that the reforms would result in “the wrong homes being built in the wrong places”.
- Theresa May leads Tory revolt over push for new housing
Date: 12 May 2021
Theresa May has said that the government’s Planning Bill will put the “wrong homes in the wrong places” and countryside campaigners said that the reforms would mean “open season for developers” in rural areas.
Boris Johnson has set himself on a collision course with Tory MPs after unveiling proposals in his Queen’s Speech to deliver the biggest shake-up to the planning system in more than 70 years.
- Indian Covid variant calls in question 17 May reopening in UK, say experts
Date: 12 May 2021
The dramatic rise in UK cases of a variant first discovered in India could undermine the country’s roadmap for reopening, scientists are cautioning.
The variant, called B.1.617.2, is one of three closely related variants that were initially detected in India. Public Health England designated it a “variant of concern” on Friday, acknowledging it appears to be at least as transmissible as the dominant so-called Kent variant in the UK. It is unclear if and to what extent B.1.617.2 can reduce vaccine effectiveness.
- UK economy picks up as lockdown restrictions ease
Date: 12 May 2021
The UK economy shrank by 1.5% in the first three months of 2021, but gathered speed in March as lockdown restrictions began to ease, official figures show.
The reopening of schools and strong retail spending helped the economy grow 2.1% in March, its fastest monthly growth since last August.
But the economy is still 8.7% smaller than it was before the pandemic.
- Boris Johnson promises Covid inquiry within a year
Date: 12 May 2021
Boris Johnson has committed himself to a “full, proper” public inquiry in the next year into the government’s handling of the pandemic.
He said such an inquiry was “essential” and pledged to hold one within this session of parliament.
Sessions do not have a fixed length but usually last about a year. Challenged on the timing of an inquiry by Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, Johnson said: “I can certainly say that we will do that within this session — yes, absolutely.”
- COVID-19 inquiry promised within a year
Date: 12 May 2021
The Prime Minister has committed to holding a “full, proper” public inquiry in the next year into the Government’s handling of the pandemic. He said such an inquiry was “essential” and pledged to hold one within this session of Parliament.
- Dismay at plans to shorten poll lead-in time and require voter ID
Date: 12 May 2021
Government plans to introduce mandatory voter ID in time for the next UK general election and potentially shorten the time returning officers have to prepare for elections after they have been called has been met with concern by democracy campaigners and the body representing election officers.
The proposals for an Electoral Integrity Bill were unveiled in the Queen’s speech, pledging the government would “ensure the integrity of elections”.
But the proposal to mandate a photographic voter ID card in polling stations for those who do not have passports or driving licences has been greeted with concern from the Association of Electoral Administrators over the tight timeline required to get measures implemented.
- Tony Travers: Levelling up is top down
Date: 12 May 2021
The Queen’s speech made no reference to English devolution while the UK government signalled its intention to intervene in Scotland and Wales, writes the director of LSE London.
- Tackle high needs before it is too late
Date: 12 May 2021
High needs. It’s a problem – an almost impossible problem. Ask many directors of finance what their biggest risk is and, it won’t be adult social care or children’s social care, it will be high needs.
High needs has the potential to bankrupt councils. Despite this, over the last year in particular, the pressures in high needs funding, giving rise to accumulating and accelerating deficits, has been put to one side. Maybe this is not surprising in the middle of a global pandemic, but it needs to be brought back to the fore and tackled before it is too late.
- Queen’s Speech: government introduces McCloud remedy bill
Date: 12 May 2021
The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill, announced during the Queen’s Speech yesterday, aims to reform pension arrangements and increase the mandatory retirement age for the judiciary.
Changes to public services pensions in 2015 meant that older members could stay in their existing pension schemes but a subsequent court ruling judged this to be discriminatory against younger workers.
In February, the Treasury confirmed that scheme members will be allowed to decide if they want to receive legacy or reformed scheme benefits for the period between 2015-2022 at the point of retirement.
- Government's legislative agenda to focus on Boris Johnson's 'lifetime skills guarantee'
Date: 11 May 2021
New laws to fulfil Boris Johnson's promise of helping to give people the skills they need throughout their lives will form a central part of the government's legislative agenda for the next year.
The prime minister has promised to put "rocket fuel" into his "levelling up" agenda with the introduction of new laws - to be outlined in Tuesday's Queen's Speech - to build on his "lifetime skills guarantee".
A focus on education and training for older teenagers and adults will be among a series of new bills - reported to number more than 25 - to be unveiled on Tuesday as part of the state opening of parliament.
- Queen's speech: PM's 'live local and prosper' promise
Date: 10 May 2021
Levelling up, boosting the economy and backing the NHS are set to be the priorities for Tuesday’s Queen’s speech.
Fresh from his election victory, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to reward so-called red wall voters with a centrepiece promise they can ‘live local and prosper’.
The focus is expected to shift from jabs to jobs as the country leaves behind the worst of the health crisis and starts to address the economic crisis ahead.
There is likely to be a planning bill, as mooted last summer, to create a new zoning system and speed up the planning process – amid fears it will take local discretion away from communities.
- No more face masks in schools from 17 May - while all university students will return
Date: 10 May 2021
Pupils will no longer have to wear face masks in secondary schools and colleges in England, while all university students will return to in-person teaching from next week.
The relaxation of COVID measures will come as part of the latest easing of England's lockdown from next Monday, 17 May.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed this is when the country will move to stage three of his roadmap for lifting restrictions.
- Boris Johnson says 'one-metre plus' rule could be ditched from 21 June - and hints at no 'papers for pub'
Date: 10 May 2021
A key social distancing measure could be ditched from 21 June, the prime minister has said - while he hinted the government may not proceed with the introduction of COVID "passports" domestically.
Boris Johnson on Monday confirmed England would move to step three of his roadmap for easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions in a week's time, on 17 May.
This will see pubs and restaurants able to serve people indoors again, while people will be able to hug friends and family again - albeit the government has urged caution.
- Indoor pints and hugs with family - Boris Johnson confirms new lockdown easing in England from 17 May
Date: 10 May 2021
People in England will be able to enjoy a pint or a meal indoors, hug their loved ones and return to cinemas - but not dance at weddings - in a week's time as Boris Johnson confirmed the latest easing of England's COVID lockdown.
The prime minister has said the country will proceed to step three of his roadmap for lifting restrictions from Monday, 17 May.
It comes as the UK's COVID alert level was lowered from four to three, meaning coronavirus is in "general circulation" but that transmission isn't "high or rising exponentially".
- Failure to act on social care reform ‘will be bitter blow for millions’
Date: 10 May 2021
A failure to act on long-promised social care reform will be a “bitter blow” for care staff and the millions they help, councils have warned.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said Tuesday’s Queen’s Speech and the spending review later this year are “key opportunities” for the Government to make good on its promise to “fix” the sector.
Care groups, charities and politicians have been long calling for a plan, as promised by the PM in his first speech after being elected in July 2019.
- Serving MP set to become county council leader
Date: 10 May 2021
Serving Mansfield MP Ben Bradley (Con) is set to become the new leader of Nottinghamshire CC, creating a virtually unprecedented situation.
Cllr Bradley, who was elected as a Mansfield North councillor last week, was today confirmed by Conservative councillors as their nomination for the new leader after they took control of the council this weekend. The move awaits confirmation by the full council.
- Local elections 2021: Counties buck the Tory trend
Date: 09 May 2021
County councils have bucked the trend of Conservative success in the local election on Thursday, with a mixed picture for the party.
The counties saw two senior leaders ousted from their seats, while Cambridgeshire CC returned to no overall control after four years of Conservative rule.
In Hertfordshire CC, Conservative leader and chairman of the County Council’s Network (CCN) David Williams lost his seat. The party, which has been in control for 20 years, lost four seats in all, while Labour lost three.
- Fireplaces and stoves are bigger polluters than traffic
Date: 07 May 2021
Fireplaces and stoves are now the largest single source of primary particle pollution in the UK, greater than traffic and industry. About 40% of the UK’s primary particle pollution comes from just 7% of homes that burn solid fuel. Will the new ban on sales of coal and wet wood in England help the problem or risk making it worse?
In 1950s Britain, replacing coal with so-called smokeless fuel (made from powdered coal and industrial waste coke) was the main solution to our smogs. London’s particle pollution decreased by 66% in just 10 years. A similar ban was implemented in Dublin in 1990 and particle pollution decreased by 70% in one year.
- Poor pupils fall further behind in maths
Date: 07 May 2021
Poor pupils have fallen further behind in maths as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to research.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) study suggests primary-school pupils eligible for free school meals have fallen another month behind their classmates since the first lockdown.
And the gap is unlikely to narrow without intervention, despite all pupils returning to class in September.
- London borough to refund overcharged water fees
Date: 07 May 2021
In 2001 the council entered into an agreement with Thames Water to bill tenants for water services at a reduced rate, but it was found Lambeth had not passed on these savings.
A high court ruling in 2019 said that the council was in breach of the Water Resale Orders 2001 and 2006, as the authority was not an agency – and it was ordered to reimburse the costs.
A subsequent appeal failed last year, and a printed decision from Jennifer Brathwaite, cabinet member for housing and homelessness, confirmed on 5 May that the council will begin reimbursing tenants.
- Scale of local authority Covid-19 pressures revealed
Date: 07 May 2021
Councils in England reported additional cost pressures of £12.8bn relating to Covid-19 in 2020-21, according to outturn figures from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Overall, councils spent £7.2bn responding to the pandemic last year, with the largest share of additional expenditure going on adult social care services at £3.2bn.
Local authorities also recorded losses of £5.6bn, with the majority of the reduction stemming from a lack of income from sales, fees and charges, valued at £2.2bn.
Outturn cost pressures have reduced slightly from previous forecasts in February, which predicted a £13bn hit to authorities last year.
- Covid-19 funding frees up capital investment
Date: 07 May 2021
The council had previously allocated a proportion of its capital budget to cover expected costs arising from the pandemic. However, having received an additional £7.9m funding from the Scottish Government, it has now approved the transfer of funds back to the capital programme.
Paul Manning, executive director for finance, told an executive committee meeting: “We advised in previous reports that a change in approach might be considered as we get towards to the year-end.
“That change would be to use revenue funding rather than capital funding to pay for these costs.
- New measures to boost recycling rates
Date: 07 May 2021
New proposals to increase the amount of household waste being recycled have been unveiled by the Government today.
Under the plans, councils may be required to collect rubbish and recycling at least once a fortnight, although the Government will be assessing if this proposal is affordable.
Ministers are also considering providing every household with a weekly food waste collection from 2023 and free garden waste collections for every home.
- Scale of local authority Covid-19 pressures revealed
Date: 07 May 2021
Overall, councils spent £7.2bn responding to the pandemic last year, with the largest share of additional expenditure going on adult social care services at £3.2bn.
Local authorities also recorded losses of £5.6bn, with the majority of the reduction stemming from a lack of income from sales, fees and charges, valued at £2.2bn.
Outturn cost pressures have reduced slightly from previous forecasts in February, which predicted a £13bn hit to authorities last year.
Geoff Winterbottom, principal research officer at the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities, told PF: “Local authority forecast pressures seems to have stabilised coming to the end of year.
- English elections 2021: Conservatives make gains across country
Date: 07 May 2021
The Conservatives have taken control of 13 more councils in England in last week's local elections.
The party has gained an extra 236 councillors according to the final count, with Labour losing control of eight councils.
The Conservatives secured victories in Amber Valley, Basildon, Basingstoke & Deane, Cannock Chase, Cornwall, Dudley, Gloucester, Harlow, Maidstone, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Pendle, Southampton, Welwyn Hatfield and Worcester.
It lost control of Cambridgeshire, Isle of Wight and Tunbridge Wells.
- Drivers could be 'criminally liable' and may be charged for driving over a pothole
Date: 06 May 2021
However, local authorities would also be likely to “refute” any claim for damages if they stayed on their course and damaged their car by hitting the hole.
The lawyer has called for new “clear guidance” to be issued over what drivers are supposed to do when travelling on a badly maintained road.
He said: “Swerving to avoid a pothole won't afford you a defence in court if you have an accident.
- Social care spending ‘lower than in 2010’
Date: 06 May 2021
Sector spending in 2019-20 was around £100m more than in 2010-11 – but when accounting for population growth, real-terms expenditure per-person was actually lower, a report from think-tank the King’s Fund said.
While overall spending on adult social care has been increasing, much of that extra spend has been channelled towards paying more money to providers, rather than expanding support, the report added.
“Following a decade of neglect, there is a continuing gulf between what people need and what they receive,” Simon Bottery, lead author of the report and senior fellow at the King’s Fund, said.
“Demand is likely to go on increasing but local authorities do not have the money to meet it.
- Unions talk up judicial review over McCloud reforms
Date: 06 May 2021
The Public and Commercial Services Union said the Treasury’s proposals to fund additional costs resulting from McCloud would effectively “steal” benefits from scheme members.
The proposals, published in February, give eligible scheme members a seven-year window in which they must choose whether they accrue benefits under their original pension scheme or through the new one introduced as part of the reforms.
However, the union said that the proposals would see scheme members foot the bill, which could see employees miss out on reduced contributions and increased benefits.
- MPs want law to protect care home visiting rights
Date: 05 May 2021
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has said the rights of care home residents to have visits from loved ones must be “underpinned” by law. It said it was “unacceptable” that some care home providers had argued it was not safe to follow government guidance.
- Covid-19 pressures hit council-funded nurseries
Date: 05 May 2021
More than a third (34%) of nurseries have cut staff and services to balance their books due to lost income and additional Covid-19 costs, according to the survey from unions Early Education, NAHT, NEU and Unison.
Maintained nursery leaders reported an average deficit of £76,000 in 2020-21, as only 23% of respondents said they could continue to operate with current funding levels.
- 1m plus rule could end from 21 June, says PM
Date: 04 May 2021
There is a "good chance" the one-metre plus social distancing rule will end on 21 June in England, the Prime Minister has said. Boris Johnson said the results of the vaccine rollout are "really starting to show up in the epidemiology”, but any change would depend on the data.
- Social care reform ‘expected to be delayed’
Date: 04 May 2021
Plans for overhauling social care funding are expected to be delayed until after the Queen’s Speech, due to concerns in government that it will require cuts or tax rises worth up to £5 billion a year, it is reported. The speech on 11 May is expected to mention the Prime Minister’s promise to come forward with plans for the funding of social care this year, but will not give detail.
- Boris Johnson delays social care reform amid cost fears
Date: 04 May 2021
Boris Johnson is expected to delay the announcement of plans for overhauling social care funding until after the Queen’s Speech over concerns in government that it will require cuts or tax rises worth up to £5 billion a year.
The prime minister met Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, last month to discuss funding for social care, and more talks are expected in coming weeks.
Johnson has taken a keen interest in a decade-long plan from Sir Andrew Dilnot, an expert in social care funding, that would cap care costs for individuals at £45,000 with the state covering the rest.
- Disposable masks pose pollutants risk, study finds
Date: 04 May 2021
Disposable face masks could be releasing chemical pollutants and nano-plastics into the environment, researchers have warned. Scientists said there needed to be better regulation and more research carried out.
The Swansea University team found heavy metals and plastic fibres were released when throw-away masks were submerged in water.
Back in November last year, the researchers were only originally interested in the plastic waste impact on our environment.
- New ‘levelling up’ adviser to steer government’s agenda
Date: 04 May 2021
The prime minister has appointed the former senior Treasury aide Neil O’Brien to oversee the government’s levelling up agenda - and announced a white paper on the subject - amid concerns there is widespread confusion over what the term really means.
The Financial Times reported yesterday that the Harborough MP Mr O’Brien will take on the brief. Previously, the only minister tasked with overseeing levelling up was Luke Hall, who holds the portfolio for Regional Growth and Local Government at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Levelling up also falls within the remit of other departments, with the Department for Education doing policy work in this vein around children and the Department of Health & Social Care around health inequalities and social care.
- Government announces ‘levelling up’ white paper
Date: 04 May 2021
A ‘levelling up’ white paper will be published later this year with the aim of clarifying the government’s agenda and ensuring public spending organisations are able to drive “meaningful change”.
Reducing regional inequalities was a central promise of the current government’s 2019 election manifesto. However, so far ‘levelling up’ initiatives have been limited to infrastructure funds, which have faced allegations of being designed to favour Conservative constituencies rather than meeting genuine economic needs.
The white paper will articulate “how bold new policy interventions will improve opportunity and boost livelihoods across the country” during the economic recovery from Covid-19, a statement from Downing Street and the Cabinet Office said.
- Call for masks to remain compulsory in England’s schools
Date: 04 May 2021
Teaching unions, scientists, public health experts and parents have written a letter to the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson calling for masks to remain compulsory in classrooms in England to protect against a third wave of COVID-19.
- Devolution White Paper to be replaced by levelling up proposals
Date: 04 May 2021
A levelling up White Paper will replace the long-awaited policy document on devolution and local recovery.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed the change as it was announced that a former Treasury aide and now Conservative MP is to spearhead the Government’s levelling up programme amid concern it is failing to make an impact in the red wall constituencies won by the Tories in the last election.
Neil O’Brien, a former special adviser to chancellor George Osborne and Prime Minister Theresa May, has been asked by Boris Johnson to oversee the levelling up programme.
- Social care reform expected to be delayed amid cost concerns
Date: 04 May 2021
Details of a plan for reforming the social care sector are widely expected to be delayed until after the Queen’s Speech amid concerns from the Treasury over the high cost of proposals to cap care costs.
Three senior sources have told LGC they have been led to believe the government has still not come to an agreement on the exact form that social care reforms will take, and were sceptical that the Queen’s Speech on 11 May would spell out any details.
- Planning reforms to feature in Queen’s Speech
Date: 03 May 2021
Reforms to the English planning system are due to feature in the upcoming Queen’s Speech, it has been reported. The reforms are due to accelerate the pace at which councils provide new homes and also make councils dedicate land for either development or preservation. It has also been reported that the speech will introduce reforms to the adult social care system.
- Quarantine for Covid contacts could be scrapped
Date: 03 May 2021
People may not need to self-isolate if they have been in close contact with someone with Covid, if a new trial is successful.
The government-backed research will trial giving people daily lateral flow tests for seven days - instead of quarantining for 10 days. So long as they test negative all week, they can carry on with their lives.
It comes as the foreign secretary said the country was "in a good position" to end almost all restrictions on 21 June.
- Boris Johnson wants planning reforms to feature in Queen’s Speech
Date: 03 May 2021
Boris Johnson has signed off more than 25 bills to be presented in the Queen’s Speech next week as he seeks to flesh out his coronavirus recovery plan, it emerged last night.
The new legislative programme will feature planning reforms, a post-Brexit state aid regime and a long-awaited bill to reform social care.
The prime minister has told aides that he wants the Queen’s Speech, which sets out the government’s legislative agenda for the next 12 months, to provide a plan for Britain’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
- 1m plus rule could end from 21 June, says Johnson
Date: 03 May 2021
There is a "good chance" the 1m plus social distancing rule can be scrapped on 21 June in England, the prime minister has said.
Boris Johnson said the results of the vaccine rollout are "really starting to show up in the epidemiology" - but any change would depend on the data. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer agreed that caution was necessary.
Mr Johnson also suggested there could be some "opening up" of foreign travel on 17 May.
- Hospitality bosses lose court battle over indoor opening
Date: 03 May 2021
Hospitality bosses have lost a legal challenge for a faster reopening for indoor dining in England.
The High Court ruled in favour of the government after a case was brought by Punch Taverns founder Hugh Osmond, and Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester.
Pubs and restaurants were allowed to reopen - but only outdoors - on 12 April, along with non-essential shops.Mr Lord and Mr Osmond argued there was no justification or scientific basis for hospitality to be kept closed for five weeks, after retailers in England were allowed to serve customers indoors from mid-April.
- Holidays abroad should be discouraged to stop Covid third wave, say MPs
Date: 03 May 2021
Holidays abroad should be discouraged even once legal, a cross-party group of MPs have said as part of a suite of recommendations to prevent a third wave of coronavirus and further lockdowns.
Under the UK government’s roadmap to relax coronavirus restrictions, international travel for leisure purposes could resume from 17 May.
Ministers have confirmed that a traffic light system is to be put in place in which countries will be added to green, amber and red lists, with different rules regarding issues such as quarantine of returning travellers for each list.
- COVID-19 vaccine plan for schoolchildren
Date: 02 May 2021
The Government are drawing up plans to offer the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to secondary school pupils from September, it has been reported. The proposed plans involve offering a single dose to children aged 12 and over when the new school year starts.
- New modelling ‘optimistic’ third wave may not happen at all
Date: 02 May 2021
A new model has been reported to show the risk of a "third wave" of COVID-19 cases in the UK has been diminished due to the vaccination programme. The modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is due to be presented to the Government’s SAGE Committee.
- Care home isolation rule axed for low-risk trips in England
Date: 02 May 2021
Care home residents will be able to leave their home for low-risk trips without having to self-isolate for 14 days afterwards, the government says.
The rules will be relaxed in England from Tuesday, allowing for walks or garden visits without self-isolation.
The government says a fall in Covid cases means it is "much safer" for care home residents to go outside.
- NHS draws up Pfizer Covid vaccine plan for schoolchildren
Date: 02 May 2021
Health officials are drawing up plans to offer the Pfizer vaccine to secondary school pupils from September.
“Core planning scenario” documents compiled by NHS officials include the offer of a single dose to children aged 12 and over when the new school year starts.
The plans, which have been confirmed by sources within the government and the NHS, depend on advice due this summer from scientists on the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation. But officials are preparing for a rollout in schools. A source said: “No decision has been made yet but we are drawing up planning materials for the different scenarios.”
- More than 15 million people now fully vaccinated as UK reports 14 more deaths
Date: 02 May 2021
More than 15 million people across the UK have now had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
It means a large proportion of the elderly and most vulnerable are fully inoculated against COVID-19.
A further 372,304 second jabs were administered on Saturday, bringing the total to 15,329,617.
- Government taskforce urges permanent job flexibility for all workers
Date: 02 May 2021
Millions of employees could be given the chance to switch permanently to more flexible working arrangements under forthcoming guidance designed to encourage firms to make long-term some of the emergency changes ushered in by the pandemic.
The government’s flexible working taskforce is drawing up guidance – before the expected lifting of the remaining lockdown restrictions, including the requirement to work from home, on 21 June – to support the emergence of new, hybrid ways of working. For example, staff might come into offices only occasionally and work at home or at a neighbourhood cafe for the rest of the week.
Peter Cheese, the co-chair of the taskforce, said the pandemic had demonstrated that people could work productively away from traditional workplaces, with 71% of firms reporting that home working had either boosted or made no difference to productivity
- Thousands head to UK's first club night in more than a year for coronavirus safety pilot event
Date: 01 May 2021
Clubbers have returned to the dancefloor after more than a year's wait - for a COVID safety pilot event in Liverpool.
Some 6,000 partygoers are expected at the First Dance event, which stretches across two-nights from Friday at the city's warehouse nightclub Circus.
Ticket-holders have not needed to socially distance or wear face coverings, but they did need proof of a negative COVID test result before being allowed in.
- Covid-19 infections in UK back to late summer levels - ONS
Date: 01 May 2021
Coronavirus infections in the UK are back to levels seen at the end of last summer with around one in 1,000 people infected, ONS data suggests.
In the week to 24 April, infections fell in all four nations of the UK and were 20 times lower than in January.
It comes as a new UK study has found very small numbers of people have been admitted to hospital with Covid several weeks after having one vaccine dose.
- Record rate of online Covid vaccine bookings
Date: 01 May 2021
The NHS reported a record rate of online bookings after offering jabs to those aged 40 and 41 yesterday, with 120,000 people signing up before 9am.
Those in the current cohort for vaccination were able to use the national booking system from 7am.
On Monday, when booking opened to 44-year-olds, there were almost 300,000 bookings throughout the day and on Tuesday, when 42 and 43-year-olds were included, there were just over 400,000.
- Covid modellers ‘optimistic’ third wave may not happen at all
Date: 01 May 2021
New modelling to be presented to ministers ahead of stage three of reopening on May 17 will show the risk of a "third wave" of Covid cases in the UK has diminished dramatically and may not happen at all, according to experts.
The last set of projections, published by Sage on March 31, presented ministers with a difficult dilemma because they suggested a third wave of infections could be expected to kill another 15,000 to 20,000 people in the late summer if steps three and four of the exit roadmap were implemented as planned.
Ministers are now expected to proceed with step three of the roadmap, with the return of indoor household mixing and hospitality on May 17, with confidence as the modelling teams which provide projections via the SPI-M subgroup of Sage are said to be more optimistic.
- Covid-19 vaccine offered to people aged 40 and over in England
Date: 30 Apr 2021
People aged 40 and over in England are now able to book their Covid jabs, NHS officials say.
Text messages will be sent to 40 and 41-year-olds, directing them to the national booking service.
Meanwhile, about 22 million people in the UK are living in areas that have not reported any Covid deaths that happened in April, BBC analysis shows. Since the vaccine rollout began in December, about 34 million people have had at least one dose in the UK.
- 'I moved a few miles up the road and my council tax bill doubled'
Date: 30 Apr 2021
Claire Osborne had expected it would go up a bit after she upped sticks from Wandsworth in South West London to nearby Richmond — but not that it would more than double.
Career coach Claire, 35, gets a 25 per cent single-occupancy discount but is still hit for £1,305 a year for her two-bedroom flat when the council comes knocking. That compares to the £579 she would pay for an identical Band C home in Wandsworth where she lived until 2018.
She says: “It’s mad I pay so much more yet there’s no noticeable difference in council services. I expected my bill to go up when I moved, but I was surprised how it went from being just another monthly bill to my biggest bill by a long way.”
- Schools struggle to access tutoring
Date: 30 Apr 2021
Schools are struggling to access the Government’s national tutoring programme (NTP) due to a shortage of qualified tutors in some parts of the country. The NTP is aimed at supporting disadvantaged children during the pandemic, and the National Association of Head Teachers want to see greater flexibility to use staff they may be familiar with, in order to meet the needs of the children in their area.
- Grenfell: Bid to shield residents from cladding costs fails
Date: 29 Apr 2021
Cladding campaigners say the "rug" has been pulled out "from underneath a generation of homeowners" after attempts to shield them from fire safety costs were rejected by MPs.
It follows a long running parliamentary battle over who should pay to fix defects and faults following the Grenfell blaze four years ago.
Peers had repeatedly tried to stop the owners of blocks of flats from passing the costs on to leaseholders.
The bill will become law later.
- Hertfordshire County Council loses High Court bid to continue remote meetings
Date: 29 Apr 2021
A bid to continue online council meetings until after 7 May has been rejected by the High Court.
Emergency legislation was passed in the Commons last year allowing councils to meet online due to coronavirus, but it ends the day after local elections.
Hertfordshire County Council applied to extend measures but it was dismissed.
Judges said primary legislation would be needed to extend the use of online meetings and it was not for the courts to set that legislation.
- Grahame Morris MP: Replace council tax with a proportional property tax
Date: 29 Apr 2021
The current system is broken. Councillors should put pressure on their parties to support long-term sustainable reform, writes the Labour MP and former shadow communities minister.
My preferred option for moving forward is replacing council tax and stamp duty with a proportional property tax set at 0.48% of a property’s value.
The tax would see every property owner paying a flat 0.48% of the value of their property, with the burden moving from renters to landlords. Around 76% of households would stand to gain under this system, seeing a reduction in the amount of tax they pay on their primary residence. To protect those in expensive properties from unduly large rises in property tax, the increases will be capped at £100 per month and it will be possible to defer paying the tax until someone sells their home.
- Legal bid to continue virtual council meetings fails
Date: 29 Apr 2021
The High Court has dismissed an attempt to allow council meetings in England to be held online past 7 May when existing Covid-19 legislation expires.
Claiming the decision is “for Parliament, not the courts”, the court said the arguments for and against continuing remote meetings, which have been held for the past 12 months, show “difficult policy choices” need to be made.
Many in the local government sector had hoped for a different outcome, with Local Government Association chairman James Jamieson branding the decision “very disappointing”.
- Councils obliged to meet burdensome finance data requests
Date: 29 Apr 2021
A council acted unlawfully by refusing a resident access to thousands of financial documents on the grounds it would have taken five weeks of staff time, a court has ruled.
The case against London Borough of Kingston was brought by Derek Moss, who had requested access to invoices, purchase orders and contracts relating to the council’s housing revenue account.
A High Court judge last week ruled that the council had breached laws governing local audit by turning down the request due to the burden on its staff.
- Social distancing not needed at big events, Boris Johnson to be told
Date: 29 Apr 2021
Social distancing for large events can be scrapped from June 21, Boris Johnson will be told next week after initial results from a pilot scheme found no spike in Covid cases among attendees. ...
- ‘More congestion, more pollution’: Clean air campaigners concerned about 20,000 more Ubers
Date: 29 Apr 2021
Clean air campaigners have expressed dismay at Uber’s announcement that it will recruit 20,000 more drivers in the UK following a surge in demand since lockdown was eased.
The ride-hailing app said it has seen usage rise by 50 per cent since pubs and restaurants began to serve customers outdoors on 12 April.
Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, a clean air campaigner whose nine-year-old daughter Ella died in 2013 after suffering a series of severe asthma attacks, said the move appeared at odds with the government’s pledge to “build back greener”.
- Trial period offer for schools to join academies
Date: 28 Apr 2021
Schools will be offered a trial period on joining academy trusts, the Government will announce today. The Education Secretary will say that schools will be allowed to form partnerships with academy trusts for up to 18 months, without making any commitment.
- One dose of vaccine halves transmission - study
Date: 28 Apr 2021
A single dose of a coronavirus vaccine can reduce household transmission of the virus by up to half, a study shows.
Those given a first dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines - and who became infected three weeks later - were between 38% and 49% less likely to pass the virus on than unvaccinated people, PHE found.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the study's results as "terrific news". He has urged "everybody to get their vaccines as soon as they are eligible".
- 40m people in England live in areas almost free from Covid
Date: 28 Apr 2021
More than 38 million people in England live in areas that are recording virtually no new cases of Covid, an analysis by The Times has shown.
Seven in ten people live in areas where a maximum of two infections were reported during the most recent week for which data is available.
Scientific advisers to the government said the figures signalled that the schedule for lifting lockdown measures remained on track. Ministers are expected to meet next week to decide whether the next step will go ahead as planned on May 17.
- Vaccinating adolescents could help prevent third wave of Covid in UK – study
Date: 28 Apr 2021
Vaccinating older children and slowing down the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions are among measures that could help to prevent a third wave of Covid in the UK, according to a report from an organisation set up by the former prime minister Tony Blair.
The government’s roadmap suggests all Covid restrictions could be lifted in England on 21 June. However, scientists have warned that even with an ongoing vaccination programme, the plan could lead to a resurgence of the virus and thousands, if not tens of thousands, of additional Covid-related deaths by summer next year.
It is a scenario the prime minister, Boris Johnson, himself has acknowledged, saying on Monday another wave is a possibility we have “got to be realistic” about.
- ‘Try before you buy’ offer for schools to join academies, Williamson to announce
Date: 28 Apr 2021
Schools will be offered a period of “try before you buy” on joining academy trusts in an effort to entice more of them to leave council control, Gavin Williamson will announce today.
The education secretary will say that schools will be allowed to form partnerships with academy trusts for up to 18 months to experience what the organisation can offer, without making any commitment.
Academies were introduced 20 years ago by the Labour government but the programme accelerated under the Conservatives. Two years ago it was announced that half of all children were attending academies.
- Gavin Williamson wants to turn more state schools into academies
Date: 28 Apr 2021
The education secretary has said he wants to end the “pick and mix” of school types in England, unveiling a push to get more state schools managed by autonomous trusts rather than headteachers and parents.
With about half of England’s state schools still locally governed, Gavin Williamson wants more of them to become academies and join multi-academy trusts (Mats) as part of the government’s main policy for school improvement.
However, school leaders reiterated their opposition to “forced academisation”, arguing the structural changes are an unnecessary additional distraction given all the other pressures facing schools, particularly funding shortages.
- Social care ‘needs 1948 moment’
Date: 28 Apr 2021
Adult social care leaders have called for a '1948 moment' for the sector with £7bn of extra funding per year and better pay for staff.
Charity directors and chief executives, politicians and the chair of leadership body NHS Confederation wrote an open letter to prime minister Boris Johnson this week.
They said the care workforce does vital work – not least during the pandemic – but the sector “is on its knees, and is in desperate need of reform”.
“Successive governments have promised social care reform but have not delivered and now the situation is desperate,” the letter said.
- Complex and failing: the social care provider market
Date: 28 Apr 2021
Next month’s Queen’s Speech must outline reforms to the social care market as well as a funding solution, says Camille Oung, researcher at health care think tank Nuffield Trust.
It is very clear to those who use social care, and those who provide it, that for too long the system has been hung out to dry, with years and years of delay to the long-promised reform plans for the sector.
Reforms to social care are ‘likely’ to feature in the Queen’s Speech next month, although that is not yet a given.
- Former Bexley finance director appointed chief executive of London Councils
Date: 28 Apr 2021
A former borough council finance director will take the helm of London Councils, which represents the capital’s 32 local authorities.
Alison Griffin, currently chief executive of Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, will take up the role in July to lobby for more resources and powers for London authorities.
She was director of finance and corporate services at Bexley between 2014 and 2017, overseeing millions of pounds of savings while funding from central government was cut.
- Summer schools programme opens for bids
Date: 27 Apr 2021
Schools are being encouraged to bid for a share of £200m to offer summer schools to help children recover lost learning. The funding will enable school to provide a range of group activities, as well as academic catch up and mental health support.
The Government is encouraging incoming Year 7 students to get involved to help them navigate the transition between primary and secondary school.
- Schools to share £1.8bn for building repairs
Date: 27 Apr 2021
Funding to repair and maintain schools in England has increased by 20% this year to almost £1.8bn.
The Government said the increase in annual allocations provided to maintain school buildings will help ensure the condition of school buildings will not hold back any child back from achieving their potential.
Local authorities have been allocated condition funding in accordance with the latest data on their estates.
- Lockdown fines should be reviewed, say MPs
Date: 27 Apr 2021
All fixed penalty notices for coronavirus lockdown breaches should be reviewed, according to a cross-party parliamentary committee. The Joint Committee on Human Rights, which is made up of MPs and peers, said it had "significant concerns" about the validity of fines, the inadequacy of the review and appeal process, the size of the penalties and the criminalisation of those who could not afford to pay.
- Boris Johnson: We’re on track to lift all Covid restrictions by June 21
Date: 27 Apr 2021
Boris Johnson has said there is now a “very good chance” of ending coronavirus restrictions completely on June 21 in his most optimistic assessment yet.
The prime minister said that he still expects a third wave of the virus but vaccination had built “some pretty robust fortifications” against it.
While cautioning that the virus was not “totally licked”, Johnson expressed confidence that legal restrictions on social contact would come to an end as planned. This would mean the return of mass gatherings, nightclubs, conferences and other events that did not reopen last summer.
- Newham to appeal loan fraud claim verdict
Date: 27 Apr 2021
London Borough of Newham has been granted permission to appeal a High Court decision which rejected its claim against Barclays Bank over historic Lender Option Borrower Option loans.
In February, the court ruled that a claim by Newham and seven other councils had been frauduently offered the loans had no real prospect of success.
A spokesperson for Newham told PF that at the end of last month it was granted leave to appeal by High Court judge Mrs Justice Cockrill. It is understood the other councils are not involved in the appeal.
- £50m boost to London local government pension investment fund
Date: 27 Apr 2021
A local government pension scheme has invested a further £50m into a London-focused investment fund it created to finance home-building in the capital.
The move from the London Pensions Fund Authority brings the London Fund’s total investment capital to £150m, with the announcement coming just as the latter made its debut investment.
The beneficiary of the London Fund’s first investment is Delancey and Oxford Residential’s Door SLP, a build-to-rent housing platform working in London – particularly in East Village in Stratford and the Elephant and Castle.
- Scottish unions reject 2% council pay offer
Date: 27 Apr 2021
Unite and GMB said the proposals, which included a 2% pay rise with a guaranteed £800 increase for low earners, are insufficient after the work put in by staff during the pandemic.
The offer, from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which campaigns for the sector as well as negotiates pay, was rejected by 93% of GMB members who voted and by 83.3% of Unite members.
“It’s been a wretched year and a desperate decade for council workers, especially the lowest paid and the services they deliver,” GMB Scotland said in a statement on social media.
- Time to replace fiscal rules, think-tank says
Date: 26 Apr 2021
The government’s “arbitrary” fiscal rules are not fit for purpose and should be replaced by a more flexible framework, according to a leading research institute.
Analysis from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research shows fiscal rules have limited use because they do not account for unforeseen circumstances.
Institute director Jagjit Chadha said responding to uncertainty is one of the main reasons for governments to spend money – a factor emphasised over the past year during the response to Covid-19.
“With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to pose difficult questions of our policymakers, now is the time to consider the role of fiscal policy,” he told a press conference.
“It simply makes no sense to be in thrall to arbitrary rules that do not match society’s broader needs.”
- All-female team create new guide to support safer public spaces
Date: 26 Apr 2021
A new guide to help local authorities create safer journeys for women has been published.
The guide, which was developed by an all-female team of transport planners in Atkins, sets out six areas that local authorities can focus on to improve the safety of public spaces, with particular focus on creating safer first and last mile journeys for women.
This includes improving visibility through low to the ground planting and the removal of walls and barriers. It also recommends providing digital wayfinding apps and active building frontages to provide ‘eyes on the street’.
- Funds unveiled to support uptake of neighbourhood planning
Date: 26 Apr 2021
The Government is urging local planning authorities to apply for funding or take part in a pilot project to boost the uptake of neighbourhood planning. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has warned there is a lack of take up of neighbourhood planning in urban and deprived areas, with a decline in the number of new groups being established.
It has launched two new funds to support more neighbourhood planning in towns and cities.
Fund 1 is looking for 10 local planning authorities to test a 'lighter touch' approach to neighbourhood planning.
Fund 2 is a funding pot of £2.1m open to for proposals from 40 to 50 local planning authorities in under-represented areas who are interested in increasing the uptake of neighbourhood planning.
- MHCLG intervention – what is going wrong?
Date: 26 Apr 2021
The current system, rather than building in checks and balances, has built a bank of spectators unable or unwilling to intervene until the vehicle has crashed, says councillor Graham Chapman.
- Scottish party manifestos united by ‘disconnect from fiscal reality’
Date: 26 Apr 2021
Manifestos from Scotland’s largest parties do not honestly reckon with the devolved government’s likely financial situation in the coming years, according to Institute for Fiscal Studies researchers.
Billions of pounds of additional pledges have been set out without accompanying details of either tax rises or cuts to other areas of spending.
The damning analysis from the think-tank was presented to an online event today, ahead of parliamentary elections on 6 May.
- ‘Battle not over’ amid jab campaign for under-50s
Date: 25 Apr 2021
The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a new campaign to encourage younger people to get the COVID-19 vaccine when their turn comes, as the rollout continues down the age ranges. It follows research suggesting younger people are more likely to be hesitant.
- Scrap social distancing in June to give people control of their lives, say scientists
Date: 25 Apr 2021
An open letter signed by 22 leading scientists and academics has said that social distancing should be abolished in June to allow people “to take back control of their own lives”. It says “a good society cannot be created by obsessive focus on a single cause of ill-health”, and calls for all restrictions to end on 21 June.
- The pothole pimpernels filling in for the council
Date: 25 Apr 2021
Ask what Stoke-on-Trent does best and the first answers may be oatcakes or pottery bowls, but the Staffordshire city risks becoming famous for another circular entity — potholes.
The state of Stoke’s streets has been causing a hole lot of trouble for residents. It was the worst place in the UK for repairing potholes last year, according to the insurance website GoCompare, which used freedom of information requests to discover that the city’s residents wait 126 days for road defects to be fixed — almost a month longer than in Southampton, its nearest rival.
- Bank considers risk of financial collapse from cladding scandal
Date: 25 Apr 2021
The Bank of England is assessing whether Britain’s building safety scandal could cause a new financial crisis. Its Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which monitors risks across the financial system, has questioned mortgage-lenders on their exposure to leasehold flats and blocks with fire risks.
Analysts at the bank are understood to be concerned about the scandal’s effect on property values. A collapse in house prices triggered the global financial crisis in 2007.
- Cap on cost of care in old age reportedly being considered
Date: 24 Apr 2021
Boris Johnson is reportedly considering a cap on the amount older people pay for social care and is trying to reach a deal with Rishi Sunak on reform. He hopes to give a taste of government plans in the Queen’s Speech next month. It comes as the heads of the King’s Fund, Health Foundation and Nuffield Trust say in a letter that Johnson “has a chance to succeed where his predecessors failed”.
- Johnson presses Sunak over cap on cost of social care in old age
Date: 24 Apr 2021
A cap on the amount older people pay for social care is being closely considered by Boris Johnson as he tries to reach a deal with Rishi Sunak on reform.
The prime minister met the chancellor recently to kick-start intensive government work intended to solve the crisis in social care this year. He hopes to give a taste of it in the Queen’s speech next month.
Johnson has taken a keen interest in decade-old plans that would cap the amount an individual had to contribute towards their own care, with the state picking up the rest of the bill, seeing it as a potential way to meet his manifesto pledge that people should no longer have to sell their homes to pay for help.
- Half of UK population has had first jab - and more than 12 million fully vaccinated
Date: 24 Apr 2021
More than half the UK's total population has now had a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
The number of initial inoculations stands at 33,508,590, while the population is estimated to be 66,796,807.
A further 119,953 first doses were given on Friday, while 448,139 people received a second one.
- Scrap social distancing in June to give people control of their lives, say scientists
Date: 24 Apr 2021
Social distancing should be abolished in June to allow people "to take back control of their own lives", a letter signed by 22 leading scientists and academics says....
- 20,000 children off school register
Date: 23 Apr 2021
Over 20,000 children had fallen off the school register by the reopening last autumn, according to the Association of Directors of Children’s Services. Councils have also reported a rise in the number of children being electively home schooled, with over 75,000 now opting for this style of education, a rise of 38 per cent on the previous year.
- UK borrowing
Date: 23 Apr 2021
Public sector borrowing in the year to March reached the highest level since records began at the end of World War Two, with £303.1 billion needed according to the Office for National Statistics. The furlough scheme alone has cost almost £60 billion, with Test and Trace, the health service, vaccines and support schemes adding to the total.
- Fears over MHCLG’s weak influence in Whitehall
Date: 23 Apr 2021
There is a growing concern in the sector that the relationship between councils and central government has become “damaged” during Covid, with Whitehall becoming “too used to giving out orders”.
This is exacerbated by an ongoing sense - which has worsened in recent months - that the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government is not able to effectively champion the causes of local government within Whitehall.
Despite the government’s recent drive to ‘focus on outcomes’ and encourage more joined up working between departments, MHCLG’s voice is being continually drowned out by those of bigger departments that have more sway with Number 10 and the Treasury, two very senior sources close to local government have told LGC.
- Charity warns over 60,000 families 'tipped into homelessness last winter'
Date: 23 Apr 2021
The number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation has increased by 8% in a year, new figures have revealed.
The latest figures on homelessness in England show almost 100,000 households recorded as homeless at the start of 2021.
Homelessness charity Shelter warned that even with the ban on evictions in place, councils found 62,250 households were homeless or at risk of homelessness between Oct and Dec 2020.
- Charity warns over 60,000 families 'tipped into homelessness last winter'
Date: 23 Apr 2021
The number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation has increased by 8% in a year, new figures have revealed.
The latest figures on homelessness in England show almost 100,000 households recorded as homeless at the start of 2021.
Homelessness charity Shelter warned that even with the ban on evictions in place, councils found 62,250 households were homeless or at risk of homelessness between Oct and Dec 2020.
- Mask-free summer on the cards, as vaccines take control of the pandemic, say experts
Date: 23 Apr 2021
The public should be able to ditch face masks over the summer as vaccines do the heavy lifting in controlling COVID-19, experts have said.
Step four of the government's road map for England currently states all legal limits on social contact will be removed by 21 June at the earliest, when restrictions on large events such as festivals are also expected to ease.
Scientists advising the government say there is nothing currently in the data to suggest people will not be able to enjoy a relatively normal summer, though coronavirus cases may well rise as the autumn approaches.
- Cameron ‘persistently’ lobbied Treasury officials for Covid-19 relief
Date: 23 Apr 2021
Former prime minister David Cameron “quite persistently” lobbied Treasury officials to allow now-defunct Greensill Capital to access government Covid-19 support, according to the department's top official.
Cameron exchanged emails and texts with officials in a bid to have Greensill, a company he was an advisor to, access to the Covid Corporate Financing Facility, MPs were told this week.
This would have enabled the Bank of England to purchase short-term debt from the firm to help with cash flow.
- Public sector pension reforms ‘on track’
Date: 23 Apr 2021
Increased contributions by members are on track to deliver the expected savings to public sector pension costs, according to senior civil servants.
The government implemented pension reforms between 2011 and 2015 to remove final salary benefits and increase employee contributions to help reduce the taxpayer burden.
However, a National Audit Office report published last month said that the taxpayer’s proportion of total pension funding in 2019-20, remains the same as 10 years ago, at around 2% of GDP.
- Questions over impact of reorganisation on Levelling Up Fund
Date: 23 Apr 2021
MPs have sought ‘clarity’ over the impact of local government reorganisation on priorities for Levelling Up Fund investment.
Local authority areas have been ranked into three groups, with preference being given to bids for funding from areas of the country with ‘most significant need’.
The index of council areas uses ‘a combination of metrics’ including need for economic recovery, improved transport and regeneration.
Now, the Lancashire All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has written to the Government asking what the impact will be should local authority boundaries be radically redrawn.
- Ministers defend Levelling up Fund criteria
Date: 22 Apr 2021
Some deprived areas missed out Levelling Up Fund prioritisation because they have better transport links – not for political reasons – according to chief secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay.
Speaking to the House of Lords Public Services Committee yesterday, Barclay said that schemes funding focused on regions with lower levels of connectivity, which is why some authorities received lower allocations.
Critics of the scheme allocation said that the funding favoured wealthier rural regions, over poorer urban areas and were biased towards areas of the country with Conservative MPs.
However, Barclay said: “The reason the criteria is not uniform for all schemes is because the purpose of the funding varies…”
- The beginner’s guide to freeports
Date: 22 Apr 2021
At March’s Budget, the UK government announced the location of eight ‘freeports’ – areas with higher tax reliefs, simplified customs rules and government support – around England
In October last year, the government described the freeports policy as a “comprehensive package of measures designed to boost trade, employment and innovation”.
The eight freeports to be established in England were designated as East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe and Harwich, Humber Region, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth & South Devon, Solent, Teesside, and Thames (Thames Gateway, Tilbury port and Dagenham).
Yet, much is still unknown regarding the specifics of these bids as they remain confidential due to commercial sensitivity.
- Councils at 'forefront' of climate change action
Date: 22 Apr 2021
To mark Earth Day, the Local Government Association (LGA) has highlighted the work being done by councils to help tackle climate change and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The new statistics show councils collected over 15.5 million tonnes of waste and recycling, reusing or composting in 2019/20, and have installed over 17,000 electric vehicle charging devices across England.
The figures also show councils spent an average of over £125 on environmental services per person last year, spending just under £40m on defences for flooding;
- District's loophole to allow virtual meetings
Date: 22 Apr 2021
A district council has come up with a loophole to allow it to carry on with virtual meeting when the legislation expires on 6 May.
Rather than delegating decisions to the council’s chief executive, as suggested in a letter to leaders by local government minister Luke Hall, councillors will carry on meeting virtually and make recommendations to the chief who would then take the formal decision.
Council papers said: ‘This would allow for Member debate and decision making but the technicality over when the decision is actually made would not fall foul of the current meetings legislation.’
- Treasury to look at public health spending
Date: 22 Apr 2021
Councils are facing increased scrutiny from central government over public health spending.
Ministers were pressed on concerns over the level of the public health grant for the current financial year at a meeting of the House of Lords' Public Services Committee yesterday.
Baroness Claire Tyler also raised questions over the impact of funding before the pandemic on public health teams’ preparedness for the crisis.
Chief secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay said it was important to look not just at the ‘quantum’ of the public health grant, but also ‘data that shapes and enables effective challenge from the Treasury and the centre as to how effectively that’s being spent’.
- Brit Awards to have live audience as part of COVID-19 event trials
Date: 22 Apr 2021
The Brit Awards will go ahead with a live audience at London’s O2 Arena next month, in the latest addition to the Government’s Events Research Programme, which examines how venues and events can reopen safely after the pandemic. The 4,000-strong audience won't need to wear masks or be socially distanced, but will need a negative COVID-19 test. Meanwhile, the Express reports that a pilot scheme at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre for the World Snooker Championship recorded no follow-up cases of COVID-19, paving the way for a gradual reopening of other events.
- Children and families need £12.5bn over three years, says new ADCS president
Date: 22 Apr 2021
The growing number of children and families who need support 'to thrive, not just survive in the wake of the pandemic' will need investment of around £12.5bn over three years, says England's new children’s services chief.
In her inaugural address yesterday, incoming president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) Charlotte Ramsden said ‘everyone has everything crossed for a multi-year spending review settlement for April 2022 onwards’.
She added: ‘There are crystal clear moral and economic imperatives for investing now in children and their life chances. ADCS members believe that’s a lot of money but it would be worth every penny to create a country that works for all children.’
- Children and families need £12.5bn over three years, says new ADCS president
Date: 22 Apr 2021
The growing number of children and families who need support 'to thrive, not just survive in the wake of the pandemic' will need investment of around £12.5bn over three years, says England's new children’s services chief.
In her inaugural address yesterday, incoming president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) Charlotte Ramsden said ‘everyone has everything crossed for a multi-year spending review settlement for April 2022 onwards’.
She added: ‘There are crystal clear moral and economic imperatives for investing now in children and their life chances. ADCS members believe that’s a lot of money but it would be worth every penny to create a country that works for all children.’
- Watchdog urges 'revaluation' of councils' role
Date: 22 Apr 2021
The ‘role and value’ of councils in Wales should be re-evaluated in face of rising demand and financial pressures, according to a new report.
While local authorities are ‘not confident that they can continue’ to deliver services in high demand they are ‘neither effectively nor consistently involving’ citizens willing to run services, Audit Wales concluded.
There is also a lack of comprehensive data to inform spending reductions, according to the report looking at discretionary services.
- Jury finds Derek Chauvin guilty of murder
Date: 21 Apr 2021
A US jury has found a former police officer guilty of murder over the death of African-American George Floyd on a Minneapolis street last year.
Derek Chauvin, 45, was filmed kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during his arrest last May.
The widely watched footage sparked worldwide protests against racism and excessive use of force by police.
- Rising fuel costs drive UK inflation to 0.7 per cent in March
Date: 21 Apr 2021
The UK inflation rate rose to 0.7 per cent in the 12 months to March, up from 0.4 per cent in February, pushed up by the increased cost of fuel, transport and clothes.
- MPs hit out at decision to scrap Green Homes Grant
Date: 21 Apr 2021
The Government’s decision to scrap the Green Homes Grant scheme could lead to a ‘postcode lottery’ in local energy efficiency schemes, MPs have warned today.
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said it was disappointed the Government rejected its recommendation not to end or wind down the scheme.
It has now written to the business secretary calling for clarity, arguing the decision must pave the way for a multi-year energy efficiency programme within the next Spending Review.
- Homeless charity warns calls from young people up a third in past year
Date: 21 Apr 2021
Vulnerable young people have struggled to access the support they need in the past year, a charity has warned in a new report. The report, published by Centrepoint, examines the impact the past year has had on youth unemployment, homelessness, poverty and mental health.
It reveals that calls to its Helpline increased by a third since March 2020, with a rising number of young people sleeping rough at the time of their call.
- MHCLG to continue monthly data returns ‘for some time’
Date: 21 Apr 2021
The regular data returns that councils and care providers have been compelled by the government to make during the Covid pandemic could be put on a more permanent footing, top Whitehall mandarins have indicated.
But there are concerns at the burden being placed on council finance departments in providing the information, and fears that data could be used by the centre to justify diverting funding to tackling one particular challenge to the detriment of other services.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s director general Catherine Frances told the public accounts committee on Monday that the ministry would keep its monitoring of local government through the monthly returns councils have been making “switched on for some time…as we see what happens to their expenditure, to give us some assurance that we really understand what's happening in the sector”.
- MHCLG proposes more flexible audit rules
Date: 21 Apr 2021
The government has launched a consultation paving the way for reforms to make the fee structure of local audit more flexible, and another on how it will allocate £15m to help councils meet the costs of rising audit fees.
But more controversial and wide-reaching proposals around strengthening the leadership of local audit are not expected to be made public until next month.
The consultations published yesterday take forward some of the recommendations made by Sir Tony Redmond in the review of local audit he undertook last year for the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.
- A “proper” transitional system could improve funding predictability
Date: 21 Apr 2021
Adrian Jenkins argues local government needs a system that provides a “stable and predictable resource base” not just the right funding levels.
- Government proposes extension to audit fee deadline
Date: 21 Apr 2021
Under current local audit regulations, oversight body Public Sector Audit Appointments must publish its fee scales the month before the start of the financial year.
However, a government consultation proposes moving the deadline to 30 November each year, in a bid to ensure that auditing costs included in budgets are more accurate.
- Homelessness charity calls for Home Office rules to be scrapped
Date: 21 Apr 2021
Home Office rules ‘undermine’ efforts to end rough sleeping and should be ‘scrapped immediately,’ a charity has said.
Chief executive of Homeless Link, Rick Henderson, warned the rules, which will allow the Government to consider refusing or cancelling permission to remain in the UK on the grounds of rough sleeping, would ‘drive people away from the support they need and will hamper efforts’.
He said: ‘Fundamentally, this policy goes against decades of good practice and learning on what works to support people who are sleeping rough, especially those who struggle to engage with services.
- LGA calls for clarity on exit data request
Date: 21 Apr 2021
The Local Government Association (LGA) was blindsided by the Government’s demands for data on exit payments, it has emerged, and it is now asking for clarity.
The Association has written to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to find out exactly what data is required. It has also called to the Government to define what it means by exit payments and ex gratia payments.
According to local government insiders, the LGA had no advance warning of the Government’s plans to ask for exit payment data and it has raised concerned at the short deadline for councils to complete the forms.
The LGA is also reportedly worried that the data would breach confidentiality in smaller councils where there are fewer exits – although payments for senior staff already appear in council’s annual accounts.
- Pothole figures 'a watershed moment'
Date: 20 Apr 2021
Drivers are having to use roads that often ‘resemble the surface of the Moon’, the RAC has said after revealing a 37% year-on-year rise in pothole-related breakdowns in the first three months of 2021.
The motoring organisation said that in the first quarter, despite lockdown, its patrols went to the aid 4,694 drivers who had most likely broken down as a result of hitting a pothole.
This represents a 37% increase on the 3,426 breakdowns in the same period of 2020 for the ‘classic symptoms’ of having hit a pothole – broken suspension springs, distorted wheels and damaged shock absorbers.
- Government to set new 2035 emissions target in law
Date: 20 Apr 2021
The UK Government has announced that it will set the world’s 'most ambitious' climate change target into law to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.
In line with the recommendation from the independent Climate Change Committee, the sixth Carbon Budget limits the volume of greenhouse gases emitted over a five year period from 2033 to 2037, taking the UK more than three-quarters of the way to reaching net zero by 2050.
The Carbon Budget will ensure the UK remains on track to end its contribution to climate change, while remaining consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goal to limit global warming to well below 2°C and pursue efforts towards 1.5°C.
- Warnings of financial shock for care sector
Date: 20 Apr 2021
Civil servants have warned of financial challenges ahead when the care home sector emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
MPs on the Public Accounts Committee heard financial support from the Government during the crisis had resulted in fewer care homes closing down.
Director general of adult social care at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Michelle Dyson, said: ‘We have seen fewer exits than we would expect in a normal year and we would surmise that’s to do with the support we have put in.'
- Councils wait on capitalisation directions
Date: 20 Apr 2021
MPs have raised concerns after it emerged councils are still awaiting confirmation on emergency funding.
Senior officials told the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee that external reviews that will enable capitalisation directions to be implemented by councils that have struggled to balance their books during the pandemic have yet to take place.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is appointing consultants for the reviews to take place in the summer.
Committee chair Clive Betts told mandarins: ‘Authorities won’t know what they have to spend and what resources are available until halfway through the year.’
Director of local government finance Alex Skinner responded: ‘I don’t anticipate that waiting until potentially later in the summer will be a problem.’
- Shielding scheme took too long to identify up to 800,000, says PAC
Date: 20 Apr 2021
MPs have hit out at the Government’s ‘quickly drawn up’ COVID-19 shielding programme for taking too long to identify up to 800,000 people who may have missed out on help. Selective application of ‘at risk’ criteria led to some elderly and vision-impaired people struggling to access food at the start of the pandemic, according to a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published today.
Almost half of the 800,000 were unreachable because of missing or incorrect telephone numbers in NHS records and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) still does not know whether councils have been able to reach them.
- Plans to overhaul recycling collections suffer delays
Date: 20 Apr 2021
The government’s long anticipated shakeup of the waste and recycling system has suffered a setback as a critical consultation on proposals to standardise recycling collections across the country has been delayed.
Two other recycling consultations by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, based on policies set out in the Environment Bill, were launched earlier this month - one on introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, and another to make the producers of packaging responsible for the full costs of the waste it produces.
But a third consultation on making recycling collections consistent across the country, which had been widely expected to take place at the same time, has been delayed until after the local elections.
- Minister urged to ‘grasp the nettle’ and prioritise local government standards
Date: 20 Apr 2021
The Committee on Standards in Public Life has still had no response from local government minister Luke Hall to indicate when the government will respond to a report on standards in the sector more than two years after it was published, despite “regular chasing” by the committee’s staff.
There is mounting pressure on Mr Hall to publish the response, particularly after he sent a letter to the chair of the National Association of Local Councils more than six weeks ago pledging that he would respond “shortly” to the report, admitting that the response was "overdue".
However, at the committee's last meeting, it was reported that nothing had been confirmed by the ministry and there had been no response from them to “regular chasing by the secretariat”.
- MHCLG: No plans to extend Covid financial support beyond June
Date: 20 Apr 2021
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has no current plans to extend its Covid-19 financial support for councils beyond June, its permanent secretary has said.
Jeremy Pocklington confirmed to the Commons housing, communities and local government committee yesterday that the ministry had provided £1.55bn for councils in unringfenced Covid grants for 2021-22 and extended the sales, fees and charges income compensation scheme to the end of June.
“We're also continuing to fund some other priorities, including our support for rough sleepers,” he added.
“We haven't got any plans to extend our support beyond this quarter,” said Mr Pocklington. “But it is obviously something that we will need to keep under a continuous review through this financial year.
- No simple north-south divide, says report
Date: 19 Apr 2021
There is no simple north-south divide, a new report by Legal and General (L&G) has argued. The L&G Rebuilding Britain Index (RBI) said the levelling up agenda should focus on the lack of economic investment in the north but shortages of housing in the south.
It found ‘pockets of affluence and deprivation in all parts of the UK, challenging the notion of a north-south divide,’ with Cornwall scoring below average but some areas of the north well above average.
- County reverses decision to leave LGA
Date: 19 Apr 2021
A county council that was on the brink of leaving the Local Government Association has reversed its decision.
Lincolnshire CC leader Martin Hill (Con) told LGC the council would remain a member of the body after receiving "reassurances" from its chair James Jamieson (Con) that had persuaded him to stay
However, Leicestershire CC is sticking to its decision to quit the LGA, and may devote the £100,000 savings to filling highway potholes.
- No simple north-south divide, says report
Date: 19 Apr 2021
The L&G Rebuilding Britain Index (RBI) said the levelling up agenda should focus on the lack of economic investment in the north but shortages of housing in the south.
It found ‘pockets of affluence and deprivation in all parts of the UK, challenging the notion of a north-south divide,’ with Cornwall scoring below average but some areas of the north well above average.
Citing Edinburgh, Leeds and Cheshire East as the highest scoring, the report added: ‘Levelling up, therefore, needs to be focused at a local level - not regionally or nationally - addressing each communities’ challenges and priorities.’
- More children worried about pollution near schools
Date: 19 Apr 2021
Nearly half of children in the UK are worried about air pollution near their school - up from 39% in 2018 - a new survey has revealed.
A survey by Sustrans found almost three fifths (57%) of pupils said there were too many cars around their school, with 40% saying more people walking, cycling or scooting to school was the best way to bring down levels of air pollution.
The survey found 71% of pupils are worried about climate change, with 62% thinking adults aren’t doing enough to tackle the problem.
- Unemployment puts hundreds of thousands more at risk of poor mental health
Date: 19 Apr 2021
An extra 200,000 people are at risk of poor mental health due to unemployment, new analysis has predicted.
Research by the Health Foundation shows that by the winter there will be a total of 800,000 unemployed people with poor mental health.
The charity said the pandemic has highlighted an opportunity for the benefits system and employment support programmes to have a positive impact on the nation’s mental health.
- Young people who have had coronavirus will get £5,000 for being deliberately re-exposed to the virus
Date: 19 Apr 2021
Young people who have previously had COVID-19 are going to be deliberately exposed to the virus for a second time - in a new study that aims to see how their immune systems react.
The University of Oxford's "human challenge" trial also hopes to discover what dose of coronavirus is needed to cause a reinfection, and what this may mean for developing protective immunity against the disease.
People aged 18 to 30 who have previously been naturally infected with COVID will be recruited and re-exposed to the virus in a safe, controlled environment.
- Under-30s less compliant with Covid rules, UK data shows
Date: 19 Apr 2021
People under 30 were less compliant with Covid rules over the past year, according to survey data from more than 50,000 adults in the UK.
While the still to be peer-reviewed analysis suggests most people followed lockdown and social distancing rules, one in seven – about 15% – reported decreasing levels of compliance over time, particularly during the second wave.
These tended to be those under 30, in relatively good physical shape, who rated themselves as not particularly empathetic or conscientious but described themselves as risk-takers.
- UK reports four more COVID deaths - lowest rise since early September
Date: 19 Apr 2021
The UK has recorded another four coronavirus-related deaths - the lowest daily increase since early September.
It takes the total number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 to 127,274.
That is the lowest daily rise since three deaths were reported on 7 September.
- Pfizer boss says people may need additional vaccines beyond their second dose
Date: 16 Apr 2021
People are "likely" to need a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine within 12 months of getting the first two, Pfizer's chief executive has said.
Dr Albert Bourla said a booster jab could be necessary "somewhere between six and 12 months" after the second one - and every year thereafter.
"A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed," he told CNBC.
- LGA welcomes Covid-19 grant scheme extension
Date: 16 Apr 2021
The Local Government Association (LGA) has welcomed the government’s announcement that a Covid-19 grant scheme providing help with food and bills for vulnerable households has been extended until June.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Therese Coffey, said that an extra £40 million will be available to councils in England through the COVID Local Support Grant, which was previously called the COVID Winter Grant.
It will now run until 20 June, in line with England’s roadmap, which is expected to see final lockdown restrictions lifted on 21 June.
- Power of local government eroded over decades, report concludes
Date: 16 Apr 2021
Local authorities have seen a ‘steady erosion’ of their autonomy by central Government over the last four decades, a new report has concluded.
Commissioned by the campaign group Unlock Democracy, ‘Local Government in England – 40 Years of Decline’ looks at the relationship between central and local Government. It also focuses on finance, services and representation.
Written by members of the Local Governance Research Centre (LGRC) at De Montfort University Leicester, the report concluded that the balance between councils and Westminster has ‘increasingly tilted towards the centre, leaving local government and the communities it serves weakened.’
- Welsh council funding gap to hit £178m next year
Date: 16 Apr 2021
Councils in Wales face funding pressures of £178m by 2022-23 as Covid-19 and slower growth in Welsh government funding impact on authority budgets, according to new analysis.
A report from Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre said a smaller spending envelope for the Welsh Government outlined during March's UK Budget, alongside pandemic pressures, has created a challenging fiscal outlook for authorities.
It said that Welsh authorities would require an average annual increase in spending of 3.4% from the Welsh Government in cash terms until 2025-26 to prevent the funding gap.
- England's R number drops slightly as coronavirus infection level falls across UK
Date: 16 Apr 2021
England's R number has dropped slightly to between 0.7 and 1 - while the average level of coronavirus infection has fallen sharply across the UK, according to the latest data.
Last week, the figure was estimated to be between 0.8 and 1 by the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).
R represents the average number of people a person with the virus goes on to infect. When the figure is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially - but it is shrinking if it is below 1.
- Pregnant women should be offered Covid-19 vaccine in their age group
Date: 16 Apr 2021
Pregnant women should be offered vaccination against Covid-19 at the same time as everyone else, government scientists said yesterday, in a shift from their earlier stance.
They should ideally be given the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna jabs, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said, because there is more evidence for their use in pregnant women, largely gathered in the United States.
The decision not to recommend the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was not, they stressed, because of any concerns over blood clotting risks being higher in pregnant women.
- Rapid Covid testing in England may be scaled back over false positives
Date: 15 Apr 2021
Senior government officials have raised “urgent” concerns about the mass expansion of rapid coronavirus testing, estimating that as few as 2% to 10% of positive results may be accurate in places with low Covid rates, such as London.
Boris Johnson last week urged everyone in England to take two rapid-turnaround tests a week in the biggest expansion of the multibillion-pound testing programme to date.
However, leaked emails seen by the Guardian show that senior officials are now considering scaling back the widespread testing of people without symptoms, due to a growing number of false positives.
- Croydon hopes to receive ‘majority’ of housing company loan interest
Date: 15 Apr 2021
The London Borough of Croydon expects to receive the majority of “at-risk” loan interest from its crisis hit housing company Brick by Brick in 2020-21, according to its finance chief.
A report discussed at the council’s cabinet on Monday, found that the council’s funding gap rose by a further £4m at the end of January to £69.1m, with a further £26.6m of additional risks identified.
If these risks – £20.6m of which are attributed to Brick by Brick – crystalise then the council would need to meet a larger budget shortfall in 2020-21, with only £7.4m currently sitting in its reserves, the report said.
- Sector raises worries over homes bonus threshold proposal
Date: 15 Apr 2021
Local authorities and industry bodies are against the proposed changes to the annual housing growth threshold for payment under the New Homes Bonus.
Under current regulations, authorities need to increase their annual council tax base by 0.4% per year to receive the bonus, but a government consultation launched earlier this years is seeking views on raising that threshold.
A number of respondents to the consultation have rejected the proposed increase to between 0.6% -1%, as they said it would negatively impact too many authorities.
- Storm brewing over exit payment data demands
Date: 15 Apr 2021
Government demands for details of senior staff pay-offs have been branded ‘particularly pernicious’ and unfairly aimed at local government.
Officials at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have written to finance directors demanding details of exit payments going back seven years after the Treasury was forced into a U-turn on its £95,000 cap earlier this year.
Controversial rules to squeeze public sector exit payments were introduced in November, but they were shelved in February in the face of a High Court challenge by Lawyers in Local Government, the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives (ALACE), and a further legal challenge by other trade unions.
- Debate should move from survival to stability, says NAO lead
Date: 15 Apr 2021
The government needs to demonstrate it has a strategy for local government beyond the sector’s mere “survival”, a leading National Audit Office figure has told LGC.
Aileen Murphie, who stepped down as the NAO’s director covering local government at the end of last month, spoke to LGC after a report from the watchdog said the sector’s finance after a year of pandemic response was a “cause for concern”.
Ms Murphie predicted cuts may be seen “across the whole gamut” of services in 2021-22, including reductions to social care and special educational needs packages, as well as the closure or reduced opening times of libraries, leisure centres and tourist attractions.
- Welsh PPE procurement praised despite pandemic challenges
Date: 14 Apr 2021
The Welsh Government and NHS responded well to the challenges procuring personal protective equipment during the pandemic, a spending watchdog found.
Audit Wales said PPE was bought quickly but some problems that occurred in England were avoided.
Spending on PPE grew to more than £300m in 2020-21, when normally the government and NHS Wales Shared Services would expect to pay about £8m.
- Jenrick moves to quell districts’ plan for reorganisation referendum
Date: 14 Apr 2021
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has waded into a row in Somerset between the two principal tiers of local government over districts’ plans to hold a referendum to ensure their residents’ views on reorganisation proposals are properly heard.
Councils in Somerset, along with those in North Yorkshire and Cumbria, are currently undergoing a consultation process on local government reorganisation that ends on Monday.
In Somerset, where the county’s proposal for a county-wide unitary is vying with the districts’ proposal for two new unitaries, the process has sparked antagonism between the two tiers, with South Somerset DC leader Val Keitch (Lib Dem) arguing the consultation process is “convoluted and complicated” and county council leader David Fothergill (Con) believing districts have “questions to answer” over some of the publicity tactics they have deployed.
- Pubs and bars face being punished for Covid rule-busting queues
Date: 13 Apr 2021
Scores of people lined up outside pubs around the country as they reopened for business in line with second step of lockdown easing...
- England gets third jab as Moderna rollout begins
Date: 13 Apr 2021
England is giving out its first doses of the Moderna jab, the third Covid-19 vaccine in the nation's rollout.
It will be available at 21 sites, included the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the Sheffield Arena.
Along with the Pfizer jab, it offers an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for under-30s, after concerns about a possible link to very rare blood clots.
- 4.6m people missed out on hospital treatment in England in 2020
Date: 13 Apr 2021
More than 4.5 million people missed out on hospital treatment in England last year due to the disruption to the NHS caused by Covid, with growing numbers turning to crowdfunding to pay for cancer drugs and operations.
The number of patients having planned surgery such as a joint replacement plummeted from 16.62 million in 2019 to just under 12 million last year – a drop of 4.64 million people – an analysis of NHS hospital activity by the Health Foundation reveals.
- Commission calls for abolition of Spending Reviews
Date: 13 Apr 2021
The government’s Spending Review is “not workable” and needs to be abolished, according to an independent commission. Spending Reviews are “spun" documents”, designed to support the political messages the government wishes to make, rather than presenting information in a consistent format, a report from the Commission for Smart Government said.
It said that the reviews should be replaced by a new plan for government developed at the start of each parliament.
The report said: “Past Spending Reviews have suffered from not being connected to any clear strategic view of government’s priorities and does not produce workable, reliable plans which make best use of spending.”
- Covid lockdown eases: 'Sense of celebration' as pubs and shops reopen
Date: 12 Apr 2021
For the first time in months, pub gardens, shops and hairdressers are reopening in England, as rules are also eased in the rest of the UK.
Some pubs and salons opened at midnight, with one landlord saying there was a "sense of celebration", and shoppers queued outside Primark stores.
Northern Ireland's "stay-at-home" order is ending and some rules are also being relaxed in Scotland and Wales.
- People in their forties are next in line as Covid vaccine rollout hits target
Date: 12 Apr 2021
People in their forties are due to be invited for vaccinations from tomorrow after the government reached its target to offer jabs to everyone in the nine priority groups.
Only the late forties are expected to be called first in what sources described as an “easing into” the second phase of the vaccination programme.
Government scientists are also considering whether offering priority vaccination to regular travellers who are exempt from quarantine rules would help to reduce the risk of importing dangerous variants.
- UK records lowest deaths and cases figures since September
Date: 11 Apr 2021
The UK has recorded another seven COVID-related deaths, as shops, gyms, beer gardens and hairdressers in England prepare to reopen.
The number is the lowest since 13 September last year, but figures at the weekend are often lower due to reporting lags.
The UK also recorded another 1,730 positive COVID-19 cases in the latest 24-hour reporting period - the lowest since 2 September.
- Twice-weekly lateral flow coronavirus tests now available for free in England
Date: 09 Apr 2021
Everyone in England can now get twice-weekly COVID tests for free under a new effort to keep the journey out of lockdown on track.
Ministers hope regular use of the rapid lateral flow tests will become a habit and help keep cases low as the economy reopens.
The tests will be available from locations such as pharmacies, workplaces and community spaces - and can also be ordered for home delivery.
- People can start thinking about foreign travel - Shapps
Date: 09 Apr 2021
People in England can start thinking about booking foreign holidays again for this summer, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said.
But he said the cost of Covid tests needed to be driven down amid criticism from the travel sector.
Mr Shapps has been giving more detail about England's traffic light system which aims to allow foreign travel.
- MPs call for review of 'dangerous' obesity strategy
Date: 09 Apr 2021
The Government’s Obesity Strategy has been branded as ‘dangerous’ for people with negative body image by MPs.
The Women and Equalities Committee has warned the strategy could actually trigger eating disorders in the people it is designed to help. It also said the National Child Measurement Programme is ‘likely to cause harm’.
In a new report, the committee is calling for an independent review of the strategy and for the use of the Body Mass Index (BMI) to be scrapped immediately.
- Shapps announces £18m cycle training fund
Date: 09 Apr 2021
Local authorities will be able to offer bespoke Bikeability Family training sessions to help people feel more confident cycling.
Transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has announced a new £18m fund to deliver cycle training for children and their families.
The funding, which is managed via the Bikeability Trust charity, will provide practical on-road cycle training as a modern day equivalent of the ‘cycling proficiency’ scheme.
- Children ‘bearing brunt’ of mental health crisis
Date: 09 Apr 2021
The number of children seeking help for mental health problems increased by 28% during the pandemic, new figures have revealed.
Analysis of NHS Digital data by the Royal College of Psychiatrists shows that children have been most affected by the ‘mental health crisis’.
The data shows 80,226 more children and young people were referred to CYP mental health services between April and December last year, up by 28% on 2019.
- Councils urged to bid for £15m traffic signals cash
Date: 09 Apr 2021
The Department for Transport (DfT) is urging English local authorities outside London to submit expressions of interest for a share of £15m of new funding to repair and upgrade their traffic signals.
The DfT announced last week that £15m extra cash has been allocated to supplement existing local authority spending on the upgrade and maintenance of traffic signals and associated equipment
Its deputy director, traffic and technology, Anthony Ferguson, has now written to the chief executives at 126 highway authorities and combined authorities to invite bids for the cash, which must be spent in 2021-22.
- Public back more city devolution
Date: 09 Apr 2021
More than eight in ten people support more devolution to England’s largest cities, a new poll has revealed.
The research by Centre for Cities shows 83% of people in city-regions going to the polls on 6 May back some form of greater devolution.
More than half of people (51%) want the provision of affordable housing to be devolved to local politicians, while 47% want supporting businesses to be devolved.
- Extent of mental health crisis in England at ‘terrifying’ level
Date: 09 Apr 2021
England is “in the grip of a mental health crisis” because of the Covid pandemic, with under-18s suffering the most, psychiatrists are to warn on Friday.
Record numbers of children and adults sought NHS help last year for problems such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders, or because they ended up in a mental health crisis.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has highlighted the sharp rise in mental ill health, that began after the first lockdown in March 2020, in an analysis of NHS and Office for National Statistics data. The college said NHS services were struggling to cope with the demand.
- Local government SEND funding ‘pitiful’
Date: 09 Apr 2021
A finance chief has labelled as ‘pitiful’ the amount of money his authority has received through a new £280m allocation for councils to manage and expand special educational needs and disabilities provision. The government said the single-year funding increase would allow authorities to create new places in schools and early years education for children with SENDs.
However, Gary Fielding, corporate director of strategic resources and section 151 officer at North Yorkshire County Council, told PF that his authority's £1.7m allocation is a drop in the ocean compared to its needs.
- Hong Kong families moving to UK to benefit from £43m support package
Date: 08 Apr 2021
Families coming to live in the UK from Hong Kong using a new visa route will benefit from a support package worth £43 million, the government has announced.
Welcome hubs will help arrivals from Hong Kong to access housing, education and employment to build a life in the UK, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
Hongkongers with British National (Overseas) status and their dependents are eligible for the new immigration route, which was announced in the wake of Beijing’s national security law being imposed on Hong Kong last year.
- High Street sales tipped to surge 50% on 12 April
Date: 08 Apr 2021
The number of shoppers visiting retail parks and essential shops in March shows consumers have missed bricks-and-mortar shops, says Springboard.
The analyst predicts a 48% rise in sales when lockdown restrictions are lifted on 12 April.
While footfall was still lower in March, the annual decline had halved in retail parks by the end of the month.
- English councils handing huge extra care bills to disabled and mentally ill adults
Date: 08 Apr 2021
Adults with a disability or mental illness are receiving extra care bills running into thousands of pounds that they say could force them to cut back on food and heating and threaten their social independence.
Amid a care funding crisis, some English councils are quietly increasing charges to people with learning disabilities and mental illness, in effect clawing back welfare payments and leaving some working-age adults with little more than £3 a day to spend.
People facing the charges fear they will be unable to afford enough clothes and worry that basic pleasures like swimming trips will have to stop. One single man living with bipolar disorder said he may have to put down his dog because he will be unable to afford to look after it.
- Virtual meetings case ‘helped’ by Jenrick move
Date: 08 Apr 2021
The court case seeking to allow virtual council meetings to continue after 6 May has been strengthened by the government’s decision to support it, the two bodies involved have said.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick said yesterday that the government would support the argument that virtual meetings were permitted by the Local Government Act 1972, despite the ‘sunset clause’ used to permit them in the coronavirus regulations ending on 6 May.
The Act allows councils freedom of action in various circumstances that could apply even though virtual meetings were not envisaged in 1972.
- £36.5m council funding to support Hong Kong arrivals
Date: 08 Apr 2021
Councils across the UK will receive £36.5m worth of government funding to help Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) families settle in the UK and to provide additional help for new arrivals where needed, including support with housing costs and learning English.
Backed by over £43m of funding, the Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) Integration Programme will help status holders access housing, work and educational support to ensure they are able to quickly integrate and contribute to their newfound communities.
- Almost 3,000 council fat cats now earn more than £100,000 a year: Shocking rise in pay for town hall bosses amid growing fury over soaring local tax bills
Date: 07 Apr 2021
Spiralling town hall pay pushed the number of local government officials who earned above £100,000 last year to more than 2,800, it was revealed yesterday.
As council tax rises have soared above inflation, councils have pushed ahead with salary increases for some of their best-paid employees, analysis showed.
The breakdown – covering the financial year 2019-20, which ended just as the coronavirus pandemic struck – was published amid evidence of growing public discontent at council tax levels.
- Shoppers may need Covid vaccine passports
Date: 07 Apr 2021
Coronavirus certificates could be needed in high street shops this summer, Downing Street has hinted, as Labour said that it was prepared to vote against the plans.
Boris Johnson indicated that the government was moving towards a system of domestic Covid status certificates in his press conference on Monday night, although he said that in certain “essential” areas of life such documents would never have to be presented.
Pressed for details yesterday on which shops would count as essential, the prime minister’s spokesman did not offer any examples.
- More help for new and expectant mothers in England
Date: 06 Apr 2021
Mental health "hubs" for new, expectant or bereaved mothers are to be set up around England.
The 26 sites, due to be opened by next April, will offer physical health checks and psychological therapy in one building.
NHS England said these centres would provide treatment for about 6,000 new parents in the first year.
Five years ago, 40% of areas in England had no dedicated maternal mental health services.
- Boris Johnson gives green light for shops and pubs to open from Monday
Date: 06 Apr 2021
Boris Johnson has thrown summer holiday plans into disarray by delaying for another month the decision on when international travel can restart after the coronavirus lockdown.
The travel industry responded with dismay to an official review that said it was too early to say whether non-essential trips abroad can resume as planned on 17 May.
One industry leader said the sector was being “crippled” by the lack of certainty from the government, while another said that tens of thousands of jobs remained at risk as long as travel was kept on ice.
- COVID passports have ‘significant implications’ for councils
Date: 06 Apr 2021
Local authority leaders have called on the Government to work closely with councils on the COVID-19 status certification proposals because of the impact they will have on local enforcement and other areas.
- Campaigners in legal challenge to Levelling Up Fund criteria
Date: 06 Apr 2021
Campaign Group the Good Law Project has sent a pre-action protocol letter, the first formal step in legal proceedings, claiming the fund’s priority criteria favour areas with Conservative MPs.
The government has faced questions over the criteria since the fund’s announcement in March’s Budget, with areas such as Richmondshire, represented by chancellor Rishi Sunak, placed above more deprived areas.
- England’s Covid vaccine programme could slow sharply, Sage says
Date: 06 Apr 2021
The pace of first-dose vaccinations looks set to slow significantly for several weeks after a downwards revision in official forecasts and a delay in the import of 5 million doses from India now expected to last until at least June.
A modelling paper produced for the Sage scientific advisory committee said the pace of England’s vaccination programme could be squeezed to 2.7m a week until the end of July, leaving little surplus for first doses until tens of millions of second doses had been administered.
Published on Monday, the paper said that “the central rollout scenario” provided to academics by the Cabinet Office was considerably slower than previously used.
- Tests to be offered twice-weekly to all in England
Date: 05 Apr 2021
Everyone in England is to be given access to two rapid coronavirus tests a week from Friday, under an extension of the government's testing programme.
The lateral flow kits, which can provide results in around 30 minutes, will be available for free at testing sites, pharmacies and through the post.
The health secretary said it would help squash any outbreaks as lockdown eases.
But critics of the programme say it risks becoming a "scandalous" waste of money.
- Two-thirds of councils cashing in with biggest bill hikes are Labour: 51 left-wing local authorities ramped up charges to 5% limit - more than 12 times the inflation rate of 0.4%
Date: 04 Apr 2021
The Labour Party runs almost two-thirds of authorities which raised council tax to the maximum amount of nearly five per cent this year.
Analysis by The Mail on Sunday has found that 51 Labour councils ramped up charges to the limit of 4.99 per cent – more than 12 times the inflation rate of 0.4 per cent.
They include Nottingham City Council, which now has the highest tax bill in the country at £2,226. It raised bills after squandering £38 million on a failed bid to run its own power company, Robin Hood Energy, which went bust this year.
- Sunset clause planned to head off vaccine certificate revolt
Date: 03 Apr 2021
Vaccination passports could be imposed on the public for less than a year, according to plans being drawn up by Downing Street to head off a Tory revolt.
Boris Johnson will give the green light on Monday to the development of a system of “vaccine certification” as he looks to reinvigorate the economy.
Ministers believe the scheme may be essential in reopening venues such as theatres and stadiums which rely on large crowds.
- Parents forced to crowdfund to stop playgrounds in England crumbling
Date: 03 Apr 2021
Parents and play experts are turning to crowdfunding to rebuild and maintain playgrounds as cash-strapped local authorities cut their budgets across England.
Despite calls by child development experts for a “summer of play” for children as the pandemic ends, there is a funding crisis across all parts of the play sector – from park playgrounds to new spaces built by housing developers.
In Coggeshall, Essex, Jemma Green and her neighbours got the idea for crowdfunding their playground from others. “It’s incredibly common now. We have got £110,000 and nearly all of that has come from fundraising. The parish council saved for two years to give us £30,000 – we are lucky they could do that. And we had £25,000 from Enovert, a local landfill company. But all our other grant applications were turned down – National Lottery, things like that.
- Coronavirus passports can get people 'back to doing things they love', culture secretary says
Date: 02 Apr 2021
COVID passports could be introduced as a way of ensuring people can get "back to doing the things they love", the culture secretary has said.
Oliver Dowden made the comments as more than 70 MPs sent a warning shot to Prime Minister Boris Johnson by forming a major cross-party campaign against the use of such passports within the UK.
Mr Dowden said cabinet minister Michael Gove is conducting a review into whether "we could make a COVID status certification work".
- Appetite for PWLB borrowing returns in March
Date: 01 Apr 2021
Local authorities in England borrowed £856m from the Public Works Loan Board last month, as councils refocus on capital projects following a lull due to Covid-19.
The spike in borrowing in March saw more local authorities seek finance from the board than the previous two months comined total of £493m was borrowed.
The largest loan was the £140m taken out by the North London Waste Company, which is owned by seven London boroughs and borrowed to help fund a major redevelopment programme.
David Blake, strategic director at Treasury advisors Arlingclose, told PF: “We are now seeing the fog lift and local authorities have a better handle on their cash positions and borrowing requirements.
Archived Headlines
- 2021
-
- IFS: Funding 30% higher per head in Scotland than England [31 Mar 2021]
- Many students say their mental health is worse due to pandemic [31 Mar 2021]
- Everyone's Invited: Schools abuse helpline and review launched [31 Mar 2021]
- Second vaccine doses outnumber first jabs for first time in single day [31 Mar 2021]
- Shielding coming to an end for millions [31 Mar 2021]
- Rise in pothole repairs [31 Mar 2021]
- ‘Favouritism’ in levelling up grants shows declining standards, says anti-corruption body [30 Mar 2021]
- Get aboard £120m zero-emission bus scheme [30 Mar 2021]
- Government 'recycling' cash between flagship funds [30 Mar 2021]
- Grant Thornton defends Liverpool audits [29 Mar 2021]
- Principal authorities encouraged to pass £56m Welcome Back funding to local councils [29 Mar 2021]
- Rob Whiteman: To solve local government funding, form should follow function [29 Mar 2021]
- Alert apps and ‘sponge’ road surfaces among new technology to deal with flooding [29 Mar 2021]
- £500m mental health plan targets people affected by pandemic [27 Mar 2021]
- Financial collapse at Croydon could have been avoided [26 Mar 2021]
- Next phase of Supporting Families programme launched with £165m [26 Mar 2021]
- NHS trusts climb down over business rates claim [26 Mar 2021]
- Government to ban Covid-19 business rates appeals [26 Mar 2021]
- Councils face rise in demand for short-term care [25 Mar 2021]
- Short-term funding has held back care, says watchdog [25 Mar 2021]
- Lack of social care strategy left system weakened when COVID-19 struck – report [25 Mar 2021]
- UK to set up health agency to combat future pandemics [25 Mar 2021]
- Cost of social care to double within two decades, says NAO [25 Mar 2021]
- Baroness Harding: communities not aware of Covid financial support [25 Mar 2021]
- Marmot: austerity-era cuts to local government must be reversed [25 Mar 2021]
- Government to ban Covid-19 business rates appeals [25 Mar 2021]
- NHS trusts climb down over business rates claim [25 Mar 2021]
- Online ‘family hubs’ [25 Mar 2021]
- Councils call for long-term plan to tackle education inequalities [24 Mar 2021]
- Government opts to retain legacy public pension calculations [24 Mar 2021]
- County set to walk out of LGA membership [24 Mar 2021]
- SEND family spends £20k fighting for school place [24 Mar 2021]
- Hancock: Integration with DPHs the ‘only way’ new health security agency can work [24 Mar 2021]
- Business rates review finds little enthusiasm for more localised system [24 Mar 2021]
- Increase in small funding pots will hinder levelling up efforts, warn met chiefs [24 Mar 2021]
- Second home owners face tax changes [24 Mar 2021]
- £34.5m stolen in pandemic scams [24 Mar 2021]
- Online sales tax ‘could help subsidise business rate reductions’ [24 Mar 2021]
- ‘Inevitable’ third Covid-19 wave will not change the plan, vows Boris Johnson [24 Mar 2021]
- Commission calls on councils to improve digital services for social care [23 Mar 2021]
- Government allocates £562m green improvement fund [23 Mar 2021]
- Smokers in England cost local care services £1.2bn each year [23 Mar 2021]
- Commission calls on councils to improve digital services for social care [23 Mar 2021]
- Government allocates £562m green improvement fund [23 Mar 2021]
- COVID-19: How has the past year affected council staff? [23 Mar 2021]
- Government piles on pressure to speed up business grant distribution [23 Mar 2021]
- Whitty warns of ‘real risk’ of local and national links disappearing post-crisis [23 Mar 2021]
- Government strengthens tax policymaking with over 30 updates, consultations and documents published [23 Mar 2021]
- UK faces 'Covid decade' due to damage done by pandemic, says report [23 Mar 2021]
- Life expectancy a decade lower for men in poorest areas [23 Mar 2021]
- Payrolled employment rises for third month after a year of lockdown misery for jobs [23 Mar 2021]
- Hopes rise for office-based companies of cut in business rates [23 Mar 2021]
- Five councils strike bailout deals with government over SEND [22 Mar 2021]
- Communities call for funding powers [22 Mar 2021]
- Mets to get bigger share of Covid outbreak fund as their income plunges [22 Mar 2021]
- Plymouth to set up council-owned care company [22 Mar 2021]
- 'Welcome back' fund launched for high streets and coastal areas [22 Mar 2021]
- Local authorities allocated £100m leisure recovery fund [22 Mar 2021]
- London – 40 per cent of households in four boroughs claiming housing costs [22 Mar 2021]
- More councils in funding talks [21 Mar 2021]
- Marsham Street told to improve transparency [19 Mar 2021]
- Exclusive: Districts question fairness of reorganisation consultation process [19 Mar 2021]
- Schools and hospitals face 'serious disruptions' as PFI contracts end [19 Mar 2021]
- Hancock unveils £7bn funding boost for NHS and social care [19 Mar 2021]
- Special needs support in schools [19 Mar 2021]
- Schools missing out on millions [19 Mar 2021]
- Sleep-in shifts legal battle ends [19 Mar 2021]
- Government to extend duration of Right to Buy expiry [19 Mar 2021]
- COVID-19 shows need to reform, fire service told [18 Mar 2021]
- 1.4% funding rise for council health services labelled `inadequate' [18 Mar 2021]
- Jenrick announces £212m pot to tackle rough sleeping [18 Mar 2021]
- Size of Slough and Copeland loans revealed as support package hits £287m [18 Mar 2021]
- IFS: Local government cuts set to be far worse than expected [18 Mar 2021]
- Social care leaders warn of funding 'cliff edge' [18 Mar 2021]
- Pandemic forces finance reform rethink [17 Mar 2021]
- Kerslake: Levelling up set to become ‘synonymous with pork barrel politics’ [16 Mar 2021]
- Whitehall to pilot place-based approach to local government [16 Mar 2021]
- Half of local audits late as NAO calls for reform [16 Mar 2021]
- E-scooters are coming to a street near you amid surging demand [16 Mar 2021]
- UK vaccination surge expected in coming days [16 Mar 2021]
- Net zero 'not enough' to combat climate change, Environment Agency warns [16 Mar 2021]
- Services at risk unless NHS England gets £8bn extra funding within days [16 Mar 2021]
- Major review aims to transform children’s lives in England [16 Mar 2021]
- Safer Streets fund doubled to £45m in wake of Sarah Everard death [16 Mar 2021]
- Boris Johnson launches £3bn ‘greener bus revolution’ to improve services [15 Mar 2021]
- Fresh council warning over rates appeals [15 Mar 2021]
- Councils welcome boost to COVID Winter Grant Scheme [15 Mar 2021]
- Boris Johnson unveils £3bn bus revolution in ‘act of levelling up’ [15 Mar 2021]
- Third wave of Covid in autumn is inevitable, says ONS chief Sir Ian Diamond [15 Mar 2021]
- Reform urged for outdated council tax that hits poor hardest [14 Mar 2021]
- Only 60% of care home workers vaccinated in one part of UK as progress stagnates [12 Mar 2021]
- Council Tax hikes to see some baseline household bills exceed £2,000 for first time [12 Mar 2021]
- Levelling-up ‘losing its way’ [11 Mar 2021]
- LGA forced to pay back £1m in unused grant [11 Mar 2021]
- Council to consider capitalisation direction offer [11 Mar 2021]
- Income losses drive 11% jump in net council expenditure [11 Mar 2021]
- Where are elections happening on 6 May and why do they matter? [OPINION] [11 Mar 2021]
- Local authority test and trace ‘hampered’ by limited funding [10 Mar 2021]
- MPs condemn Government’s ‘staggering’ cost of programme that failed to stop spread of Covid-19 [10 Mar 2021]
- A tale of two Budgets? [09 Mar 2021]
- NAO: Local authority finances a ‘concern’ amid funding gap [09 Mar 2021]
- Air quality soars in school streets that banished cars [09 Mar 2021]
- Child abuse laws to be expanded in England and Wales [09 Mar 2021]
- Warning over photo ID law change for UK-wide and English elections [09 Mar 2021]
- Children who receive false positive Covid tests at school to be banned from class for 10 days [08 Mar 2021]
- People aged 56 to 59 in England invited to book in for a coronavirus jab from next week [07 Mar 2021]
- Concern quick-result tests on pupils will give too many false positives [07 Mar 2021]
- Boris Johnson urges caution as England schools to reopen [07 Mar 2021]
- Mental health money for children's services [06 Mar 2021]
- Households face paying £100 a year more in council tax [06 Mar 2021]
- All businesses in England to be given rapid coronavirus tests free of charge [06 Mar 2021]
- NHS may face a million long Covid patients after pandemic [05 Mar 2021]
- UK 'well-equipped' to stay ahead of Covid variants, says top scientist [05 Mar 2021]
- UK Covid deaths and infections fall by a third in a week with 236 fatalities and 5,947 cases in last 24 hours [05 Mar 2021]
- Cautious continuity Budget indicates a lack of post-Covid vision [OPINION] [04 Mar 2021]
- DCN bids to attract unitaries with new offer [04 Mar 2021]
- Sunak’s Budget focuses on growth – but little mention of public services [03 Mar 2021]
- A £150k semi-detached home that pays more tax than a £77m mansion: That's just one of the injustices in the council tax postcode lottery [02 Mar 2021]
- NHS reforms risk sowing confusion and undermining safety, MPs warned [02 Mar 2021]
- Councils underspend £62m of childcare funding [01 Mar 2021]
- End Covid payments delay, says struggling events industry [01 Mar 2021]
- Households of school aged children eligible for rapid COVID tests [01 Mar 2021]
- PM has 'no doubt' about strong jobs recovery [01 Mar 2021]
- 'Now is not the time for tax rises', say MPs [01 Mar 2021]
- Election campaigning allowed from 8 March [01 Mar 2021]
- Encourage unemployed to staff polling stations, says Cabinet Office [01 Mar 2021]
- ‘levelling up is levelling down for London’ [01 Mar 2021]
- Unison call for election safety measures [01 Mar 2021]
- Government considers pubs plan that would see alcohol duty frozen [28 Feb 2021]
- Treasury officials are likely to find themselves in Darlington [27 Feb 2021]
- If we don't reform social care now, when will we? [27 Feb 2021]
- Compulsory jabs for care staff supported by Robert Buckland [27 Feb 2021]
- Rishi Sunak to inject £126m to boost traineeship scheme [27 Feb 2021]
- Coronavirus levels 'burning quite hot' in some of UK [27 Feb 2021]
- Vaccinating by age not job 'will save the most lives' - Hancock [27 Feb 2021]
- MPs call for review of local authority flood funding [26 Feb 2021]
- Councils' loans legal action fails [26 Feb 2021]
- School closures risk 'permanent scarring' to children, adviser warns [26 Feb 2021]
- Single Pfizer vaccine dose could be enough for people who have had Covid, studies show [26 Feb 2021]
- How ministers are planning to seize control of policy from Public Health England [26 Feb 2021]
- Doorstep campaigning for local elections to resume in England [26 Feb 2021]
- Sunak to use budget to start repairing UK's public finances [26 Feb 2021]
- Councils to provide grocery shopping to stop people breaking Covid self-isolation rules [26 Feb 2021]
- MPs investigate ditching smart motorways [26 Feb 2021]
- Green homes grant will meet only tiny fraction of target in England [26 Feb 2021]
- Major cities falling well behind in UK's bid to vaccinate its way out of lockdown [26 Feb 2021]
- Labour calls for council powers to intervene in high streets [25 Feb 2021]
- English school leaders despair over new rules on Covid tests and masks [25 Feb 2021]
- Councils fail to hand out £1.6bn of Covid grants for small business [25 Feb 2021]
- Oxfordshire pays out £1.6m following procurement dispute [25 Feb 2021]
- Leap in size of local authority peer lending [25 Feb 2021]
- Judge throws out council LOBO fraud claim against Barclays [25 Feb 2021]
- Council facing legal action over 'knee-jerk' cycle lane removal [25 Feb 2021]
- Ring-fence national insurance to cover many care costs says PM’s ex-aide [25 Feb 2021]
- New Levelling Up Fund using money diverted from Towns Fund [25 Feb 2021]
- NHS struggles with dysfunctional audit market [24 Feb 2021]
- UK government denies £1.7bn request from Scottish Government [24 Feb 2021]
- Government considering local audit ‘system leader’ [24 Feb 2021]
- Mendip District Council back universal basic income trial [24 Feb 2021]
- Councils bending rules to vaccinate key workers [24 Feb 2021]
- Children’s services face £824m budget gap [24 Feb 2021]
- Index reveals funding woes [24 Feb 2021]
- Figures show pre-pandemic fly-tipping rise across England [24 Feb 2021]
- Sunak is planning 'giveaway' budget next week to inject the UK with a post-lockdown boom after No10's slow road to freedom - with help for motorists, hospitality firms and the housing market [24 Feb 2021]
- New legislation extends proxy voting in local elections [24 Feb 2021]
- Levelling Up Fund to feature rapid bid process [24 Feb 2021]
- Prudential code: “Not perfect, but its heart is in the right place” [23 Feb 2021]
- Covid-19 pressures hit grant fraud prevention [23 Feb 2021]
- Budget 2021 rumour round-up: Corporation tax ‘hike expected’ [23 Feb 2021]
- Torbay latest council to shelve commercial investment [23 Feb 2021]
- Under-25s worst-hit as unemployment rises again [23 Feb 2021]
- Boris Johnson unveils plan to end England restrictions by 21 June [23 Feb 2021]
- MHCLG to make move from Whitehall to Wolverhampton [22 Feb 2021]
- Grants of £150m available to councils in homes partnership initiative [22 Feb 2021]
- Buss to take over as Croydon finance chief [22 Feb 2021]
- 'Large wave' of infections if restrictions were eased too fast and some measures will be needed beyond 2021, scientists warn [22 Feb 2021]
- Covid test and vaccine certificates could help sectors reopen in England [22 Feb 2021]
- Keep funding green homes to meet emissions target, say businesses [22 Feb 2021]
- UK homeless deaths rise by more than a third in a year, study finds [22 Feb 2021]
- More than 7% of children have attempted suicide by 17 [22 Feb 2021]
- Catch-up narrative putting 'huge pressure' on children, psychologists say [22 Feb 2021]
- UK vaccine rollout should turn to children 'as fast as we can', says SAGE expert [22 Feb 2021]
- Firms with government licences caught fly-tipping, Panorama investigation finds [22 Feb 2021]
- UK reports another 215 coronavirus deaths as number of people jabbed hits 17.5 million [22 Feb 2021]
- Boris Johnson to unveil 'cautious' plan to lift England's lockdown [22 Feb 2021]
- Labour urges Rishi Sunak to extend Covid self-isolation payments [21 Feb 2021]
- Church of England land should be used to help tackle housing crisis, says report [21 Feb 2021]
- End outside sport ban, top scientist urges Johnson as all adults set for jab by July [21 Feb 2021]
- All UK adults to be offered jab by 31 July [21 Feb 2021]
- UK government under growing pressure over Covid procurement [20 Feb 2021]
- Housing department confirms second headquarters in Wolverhampton [20 Feb 2021]
- Ambulance delays led to 'secondary Covid victims' [20 Feb 2021]
- Burnt-out NHS staff to be boosted by military medics as they brace for wave of non-coronavirus patients [20 Feb 2021]
- Fears of English local elections chaos due to lack of staff and venues [20 Feb 2021]
- pposition to national audit body risks more MHCLG regulation [19 Feb 2021]
- Review of business rates delayed until autumn [19 Feb 2021]
- Study launched to assess council Covid-19 procurement [19 Feb 2021]
- Northern transport network scraps contactless payment plan [19 Feb 2021]
- Resilience index shows drop in reserves [19 Feb 2021]
- Value of council's purchases plummet due to pandemic [19 Feb 2021]
- Whitty at odds with Johnson over 'big bang' reopening of schools in England [19 Feb 2021]
- Ban on placing under-16s in unregulated housing risks creating 'two-tier' system [19 Feb 2021]
- Tories accuse Lib Dems over doorstep campaigning [19 Feb 2021]
- Two Croydon directors resign as disciplinary process begins [19 Feb 2021]
- Boris Johnson pledges surplus to poorer countries at G7 [19 Feb 2021]
- Special needs pupils in England 'pushed to one side' in Covid crisis [19 Feb 2021]
- One in six new universal credit claimants forced to skip meals [19 Feb 2021]
- 'Large number' of contact tracers to be sacked - as PM prepares to announce loosening of lockdown [19 Feb 2021]
- Some children won't return to school until April under phased reopening plans [19 Feb 2021]
- 10,000 children in care were sent to potentially unsafe places to live - including caravans, tents and barges [19 Feb 2021]
- Councils predict £2bn black hole due to business rate appeals [18 Feb 2021]
- Pressure mounts over SEND grant deficit [18 Feb 2021]
- Councils walk away from business rates pools amid income fears [18 Feb 2021]
- Doubling up: Somerset better off with two unitaries [18 Feb 2021]
- Sunak to extend rates relief and furlough [18 Feb 2021]
- Public sector fraud ‘should be treated as national security issue' [18 Feb 2021]
- NAO to probe local authority audit deadlines [18 Feb 2021]
- Councils predict £2bn black hole due to business rate appeals [18 Feb 2021]
- Cash-strapped youth services 'at crisis point' in coronavirus crisis, warns YMCA [18 Feb 2021]
- Covid shows need for bigger government role, says Starmer [18 Feb 2021]
- Chancellor urged to use budget to tackle rent debt crisis [18 Feb 2021]
- Parents to test children for Covid twice a week [18 Feb 2021]
- Scottish Government to extend rates relief [17 Feb 2021]
- Covid: Boris Johnson to focus on 'data, not dates' for lockdown easing [17 Feb 2021]
- New phase begins after first vaccine target hit in England [15 Feb 2021]
- Hotel quarantine comes into force in UK [15 Feb 2021]
- MPs urge government to spell out economic and health impacts of easing lockdown [15 Feb 2021]
- Social businesses shut out of government support [15 Feb 2021]
- Johnson should repay north of England voters with private investment [15 Feb 2021]
- Funding to fix equivalent of 10 million potholes allocated to local authorities [15 Feb 2021]
- Remove parking spaces to drive greener travel, study says [15 Feb 2021]
- ONS gears up for once-in-a-decade challenge with 2021 census [14 Feb 2021]
- Eviction ban in England extended until March [14 Feb 2021]
- Call for 'summer of play' to help English pupils recover from Covid-19 stress [13 Feb 2021]
- Is local government funding “broken”? [12 Feb 2021]
- Exit pay cap revoked [12 Feb 2021]
- Treasury climbdown over public sector exit cap [12 Feb 2021]
- Government ‘lacks knowledge of environmental tax impacts’ [12 Feb 2021]
- UK economy shrinks by double previous record in 2020 [12 Feb 2021]
- Environmental issue - the UK's new green bond [12 Feb 2021]
- UK economy suffered record annual slump in 2020 [12 Feb 2021]
- ‘Exceptional support’ councils promised £96m by 2022 [11 Feb 2021]
- Jenrick confirms £3.5bn plan to replace unsafe cladding [11 Feb 2021]
- Teachers and police set to be given Covid vaccine priority after over-50s [11 Feb 2021]
- £27bn roads plan in doubt after Shapps overrode official advice [11 Feb 2021]
- School catch-up in England could take 5 years, says education recovery tsar [11 Feb 2021]
- Four English councils get emergency government funding [11 Feb 2021]
- Anger at cladding 'betrayal': Government pledges £3.5bn to help fix crisis - but innocent victims STILL face massive bills to make their fire-risk homes safe [10 Feb 2021]
- DfE tells returning officers to use businesses for polling stations [09 Feb 2021]
- Croydon senior management team suspended [09 Feb 2021]
- Duncan McGinty: Stronger Somerset devo model recognises county’s diversity [09 Feb 2021]
- Poll venues in short supply as Williamson urged to unblock schools use [09 Feb 2021]
- Just 11% back May elections date amid Covid concern [09 Feb 2021]
- Councils warn of budget shortfall for May elections [09 Feb 2021]
- Government set to announce billions in funding to help homeowners with cladding removal [09 Feb 2021]
- Putting councils 'in the driving seat' would save £1.6bn, says report [09 Feb 2021]
- Poor parents sending their kids to relatives during Covid so they can get food [09 Feb 2021]
- At least 12 English councils in rescue talks as Covid shatters local finances [08 Feb 2021]
- COVID-19: Boris Johnson doesn't rule out extending school summer term to help pupils catch up [08 Feb 2021]
- Boris Johnson’s golden chance to fix social care [08 Feb 2021]
- Covid hits exam-taking and poorer pupils worst, study finds [08 Feb 2021]
- Reform business rates or risk a high street collapse, say firms [08 Feb 2021]
- UK care workers use up leave to avoid losing pay while sick with Covid [08 Feb 2021]
- Executive who sold cladding for Grenfell to appear before inquiry [07 Feb 2021]
- Labour would oversee radical insourcing of public services [07 Feb 2021]
- Spending power ‘two percentage points lower’ than government's claim [05 Feb 2021]
- £15m ‘uplift’ for Covid-19 elections [05 Feb 2021]
- Budget 2021: Council tax centralisation could hurt local democracy [05 Feb 2021]
- Six month delay to government’s new health protection agency [04 Feb 2021]
- Coronavirus: Care home bans on visits 'breach' human rights [03 Feb 2021]
- PM says 8 March 'prudent' for English schools' return as scientists issue warning [03 Feb 2021]
- PM names head of school pandemic catch-up plan [03 Feb 2021]
- Fix failing poverty-fighting schemes run by local councils after huge cuts, Tory MPs say [01 Feb 2021]
- Half of care home staff at UK's largest provider have not had Covid vaccine [01 Feb 2021]
- Care homes 'could soon reopen to visitors' before residents have second shot of Covid vaccine [01 Feb 2021]
- Boris Johnson pushes to reopen schools as Covid cases fall [01 Feb 2021]
- England might not return to regional restrictions as lockdown is eased, Boris Johnson suggests [01 Feb 2021]
- 9.3 million people have received first vaccine dose as UK records another 406 deaths [01 Feb 2021]
- Care home vaccine 'milestone' reached in England [01 Feb 2021]
- Firms call for details of post lockdown reopening so they can plan [01 Feb 2021]
- Government faces more pressure to extend £20-a-week Covid top-up [01 Feb 2021]
- Binmen lift the lid on mountains of beer bottles and garden waste [31 Jan 2021]
- Starmer demands help for ‘hostages’ in unsellable flats [31 Jan 2021]
- Jobs first as ministers plan for life after Covid-19 [31 Jan 2021]
- Tory rebellion looms over flat-owners’ cladding bills [31 Jan 2021]
- The devastating toll of the pandemic on children [31 Jan 2021]
- Plea for children's play to be designated 'essential exercise' during lockdown [30 Jan 2021]
- Older age groups in UK ‘will die’ if Covid vaccine priority goes to younger key workers [30 Jan 2021]
- Social distancing may have to remain in place all year [30 Jan 2021]
- Boris Johnson wants all schools open when Covid lockdown is relaxed [30 Jan 2021]
- Covid infections remain high but stable [30 Jan 2021]
- Right to repeat a year should be considered by ministers, headteachers say [29 Jan 2021]
- Covid-hit pupils 'should be allowed to repeat a year' [29 Jan 2021]
- Councils flag concerns about 'excessive profits' at children's homes [29 Jan 2021]
- Northampton dealings with football club ‘unlawful’ [28 Jan 2021]
- Council Tax Tracker uncovers reluctance to make maximum rise [28 Jan 2021]
- Council proposes 3.5% council tax rise despite deficit [28 Jan 2021]
- Covid: Social workers 'braced for tsunami of needs' after lockdown [28 Jan 2021]
- Children's mental health services in England 'unable to meet demand' [28 Jan 2021]
- Pandemic could impact children's mental health for years, report warns [28 Jan 2021]
- LGA fears over government threats to slash grant [28 Jan 2021]
- Covid: 'Virus going in right direction but not fast enough' [28 Jan 2021]
- UK mayors urge Boris Johnson to commit to tougher air pollution targets [27 Jan 2021]
- £1 million wasted on cycle-friendly road zones that councils abandoned [27 Jan 2021]
- Schools in England need post-Covid fund to tackle mental health decline, says report [27 Jan 2021]
- Schools in low Covid infection areas may open sooner, parents told [27 Jan 2021]
- 'Poor decisions' to blame for UK death toll, scientists say [27 Jan 2021]
- County lines gangsters face longer jail terms under tough new sentencing rules [27 Jan 2021]
- Scottish Government funding for councils falls short [26 Jan 2021]
- Fury as long-awaited UK environment bill is delayed for third time [26 Jan 2021]
- Government plans to turn England homes green 'in chaos' with debt and job losses [26 Jan 2021]
- UK unemployment reaches four-year high in Covid-19 lockdown [26 Jan 2021]
- ‘Significant Brexit challenges’ weaken UK economy [26 Jan 2021]
- Local authorities' Covid-19 pressures 'set to deepen' [26 Jan 2021]
- High air pollution linked to irreversible sight loss [26 Jan 2021]
- Depression among children is at frightening levels, doctors warn [26 Jan 2021]
- Quarantine hotel plans set to be announced [26 Jan 2021]
- Schools will be told of reopening plans 'as soon as we can' [25 Jan 2021]
- UK records lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases so far this year [25 Jan 2021]
- Almost four in five of over-80s have received first dose of coronavirus vaccine but supply is 'tight', says Matt Hancock [25 Jan 2021]
- ‘Pressure cooker’ lockdown set to drive rising costs [25 Jan 2021]
- Councils report nearly 5% dip in parking profits [25 Jan 2021]
- Most job roles for youths not yet filled [25 Jan 2021]
- councils to get £23m to encourage high-risk groups to have jab [25 Jan 2021]
- Government must use 2021 to get levelling up back on track [25 Jan 2021]
- Councils back postponement of May local elections [25 Jan 2021]
- Pandemic is 'levelling down' the South, report warns [25 Jan 2021]
- Fears grow over hidden child abuse since start of pandemic [24 Jan 2021]
- Swathes of England's vital flood defences ‘almost useless’ [24 Jan 2021]
- English council chiefs back postponement of May local elections [24 Jan 2021]
- UK variant 'may be more deadly' [23 Jan 2021]
- Cambridgeshire’s £24m education boost may not be enough for SEND pupils [22 Jan 2021]
- County’s leaders present legal solution to let remote meetings continue [22 Jan 2021]
- Councils ‘in driving seat’ over shared prosperity fund, Jenrick insists [22 Jan 2021]
- Council finances a ‘significant risk' to the Treasury [22 Jan 2021]
- UK borrowing hits highest December level on record [22 Jan 2021]
- Councils face legal challenges against pop-up cycle lanes and road closures introduced during Covid-19 pandemic [22 Jan 2021]
- Government finances at 'significant risk' from debt-laden councils due to Covid [22 Jan 2021]
- Ministers to discuss £500 Covid payment to boost self-isolation rates [22 Jan 2021]
- Jenrick ‘made arguments within government’ to delay local elections [21 Jan 2021]
- Council shifts £11m of land to housing account [21 Jan 2021]
- Auditors raise questions over council transparency [21 Jan 2021]
- Johnson raises fears of lockdown in England continuing into summertime [21 Jan 2021]
- High Court deals blow to expansion of cycle lanes and wider pavements [21 Jan 2021]
- Majority of discretionary self-isolation support applications rejected, Labour say [20 Jan 2021]
- Record 343,000 people in UK receive Covid vaccine in one day [20 Jan 2021]
- Oxford scientists preparing new vaccine versions to combat emerging Covid strains [20 Jan 2021]
- Rollout of daily testing of close contacts paused in English schools [20 Jan 2021]
- Councils urged to update their Local Plans [20 Jan 2021]
- New homes will need to reduce emissions by at least 75% by 2025 [20 Jan 2021]
- Inquiry launched into role of local authority pension funds in fighting climate change [20 Jan 2021]
- UK cities and towns hardest hit by COVID-19 likely to recover fastest, report finds [20 Jan 2021]
- Government greenlights councils’ ambitious zero carbon housing plans [20 Jan 2021]
- Croydon ordered to hold May mayoral referendum [20 Jan 2021]
- London chief takes on national vaccines role [20 Jan 2021]
- Cost of living up despite Covid Christmas curbs [20 Jan 2021]
- Fears over coronavirus vaccine supplies as rate drops [20 Jan 2021]
- £148m to target county lines drug gangs and treat addiction [20 Jan 2021]
- Nottingham plans £100m asset sale [19 Jan 2021]
- Covid-related deaths in care homes in England jump by 46% [19 Jan 2021]
- Schools might not all reopen at the same time across England, suggests Dr Jenny Harries [19 Jan 2021]
- Spelthorne commercial income allows council tax freeze [19 Jan 2021]
- Treasury minister warns against tax rises [19 Jan 2021]
- Brexit deal ‘could impact UK credit rating’ [19 Jan 2021]
- Councils told to visit every supermarket as Covid enforcement ramps up [19 Jan 2021]
- Casey accuses government of ‘systemic failure’ over no recourse to public funds [19 Jan 2021]
- Return of free school meals voucher scheme [19 Jan 2021]
- Babies’ needs overlooked in COVID response [19 Jan 2021]
- MPs call for Universal Credit cut to be scrapped - but majority of Tory MPs abstain [19 Jan 2021]
- One in four UK young people have felt 'unable to cope' in pandemic [19 Jan 2021]
- Covid jabs diverted to over-80s in vaccination blackspots [19 Jan 2021]
- Forget local government, the whole country needs a fair funding review [18 Jan 2021]
- COVID-19 living standards hit ‘ahead, rather than behind us’, think tank warns [18 Jan 2021]
- Former housing association chair named new MHCLG minister [18 Jan 2021]
- £120m care staff funding branded ‘gesture politics’ [18 Jan 2021]
- Call for inquiry into COVID’s 'devastating' impact on children [18 Jan 2021]
- £269m given to local authorities for social care [18 Jan 2021]
- Treasury in property tax rethink [18 Jan 2021]
- Councils raked in £7.3m from rubbish-tip 'tax' last year amid fly-tipping fears [18 Jan 2021]
- Fewer UK children 'school ready' after Covid nursery closures [18 Jan 2021]
- Call to prioritise minority ethnic groups for Covid vaccines [18 Jan 2021]
- As many as six in 10 care home residents in England still awaiting Covid jab [18 Jan 2021]
- London chief to leave after 17 years [18 Jan 2021]
- £120m care staff funding branded ‘gesture politics’ [18 Jan 2021]
- Jenrick accused of starting ‘culture war’ with new statues law [18 Jan 2021]
- Universal credit: Labour presses PM for action ahead of benefit vote [18 Jan 2021]
- Green belt at risk from ‘wrong ideas about cities’ [18 Jan 2021]
- Free fast broadband offered in UK to support home schooling [18 Jan 2021]
- 24-hour vaccination sites to be piloted in London before end of January [18 Jan 2021]
- Vaccination rollout begins for over-70s in England [18 Jan 2021]
- ‘Far too many turned away’: Domestic abuse victims left with nowhere to go as services struggle in pandemic [17 Jan 2021]
- Make May elections in England more Covid-safe, Labour urges [17 Jan 2021]
- School closures could wipe out a decade of progress for less privileged pupils [17 Jan 2021]
- Councils making the most cash from parking fines named [16 Jan 2021]
- Low-paid shun Covid tests because the cost of self-isolating is too high [16 Jan 2021]
- Councils losing tens of millions of pounds supporting businesses through pandemic [16 Jan 2021]
- All over 18s could have vaccine by 'end of June' [16 Jan 2021]
- Second Covid-19 lockdown hurts UK GDP [15 Jan 2021]
- TfN’s budget cuts to ‘threaten levelling-up’ [15 Jan 2021]
- Doctors told to throw away leftover Covid vaccines rather than giving second doses [15 Jan 2021]
- UK to face delay in delivery of Pfizer Covid vaccine [15 Jan 2021]
- UK shuts travel corridors and requires negative Covid tests to enter [15 Jan 2021]
- Public could force councils to sell off vacant land and buildings under proposed 'right to regenerate' law [15 Jan 2021]
- Marcus Rashford and top chefs demand free school meals review [15 Jan 2021]
- UK population 'in biggest fall since Second World War' [14 Jan 2021]
- Almost 200,000 patients now waiting at least a year for routine NHS operations [14 Jan 2021]
- Regulator refuses to approve mass daily Covid testing at English schools [14 Jan 2021]
- 'Shocking' care home Covid outbreaks at levels not seen since first peak [14 Jan 2021]
- Social care directors warn of 'exhausted' workforce [14 Jan 2021]
- High Street chemists start vaccinations in England [14 Jan 2021]
- 'High bar' for postponing local elections in England, MPs told [14 Jan 2021]
- The mental health effects of Covid will last for a decade [14 Jan 2021]
- NHS orders rapid acceleration of care home Covid vaccinations [13 Jan 2021]
- Covid hospital patients can be discharged to care homes without a test, say guidelines sent to providers [13 Jan 2021]
- Schools in England may not reopen after February half-term, Boris Johnson suggests [13 Jan 2021]
- Mental Health Act reforms aim to tackle high rate of black people sectioned [13 Jan 2021]
- Extra cash made available for self isolation support [13 Jan 2021]
- ‘Dismay’ over continuing lack of detail on UKSPF [13 Jan 2021]
- Council chiefs call for mental health services funding [13 Jan 2021]
- Council chiefs call for restoration of local welfare funding [13 Jan 2021]
- Enough children living in temporary housing to fill 450 primary schools [13 Jan 2021]
- Free school meals: Minister demands 'urgent improvement' [13 Jan 2021]
- Laptops for all pupils at only one in ten schools [13 Jan 2021]
- Retail giants clamp down in bid to halt coronavirus growth [13 Jan 2021]
- Hospital patients to be sent to hotels to free up beds for critical Covid-19 cases [13 Jan 2021]
- Tax reforms 'would raise more than wealth tax' [12 Jan 2021]
- Khan proposes 9.5% rise in GLA precept [12 Jan 2021]
- Coronavirus (COVID-19): emergency funding for local government in 2020 to 2021 and additional support in 2021 to 2022 [12 Jan 2021]
- Labour’s constitution review would put local government on firm footing [12 Jan 2021]
- LGA steps up lobbying over council tax and £2.3bn Covid funding gap [12 Jan 2021]
- Local authorities to roll out asymptomatic testing [12 Jan 2021]
- Care home bosses ‘jumping ahead of elderly’ for Covid vaccine [12 Jan 2021]
- Council disputes MP allegations on Covid-19 grants [11 Jan 2021]
- Starmer demands halt to ‘absurd’ council tax rises [11 Jan 2021]
- Fears over resource implications of rapid community testing scale up [11 Jan 2021]
- Councils should have key role in getting jabs to the vulnerable, says public health chief [11 Jan 2021]
- New exercise restrictions in England 'under active consideration' [11 Jan 2021]
- 2.6 million jabs given to 2.3 million people - but UK is warned vaccine 'not a free pass' to ignore rules [11 Jan 2021]
- Government accused of side-lining millions in sugar tax revenue pledged for children’s health projects [11 Jan 2021]
- Vaccinations begin at seven mass jab centres which have opened today [11 Jan 2021]
- Test and trace needs radical overhaul to prevent further Covid surges in England – experts [11 Jan 2021]
- Care homes at risk of being overwhelmed again as outbreaks triple [11 Jan 2021]
- Protect family incomes, Starmer urges ministers Published1 hour ago [11 Jan 2021]
- High turnout leaves schools struggling in lockdown [11 Jan 2021]
- More fines expected for lockdown breaches as home secretary warns of tighter enforcement [10 Jan 2021]
- Covid crisis will force councils to make ‘deep cuts’ to services to plug funding shortfall of up to £2.2bn [10 Jan 2021]
- Record number of small firms 'set to close' [10 Jan 2021]
- Cladding flat owners told not to talk to press [10 Jan 2021]
- High Court to hear four exit pay cap legal challenges [08 Jan 2021]
- Council defies government by closing nurseries [08 Jan 2021]
- Councils asked to 'redouble efforts' on rough sleeping [08 Jan 2021]
- Covid: arrivals to UK will need to show a negative test before entry [08 Jan 2021]
- Eviction ban extended days before it was due to end [08 Jan 2021]
- Closure of leisure centres to cost £7.25m in missed health savings [08 Jan 2021]
- Sadiq Khan proposes 9.5% council tax increase [08 Jan 2021]
- Spending watchdog highlights 'litany of failures' on superfast broadband [08 Jan 2021]
- Intervention threat over 'unwise' investments [07 Jan 2021]
- County may be forced to limit school places during lockdown [07 Jan 2021]
- People drank more alcohol, exercised less and ate less healthily during first lockdown [07 Jan 2021]
- Worcestershire Council aim to plug £26m gap [06 Jan 2021]
- English schools struggle with demand for key worker places [06 Jan 2021]
- The Brexit deal: financial implications for local government [06 Jan 2021]
- Council rejects social care precept rise [06 Jan 2021]
- OECD says public will not accept austerity post-Covid-19 [06 Jan 2021]
- Call for ‘urgent clarity’ on elections [06 Jan 2021]
- Councils grapple with multi-million pound budget deficits [06 Jan 2021]
- Thousands of children sent to unregulated care homes amid Covid [06 Jan 2021]
- Rishi Sunak’s business Covid support is a £4bn ‘sticking plaster’ [06 Jan 2021]
- Park services ‘need £500m funding boost’ [05 Jan 2021]
- Property searches face delays from underfunded councils [05 Jan 2021]
- Union calls for nurseries to be closed during lockdown [05 Jan 2021]
- No third section 114 for Croydon this year [05 Jan 2021]
- Covid has exacerbated inequalities [05 Jan 2021]
- Borrowing from PWLB jumps following rate cut [05 Jan 2021]
- Pupils without laptops can still go to school in England lockdown [05 Jan 2021]
- Prime Minister commits to uplift in public sector jobs [04 Jan 2021]
- Former CIPFA presidents receive New Year honours [04 Jan 2021]
- Major incidents over COVID declared [04 Jan 2021]
- Exit pay cap judicial review granted [04 Jan 2021]
- Council backs calls for new national lockdown [04 Jan 2021]
- Leader of England’s largest council calls for Government to “act now” [04 Jan 2021]
- High streets across England secure cash boost for regeneration [04 Jan 2021]
- Councils resist pressure to reopen schools [04 Jan 2021]
- New Year Honours awarded to local government workers [04 Jan 2021]
- 2020
-
- Whitehall urged to cut council workload as pressures hit crisis point [22 Dec 2020]
- Schools in England 'will have less than a third of Covid costs met by government' [22 Dec 2020]
- Almost 40,000 retailers in UK in financial straits before tougher Covid rules [22 Dec 2020]
- Offices share £481m rebate after interim business rates ruling [22 Dec 2020]
- More than half of local authorities expect childcare providers to close when coronavirus support ends [22 Dec 2020]
- 840,000 private tenants in England and Wales could be behind on rent [22 Dec 2020]
- Schools in England 'will have less than a third of Covid costs met by government' [22 Dec 2020]
- 1,500 lorries stuck in Kent as UK and France aim to restart freight [22 Dec 2020]
- England set for New Year lockdown as coronavirus variant spreads across UK [22 Dec 2020]
- Jenrick announces £310m to tackle homelessness [21 Dec 2020]
- Councils’ core funding per resident set to drop below 2015-16 levels [21 Dec 2020]
- Babies ‘largely invisible’ in pandemic response [21 Dec 2020]
- January school closures considered as fears grow over new Covid strain's spread among children [21 Dec 2020]
- Questions over settlement boost [21 Dec 2020]
- Tory MPs pressure government to overhaul ‘regressive’ council tax [18 Dec 2020]
- Teachers won't have to play role in coronavirus testing in schools, minister confirms [18 Dec 2020]
- Government reduces New Homes Bonus [17 Dec 2020]
- Families face council tax rise next year after local authorities given green light for hike [17 Dec 2020]
- Redmond proposal for oversight body rejected [17 Dec 2020]
- Sunak extends furlough and loans schemes to bolster economy [17 Dec 2020]
- Calls to break down weekly vaccine figures by local authority [17 Dec 2020]
- Kent reopens doors to UASC [17 Dec 2020]
- Testing rolled out to areas at ‘significant risk’ of moving into Tier 3 [17 Dec 2020]
- Interim exit cap guidance allows relaxation on ‘compassionate’ grounds [16 Dec 2020]
- DfE had ‘no idea’ of latest Covid surge in London schools clash [16 Dec 2020]
- Revisions to algorithm and housing funding to shift focus away from south east [16 Dec 2020]
- Government caught out ‘reshuffling old money into new pots’ [16 Dec 2020]
- For the first time in its history UNICEF will help feed children in the UK [16 Dec 2020]
- Less than half of UK population could be vaccinated in 2021, spending watchdog says [16 Dec 2020]
- London councils defy government and offer schools option to close amid spiralling cases [16 Dec 2020]
- Relaxation of UK Christmas rules 'unlikely to change' [16 Dec 2020]
- Tory shires escape housebuilding bonanza after new U-turn from Robert Jenrick [16 Dec 2020]
- The year Covid-19 shook local government finances [15 Dec 2020]
- Leeds withdraws capitalisation application [15 Dec 2020]
- Spelthorne commercial income set to rise despite Covid-19 [15 Dec 2020]
- Concerns as £100m fund for ailing leisure providers opens [15 Dec 2020]
- Leaders wrestle with ‘cowardly’ 5% council tax expectation [15 Dec 2020]
- Ministry to improve funding delivery [15 Dec 2020]
- PSAA to consider 'whopping' 120% audit fee hike [15 Dec 2020]
- Vaccinating entire UK population could take a year, scientists warn [15 Dec 2020]
- Hospitality worst-hit as unemployment rises again [15 Dec 2020]
- 'New variant' of coronavirus identified in UK, health secretary says [15 Dec 2020]
- Councils face extra data burden on commercial property [14 Dec 2020]
- Council finance officers nip £1.5m fraud in the bud [14 Dec 2020]
- London to move into tier 3 as infections rise [14 Dec 2020]
- Deaths of homeless hit new record in England and Wales [14 Dec 2020]
- Government starts legal proceedings against council over school closures [14 Dec 2020]
- Promise of UK care home visits is not being kept to, warns charity [12 Dec 2020]
- EU-UK trade deal still 'significant possibility' but 'won't come at any price', says Oliver Dowden [11 Dec 2020]
- Test And Trace Private Sector Call Handlers Worked Just 1% Of Their Paid Time [11 Dec 2020]
- Border improvements costs rise by £173m [10 Dec 2020]
- UK economic growth continues to slow [10 Dec 2020]
- Government to shake up taxes on sharing economy [10 Dec 2020]
- CIPFA proposes sector-wide audit report [10 Dec 2020]
- Pupils face mass testing as tier 3 Covid measures loom in London [10 Dec 2020]
- Number of children adopted from care in England drops for fifth year running [10 Dec 2020]
- Backlash over government's overhaul of English planning system [10 Dec 2020]
- Stagecoach shares rise despite 90% drop in profits [10 Dec 2020]
- Councils can’t afford to pay £500 self-isolation grant [10 Dec 2020]
- One in ten councillors sign letter calling for rethink of planning reforms [10 Dec 2020]
- Remote communities left isolated as councils cut support for buses and journeys fall by almost 100m in a decade [10 Dec 2020]
- England’s councils face austerity by stealth [09 Dec 2020]
- Nearly 2m children in UK went short of food in 2020, report suggests [09 Dec 2020]
- Leaked report warns of future section 114 notice [08 Dec 2020]
- Up to 5% of councils risk ‘financial failure’ under hard Brexit [08 Dec 2020]
- Regional recovery needs support to be tailored, says Lloyds [08 Dec 2020]
- First person receives Pfizer jab in UK [08 Dec 2020]
- Liverpool mayor arrested in bribery probe [07 Dec 2020]
- Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine could be airlifted to UK if Brexit trade talks collapse [07 Dec 2020]
- Care home vaccinations to start 'within two weeks' [05 Dec 2020]
- Library spending drops by £20m [04 Dec 2020]
- Pandemic complications hit audit performance [04 Dec 2020]
- Doubts over ‘botched’ population data used to justify housebuilding [04 Dec 2020]
- Rishi Sunak's cuts 'risk plunging more than 3 million into poverty' [04 Dec 2020]
- Care home staff front of line as vaccine shelved for hospital workers [04 Dec 2020]
- Scrap rapid Covid tests in England's care homes, experts urge [03 Dec 2020]
- UK aims to cut emissions by 68% by end of 2030 [03 Dec 2020]
- Children missing from care ‘abandoned’ to county lines drug gangs [03 Dec 2020]
- Extra measures 'to ensure fair exams next summer' [03 Dec 2020]
- Croydon issues second section 114 notice [02 Dec 2020]
- Government accused of 'jumping gun' on England care home visits [02 Dec 2020]
- Shoppers return to stores under England's new tier system [02 Dec 2020]
- 'Serious disruption' risk at Channel post-transition period [02 Dec 2020]
- UK food bank trust says half of users repaying universal credit debts [01 Dec 2020]
- Sheffield City Council warns care home providers not to use government's rapid tests over doubts about accuracy [01 Dec 2020]
- Mass Covid testing to be rolled out to local authorities in tier 3 [01 Dec 2020]
- MPs to vote on tougher tiers for England [01 Dec 2020]
- Vulnerable children in lockdown 'national concern' [01 Dec 2020]
- Welsh pubs and restaurants banned from selling alcohol and face 6pm curfew [30 Nov 2020]
- Generation of poorer children may never recover from ‘cruel blow’ of pandemic, warns children’s commissioner [30 Nov 2020]
- NHS Covid-19 app to gain self-isolation payments [30 Nov 2020]
- People who refuse to get vaccine could be denied entry to venues, minister suggests [30 Nov 2020]
- Army cannot be drafted in for Covid testing across country, warns General [30 Nov 2020]
- Public sector urged to be open about role in decision-making [28 Nov 2020]
- Families condemn ‘imprisonment’ of care home residents [28 Nov 2020]
- Vitamin D to be sent to three million clinically vulnerable people to help protect against Covid-19 [28 Nov 2020]
- Mass testing a 'distraction' from vaccine rollout - health leaders [28 Nov 2020]
- Boris Johnson says measures will bring clarity [28 Nov 2020]
- [OPINION] Boris Johnson's 'mutant' planning algorithm could scar England for ever [27 Nov 2020]
- Inspectors moving between Covid-hit England care homes without tests [27 Nov 2020]
- UK's R number falls to lowest level since August as daily infections decline [27 Nov 2020]
- Hospitals in England told to prepare for Covid vaccine rollout in 10 days' time [27 Nov 2020]
- NHS to pilot 'game-changing' blood test that could detect 50 types of cancer [27 Nov 2020]
- UK regulator to assess Oxford coronavirus vaccine in 'first step' towards roll-out [27 Nov 2020]
- We must value and fund social care as much as the NHS [27 Nov 2020]
- Don’t hug granny, Chris Whitty warns in plea for a cautious Christmas [27 Nov 2020]
- Small traders across the UK set to lose more than £1bn without Christmas markets [26 Nov 2020]
- Council tax could rise by up to 5% next April as ministers give green light for hikes [26 Nov 2020]
- Social care funding falls 'alarmingly short' - council directors [26 Nov 2020]
- Unpaid carers have saved the UK £135bn during the pandemic [26 Nov 2020]
- Greater spending power is far from what’s needed to restore budgets [25 Nov 2020]
- DPHs ‘kicked in teeth’ by Sunak’s funding freeze [25 Nov 2020]
- Reform of inflation measure will hit LGPS investment returns [25 Nov 2020]
- Sunak recycles money for green transport [25 Nov 2020]
- NHS receives £3bn funding boost [25 Nov 2020]
- £2.9bn 'restart programme to help unemployed' [25 Nov 2020]
- Infrastructure gets pride of place [25 Nov 2020]
- UKSPF to reach £1.5bn a year [25 Nov 2020]
- Chancellor warns of 'lasting' damage to UK economy [25 Nov 2020]
- Caution urged over household mixing [25 Nov 2020]
- Unemployed predicted to rise to 2.6 million [25 Nov 2020]
- County to upgrade chief officer role to deal with post-pandemic challenges [25 Nov 2020]
- DfE urged to announce plans for January student return amid Covid spike fears [25 Nov 2020]
- Chancellor promises 4.5% spending power increase [25 Nov 2020]
- Special educational needs support 'offered after exclusion' [24 Nov 2020]
- [OPINION] By freezing pay and benefits, Sunak will be levelling down, not up [24 Nov 2020]
- PM sets out 'tougher' post-lockdown tiers for England [23 Nov 2020]
- Brexit ‘could hurt fraud prevention’ [23 Nov 2020]
- Covid-19 schemes' fraud risk 'considerable’ [23 Nov 2020]
- Number of unemployed people in UK over 50 rises by third, figures suggest [23 Nov 2020]
- End in sight for contact isolation as repeat testing trial gets under way [23 Nov 2020]
- Education of poorest pupils in England and Wales 'suffers most during Covid isolation' [23 Nov 2020]
- Covid fears prompt 38% rise in parents home educating [23 Nov 2020]
- Oxford vaccine is up to 90% effective in preventing coronavirus, tests show [23 Nov 2020]
- Christmas get-together plan backed by UK nations [23 Nov 2020]
- Boris Johnson to unveil post-English lockdown plans [23 Nov 2020]
- Rishi Sunak says Spending Review will not spell austerity [23 Nov 2020]
- Rough sleepers could be forced to stay out in the cold to avoid Covid, councils warn [23 Nov 2020]
- Thousands could be sent to their deaths because of ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ orders imposed by care homes [22 Nov 2020]
- Rishi Sunak to promise £150m extra spending on homelessness [22 Nov 2020]
- Call to expand £500 grant for Covid self-isolators [22 Nov 2020]
- Strengthened tier system for England after lockdown [22 Nov 2020]
- Rishi Sunak signals tax rises in spring [22 Nov 2020]
- Rishi Sunak to reform anti-Northern spending bias [22 Nov 2020]
- We’ll have to cut vital services without £4bn help, say England’s councils [21 Nov 2020]
- Lockdown working, insists Matt Hancock as cases start to flatten [21 Nov 2020]
- Mass testing aims to cut quarantine for Covid contacts [21 Nov 2020]
- UK setting up vaccine centres ready for rollout [21 Nov 2020]
- Negative press forces council into borrowing strategy switch [20 Nov 2020]
- The opportunities provided by the comprehensive spending review [20 Nov 2020]
- Government borrowing record accompanied by huge interest fall [20 Nov 2020]
- Backlash over chancellor's 'cruel' expected public sector pay freeze [20 Nov 2020]
- House building plummets by a third with developers blaming local authority planning delays more than the pandemic [20 Nov 2020]
- Thurrock forced to rethink MRP plan [20 Nov 2020]
- Thurrock defends ‘potentially risky’ investment strategy [20 Nov 2020]
- Outcry over public sector pay freeze rumours [20 Nov 2020]
- Councils overwhelmed by asylum seekers as Home Office moves hundreds into hotels [20 Nov 2020]
- NHS prepares dozens of Covid mass vaccination centres around England [20 Nov 2020]
- Flu jab push as Covid vaccine roll-out planned [20 Nov 2020]
- Sunak mulls public sector pay freeze for millions [20 Nov 2020]
- Priti Patel 'broke ministerial code with her behaviour towards staff' according to leaked bullying investigation and will get a written warning [19 Nov 2020]
- Apprentice redundancy numbers rise [19 Nov 2020]
- Local authorities ‘braced for second wave of homelessness’ [19 Nov 2020]
- Quarter of UK home care operators face going bust [19 Nov 2020]
- NAO: 'Lack of transparency' over Covid-19 procurement [18 Nov 2020]
- UK care home bosses seek extra £500m for Christmas Covid measures [18 Nov 2020]
- Majority of UK teachers have worked in schools with homeless pupils, finds survey [18 Nov 2020]
- Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales rise 40% in a week [18 Nov 2020]
- England's 'inadequate' tier system 'did not contain the spread of coronavirus', say doctors [18 Nov 2020]
- Ban on new petrol and diesel cars in UK from 2030 under PM's green plan [18 Nov 2020]
- Post-Grenfell social housing reforms unveiled [17 Nov 2020]
- Scottish council creates energy joint venture [17 Nov 2020]
- Government set to provide social care reform update [17 Nov 2020]
- Sir Tony Redmond on local authority audit [17 Nov 2020]
- Councils risk killing off the high street after hiking parking charges to bring in extra cash [17 Nov 2020]
- UK orders five million doses of new Moderna jab by spring next year [17 Nov 2020]
- Bosses urge ministers to protect nursing centres against the crippling cost of legal claims... just like the NHS [17 Nov 2020]
- Social housing landlords in England face checks on tenants' satisfaction [17 Nov 2020]
- Business rate retention for freeport councils [16 Nov 2020]
- Large drop in council office need predicted [16 Nov 2020]
- LGA launches Croydon disciplinary probe [16 Nov 2020]
- Asylum seekers forced to travel miles to sign on with Home Office during lockdown [16 Nov 2020]
- Liverpool mass-testing finds 700 cases with no symptoms [16 Nov 2020]
- England tier system may need strengthening - government adviser [16 Nov 2020]
- Family of care home residents to get regular Covid tests to allow visits [14 Nov 2020]
- R number for UK has fallen to between 1 and 1.2 [14 Nov 2020]
- Children more likely to be infected in second wave [14 Nov 2020]
- Local government must be able to lead shoulder-to-shoulder with NHS on COVID-19 vaccination drive [14 Nov 2020]
- ‘Mood music’ signals bleak prospects for tax loss compensation [13 Nov 2020]
- Waiting list for council homes in England ‘will double to 2 million’ [13 Nov 2020]
- Do the right thing: How I issued a section 114 notice [13 Nov 2020]
- UK emission targets won't be reached by 2050, think tank says [13 Nov 2020]
- Older people more likely to break lockdown rules than young, ONS finds [13 Nov 2020]
- Scientists warn of Christmas Covid surge if tier system returns [13 Nov 2020]
- Governments urged to go beyond net zero climate targets [13 Nov 2020]
- Local councils advised to push ahead with traffic reduction schemes [13 Nov 2020]
- North West sees job ads surge while London lags [13 Nov 2020]
- Retail footfall lowest since the spring [13 Nov 2020]
- Learning disability death rates 'six times higher' [13 Nov 2020]
- Hundreds of thousands of 'invisible' children falling through gaps, warn peers [13 Nov 2020]
- UK prepared for wrong sort of pandemic, says former chief medical officer [12 Nov 2020]
- Majority of county councils to make cuts next year [12 Nov 2020]
- Government urged to consider capital gains tax rise [12 Nov 2020]
- UK GDP increases by record 15.5% [12 Nov 2020]
- Tory council leaders warn of severe cuts in England [12 Nov 2020]
- Croydon Council bans new spending under Section 114 notice [12 Nov 2020]
- Kickstart jobs scheme creates 19,000 work placements [12 Nov 2020]
- Council investment strategy ‘deeply concerns’ opposition leader [11 Nov 2020]
- York, Salford, Durham and Swale appoint to top job [11 Nov 2020]
- LGA to push for devo ‘baseline’ without need for reorganisation [11 Nov 2020]
- Towns fund selection process ‘risks civil service reputation’ [11 Nov 2020]
- NHS urged to harness local government partners in vaccine rollout [11 Nov 2020]
- Tories slammed for lack of progress on environment promises made nine years ago [11 Nov 2020]
- £3.6bn struggling English towns fund 'not impartial', say MPs [11 Nov 2020]
- Tory MPs form group to oppose future lockdowns [11 Nov 2020]
- UK unemployment rate continues to surge [11 Nov 2020]
- Government ponders simplified regional lockdown system [11 Nov 2020]
- Northern England 'worst hit' by pandemic [11 Nov 2020]
- Universities to oversee student exodus for Christmas [11 Nov 2020]
- Children in care 'failed' while some providers 'make millions' [11 Nov 2020]
- Sunak's cash pledge to head off revolt [10 Nov 2020]
- Government to launch ‘green bond’ [10 Nov 2020]
- PSAA proposes 25% increase in audit variation rates [10 Nov 2020]
- Mass testing for 67 local areas in England [10 Nov 2020]
- NHS told to prepare for Covid mass vaccinations from December 1 [10 Nov 2020]
- Adult day care centres denied access to ‘vital’ coronavirus testing [10 Nov 2020]
- UK set to cut Covid self-isolation to 10 days after Cummings and Whitty row [10 Nov 2020]
- NHS ready for Pfizer roll-out, says Matt Hancock [10 Nov 2020]
- Thousands of rapid COVID-19 tests to be sent to local authorities this week [10 Nov 2020]
- Lockdown children forget how to use knife and fork [10 Nov 2020]
- TfL set to remain dependent on government support [09 Nov 2020]
- Local authority capital receipts fall by 30% [09 Nov 2020]
- Boris Johnson has “lost interest” in devolution of power in England, says Lord Heseltine [09 Nov 2020]
- UK vaccines chief Kate Bingham expected to leave post at end of year [09 Nov 2020]
- Boris Johnson gives cautious welcome to COVID-19 vaccine news [09 Nov 2020]
- EU and UK negotiators resume trade talks in London [09 Nov 2020]
- Lack of ventilator supplies 'hit' disabled people [09 Nov 2020]
- UK's nuclear future to be decided at key meeting [09 Nov 2020]
- NSPCC warns of lockdown's toll on children's mental health [09 Nov 2020]
- Tens of thousands made homeless despite UK ban on evictions during pandemic [08 Nov 2020]
- Number of people seeking help for suicidal thoughts has tripled since lockdown [08 Nov 2020]
- Liverpool testing trial sites doubled after queues on first day [08 Nov 2020]
- Rashford ‘proud’ after Government U-turn on free school meals at Christmas [08 Nov 2020]
- Nursing shortage warning as winter looms [07 Nov 2020]
- Lockdown 'opportunity' to fix England's roads [07 Nov 2020]
- Care home residents face postcode lottery over face-to-face visits [07 Nov 2020]
- Test and trace needs radical reform in England, health experts say [07 Nov 2020]
- Record weekly Covid cases in England but new infections 'stabilise' [06 Nov 2020]
- Brexit and Covid-19 set to hit HMRC balance sheet [06 Nov 2020]
- Council to ‘fundamentally’ review services [06 Nov 2020]
- LGPS records negative cashflow position [06 Nov 2020]
- Councils urged to appoint 'Food Champion' [05 Nov 2020]
- Councils call for clear lockdown exit strategy [04 Nov 2020]
- Holyrood announces £15m for young people with mental health issues [03 Nov 2020]
- Jenrick confirms rapid review into Nottingham City Council [03 Nov 2020]
- Liverpool to pilot mass coronavirus testing [03 Nov 2020]
- Who can go back on to furlough? [03 Nov 2020]
- Homelessness charities call for second Everyone In scheme in England [02 Nov 2020]
- Poorest pupils can enrol for catch-up tuition [02 Nov 2020]
- Government urged to address Covid-19 backlogs [02 Nov 2020]
- English lockdown may last beyond 2 Dec, says Gove [02 Nov 2020]
- Keeping schools open could lead to longer lockdown, scientist warns [01 Nov 2020]
- Sadiq Khan warns Londoners council tax could have to rise as TfL secures £1.8bn bailout [01 Nov 2020]
- Growing numbers of 'newly hungry' forced to use UK food banks [01 Nov 2020]
- Covid job losses lead MPs to call for trials of universal basic income [31 Oct 2020]
- Fears Covid could scupper EU trade deal talks [31 Oct 2020]
- Calls to invest £240m in early years provision [30 Oct 2020]
- Frustrated public health directors slam NHS Test & Trace [30 Oct 2020]
- IMF urges government to keep up pandemic spending [30 Oct 2020]
- Council tax support bill to exceed funding [30 Oct 2020]
- One in six childcare providers in England may close by Christmas [30 Oct 2020]
- Most public sector audits by Grant Thornton fall below standard, watchdog finds [30 Oct 2020]
- Record demand for council tax support [30 Oct 2020]
- Surrey looks to future with £20m LED conversion [29 Oct 2020]
- Cities issue stark finance warning [29 Oct 2020]
- ONS finds 2m people still on furlough days before scheme ends [29 Oct 2020]
- Increase public spending to tackle Covid second wave, IMF tells UK [29 Oct 2020]
- Government won't cut 300,000 housing target - Robert Jenrick [29 Oct 2020]
- Contacts reached by NHS test and trace system stays stuck at record low [29 Oct 2020]
- West Yorkshire to go into tier 3 from Monday [29 Oct 2020]
- Spelthorne councillors seize greater investment oversight [29 Oct 2020]
- Business rate appeals average ‘1,000 per day’ [29 Oct 2020]
- Government to review Croydon governance [29 Oct 2020]
- Minister attempts to clear up exit cap confusion [29 Oct 2020]
- Planners will be able to build estates of 50 homes without setting aside any for affordable housing, charities warn [29 Oct 2020]
- 10% of England's population could be tested for Covid-19 every week [29 Oct 2020]
- Nearly 100,000 catching virus every day - study [29 Oct 2020]
- Rural homelessness doubles in past two years, campaigners warn [28 Oct 2020]
- Reorganisation hopes renewed for counties [28 Oct 2020]
- Scottish GDP drops by 19.4% in second quarter [28 Oct 2020]
- Nearly half of councils in Great Britain use algorithms to help make claims decisions [28 Oct 2020]
- Marcus Rashford school meals petition passes 1m signatures [28 Oct 2020]
- UK only buying enough vaccines to protect the most vulnerable [28 Oct 2020]
- Covid is blamed for 5.5% slump in bus passenger journeys to 4.07billion across England over 12 months, DfT data shows [28 Oct 2020]
- Spelthorne councillors seize greater investment oversight [28 Oct 2020]
- PM under pressure to toughen restrictions after highest death toll since May [28 Oct 2020]
- Rishi Sunak says government has 'provided resources' [28 Oct 2020]
- Post-furlough unemployment 'hits young and ethnic minorities' [28 Oct 2020]
- Rural homelessness in England rises by 115% in past two years [28 Oct 2020]
- toddlers from UK's poorest families 'hit hardest by lockdown' [27 Oct 2020]
- Treasury faces legal warning on exit payments [27 Oct 2020]
- Inquiry launched into local government finance [27 Oct 2020]
- Council seeks approval on £12.5m housing scheme [27 Oct 2020]
- Council apologises following ‘serious’ issues with its financial situation [27 Oct 2020]
- The plight of the bus network outside London [27 Oct 2020]
- £63m hardship fund was not meant to pay for free school meals [27 Oct 2020]
- Unions pile on pressure over exit pay cap [27 Oct 2020]
- Seven areas across England set to receive nearly £180m investment [27 Oct 2020]
- High court condemns lack of provisions in UK for suicidal teenager [27 Oct 2020]
- Clean air could have saved 6,000 lives from Covid, experts claim [27 Oct 2020]
- Covid has thrived on racial discrimination, says Baroness Doreen Lawrence [27 Oct 2020]
- Northern Tory MPs demand 'roadmap out of lockdown' in letter to Boris Johnson [27 Oct 2020]
- Council accused of ‘corporate blindness' [26 Oct 2020]
- Councils urged to appoint chief foresight officers [26 Oct 2020]
- New guidance to prevent care leavers becoming homeless [26 Oct 2020]
- Councils forced to ‘prop up’ bus operators during pandemic [26 Oct 2020]
- 14-day quarantine for Covid contacts could be reduced [26 Oct 2020]
- Nottingham and surrounding areas to move into Tier 3 this week - council bosses [26 Oct 2020]
- Boris Johnson says councils can use money from fund which has already run out [26 Oct 2020]
- What Covid-19 means for the future of local government [26 Oct 2020]
- ‘If we don’t do something we’ll be blighted for years’ – one borough’s recovery plans [26 Oct 2020]
- Nothing left of £63m for free school meals [26 Oct 2020]
- Auditors issue public interest report over Croydon’s financial failures [26 Oct 2020]
- Only six in ten pupils are getting full education despite schools reopening, report finds [26 Oct 2020]
- 'Generation Covid' hit hard by the pandemic, research reveals [26 Oct 2020]
- NHS denies elderly people were refused care during early Covid [26 Oct 2020]
- UK records 19,790 more COVID-19 cases and 151 further deaths [26 Oct 2020]
- More cash for poorest as PM seeks end to school meals row [26 Oct 2020]
- Rishi Sunak’s new youth job scheme attacked as ‘sticking plaster’ that will fail to prevent mass unemployment [25 Oct 2020]
- Senior Conservative MP and Johnson ally calls for Dido Harding to be axed from Test and Trace role [25 Oct 2020]
- Cost of facemasks to rise as Treasury scraps VAT exemption on PPE [23 Oct 2020]
- Councils gain COVID enforcement powers [23 Oct 2020]
- Covid-19 schemes' fraud ‘risk considerable’ [23 Oct 2020]
- Brexit ‘could hurt fraud prevention’ [23 Oct 2020]
- Returns show £900m drop in council reserves last year [23 Oct 2020]
- New government Covid scheme to pay up to half of wages [23 Oct 2020]
- England and Wales begin tougher rules for millions [23 Oct 2020]
- People told to self-isolate stopped from claiming £500 grant by flaw in contact tracing app [23 Oct 2020]
- Furlough fraudsters 'may have stolen more than £3bn' [23 Oct 2020]
- Pandemic caused ‘incredible damage’ to social care [22 Oct 2020]
- Councils to receive £100m leisure centre fund [22 Oct 2020]
- One in six children aged 5-16 in England 'likely to have a mental disorder' [22 Oct 2020]
- Streamline local government under plans to save £30bn a year, think tank argues [21 Oct 2020]
- Spending Review to conclude late November [21 Oct 2020]
- London the worst city in Europe for health costs from air pollution [21 Oct 2020]
- Sadiq Khan condemns 'draconian' conditions of TfL rescue [21 Oct 2020]
- Hancock defends 'fair' tier 3 offer for Greater Manchester [21 Oct 2020]
- Investment needed in data analysis skills, conference hears [20 Oct 2020]
- Councils scoop £50m after VAT ruling [20 Oct 2020]
- UK borrowing jumps in September as Covid support continues [20 Oct 2020]
- Pupils sent home in half of England's secondary schools [20 Oct 2020]
- Carers 'on the brink' as they fear further Covid-19 restrictions during winter [20 Oct 2020]
- Failure to act on Covid 'circuit breaker' will cost billions – Labour [20 Oct 2020]
- UK posts highest daily COVID deaths since June and more than 21,000 new cases [20 Oct 2020]
- Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson at odds over spending after Covid hits public finances [20 Oct 2020]
- Household recycling 'soared' during pandemic [19 Oct 2020]
- Hull and East Riding set out on path to form mayoral combined authority [19 Oct 2020]
- Counties warn of test and trace ‘missed opportunity’ [19 Oct 2020]
- NHS urged not to waste Covid-19 investment [19 Oct 2020]
- Johnson’s no-deal Brexit claim is a "delusion", says Hammond [19 Oct 2020]
- Whiteman slams Plymouth's interest rate swap move [19 Oct 2020]
- Traffic jams caused by badly designed cycle lanes put funding at risk [19 Oct 2020]
- Fines for not isolating may stop people getting tested [19 Oct 2020]
- Teachers search for lost children of Covid [18 Oct 2020]
- Police granted access to details of people told to self-isolate by Test and Trace [18 Oct 2020]
- UK credit rating downgraded [18 Oct 2020]
- UK facing 'tough' Christmas, Sage scientist warns [18 Oct 2020]
- Labour backs Marcus Rashford campaign [17 Oct 2020]
- Coronavirus emergency has exposed huge gap between Westminster and local government before tier three fight [17 Oct 2020]
- Higher ethnic death risk 'not linked to health' [17 Oct 2020]
- Without a ‘generous’ settlement the risk of section 114s looms large [16 Oct 2020]
- Boris Johnson tells UK: prepare for a no-deal Brexit [16 Oct 2020]
- Lancashire Councils respond to Tier 3 restrictions [16 Oct 2020]
- SAGE expert says two-week lockdowns at breaks could disrupt coronavirus spread before vaccine is developed [16 Oct 2020]
- Plastic to be saved from landfill by revolutionary recycling plants [16 Oct 2020]
- England's 'fragile' care sector needs immediate reform, says regulator [16 Oct 2020]
- Marcus Rashford vows to keep up free meals fight after No 10 refusal [15 Oct 2020]
- Care home chain denies it will let staff work in multiple homes after furious families leaked letter hinting group would defy government rules [15 Oct 2020]
- Five-person team gets £25k a day to work on Test and Trace system [15 Oct 2020]
- London, Essex, York and other areas moving to Tier 2 [15 Oct 2020]
- Scottish Government allocates £52.6m for bus services [15 Oct 2020]
- Welsh care IT system ‘late and over budget’ [15 Oct 2020]
- City region launches £10m emergency Covid-19 fund [15 Oct 2020]
- Manchester funding gap for 2021-22 could hit £135m [14 Oct 2020]
- OECD says UK structural deficit ‘likely’ [14 Oct 2020]
- Two-week circuit breaker 'may halve deaths', report says [14 Oct 2020]
- New Covid lockdown would inflict terrible harm [14 Oct 2020]
- Child poverty increases in England across the north and Midlands [14 Oct 2020]
- Pressure grows on PM for half-term lockdown [14 Oct 2020]
- Councils must abandon narrow-mindedness over who can adopt children [14 Oct 2020]
- 'Gold' summit to discuss raising alert level for Greater Manchester and Lancashire [14 Oct 2020]
- What has gone wrong with England's Covid test-and-trace system? [13 Oct 2020]
- IMF warns of long road to recovery [13 Oct 2020]
- Care homes in England to name relatives as key workers to allow visits [13 Oct 2020]
- Welsh auditor issues Covid-19 fraud warning [13 Oct 2020]
- Tax rises needed to prevent ‘spiralling debt’ [13 Oct 2020]
- IFS urges delay to cuts and tax rises [13 Oct 2020]
- Jenrick open to reorg election delay requests as he advocates unitary alternatives [13 Oct 2020]
- Tax rises of more than £40bn a year 'all but inevitable' [13 Oct 2020]
- Police in parts of Britain are 80 times more likely to hand out coronavirus penalties than others [13 Oct 2020]
- Lockdown rules in high-risk areas may need to 'go even further', minister warns [13 Oct 2020]
- Regional leaders criticise 'disappointing' Tier 2 restrictions [13 Oct 2020]
- Sage scientists called for short lockdown weeks ago [13 Oct 2020]
- BoE writes to banks over negative rates readiness [12 Oct 2020]
- Dorset Council braces for £43m overspend [12 Oct 2020]
- Fears for Northants ‘managerial vacuum’ as officers seek early exit [12 Oct 2020]
- AA highlights local road spend disparity [12 Oct 2020]
- Tier-three Liverpool City Region to receive £8 per head funding [12 Oct 2020]
- MP refuses to resign after travelling hundreds of miles with coronavirus [12 Oct 2020]
- Ministers to have veto on statue removals [12 Oct 2020]
- Surge in number of UK children applying for free school meals [12 Oct 2020]
- Shoppers aid growth but slowdown ahead, says report [12 Oct 2020]
- Dire outlook as experts predict 1.5million people are set to lose their jobs before the end of the year [12 Oct 2020]
- New local lockdown restrictions in England to be unveiled [12 Oct 2020]
- Councils could spend £1.7bn over budget by March as costs rise [11 Oct 2020]
- Mayors set to be given more test and trace powers [11 Oct 2020]
- How council cuts to public conveniences is keeping thousands of Britons stuck at home out of fear of being caught short [10 Oct 2020]
- Doctors call for mandatory masks in offices and outdoors in new wish list [10 Oct 2020]
- Jenrick invites three counties to submit reorganisation proposals [09 Oct 2020]
- UK GDP growth slows in August [09 Oct 2020]
- Ratings agency issues warning over potential sector downgrade [09 Oct 2020]
- Council denies investment strategy is unlawful [09 Oct 2020]
- Aspects of welfare system ‘ripe for reform’ [09 Oct 2020]
- New spending package allows council receipts to meet cost pressures. [08 Oct 2020]
- Full lockdown 'left country more vulnerable to another wave' of COVID-19, study suggests [08 Oct 2020]
- New restrictions for parts of England likely next week [08 Oct 2020]
- Plymouth agrees interest rates swap [07 Oct 2020]
- UK youth unemployment 'set to triple to 80s levels' [07 Oct 2020]
- Minister moves to head off political rows [07 Oct 2020]
- Frustration grows over testing access [07 Oct 2020]
- Current and former Tory party chairs blamed for devolution turmoil [07 Oct 2020]
- Government 'likely' to miss full fibre broadband 2025 target [07 Oct 2020]
- Councils warning on plan to relax developer rules [07 Oct 2020]
- Top scientists call for herd immunity approach - as government's 'soft touch' criticised [07 Oct 2020]
- Boris Johnson hints at new 'magic of averages' social care system [06 Oct 2020]
- Renting 'torture' as charity calls social housing provision 'woefully inadequate' [06 Oct 2020]
- Commons rebellions expected at votes on curfew and rule of six [06 Oct 2020]
- Nearly 500,000 redundancies planned since crisis began [06 Oct 2020]
- NHS staff struggle with burnout as they warn hospital bosses about looming second wave [06 Oct 2020]
- Almost 8,000 missed COVID-19 cases still haven't had their contacts traced [06 Oct 2020]
- Welsh quarantine considered for UK coronavirus hotspots [05 Oct 2020]
- Lords defy government over refugee children's right to family reunion [05 Oct 2020]
- Tory MP accuses Housing Secretary of `shocking betrayal´ over cladding crisis [05 Oct 2020]
- Boris Johnson to unveil plan to power all UK homes with wind by 2030 [05 Oct 2020]
- Boris Johnson to unveil plan to power all UK homes with wind by 2030 [05 Oct 2020]
- New money for councils to help survivors [05 Oct 2020]
- Less than half of the UK population could get vaccinated [05 Oct 2020]
- Government launches £238m scheme for jobseekers [05 Oct 2020]
- Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier England Covid plan [05 Oct 2020]
- Care homes policies violated human rights, says Amnesty [04 Oct 2020]
- ‘Exhausted’ teachers warn they have no additional funding to handle Covid-19 [04 Oct 2020]
- 'Winter of discontent' faces North, warns Andy Burnham [04 Oct 2020]
- Things 'bumpy to Christmas and beyond' - PM [04 Oct 2020]
- Jenrick predicts November spending review date as ‘challenging period’ looms [02 Oct 2020]
- Local contact tracing roll out gathers pace despite lack of funding [02 Oct 2020]
- Legalise e-scooters in UK as alternative to short car trips, MPs say [02 Oct 2020]
- Confusion as exit cap voted through [01 Oct 2020]
- Restrictions for England to be standardised into three tiers [01 Oct 2020]
- Middlesbrough business mixing ban 'unacceptable' [01 Oct 2020]
- Six areas added to England's COVID-19 watchlist [01 Oct 2020]
- [Opinion] The government needs to invest £100bn in social infrastructure [01 Oct 2020]
- North East devo deal back on the table [01 Oct 2020]
- Call for more enforcement powers as Leese claims Covid restrictions ‘don’t work’ [01 Oct 2020]
- Housebuilding in Cotswolds and Cumbria will soar under reforms [01 Oct 2020]
- Fly-tipping 'became more acceptable in lockdown', MP says [01 Oct 2020]
- Comprehensive Spending Review 'should outline £10bn funding' for local authorities [01 Oct 2020]
- Coronavirus: Restrictions for England to be standardised into three tiers [01 Oct 2020]
- Up to 10 million Brits could need mental health support after the pandemic ends, charity says [01 Oct 2020]
- More than a third of UK employers planning to make staff redundant [01 Oct 2020]
- Growth in cases may be slowing in England [01 Oct 2020]
- Extra £10bn needed to plug funding gap, say councils [01 Oct 2020]
- Rise in pupils in England being home-schooled due to Covid fears, says Ofsted chief [30 Sep 2020]
- Covid-hit Merseyside economy 'may collapse without funding' [30 Sep 2020]
- Care home coronavirus outbreaks cast doubt on official PHE data [30 Sep 2020]
- Report calls for universal care service to transform UK economy [30 Sep 2020]
- Stockpile will see us through winter, says PPE tsar [29 Sep 2020]
- Testing in care homes getting 'worse not better' as delays leave elderly at risk [29 Sep 2020]
- The business rates backlash [opinion] [29 Sep 2020]
- Government urged to increase children's services funding [29 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Biggest ever rise in new cases recorded in the UK as deaths jump [29 Sep 2020]
- Children 'must be the priority' in Covid-19 planning [29 Sep 2020]
- Under-25s ‘give up dream job hope’ in pandemic [29 Sep 2020]
- Public spending rise could last longer [29 Sep 2020]
- Five new COVID-19 laws and fines that government slipped out [29 Sep 2020]
- Additional financial statement could lead to extra costs [28 Sep 2020]
- Fund civic museums to help reawaken English city centres, bosses urge [28 Sep 2020]
- Covid second wave hits recovery in UK high streets, data suggests [28 Sep 2020]
- Scepticism mounts over devo white paper as ministers’ focus turns elsewhere [28 Sep 2020]
- CCN chair accuses districts of ‘self-preservation’ in leaked letter to PM [28 Sep 2020]
- County lines raids: 1,000 arrests and £1.2m drugs seized [25 Sep 2020]
- UK transport boss urges ministers to get people back on trains and buses [25 Sep 2020]
- Only one in five with symptoms self-isolates [25 Sep 2020]
- Sunak set to unveil emergency jobs scheme [24 Sep 2020]
- Male domestic abuse victims 'sleeping in cars and tents' [24 Sep 2020]
- Flu jabs limited due to high demand [24 Sep 2020]
- Hundreds of homeless lives saved due to lockdown measures, study suggests [24 Sep 2020]
- England and Wales get smartphone contact tracing for over-16s [24 Sep 2020]
- Sunak to announce new job protection plans [23 Sep 2020]
- Autumn Budget to be scrapped this year [23 Sep 2020]
- County ‘not financially viable’ without significant extra funding [23 Sep 2020]
- Ministry charts new course of bespoke support for hard hit councils [23 Sep 2020]
- New oversight body 'dead in the water' without legislation [23 Sep 2020]
- Ex Conservative local government minister attacks centre on COVID policy [23 Sep 2020]
- Spending Review will 'fail to offer long-term view' for sector [23 Sep 2020]
- County unitaries join growing network [23 Sep 2020]
- School bus drivers fearful of coronavirus infection risk [22 Sep 2020]
- Experts warn of winter deaths in thousands and curbs for months [22 Sep 2020]
- Pubs and restaurants in England to have 10pm closing times [22 Sep 2020]
- Covid-19 pressures prompt £8bn drop in HMRC tax collection [21 Sep 2020]
- School funding ‘unfair to poor white pupils’ [21 Sep 2020]
- UK cases hit four-month high for second day in a row [19 Sep 2020]
- Boris Johnson considering national restrictions on social lives to curb infections [18 Sep 2020]
- Bank of England to ‘explore’ negative interest rates [18 Sep 2020]
- Up to 30% of residents issued Court Summons over unpaid Council tax [18 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Tighter rules for care homes over winter second spike fears [18 Sep 2020]
- Schools in poorer areas lack catch-up cash [18 Sep 2020]
- Sadiq Khan: London mayor calls for business rates holiday extension over fears of tens of thousands of job losses [18 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Tighter national rules considered for England by government [18 Sep 2020]
- Councils report £8m of Covid-19 grant fraud [17 Sep 2020]
- Local authority calls on care home providers to accept COVID-positive hospital patients [17 Sep 2020]
- Social care winter plan must address care home resident isolation - charities [17 Sep 2020]
- Exclusive: Hospitals told to clear beds for coronavirus spike in two weeks [17 Sep 2020]
- Croydon to seek govt support as it battles to balance budget [17 Sep 2020]
- Fears devo white paper will be watered down and further delayed [17 Sep 2020]
- ADPH hits out at ‘moonshot’ ambitions while local resources fall ‘woefully short’ [17 Sep 2020]
- Councils will receive £91.5m to house vulnerable people [17 Sep 2020]
- Local government staff face ‘deep pension cuts’ if exit pay proposals are implemented [17 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Care homes to get more than half a billion in extra funding to tackle COVID-19 during winter [17 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Restrictions expected in north-east England [17 Sep 2020]
- Extending furlough could pay for itself [17 Sep 2020]
- Redmond review branded ‘a*** covering’ for finance directors [16 Sep 2020]
- It’s the ultimate cliché – another delay to social care reform [16 Sep 2020]
- Council confirms £60m loan for airport [16 Sep 2020]
- Up to 25,000 teachers in England self-isolating due to Covid fears [16 Sep 2020]
- Some care home staff in England not using PPE, find health inspectors [16 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Marshals 'unlikely' in England, councils say [16 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: PM blames 'colossal spike' in demand for test problems [16 Sep 2020]
- Grenfell-style cladding: MPs tell government ‘fix this now’ [16 Sep 2020]
- Eat Out to Help Out drives UK inflation to five-year low [16 Sep 2020]
- School figures show 88% of pupils were back for start of term [15 Sep 2020]
- Government urged to extend eviction ban to avoid ‘cliff-edge’ for renters [15 Sep 2020]
- Covid marshals unlikely to be coming to a street near you: Councils refuse to adopt scheme without funding, analysis reveals [15 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Testing problems to be solved in weeks, says Hancock [15 Sep 2020]
- Labour councillors press Boris Johnson to extend coronavirus furlough scheme [15 Sep 2020]
- Young people hit as unemployment rate rises [15 Sep 2020]
- Government urged to ‘adopt own state aid system’ [15 Sep 2020]
- Peterborough seeks financial rescue package [15 Sep 2020]
- Ban on evictions of commercial property tenants set to be extended [15 Sep 2020]
- Unison: Care workers who made £4 an hour awarded in £100,000 court case [15 Sep 2020]
- Care home bosses claim government is failing on coronavirus tests [15 Sep 2020]
- People in England's 10 worst-hit Covid-19 hotspots unable to get tests [15 Sep 2020]
- English addiction services on brink as number of higher-risk drinkers doubles [15 Sep 2020]
- Local authority peer borrowing continues to rise as rates drop [14 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: 'Rule of six' comes into effect [14 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: 86% of doctors in England expect second wave within six months [14 Sep 2020]
- At least a dozen schools have sent home hundreds of pupils in the last week after just one pupil tested positive for Covid [13 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Concerns over increase in COVID-19 cases in care homes [13 Sep 2020]
- Government to prioritise care home testing in coronavirus risk areas [13 Sep 2020]
- Nationwide curfew 'obvious next step if new coronavirus restrictions fail' [13 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus: Another 3,497 cases confirmed in the UK over 24 hours [13 Sep 2020]
- Leaked figures reveal scale of coronavirus test shortage [13 Sep 2020]
- Millions at greatest risk from coronavirus may be told to stay at home again [12 Sep 2020]
- Social care collapse warning as Cavendish review nears completion [11 Sep 2020]
- Catherine Staite: There has never been a worse time for reorganisation [11 Sep 2020]
- Cornwall, Devon and Dorset could get combined authority with extra powers under ‘regional partnership’ plan [11 Sep 2020]
- The road to madness: How eco-obsessed councils - under cover of Covid - have spent millions of YOUR money to shut roads across Britain [11 Sep 2020]
- Imposing tax increases too early could ‘stifle economy recovery’ [11 Sep 2020]
- UK GDP climbs by 6.6% in July [11 Sep 2020]
- Sunak gives himself option of postponing autumn Budget [11 Sep 2020]
- Furlough 'must be extended' to avoid mass unemployment, say MPs [11 Sep 2020]
- Councils warned of commercial property ‘disaster’ [11 Sep 2020]
- Thousands of people helped during pandemic but problem remains [11 Sep 2020]
- No funding for PM’s Covid marshals [10 Sep 2020]
- WHO: Local Restrictions should be Decided Locally [10 Sep 2020]
- Reprieve for renters facing eviction in England and Wales [10 Sep 2020]
- Councils say they have no idea how they can pay for Boris Johnson's "Covid Marshals" [10 Sep 2020]
- No rise in workers in UK city centres despite back-to-office plea [10 Sep 2020]
- police get tough with coronavirus rulebreakers [10 Sep 2020]
- District councils must not be swallowed by faceless monoliths [opinion] [10 Sep 2020]
- Sector responds to Redmond Review [09 Sep 2020]
- Government must ban councils placing vulnerable under-18s in unregulated homes [09 Sep 2020]
- local authorities in England demand more control [09 Sep 2020]
- Devo minister Simon Clarke quits [08 Sep 2020]
- 300,000 redundancies planned in June and July [08 Sep 2020]
- GPs recorded three times more suspected cases of COVID-19 than official figures [08 Sep 2020]
- UK chief negotiator calls for 'realism' from EU [08 Sep 2020]
- £11.5bn to help first-time buyers ‘will push out people who rent’ [08 Sep 2020]
- City appoints interim chief [07 Sep 2020]
- Thousands of EU-born 'heroes' could be deported without government action, MPs warn [06 Sep 2020]
- Urgent action needed to open up care homes for visits, ministers told [06 Sep 2020]
- 60% of population living with air pollution above legal limits [06 Sep 2020]
- Council-owned energy company to close [06 Sep 2020]
- Care-home plague of loneliness is breaching loved ones’ human rights [06 Sep 2020]
- Let councils get back to the business of building schools [06 Sep 2020]
- Boris Johnson's new homes scheme 'will harm Tory pledge to level up UK' [06 Sep 2020]
- Civil servants 'must get back to offices quickly' [05 Sep 2020]
- London could avoid parts of planning law [05 Sep 2020]
- Covid-19 ‘could be endemic in deprived parts of England’ [05 Sep 2020]
- Coronavirus tests run out in north-east England as cases surge [04 Sep 2020]
- More than 400 care home residents were dying a day at peak of pandemic, data shows [04 Sep 2020]
- 'Significant gaps' in UK's border plans [04 Sep 2020]
- Pupils with special needs 'forgotten' as English schools reopen [04 Sep 2020]
- Vulnerable children 'at risk' as councils cut services in Covid crisis [04 Sep 2020]
- PWLB borrowing dropped in August [03 Sep 2020]
- Councils welcome decision not to ease restrictions in Trafford and Bolton [03 Sep 2020]
- Burnham and Leese question new role for MPs in agreeing Covid restrictions [03 Sep 2020]
- Charity seeks judicial review on care home visit guidance [03 Sep 2020]
- Covid grants boost local authority balances [02 Sep 2020]
- Cabinet minister calls for tax cuts [02 Sep 2020]
- Health leaders warn Boris Johnson over axing of Public Health England [02 Sep 2020]
- Government urged not to merge English district councils [02 Sep 2020]
- Government late to involve councils in coronavirus testing, report finds [01 Sep 2020]
- The feel good factor [01 Sep 2020]
- Police put on a 'show of strength' against Extinction Rebellion as fortnight of disruption begins [01 Sep 2020]
- Met pauses recruitment after hitting target of 1,300 extra officers [01 Sep 2020]
- Struggling schools must find cash for £216million bill to keep our kids safe [01 Sep 2020]
- Gap between rich and poor pupils in England 'grows by 46% in a year' [01 Sep 2020]
- GB carbon emissions from electricity hit record low in lockdown – report [31 Aug 2020]
- Court ruling sets ‘major precedent’ for rights of foster care workers [31 Aug 2020]
- Recycling rates lower in England's poorest areas [31 Aug 2020]
- Homelessness among prison leavers ‘will rise as Covid support ends’ [30 Aug 2020]
- Robert Jenrick backs housing algorithm as Tory MPs fear threat to suburbs [30 Aug 2020]
- Matt Hancock warns of extensive lockdowns [29 Aug 2020]
- £500billion cost of ghost town Britain: Staggering hit to economy in next four years if workers stay away from office, study finds [29 Aug 2020]
- Single unitary authorities could save up to £3bn over five years [28 Aug 2020]
- Test and trace success rate at record low after mystery glitch [27 Aug 2020]
- LGPS funds to be given ability to review contribution rates [27 Aug 2020]
- Payment for people on low incomes who must self-isolate [27 Aug 2020]
- Tory critics force ministers to review planning formula [27 Aug 2020]
- Officials and ministers urged to trust local experts to tackle Covid-19 outbreaks [27 Aug 2020]
- Warnings of 'ghost towns' if staff do not return to the office [26 Aug 2020]
- Scrap fines for school non-attendance in England, say psychiatrists [26 Aug 2020]
- Ditch truancy fines, say doctors [26 Aug 2020]
- Primary pupils' learning gap widens for first time since 2007 [26 Aug 2020]
- English city mayors say Covid rules keeping homeless off streets must be extended [26 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus: Birmingham council to get power to shut businesses [25 Aug 2020]
- Housebuilding algorithm unfair to towns and cities, Boris Johnson told [25 Aug 2020]
- Heads want to know if masks allowed in school [25 Aug 2020]
- Local government pay deal agreed [24 Aug 2020]
- Bailiffs return but are told not to shout [24 Aug 2020]
- Councils scrapping use of algorithms in benefit and welfare decisions [24 Aug 2020]
- Schools in England will have to provide remote learning if closed again [24 Aug 2020]
- Care homes ‘ordered not to resuscitate’ as coronavirus pandemic took hold [24 Aug 2020]
- Boris Johnson says it is ‘vitally important’ to get children back to school [24 Aug 2020]
- London councils take funds from developers to pay for planning guidelines [23 Aug 2020]
- We will see 'real problems' with COVID-19 this winter, chief medical officer says [23 Aug 2020]
- Schools let down by lack of 'plan B', says union [23 Aug 2020]
- Almost half of all mets consider hiring freeze this year [21 Aug 2020]
- Wakefield’s chief asks for early retirement ‘with heavy heart’ [21 Aug 2020]
- Row erupts over county’s plans for Greater Essex combined authority [21 Aug 2020]
- Extension on eviction ban to be announced today, LBC understands [21 Aug 2020]
- UK government debt hits £2tn for first time [20 Aug 2020]
- Homeless children hit 14-year high as 130,000 stuck in B&Bs and temporary shelter [20 Aug 2020]
- Casey leaves rough sleeping advisory role [19 Aug 2020]
- Northumberland council faces '£5.5m claim' over virus-halted work [19 Aug 2020]
- BTEC results delayed over 'unfairness' concerns less than 24 hours before grades due out [19 Aug 2020]
- English councils face £2bn black hole from coroanvrius [19 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus: UK to ramp up coronavirus monitoring programme [19 Aug 2020]
- Council tax changes are ‘needed now’ as payment debts reach £3.6billion [19 Aug 2020]
- IFS warns of financial pressure on councils as a result of Covid crisis [19 Aug 2020]
- IFS warns of financial pressure on councils as a result of Covid crisis [19 Aug 2020]
- UK inflation rises to 1% in July as lockdown eases [19 Aug 2020]
- Councils advised to avoid term ‘lockdown’ [18 Aug 2020]
- GMB votes to accept 2.75% pay offer [18 Aug 2020]
- Heated row between district and county leaders casts doubt on devo work [18 Aug 2020]
- Child migrants to be sent away from Kent as council reaches capacity [18 Aug 2020]
- Labour calls for evictions ban to be extended [18 Aug 2020]
- Link between polluted air and COVID-19 deaths revealed [18 Aug 2020]
- Home Office uses 4,000 hotel rooms to cope with migrants [18 Aug 2020]
- Thousands of migrants denied help in the pandemic [18 Aug 2020]
- Calls to extend free school meals to children from migrant families [17 Aug 2020]
- Kent unable to take in more unaccompanied child refugees, council says [17 Aug 2020]
- Dido Harding to run agency replacing Public Health England [17 Aug 2020]
- Recycling rage sparks a 40% rise in attacks on bin workers [17 Aug 2020]
- Unite members reject 'insulting' council pay offer [17 Aug 2020]
- Lockdown ‘will mean fewer healthy years for many’ [17 Aug 2020]
- UK's £37bn July house-buying boom sees busiest month of sales in a decade [17 Aug 2020]
- MPs warn of 'wave of homelessness' when eviction ban ends [17 Aug 2020]
- Boris Johnson accused of ‘cynical broken promise’ as some foreign NHS and care staff still pay surcharge [16 Aug 2020]
- Ministers have just seven days to prevent a ‘wave of evictions’, MPs and charities warn [16 Aug 2020]
- Theatres, casinos and bowling alleys reopen as more beauty treatments resume [15 Aug 2020]
- Firms 'fall through cracks' of Covid support scheme [15 Aug 2020]
- Birmingham 'can't drop guard' as infections double [15 Aug 2020]
- NHS chiefs’ plea: we need more cash for ‘winter risk’ [15 Aug 2020]
- Hancock axes ‘failing’ Public Health England [15 Aug 2020]
- Migrant children face hunger over free school meal restrictions [14 Aug 2020]
- COVID-19 test reveals 6% of population infected by mid-July [13 Aug 2020]
- Ombudsman criticises council for lack of transport for SEN pupils [13 Aug 2020]
- Plans to end homelessness will ‘fail’ without funding [13 Aug 2020]
- Unauthorised camping and littering in Britain's beauty spots increase as holidaymakers seek 'staycations' [13 Aug 2020]
- UK firms face up to threat of domestic abuse as more staff work from home [13 Aug 2020]
- Almost a third of buildings with Grenfell-style cladding yet to undergo removal work [13 Aug 2020]
- Children made up just 1% of COVID-19 cases in England in first peak - study [13 Aug 2020]
- Majority of office-based staff ‘will still be working from home at Christmas’ [12 Aug 2020]
- England's contact-tracing app gets green light for trial [12 Aug 2020]
- Undercover team finds pubs and bars ignoring COVID-19 guidance in area where cases are rising [12 Aug 2020]
- UK officially in recession for first time in 11 years [12 Aug 2020]
- Research reveals which cities hit hardest by unemployment levels [11 Aug 2020]
- 6,000 contact tracers will be cut in England in the next two weeks [11 Aug 2020]
- Government reaffirms support for LEPs [10 Aug 2020]
- Council test and trace teams to be rolled out [10 Aug 2020]
- People with learning disabilities left stuck in lockdown because of cuts to social care [10 Aug 2020]
- Eat out to help out: More than 10.5m meals claimed in first week [10 Aug 2020]
- Boroughs warn lost income scheme will only cover half of impact [10 Aug 2020]
- Income guarantee scheme details awaited [10 Aug 2020]
- Government extends emergency bus and tram funding [10 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus: Little evidence of Covid transmission in schools, says Williamson [10 Aug 2020]
- One in three UK firms 'expect to make redundancies' [10 Aug 2020]
- UK enters recession [09 Aug 2020]
- Where to now? End of eviction ban leaves tenants fearing for future [09 Aug 2020]
- Social care at breaking point in England after 'lost decade' – report [09 Aug 2020]
- Union plans for schools to teach pupils on 'week on-week off' basis [09 Aug 2020]
- At least 151 migrants land on Kent beaches [08 Aug 2020]
- Over half of workforce in county areas 'at risk' due to pandemic [08 Aug 2020]
- Multi-million-pound funding package for school transport [08 Aug 2020]
- Councils ask for coronavirus licensing powers [07 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus: Millions for small business 'sitting in council accounts' [07 Aug 2020]
- ‘Disastrous’ planning reforms slammed for ignoring build out issues [07 Aug 2020]
- Cornwall first to pass on COVID-19 funding to local councils [07 Aug 2020]
- School funding plan 'benefits wealthier pupils most' [07 Aug 2020]
- Air pollution warning as road traffic rises above pre-lockdown levels [07 Aug 2020]
- Help people self-isolate with jury-style payments, say mayors [07 Aug 2020]
- Boris Johnson defends 'long overdue' planning overhaul in England [06 Aug 2020]
- Race to the bottom: reform to planning system in England could be catastrophic [06 Aug 2020]
- Planning laws sped up and red tape cut in 'once in a generation' shake-up [06 Aug 2020]
- Bank of England: Downturn less severe than feared [06 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus: Second COVID-19 wave twice as big as the first without effective test, trace, isolating strategy, says new modelling study [05 Aug 2020]
- Jenny Coles: Children’s services need funding ahead of autumn wave of referrals [05 Aug 2020]
- Fast-tracked funding to improve school buildings [05 Aug 2020]
- One in eight childcare workers in England earn less than £5 an hour [05 Aug 2020]
- Redundancy advice calls triple as furlough scheme winds down [05 Aug 2020]
- Call to scrap two-tier local government system in rural areas [04 Aug 2020]
- Winners of £900m for shovel ready schemes are announced [04 Aug 2020]
- ‘Repetitive’ local gov tendering is undermining NHS covid response [04 Aug 2020]
- Former SpAd predicts between five and eight new devo deals [04 Aug 2020]
- Schools 'must come before pubs and restaurants in future' [04 Aug 2020]
- English councils with highest Covid rates launch own test-and-trace systems [04 Aug 2020]
- Rishi Sunak could hike business rates for 'most valuable properties' [04 Aug 2020]
- Ministers: Don't rely on more funding [04 Aug 2020]
- County leaders in call for metro mayor powers [04 Aug 2020]
- The case for more unitaries operating at the county level [04 Aug 2020]
- Jenrick to lobby Treasury ‘very strongly’ over council funding [04 Aug 2020]
- Over half of workforce in county areas 'at risk' due to pandemic [04 Aug 2020]
- Winners of £900m for shovel ready schemes are announced [04 Aug 2020]
- Call to scrap two-tier local government system in rural areas [04 Aug 2020]
- Testing and tracing 'key to schools returning', scientists say [04 Aug 2020]
- Cities face blockades to contain a second wave of coronavirus [04 Aug 2020]
- English pubs likely to be spared new Covid-19 restrictions, No 10 says [03 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus: track and trace fails in 50% of ‘easiest’ cases [03 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus: Greater Manchester to 'maximise resources' as it tries to 'reverse the spike' in infections [03 Aug 2020]
- Local businesses face missing out on £1bn coronavirus help as money not given quick enough [03 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus scheme offering UK diners 50% off begins [03 Aug 2020]
- Greater Manchester to 'maximise resources' as it tries to 'reverse the spike' in infections [03 Aug 2020]
- Coronavirus 90-minute tests to be provided in care homes and hospitals [03 Aug 2020]
- Government says schools are safe and children will be back in September [02 Aug 2020]
- Local businesses face missing out on £1bn coronavirus help as money not given quick enough [01 Aug 2020]
- Hancock champions role of ‘place’ in health services [31 Jul 2020]
- Universal credit 'harms the most vulnerable', says major report amid surge in claims [31 Jul 2020]
- Fears for children as coronavirus disrupts vaccination programmes [31 Jul 2020]
- Care home visits 'delayed' over lack of testing [31 Jul 2020]
- 'Chancellor must protect' jobs of those shielding [31 Jul 2020]
- Councils set up their own track and trace systems [31 Jul 2020]
- Health Secretary defends late-night surprise announcement that stops 4.5m people from meeting indoors just hours before start of Muslim celebrations [31 Jul 2020]
- Government announces £20m in new grants for small businesses [30 Jul 2020]
- Government in attempted grants cash grab [30 Jul 2020]
- LEP Network comes out fighting ahead of White Paper [30 Jul 2020]
- Kirklees agrees £4m leisure services bail-out [30 Jul 2020]
- UK sees highest daily total of COVID-19 cases for more than a month [30 Jul 2020]
- Government announces £20m in new grants for small businesses [30 Jul 2020]
- UK government to expand Covid-19 rescue loan scheme [30 Jul 2020]
- 'Second wave starting to roll across Europe' as isolation period set to be extended [30 Jul 2020]
- Leisure centre jobs at risk as Somerset sites remain closed [30 Jul 2020]
- Private sector ‘in position’ to shoulder tax rises [29 Jul 2020]
- Treasury outlines ‘data-driven’ spending review [29 Jul 2020]
- Plan to hand social care to NHS is for ‘wrong reasons’ [29 Jul 2020]
- Government handling of social care during pandemic attacked [29 Jul 2020]
- MPs call for adult social care to have an equivalent to NHS chief executive [29 Jul 2020]
- Thousands of UK public sector jobs to be created in recruitment drive [29 Jul 2020]
- Sandwell Council sets up own contact tracing system amid anger with government's version [29 Jul 2020]
- Tourist hotspots hit hardest in UK by Covid-19 unemployment [29 Jul 2020]
- Huge growth in free school meals urged to tackle food poverty crisis [29 Jul 2020]
- Stretched LRFs in cash plea [28 Jul 2020]
- People over 40 face higher taxes to fund their care when they’re older [27 Jul 2020]
- Residents to get new decision-making powers in England cycling 'revolution' [27 Jul 2020]
- NHS could take over social care, swelling budget to £150bn [27 Jul 2020]
- England's social care plans 'need timetable and be a radical rethink' [27 Jul 2020]
- UK campaigners call for action to tackle surge in Covid-19 fly-tipping [26 Jul 2020]
- Home Office breaking law by leaving destitute asylum seekers homeless [24 Jul 2020]
- New face covering rules come into force in England [24 Jul 2020]
- UK set to bring in strict new junk food rules including pre-9pm ad ban [23 Jul 2020]
- Child protection referrals could soar by 250% with lockdown easing, social workers warn [23 Jul 2020]
- Coronavirus: Government borrowing and UK's national debt explode due to lockdown [23 Jul 2020]
- Jenrick considers covering business rate and council tax losses [22 Jul 2020]
- UK high streets could be turned into housing, says thinktank [22 Jul 2020]
- Rishi Sunak warns of 'tough choices' ahead as he launches spending review [21 Jul 2020]
- Chancellor launches Comprehensive Spending Review [21 Jul 2020]
- Ministers lavished millions on towns in marginal Tory seats before polls [21 Jul 2020]
- Above-inflation pay rise for almost 900,000 public sector workers [21 Jul 2020]
- Landlords tell ministers: let’s go halves on rent bills [20 Jul 2020]
- Districts unite against county proposal for 1.2m ‘mega unitary’ [20 Jul 2020]
- Grenfell firm took some of cladding savings for itself, inquiry told [20 Jul 2020]
- Women seeking asylum left 'without basic support' during UK lockdown [20 Jul 2020]
- Oxford vaccine triggers immune response [20 Jul 2020]
- Government's catch-up fund for English school pupils comes under fire [20 Jul 2020]
- Justin Griggs: Give parish councils support they need to help build back stronger [20 Jul 2020]
- Changing Places toilets to be installed in every new public building [20 Jul 2020]
- Leisure centres under threat, warn councils [20 Jul 2020]
- Boris Johnson to unveil pupil funding plan during school visit [20 Jul 2020]
- Patients to be prescribed exercise and nature walks [20 Jul 2020]
- UK to appoint chief inspector of buildings to address safety fears [19 Jul 2020]
- Prime Minister gives local authorities more powers for local lockdowns [17 Jul 2020]
- More than 4,000 hospital patients discharged into care homes without test [17 Jul 2020]
- Ministers urged to overhaul early years services in England [17 Jul 2020]
- £3bn for NHS to prepare for possible second wave [17 Jul 2020]
- £62m for local councils to discharge people with learning disabilities or autism [16 Jul 2020]
- Distribution of £500m Covid funding announced [16 Jul 2020]
- Thousands of drivers suffer pothole breakdowns despite low traffic during lockdown [16 Jul 2020]
- Boris Johnson promises independent inquiry into coronavirus response [16 Jul 2020]
- York and districts speak out against North Yorks reorganisation [15 Jul 2020]
- A million smokers quit during pandemic [15 Jul 2020]
- Waste collections ‘return to normal’ [15 Jul 2020]
- Andrea Leadsom to review disadvantaged children's health [15 Jul 2020]
- Workers won't be ordered to wear face masks in offices, says Matt Hancock [15 Jul 2020]
- UK energy efficiency push offers just a third of the investment needed, says report [15 Jul 2020]
- UK government planning new green investment bank [15 Jul 2020]
- Tory peer calls for immediate £8bn care funding boost [14 Jul 2020]
- Care costs in England should be capped, says social care adviser [14 Jul 2020]
- England's free school meals scheme to close for new claims over summer [14 Jul 2020]
- Flood strategy 'at odds with Boris Johnson push for mass housing' [14 Jul 2020]
- 'No DSS' letting bans 'ruled unlawful' by court [14 Jul 2020]
- Ten million Britons unable to attend funerals in lockdown [14 Jul 2020]
- Care workers do not qualify for health visa in new post-Brexit immigration plans [14 Jul 2020]
- Town centres across England may never recover from Covid-19 crisis, Labour warns [14 Jul 2020]
- Bailiff fears as councils chase unpaid tax debts [14 Jul 2020]
- Face masks and coverings to be compulsory in England's shops [14 Jul 2020]
- Face masks and coverings to be compulsory in England's shops [14 Jul 2020]
- millions living longer but in far poorer health [14 Jul 2020]
- Calls to devolve £5.2bn flood defences funding [13 Jul 2020]
- District council gets green light to build first zero carbon affordable homes [13 Jul 2020]
- Councils issue warning over £730m of unspent EU funding [13 Jul 2020]
- Treasury borrowing clampdown ‘should not have been necessary’ [13 Jul 2020]
- English councils poised to make cuts amid loss of commercial income [13 Jul 2020]
- Priti Patel to set out post-Brexit immigration details [13 Jul 2020]
- Cross-party group of MPs to lead first UK coronavirus inquiry [12 Jul 2020]
- Council to bring housing management back in-house [10 Jul 2020]
- Third of social workers looking to quit profession, survey reveals [10 Jul 2020]
- Jobs and services at risk as Luton prepares for emergency budget vote [10 Jul 2020]
- Surrey leader ‘seeks country’s biggest unitary’ [10 Jul 2020]
- Cost of rolling out universal credit rises by £1.4bn, say auditors [10 Jul 2020]
- Junk food deals will be banned in Boris Johnson’s assault on obesity [10 Jul 2020]
- Care homes opening for family visits ‘very soon’ [10 Jul 2020]
- Labour urges Rishi Sunak to cancel 'secret £1bn giveaway' for landlords and second home owners [10 Jul 2020]
- Too many youngsters are going to university, Education Secretary says as he rips up 50 per cent target [09 Jul 2020]
- Dementia patients 'deteriorating' without family visits [09 Jul 2020]
- Cost of funerals continues to rise even as services limited [09 Jul 2020]
- Leicester lockdown: No plans for extra Covid cash, minister says [09 Jul 2020]
- 'Flawed' test denies EU migrants universal credit, thinktank warns [09 Jul 2020]
- Care homes face staffing 'black hole' with new immigration bill [09 Jul 2020]
- Leicester mayor accuses Matt Hancock of not sharing Covid-19 data [08 Jul 2020]
- Chancellor unveils his three-part plan for jobs [08 Jul 2020]
- Coronavirus: Rishi Sunak to unveil 'kickstart jobs scheme' for young people [08 Jul 2020]
- Thousands of council jobs at risk due to funding shortfall, union warns [07 Jul 2020]
- Care chiefs reject Boris' COVID claims [07 Jul 2020]
- Forty charities unite in call for new law to end 'patchy' homeless help [07 Jul 2020]
- Boris Johnson criticised over 'cowardly' care home comments [07 Jul 2020]
- Vouchers of up to £5,000 for home insulation [07 Jul 2020]
- England's vulnerable teenagers at risk of 'falling off the radar' [07 Jul 2020]
- Ed Davey calls for £45bn funding for councils to fuel green economic recovery [06 Jul 2020]
- Think tank calls for sweeping reforms to local taxes [06 Jul 2020]
- Another 27,000 excess deaths 'likely' if government continues on this path, warns top scientist [06 Jul 2020]
- Sunak to give firms £1,000 cash bonus to hire trainees [06 Jul 2020]
- Arts venues welcome £1.57bn government support [06 Jul 2020]
- If lockdown can go local, the plan for recovery should do the same [06 Jul 2020]
- Social care reform needed within a year - NHS England boss [05 Jul 2020]
- Sunak considers £500 vouchers for all UK adults to spend in Covid-hit firms [05 Jul 2020]
- Local officials kept in the dark by Whitehall on Covid-19 testing data [05 Jul 2020]
- Teachers should be vigilant for signs of abuse when schools reopen, NSPCC says [04 Jul 2020]
- English countryside 'at risk from Boris Johnson’s planning revolution' [04 Jul 2020]
- Councils will be forced to make cuts or face bankruptcy amid £6bn funding crisis [04 Jul 2020]
- New five-step plan for local lockdowns as Leicester rules come into force [04 Jul 2020]
- Covid-19 exposes stark generational housing divide, UK report says [03 Jul 2020]
- Almost 30,000 'excess' care homes deaths [03 Jul 2020]
- England lockdown easing 'biggest step yet', says PM [03 Jul 2020]
- LGA says ‘more is desperately needed’ despite funding package [03 Jul 2020]
- LGC survey: Third of senior officers expect to issue s114 [03 Jul 2020]
- Clarke indicates flexibility on unitary size in drive to make state ‘match fit’ [03 Jul 2020]
- Ministers to tone down warnings over use of trains and buses in boost for public transport [03 Jul 2020]
- Labour call for free flu vaccines for over-50s this winter to prevent 'perfect storm' [03 Jul 2020]
- Care home staff and residents to get regular COVID-19 tests from next week [03 Jul 2020]
- Emergency active travel fund: final and indicative allocations [02 Jul 2020]
- Jenrick pledges to lobby Treasury if more council funding needed this year [02 Jul 2020]
- School safety plans will keep groups apart [02 Jul 2020]
- Downing Street blames councils for failure to receive key outbreak information [02 Jul 2020]
- Councils warn of £10billion cash black hole as Robert Jenrick pumps an extra £500million into struggling English local authorities [02 Jul 2020]
- Fears grow for UK high street as more than 6,000 retail jobs cut in a day [02 Jul 2020]
- Year groups kept isolated in back-to-school plan [02 Jul 2020]
- Faulty masks sent to care homes and GPs recalled [01 Jul 2020]
- Ministers reject £6,000 scrappage scheme for toxic vehicles [01 Jul 2020]
- UK libraries are set to reopen – but not as we know them [01 Jul 2020]
- Rent arrears could see homelessness treble this year, campaigners warn [01 Jul 2020]
- CIPFA mulls legal action against council [01 Jul 2020]
- ‘We’re making a noise because this is money we’ve spent in good faith’ [01 Jul 2020]
- Councils miss outbreak plan deadline amid uncertainty over lockdown powers [01 Jul 2020]
- COVID funding gap hits £7.4bn, LGA estimates [01 Jul 2020]
- MHCLG rejects statutory duties review [01 Jul 2020]
- Jenrick expected to announce plans to ease finance woes [01 Jul 2020]
- English councils breaking law in 'secretly' relocating homeless people [01 Jul 2020]
- Struggling councils face £10bn black hole, Keir Starmer warns [01 Jul 2020]
- Coronavirus slump could delay building of 300,000 homes [30 Jun 2020]
- Boris Johnson pledges 'new deal' to build post-virus [30 Jun 2020]
- Leicester lockdown tightened as cases rise [30 Jun 2020]
- Clarke: Devo white paper will bring ‘more mayors and more unitaries’ [29 Jun 2020]
- County set to approve £102m waste contract [29 Jun 2020]
- Council may have to issue s114, warns CIPFA [29 Jun 2020]
- Sheffield devo deal set to be passed by Parliament [29 Jun 2020]
- Playground guidance branded ‘bonkers’ as minsters urge reopening of tips and toilets [29 Jun 2020]
- Jenrick ‘comprehensive plan’ likely this week as June returns show costs rising [29 Jun 2020]
- Cash strapped county unitary names new chief [29 Jun 2020]
- Back-to-school safety plans for autumn leaked [29 Jun 2020]
- South Yorkshire devolution deal set for approval [29 Jun 2020]
- UK needs 'biggest-ever peacetime job creation plan' to stop mass unemployment [29 Jun 2020]
- Thousands may have died in care homes after families were ‘blocked from discharging them’ [29 Jun 2020]
- PM promising £1bn to rebuild crumbling schools [29 Jun 2020]
- Local health officials say they have been left in the dark on spread of coronavirus [28 Jun 2020]
- Citizens advice warn of council tax “D-Day”: Bailiffs to chase debts again under new rules [26 Jun 2020]
- Trafford Centre owner Intu falls into administration [26 Jun 2020]
- Government ‘abandons plans to give Robert Jenrick more power over planning decisions’ [26 Jun 2020]
- 'Unacceptable' drop in care at Kettering home with 12 Covid-19 deaths [26 Jun 2020]
- Hand health powers to elected mayors, says report [25 Jun 2020]
- Fresh reorganisation offensive leaves districts quaking [25 Jun 2020]
- Diana Melville: How to improve councillors’ financial scrutiny [25 Jun 2020]
- Planning and licensing changes to pave the way for alfresco summer [25 Jun 2020]
- Local councils face a Covid-19 cash crisis [25 Jun 2020]
- Anglesey coronavirus cases: How a ‘local lockdown’ would actually work in the UK after spike at 2 Sisters meat factory [25 Jun 2020]
- Over £46m paid to survivors of abuse at Lambeth children's homes [25 Jun 2020]
- Quarter of nurseries fear closure due to coronavirus [25 Jun 2020]
- Government to tear up red tape to allow more outdoor drinking and dining [25 Jun 2020]
- ‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to speed up climate action with green recovery [25 Jun 2020]
- ‘A sticking plaster’: Fears government plans to rehouse rough sleepers will force thousands back on to streets due to their immigration status [25 Jun 2020]
- Liverpool says £467m will help prevent 'profound crisis' in post-Covid recovery [25 Jun 2020]
- UK councils fear bankruptcy amid Covid-19 costs [25 Jun 2020]
- Government allocates an additional £105m for rough-sleeping [24 Jun 2020]
- Gyms and swimming pools ‘could reopen in July’ [24 Jun 2020]
- Health leaders say UK must start preparing for second Covid-19 wave [24 Jun 2020]
- 1.1m pupils have returned to school [24 Jun 2020]
- Apprenticeships 'are not delivering social mobility' [24 Jun 2020]
- Government announces more money to keep rough sleepers off streets [23 Jun 2020]
- Whitehall not sharing Covid-19 data on local outbreaks, say councils [23 Jun 2020]
- Eight out of 10 English councils at risk of bankruptcy, says study [23 Jun 2020]
- Surge during pandemic of children needing foster care as more families reach ‘crisis point’ [23 Jun 2020]
- UK public 'supports green recovery from coronavirus crisis' [23 Jun 2020]
- Ministerial role needed to fix unequal education system, say MPs [23 Jun 2020]
- GCSEs and A-levels likely to be later next summer [22 Jun 2020]
- Boris Johnson drops plans to suspend Sunday trading laws after objections from own MPs and Labour [22 Jun 2020]
- PM to announce on Tuesday if pubs can reopen [22 Jun 2020]
- Call to build 100,000 homes a year for frontline ‘heroes’ [22 Jun 2020]
- Cash-strapped councils in poorer areas will be hit hardest by coronavirus, study warns [22 Jun 2020]
- Rishi Sunak plans emergency cut in VAT to rescue ailing economy [21 Jun 2020]
- 'One metre plus', the new rule that will reopen UK [20 Jun 2020]
- UK debt now larger than size of whole economy [19 Jun 2020]
- 4.5m people in UK forced to become unpaid carers [19 Jun 2020]
- Up to half of rough sleepers in hotels may not have access to support when they leave, charities warn [19 Jun 2020]
- £350m tutoring scheme aiming to help pupils worst hit by school closures pleases some and concerns others [19 Jun 2020]
- Council celebrates ‘landmark’ ruling that will save museums thousands [18 Jun 2020]
- Social care is running out of cash, experts warn [18 Jun 2020]
- Bank of England unleashes another £100 billion to boost economy amid signs of ‘less severe’ hit [18 Jun 2020]
- Home and school-based learning must be ‘poverty-proofed’, says charity [18 Jun 2020]
- Covid-19 effect on Scottish economy revealed [18 Jun 2020]
- Luton Council warns of ‘severe cuts’ to frontline services [18 Jun 2020]
- Government to fund private tutors for English schools [18 Jun 2020]
- Get all children back to school, doctors tell Boris Johnson [18 Jun 2020]
- Care providers 'will go to the wall' without more funding [18 Jun 2020]
- Homeless people moved out of hotels prompting fears hundreds will be forced to return to streets [18 Jun 2020]
- Leeds City Council warns of cuts and job losses [17 Jun 2020]
- Budget setting could result in ‘large scale reduction’ in services [17 Jun 2020]
- Coronavirus leaves £500m black hole in London's finances [17 Jun 2020]
- England's councils 'face large-scale' cuts to services [17 Jun 2020]
- Toilet fears hamper high street return for some [17 Jun 2020]
- 'Invisible' unpaid carers going hungry in lockdown [17 Jun 2020]
- Job cuts warning as 600,000 roles go in lockdown [17 Jun 2020]
- Younger children ‘struggle with behaviour and focus in lockdown’ [17 Jun 2020]
- New trials planned for cash-stricken communities [17 Jun 2020]
- UK inflation rate falls to fresh four-year low [17 Jun 2020]
- Council planning powers under threat [16 Jun 2020]
- Council chiefs call for action to resolve £6bn Covid-19 crisis [16 Jun 2020]
- Free internet to help poorer pupils study online [16 Jun 2020]
- Four in 10 pupils have had little contact with teachers during lockdown [15 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] '3.5 million jobs at risk' if two-metre rule isn't eased, PM warned [15 Jun 2020]
- Councils warn they have no legal powers to enforce ‘local lockdowns’ [15 Jun 2020]
- IFS exposes impact of COVID-19 on different areas [15 Jun 2020]
- Give 1m UK children reliable broadband or risk harming their education, MPs say [15 Jun 2020]
- Business rates grant money could be clawed back, says IFS [14 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] jobless total to hit 4.5m as firms wield axe [14 Jun 2020]
- Wardens hired to police crowds as high streets in England reopen [14 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Oversupply of kits to care homes raises concern over Covid-19 test figures [14 Jun 2020]
- Coronavirus R number may have risen above 1 in parts of England, govt says [13 Jun 2020]
- Prime minister is risking basic right to an education, says children’s tsar [13 Jun 2020]
- Traffic levels 'now double the lockdown low' [12 Jun 2020]
- Unite to ballot members over ‘insulting’ council pay offer [12 Jun 2020]
- Scientists say coronavirus 2m rule can be relaxed [12 Jun 2020]
- ‘Simmering community tensions’ spark Covid cohesion concerns [12 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Poorest areas of England and Wales hit hardest by Covid-19 – ONS [12 Jun 2020]
- Older carers ‘forgotten’ by care system says charity [12 Jun 2020]
- Test and trace funding allocated to councils [12 Jun 2020]
- UK economy shrinks record 20.4% in April due to lockdown [12 Jun 2020]
- Care homes were ‘afterthought’ with devastating coronavirus consequences [11 Jun 2020]
- Children face a 'whole series of harms' because their lives were put on hold by school closures designed to protect the middle-aged and elderly from the coronavirus, SAGE paediatrician warns [11 Jun 2020]
- More than a third of employees furloughed in some UK towns [11 Jun 2020]
- Robert Jenrick urged to release documents in planning row [11 Jun 2020]
- Covid-19 crisis means England's local authorities could go bust, warn mayors [11 Jun 2020]
- Low-carbon and renewable economy could create 700,000 jobs by 2030, report says [11 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK economy could be among worst hit of leading nations, says OECD [10 Jun 2020]
- Council tax warning: Town Halls debt-collecting bailiffs must be banned, Sunak urged [10 Jun 2020]
- Councils using data analytics to identify vulnerable people [10 Jun 2020]
- Closure of public toilets causing anxiety, distress and frustration across UK [10 Jun 2020]
- District to hold emergency budget today to stave off section 114 [10 Jun 2020]
- Social distancing ‘could push leisure providers into bankruptcy’ [10 Jun 2020]
- Wiltshire warns of s114 amid £50m shortfall [10 Jun 2020]
- Councils given extra time to update electoral rolls [10 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Plans shelved for primary pupils to be back in school before summer as figures reveal half have reopened [10 Jun 2020]
- Dozens more statues could be removed due to slavery links as councils promise reviews following protests [10 Jun 2020]
- Rip up planning red tape to spur house building, says Robert Jenrick [10 Jun 2020]
- New powers to crack down on cycle lane misuse by motorists [10 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Local lockdowns will require local furlough schemes, say mayors [09 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] How are England's coastal resorts faring? [09 Jun 2020]
- £3m fund for urgent work to historic sites to help support recovery [09 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] New coronavirus task force to protect care homes [09 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Cash boost for debt advice as '£6bn tsunami' hits households [09 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Plan dropped for all primary pupils back in school [09 Jun 2020]
- Minister slammed for expecting rough sleepers to ‘return to friends and family’ [08 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Millions have become carers due to coronavirus crisis, new research finds [08 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK daily deaths drop to pre-lockdown level [08 Jun 2020]
- Council planning powers under threat [08 Jun 2020]
- MPs call for clarity on proposed Shared Prosperity Fund [08 Jun 2020]
- Clash over call to scrap requirement for annual balanced budgets [08 Jun 2020]
- Mayors press for local furlough powers [08 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] PM may bring forward plans to reopen pubs and restaurants [08 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] New UK travel quarantine rules a stunt, says Ryanair boss [08 Jun 2020]
- Boris Johnson considers giving drivers up to £6,000 in diesel and petrol car scrappage scheme [07 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] plans to open shops all day on Sundays [06 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home residents face steep hike in fees [06 Jun 2020]
- Councils must challenge Government fearlessly for pandemic cash [05 Jun 2020]
- Lockdown legacy: debt and public finances [05 Jun 2020]
- Hughes gets key OBR role [05 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Calls for post-Covid-19 homeless plan [05 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Ban on landlords evicting renters extended [05 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care homes face £6.6bn bill to fight Covid-19 [05 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Court action threatened over school meal vouchers [05 Jun 2020]
- Unlock our lavatories, councils told [05 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Widen rules on where face coverings must be used, say UK doctors [05 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Thousands of homeless people face being evicted as lockdown is loosened [04 Jun 2020]
- Brexit delay ‘would hit Scottish GDP’ [04 Jun 2020]
- Council stops 300 fraudulent single-person discount claims in one year [04 Jun 2020]
- Gypsies and Travellers in England left without water during lockdown [04 Jun 2020]
- Apprenticeship promised for every young person [04 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Govt facing legal action unless it admits to acting 'unlawfully' over care homes [04 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Thousands of homeless 'back on streets by July' [04 Jun 2020]
- Disruption to schools could continue to November, MPs told [03 Jun 2020]
- Fears that nurseries could be forced to close permanently due to effect of pandemic [03 Jun 2020]
- Public sector deposit fund reaches £1bn [03 Jun 2020]
- Tony Travers: Covid is delivering John McDonnell’s hoped-for economy [03 Jun 2020]
- Record numbers used UK food banks in first month of lockdown [03 Jun 2020]
- Decade of progress in tackling pupil disadvantage 'wiped out' [03 Jun 2020]
- Brits willing to pay an extra penny on income tax to fix social care crisis [03 Jun 2020]
- District warns of s114 within two months [02 Jun 2020]
- Wage boards advocated for care workers [02 Jun 2020]
- Somerset CC returns to unitary proposals [02 Jun 2020]
- Deadly risk to social care staff revealed [02 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Coronavirus: No figures yet but Matt Hancock claims test and trace system has been 'successful' [01 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Packed beaches see government urged to ban people travelling more than five miles [01 Jun 2020]
- Top business leaders call on Boris Johnson to set out green recovery plan [01 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Far too soon to ease lockdown in north-east England, leaders warn [01 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus]: 'Highly variable' attendance at schools - as UK warned 'disease is not done yet' [01 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Loved ones reunite and children begin return to school - despite warnings over lockdown easing [01 Jun 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Blueprint to save the High Street [31 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Emergency coronavirus budget to save 2 million jobs [31 May 2020]
- Welsh government urges lifting of borrowing limit [29 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils could need additional £6bn to balance Covid-19 spend [29 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government extends self-employed scheme [29 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Bosses will have to pay fifth of furlough staff wages [29 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government rejected radical lockdown of England's care homes [28 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Lockdown easing to allow groups of six to meet [28 May 2020]
- Liverpool warns of funding ‘blackhole’ [28 May 2020]
- Committee calls again for social care reform [28 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Shop-bought kits taken off shelves for being unreliable [28 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK's most vulnerable people at risk of losing 60% of their income [28 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Test and trace programme launches in England - but insiders report problems [28 May 2020]
- Applications for government’s £1bn fund to remove unsafe cladding open next week [27 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Pubs could reopen next month as Boris Johnson gives hope to Brit boozers [27 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Text message tells vulnerable people in UK they are dropped from shielding list [27 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care homes plan to withhold funds to CQC in protest at how they handled coronavirus [27 May 2020]
- Tories lose control of district following ‘moral’ resignation over Cummings [27 May 2020]
- Sigoma shortfall tops £1bn [27 May 2020]
- Government pledges homes for rough sleepers [27 May 2020]
- 'Local lockdowns' to be introduced in UK for future coronavirus 'flare-ups' [26 May 2020]
- Exclusive: Councils in England and Wales face £3.4bn funding black hole [26 May 2020]
- Care workers should be better paid and valued after Covid-19 – poll [26 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] All non-essential shops to reopen from 15 June - PM [26 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 'Virus could be here for year' so schools must open, says education secretary [25 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Boris finalises plans to lift lockdown as package worth hundreds of millions unveiled [24 May 2020]
- England to provide 3,300 homes for homeless after coronavirus [24 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Transport network to get £283m for Covid-19 protection measures [23 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] People urged to stay away from UK beaches over bank holiday weekend [23 May 2020]
- Channel migrants: Lone children 'could overwhelm council services' [22 May 2020]
- Vouchers to fix your old bike and more space on roads as part of biggest ever cycling push to be launched next month [22 May 2020]
- Local authorities to receive extra £300m for test and trace services [22 May 2020]
- Rough Sleepers Could Return To Streets As Councils Warn Of Funding Shortfall [22 May 2020]
- £300 million additional funding for local authorities to support new test and trace service [22 May 2020]
- UK borrowing at record high as virus cost soars in April [22 May 2020]
- Government has ability to make end of rough sleeping permanent if it wants, MPs say [22 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils throw 1 June schools reopening plan into doubt [22 May 2020]
- New rules would see councils warn ministers before a s114 [21 May 2020]
- NHS fees to be scrapped for overseas health staff and care workers [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Majority of Cabinet want Boris Johnson to ease coronavirus lockdown [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] New 'on the spot' COVID-19 swab test being trialled [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government increases large business loan scheme [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Cost of government Covid-19 measures revealed [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils create own local outbreak plans amid lack of clarity from centre [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Benefit claims fraud could be £1.5bn [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Up to 1,000 care homes could go bust in wake of Covid crisis [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Coronavirus forces two million people to fall behind on council tax bills [21 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] NHS and social care staff to get coronavirus antibody tests from next week [21 May 2020]
- Ministers considered cap on care costs before coronavirus outbreak [21 May 2020]
- Government to review TfL finances following Covid-19 [20 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Ministers row back on 1 June schools opening as councils voice concerns [20 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Thirty ways Covid will change how councils work: Nos 1-10 [opinion] [20 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Directors of public health fear ‘shambles’ over contact tracing [20 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Most apprentices losing work and learning opportunities amid Covid-19 [20 May 2020]
- Ministers pile pressure on councils over business grants [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Data delay left care homes ‘fighting losing battle’ [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] London councils launch procurement partnership as care homes face PPE challenges [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 'Desperate' care homes plea with council for 'immediate financial support' after struggling to get government cash [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Luton Borough Council faced with 'stark' savings [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Jobless claims surge by record 856,500 in April to highest level since 1996 [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Regional lifting of lockdown needed to prevent coronavirus flare-ups, new modelling suggests [19 May 2020]
- [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK records lowest increase in COVID-19 deaths since lockdown began [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Over 20 care homes warn council there may be 'imminent' collapse in sector [19 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government considers bypassing councils to get cash to care providers [18 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Meeting with Leeds Council leaders to discuss C-19 recovery [18 May 2020]
- Charities call for 'vital' early intervention funding to safeguard children [18 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Better-off children 'studying more than poorer pupils' [18 May 2020]
- Raise taxes for those who live near parks, report says [18 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] £5bn needed to stop local cuts say county councils [17 May 2020]
- Councils' bets on property market 'battered' by Covid-19 closures [16 May 2020]
- Ministers facing renewed pressure over push to reopen schools [15 May 2020]
- Homeless will not be turfed out, says Casey [15 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils resist government's changed 'stay alert' message [15 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Homeless people put up in hotels amid pandemic face being kicked out, leaked report says [15 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] ONS survey estimates 148,000 coronavirus cases [15 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils call for 'higher risk' schools to be allowed to decide whether to reopen [15 May 2020]
- Councils face £10bn funding 'black hole' [14 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care-home resources ‘should be allocated at local level’ [14 May 2020]
- Public sector pay freeze ‘dangerously demoralising’ [14 May 2020]
- Impact on UK GDP becomes clearer [14 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government considers free parking in town centres to keep workers off public transport [14 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Inquiry over Covid-19 patients sent to care homes [14 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] New £600m funding to support care home ‘lockdown’ [14 May 2020]
- Birmingham City Council 'was sent PPE six years out of date' [14 May 2020]
- Councils in England fear they will have to make cuts of 20% [14 May 2020]
- Jenrick warned of ‘massive cuts’ as treasurers prepare Covid returns [13 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Chancellor Rishi Sunak warns of 'significant recession' [13 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] First coronavirus antibody test given approval by Public Health England [13 May 2020]
- Ministers were warned two years ago of care homes' exposure to pandemics [13 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] GDP down 2% as UK economy struggles with pandemic [13 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils face losing tens of millions of pounds in coronavirus crisis [12 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Dementia patients three times more likely to get severe coronavirus, study finds [12 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Testing for coronavirus in UK care homes a ‘complete system failure’ [12 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home deaths 'starting to decline' [12 May 2020]
- Whiteman: ‘We want to avoid the risk of a public negotiation’ on funding [12 May 2020]
- ‘Honour your promises’, cash-strapped Lancs leaders tell ministers [12 May 2020]
- Finance chiefs say Government could underwrite tax losses for councils [12 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Rishi Sunak extends furlough scheme to OCTOBER and government will STILL cover 80 per cent of pay with staff able to come back part-time [12 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Bus firms face struggle as lockdown eases [12 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] NHS shielding letters miss thousands of cancer patients [12 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care homes to get extra help from NHS [12 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care homes faced funding cut if they didn't take in COVID-19 patients [12 May 2020]
- Shielding improvements on agenda for LGA and Whitehall [11 May 2020]
- Chiefs to develop care home resilience plans [11 May 2020]
- Unite expected to urge pay offer rejection [11 May 2020]
- Warning over coronavirus and commercial investment cocktail [11 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] School classes to have 15 pupil limit, Government's new coronavirus guidance says [11 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Furloughed workers set to be allowed back part-time [11 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Public advised to wear face coverings in PM's 50-page plan for lifting lockdown [11 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Businesses want 'clear guidance' on return to work [10 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] PM unveils 'conditional plan' to reopen society [10 May 2020]
- Colchester becomes latest council to furlough staff [07 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Bank of England scenario sees biggest annual slump in GDP since 1706 [07 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home crisis is a bitter regret, admits Johnson [07 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] PM to review lockdown restrictions with cabinet [07 May 2020]
- [Opinion] Tony Travers: Councils face multitude of dilemmas as they plan for recovery [06 May 2020]
- DfE urged to get a ‘grip’ of SEND system [06 May 2020]
- Jenrick spending pledge ‘backtracking’ sparks widespread dismay [06 May 2020]
- Business rates revaluation postponed [06 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 'Abandoned' care homes warn councils of legal action [06 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Jenrick: Councils so far receiving more Covid funding than they say they need [06 May 2020]
- Coronavirus: Social workers brace for a surge in child protection referrals when schools re-open [06 May 2020]
- Many children with special educational needs ‘failed’ by system – report [06 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 'Segment and shield' way to lift UK lockdown now [05 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Firms need up to three weeks to exit lockdown, government warned [05 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Teachers warn of early school return 'spike' [05 May 2020]
- Jenrick insists local government will have input into contact tracing [05 May 2020]
- Jenrick warns not all costs will be covered and brands lost income estimates ‘highly speculative’ [05 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Launch of PPE delivery system for care home staff hit by delays [04 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] The eight-year-old carer looking after her mum and sisters in lockdown [04 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Antibody tests could be approved by Public Health England this week [04 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Treasury rolls out small business 'bounce back' loans [04 May 2020]
- Robert Jenrick pledges more than £76m for charities to help domestic abuse and trafficking victims in England [02 May 2020]
- Pothole-related breakdowns up 64% in first three months of 2020, figures suggest [01 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home coronavirus deaths could be four times higher than official figures suggest [01 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Calls for clarity as tips due to reopen [01 May 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Council bosses 'short-changed' by government fund [01 May 2020]
- Fair Funding Review delayed further [30 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Boris Johnson says UK is past the peak of outbreak [30 Apr 2020]
- Coronavirus: County councils say non-essential spending at risk [29 Apr 2020]
- Coronavirus: County councils say non-essential spending at risk [29 Apr 2020]
- Government confirms allocations of £1.6 billion funding boost for councils [28 Apr 2020]
- Local dumps to reopen for your rubbish - but only if you book an appointment and bring ID [28 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Contact tracing can’t be run by Westminster, experts warn [28 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus: Lockdown] exit must take domestic abuse rise into account - May [28 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK failed to stockpile crucial PPE [28 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils vying for emergency virus cash [28 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Bosses appeal to the government for a lockdown exit plan [27 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Boris Johnson back at Downing Street to lead response [27 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils need 'rock solid' financial support as homelessness rises during outbreak [26 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] £3.2bn cash for councils may not stop 'uncontrollable' second wave [25 Apr 2020]
- Hackney funding gap ‘could hit services’ [24 Apr 2020]
- Government confirms extension to accounts deadline [24 Apr 2020]
- Five councils start bypassing Care Act duties amid Covid pressures [24 Apr 2020]
- [Coronvirus] Covid-19 should be game changing for social care [Opinion] [24 Apr 2020]
- Contact tracing costs could ‘place more pressure’ on council budgets [24 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care homes face weeks of delay for vital protective kit [24 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Essential workers in England to get tests [23 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils warn government bailout cash 'gone now' [23 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Council warns additional funding might not cover Covid costs [23 Apr 2020]
- Wales to maintain free school meals through summer break [23 Apr 2020]
- Government borrowing could top £300bn [23 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Some authorities could become ‘financially unsustainable’ due to pandemic [23 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Pandemic is making ‘inadequate funding baseline’ worse, says new ADCS president [23 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Crisis should spark social care reform - report [23 Apr 2020]
- David Williams: We can’t lead recovery with one hand tied behind our backs [23 Apr 2020]
- Hackney mayor ‘couldn’t rule out’ s114 without extra funding [23 Apr 2020]
- children’s social care referrals down by up to half [23 Apr 2020]
- New national recruitment campaign for adult social care launched [23 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government confirms extension to council accounts deadline [23 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Heads say 1 June earliest realistic school opening [23 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Coastal and ex-industrial towns 'most economically at risk' [23 Apr 2020]
- Business to receive almost £10 billion in rates relief [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Scale of districts’ Covid-19 income challenge revealed [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Recycling centres remain closed despite minister’s plea to open [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Hard to prevent care home deaths, says Chris Whitty [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Social restrictions 'to remain for rest of year' [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Virus grants are postcode lottery for small firms with some councils paying just one in ten eligible companies [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] MPs and peers call for universal basic income [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 'Disgusting' fly-tipping soars during lockdown [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Only a quarter of care workers are being tested for COVID-19 [22 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Rushanara Ali MP calls for urgent action to help workers left out of the coronavirus job retention scheme [21 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Pub sector faces 'bloodbath' over rents [21 Apr 2020]
- Councils warned over delay to emergency grants for business [21 Apr 2020]
- Councils burn recycling amid virus-linked rise in waste and staff absence [21 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] New working arrangements for MPs as Commons returns [21 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Millions of pieces of PPE are being shipped from Britain to Europe despite NHS shortages [21 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Facemasks for public ‘risk NHS shortage’ [21 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] MPs to investigate Covid-19 impact on council finances [20 Apr 2020]
- Unitary chief: ‘no confidence’ s114 notice can be avoided [20 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Furlough scheme: 140,000 firms apply for help to pay a million workers [20 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home residents told they are 'unlikely' to be offered ventilators [20 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Emergency appeal to help millions of unpaid carers during pandemic [20 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government unveils £1.3bn scheme to help start-ups [20 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Schools stay shut until June as two in three pupils ignore online classes [20 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Mortuaries to be expanded by 30,000 spaces [20 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Boris Johnson resists easing of coronavirus lockdown [20 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home deaths 'far higher' than official figures [19 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Hospital leaders hit out at government as PPE shortage row escalates [19 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Social care staff from Norfolk told to travel to Sheffield to get tested for Covid-19 [19 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils in England given an extra £1.6bn to tackle COVID-19 crisis [18 Apr 2020]
- Unions slam 'woefully low' council pay offer [17 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Delayed supply system rollout causing critical PPE shortages [17 Apr 2020]
- Council tax holiday: Huge pressure mounts for freeze on levy, two weeks after rates hiked [17 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Fly-tipping rise prompts plea to reopen tips [17 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Firefighters begin moving bodies after ‘considerable number’ of coronavirus deaths in Midlands [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] NHS volunteer army of 750,000 has been given fewer than 20,000 tasks, data reveals [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Treasury backs loans to bigger businesses [16 Apr 2020]
- Signs that more families missing out on first choice primary school [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK lockdown extended for 'at least' three weeks [16 Apr 2020]
- Deficit ‘could reach 12% of GDP’ this year [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Counties urge s114 change as coronavirus costs soar [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] LGC survey: Government crisis response given benefit of the doubt [16 Apr 2020]
- Pay offer for council staff increased to 2.75% [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Andy Norman: Covid-19 to hit economies in Midlands and North West worst [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils given greater financial relief against cash flow pressures [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 'Urgent studies needed' into mental health impact of coronavirus [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Local pharmacies face cash crisis [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Social care concerns revealed in leaked letter [16 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] More PPE promised for social care [15 Apr 2020]
- Hall loses local government post [15 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 'Too many homeless still sleeping rough' [15 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home charity having to source face masks privately at five times usual cost [15 Apr 2020]
- Public sector borrowing set to hit record high [15 Apr 2020]
- Solace savages ‘inane’ and ‘crass’ Taxpayers’ Alliance ‘rich list’ [15 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] More tests promised for care homes [15 Apr 2020]
- UK’s highest earning council official received pay package of more than £600,000 [15 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Ministers urged to raise pay for care home staff during Covid-19 crisis [14 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Chancellor Rishi Sunak warns of more 'tough times' during COVID-19 outbreak [14 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Pressure mounts to re-open primary schools by May half term after catastrophic economic forecast [14 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Older people being 'airbrushed' out of virus figures [14 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Householders face up to five years in prison if they burn recycling during collection cutbacks [13 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK triples coronavirus response fund for NHS and public services [13 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Call for testing of firefighters as 3,000 isolate [13 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK Parliament still set to return on 21 April [12 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Social distancing measures may need to remain in place 'indefinitely', government experts believe [10 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] England care providers say 10% council fee rise is ‘too little, too late’ [10 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Loosen rules to let councils borrow for day-to-day spending, says IFS [10 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Hundreds of UK care home deaths not added to official coronavirus toll [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Dominic Raab says UK 'must keep going' with lockdown measures [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Scotland's economy expected to shrink because of Covid-19 lockdown [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Treasury agrees extension to emergency overdraft [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Think tank calls for benefit cap to be suspended to protect renters [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Crisis cash on its way for NI councils [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care homes and prisons are next to receive coronavirus test kits [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Chancellor announces aid for charities [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK restrictions set to be reviewed at special 'lockdown summit' [09 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Few UK firms getting coronavirus funds as wider costs mount [08 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Natwest struggling with calls for emergency loans [07 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Concerns over Autumn budgeting after regulators reject Accounting Code simplifications [07 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Allow young people out of lockdown early to get country moving, say business experts [07 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] U-Turn on free school meals means families will get extra supermarket vouchers [07 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Hundreds of thousands to benefit from 'council tax holiday' during coronavirus pandemic [07 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Cabinet Office moves to further protect suppliers after coronavirus [07 Apr 2020]
- Bid to relax accounts code ‘not acceptable’ to auditors and regulators [07 Apr 2020]
- Birmingham asks Sunak for short term loan to ease cash flow problems [07 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] NHS volunteers to start receiving tasks today - here's how they will help [07 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Boris Johnson spends night in intensive care after symptoms worsen [07 Apr 2020]
- Steve Reed named shadow communities secretary [06 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Military distributing 30 million PPE items for community frontline [06 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Most councils still providing normal waste collections, survey reveals [06 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Free school meal vouchers to continue over Easter holidays [06 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Residential homes 'desperate' for PPE, as two care workers die [06 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK councils face lawsuits over access to education in lockdown [06 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Town halls consider council tax payment help [06 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Boris Johnson admitted to hospital over virus symptoms [06 Apr 2020]
- New Labour leader Keir Starmer vows to lead party into 'new era' [04 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils in UK struggle to house homeless despite Government calls to accommodate them during pandemic [04 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Libraries see new online memberships soar amid lockdown [04 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government revamps emergency loan scheme for business [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils' pandemic fight is hampered by central micromanagement [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Downing Street warns: defy the lockdown and we'll introduce more restrictions [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] North East care homes 'need more help' to cope with coronavirus outbreak and protect staff [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Crematorium attendance halted in West Yorkshire [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] New PPE guidance welcomed but concerns remain over shortages [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Distribution of £12bn business grants gets underway [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] New PPE guidance welcomed but concerns remain over shortages [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government bails out bus firms to keep routes open [03 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Matt Hancock sets aim of 100,000 tests a day by end of April [02 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK care home bosses threaten to quit over return of coronavirus patients [02 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils' plea for residents to avoid 'spiralling waste' during coronavirus outbreak [02 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Small businesses struggle to get bailout grants as well as bank loans [02 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government to waive duties on some medical imports [02 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government urged to take action after spike in Universal Credit applications [02 Apr 2020]
- Launch of new Buckinghamshire Council [02 Apr 2020]
- Councils warn of ‘wave of waste’ [02 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Scottish unions blast 'inconsistent' way councils are handling coronavirus [02 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils start to pay out business grants [02 Apr 2020]
- Video conferencing first at council meeting [02 Apr 2020]
- Naylor to be Birmingham chief for a year [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government seeks urgent PPE audit amid widespread shortages [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care homes refusing patients due to lack of PPE [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Renters threatened with eviction 'should stay put' [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Nearly a million universal credit claims in past two weeks [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Coronavirus threatens the future of public transport, councils warn [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] England's children commissioner calls for volunteer social workers [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Virus-hit charities 'need substantial support' [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] A fifth of smaller UK firms 'will run out of cash' [01 Apr 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Free school meals children to get food vouchers [31 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Homeless people 'scared and hungry' on streets despite promise to house them over weekend [30 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home calls for camper vans to help staff stay on site [30 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Thousands of rough sleepers still unhoused in England, say charities [30 Mar 2020]
- New permanent secretary at MHCLG announced [30 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK unemployment set to double as GDP collapses [30 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Coronavirus forecast to cut UK economic output by 15% [30 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 20,000 former NHS staff return to fight virus, PM says [30 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Thousands of council staff moved to the frontline [30 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Birmingham and Manchester temporary hospitals announced [28 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Coronavirus restrictions ‘likely to last six months’ [28 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government to subsidise up to 80% profits for the self-employed [27 Mar 2020]
- Borrowing still forecast to be lower than 2009 peak [27 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Eleanor Kelly: PPE ‘absolutely paramount’ for coronavirus shielding effort [27 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] DPH’s call for access to NHS 111 data to track coronavirus spread [27 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Confusion over local responsibility for ‘NHS’ volunteers [27 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Non essential services slashed as focus diverted to coronavirus crisis [27 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Boris Johnson, 55, has coronavirus: PM tests positive for disease as crisis grips the UK [27 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Cambridge to lead £20m fight against spread of coronavirus [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils coronavirus Q&A with Andy Burns, CIPFA [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Free parking for all frontline coronavirus workers [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Sarah Norman: ‘The demands on us are enormous’ [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] £1.6bn for social care ‘unlikely to be enough’ for coronavirus crisis response [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] COVID-19 to send almost all G20 countries into a recession [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Forces raise concern over resilience plans for elderly through LRFs [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Universal credit 'almost impossible' to complete claim as more than 500,000 apply [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK government unveils aid for self-employed [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Social care faces 'complete emergency', Commons committee told [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Scotland passes Covid-19 business rates compensation law [26 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Council bodies accept Spending Review delay decision [26 Mar 2020]
- Fury as millions of council tax payers face inflation-busting 3.9 per cent average rise to above £2,000 a year despite coronavirus crisis [26 Mar 2020]
- Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2020 to 2021 [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] York Council leader warns of £20m shortfall due to coronavirus [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] NHS account deadline delayed due to pandemic disruption [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Now is not the time for Westminster to tighten its centralising grip [25 Mar 2020]
- Bradford and Kirklees give go-ahead to progress devo deal [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Jenrick brings forward payment of £3.4bn in corona crisis cash [25 Mar 2020]
- PWLB lending limit to be raised £115bn [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] DWP swamped with half a million universal credit claims in nine days [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK coronavirus home testing to be made available to millions [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Parliament shuts down for a month [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Care home staff are being left with no protective equipment and told to self-isolate at work if they test positive for coronavirus [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Retired social care workers urged to return to help during coronavirus outbreak [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Retired social care workers urged to return to help during coronavirus outbreak [25 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Council procurement innovates around Covid-19 restrictions [24 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government confirms it will plough £500million into an emergency hardship fund to cover council tax bills for vulnerable people worst affected by coronavirus [24 Mar 2020]
- Chancellor's package of support could cost ‘several billion pounds’ per month [24 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus and CSR] Spending review outlining government plans for next three years to be delayed over Covid-19, chancellor says [24 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Communities secretary handed power to order virtual council meetings [24 Mar 2020]
- Fewer potholes being repaired in England and Wales [24 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Home care business to recruit 10,000 new staff as demand soars [24 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK brings in strict curbs on life to fight virus [24 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Landlords barred from evicting firms that fail to pay rent [23 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] What's in the emergency Coronavirus legislation? [23 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Million undocumented migrants could go hungry, say charities [23 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Army to distribute masks and protective suits to frontline NHS staff [23 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] People who ignore government advice 'selfish' [23 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Councils put at heart of coronavirus response [23 Mar 2020]
- [Coronvirus] Rishi Sunak faces legal action from gig economy workers [22 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Race to implement economic support package [21 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Jenrick in coronavirus cash flow appeal [21 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Boris Johnson announces closure of all UK pubs and restaurants [21 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Fraudsters impersonating officials are targeting the elderly [21 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Local authorities to receive £1.6bn from Response Fund [20 Mar 2020]
- Universal Credit advances fraud could have cost £150m [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Social workers call for clarity on carrying out statutory duties [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Buoyant tax income ahead of coronavirus crisis [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government to pay up to 80% of workers' wages [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Take your own rubbish to the tip, families told as bin collections cancelled in crisis [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Universal Credit to be raised by £1,000 a year in £7bn rescue deal [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Politics latest news: Boris Johnson expected to announce London shutdown today, with pubs and restaurants to close [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] PM’s lock down plans came ‘as surprise’ to London’s police and politicians [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Clive Betts: Ministers must answer key council questions on coronavirus [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Waste operators call for ‘performance penalty’ relief to keep services running [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Stop going to the pub or I'll BAN you: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan says human rights should be 'infringed' as he slams people for still going to bars and using public transport [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Whiteman: virus spend could lead to s114s unless borrowing rules eased [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] (COVID-19): guidance for local government [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Tens of thousands of retired medics asked to return to NHS [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronvirus] Chancellor prepares wage package rescue plan [20 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] £3bn bed blocking coronavirus cash injection [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] ‘No excuses for slacking’ as councils work ‘as one team’ to fight virus [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Volunteers mobilise to ensure children get fed during school closures [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] £2.9bn provided to free up hospital beds for coronavirus patients [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] UK interest rates cut to lowest level ever [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Schools shut down to stop spread of Covid-19 [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Tenants protected from eviction during coronavirus outbreak [19 Mar 2020]
- Devon CC’s children’s services criticised for ‘serious failures’ [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Business grant commitment sparks major cashflow concerns [19 Mar 2020]
- Council tax reform would help 'level up' north of England [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] 40 London Underground stations to be closed [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Up to 20,000 troops on standby to help deal with COVID-19 outbreak [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Emergency laws will give powers to close airports and detain and quarantine people [19 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Cratus creates coronavirus hotline [18 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Treasury delays Implementation of IR35 tax until 2021 [18 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Andy Burnham calls for volunteers to help councils support the vulnerable [18 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] NHS staff 'at risk' over lack of protective gear [18 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Call to lift benefits to help renters [18 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Government launches voucher scheme to cover free school meals during closures [18 Mar 2020]
- [Coronavirus] Schools in Wales all closing by Friday [18 Mar 2020]
- Councils to be fully funded for coronavirus costs [18 Mar 2020]
- Fears for democracy amid widespread coronavirus meeting cancellations [18 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus bill to suspend Care Act entitlements [18 Mar 2020]
- Ofsted slams county after care leavers found living in tents [18 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: Care companies fear bankruptcy [18 Mar 2020]
- Jenrick admits no science behind flooding threshold [17 Mar 2020]
- Jenrick urges councils not to delay on coronavirus spending [17 Mar 2020]
- Gove to oversee public sector preparedness for coronavirus [17 Mar 2020]
- Sunak extends coronavirus business rates holiday [17 Mar 2020]
- Councils must not pay the price of the bailout this time round [opinion] [17 Mar 2020]
- Firefighters told to cease ‘non-essential’ action amid fears over keeping “core emergency service” healthy [17 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: Chancellor unveils £350bn lifeline for economy [17 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: NHS England to cancel all non-urgent surgery to free up 30,000 beds [17 Mar 2020]
- Scottish economy faces 'permanent scarring' from coronavirus [17 Mar 2020]
- Public health grant to increase by £145m in 2020-21 [17 Mar 2020]
- Reported delay to spending review “unsurprising”, says CCN [17 Mar 2020]
- Ministers mull legislation for remote council meetings [17 Mar 2020]
- Planning rules and audit deadline relaxed to support coronavirus effort [17 Mar 2020]
- Public health gets above inflation rise but cuts ‘hit coronavirus capacity’ [17 Mar 2020]
- Online political ads should be labelled, says Law Commission [17 Mar 2020]
- Clean air for all: Lampposts to charge electric cars [17 Mar 2020]
- The need for a social care plan is more urgent than ever [opinion] [17 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: Hotels and empty offices should be used to let homeless self-isolate, ministers told [17 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: UK businesses feel impact of latest measures [17 Mar 2020]
- Northamptonshire predicts £119k budget surplus [16 Mar 2020]
- Birmingham City Council CFO resigns after chief executive snub [16 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: PM says everyone should avoid office, pubs and travelling [16 Mar 2020]
- Yorkshire council criticises Ofsted rating based on ‘short inspection visit’ [16 Mar 2020]
- Tory MPs call for more funding for services to prevent rough sleeping [16 Mar 2020]
- Six councils receive over £1m to ‘spearhead’ digital projects [16 Mar 2020]
- Shapps announces £90m tech fund to make journeys ‘greener’ [16 Mar 2020]
- Council suspends all debt-related court action in wake of coronavirus [16 Mar 2020]
- Only 10% of councils meeting their pothole repair deadlines [16 Mar 2020]
- Social care coronavirus guidance urges ‘plans for mutual aid’ [16 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: Downing Street to give daily TV briefings on outbreak [16 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus patients not self-isolating could be arrested as ministers plan police powers [15 Mar 2020]
- Calls for better support for homeless shelters and food banks amid coronavirus outbreak [15 Mar 2020]
- Bus cuts leave a million people without a regular service [15 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: Supermarkets ask shoppers to be 'considerate' and stop stockpiling [15 Mar 2020]
- Government plans to draft in Army to keep hospitals and supermarkets secure, escort food convoys and build tented field wards next to care homes to cope with crisis as deaths almost double in 24 hours [15 Mar 2020]
- Councils make urgent appeals for supplies of hand sanitiser and face masks amid coronavirus fears [14 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: teaching union asks PM why schools are not being closed [14 Mar 2020]
- Government debt to rise by £125bn by 2025 [13 Mar 2020]
- Jenrick 'deeply disappointed' in housing delivery under Khan [13 Mar 2020]
- Interactive map to be created for council audits [13 Mar 2020]
- Changes to stop R&D tax credit fraud delayed by chancellor [13 Mar 2020]
- Edinburgh allocates £2bn for coronavirus fight [13 Mar 2020]
- New major road network and large local major schemes announced [13 Mar 2020]
- Local elections postponed for a year over coronavirus [13 Mar 2020]
- Budget 2020: Rishi Sunak's spending plans 'not as generous as they appear', says IFS [12 Mar 2020]
- UK confirms digital services tax despite US threats [12 Mar 2020]
- Jenrick outlines sweeping planning reforms [12 Mar 2020]
- LGA chair self isolating after minister meeting [12 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: Plans for homeworking stepped up as concern grows over new burdens [12 Mar 2020]
- Hancock: Social care to get ‘everything it needs’ [12 Mar 2020]
- Planning paper shows Thatcher’s ghost lives on in Johnson government [12 Mar 2020]
- Biggest boost in decade for affordable homes [12 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: PM set to escalate UK's response in a matter of hours [12 Mar 2020]
- Budget 2020: Sunak gambles on capital spending splurge [11 Mar 2020]
- ‘Sustainable council finance – the Budget DOESN’T get it done’ [11 Mar 2020]
- Budget 2020: Flood-hit areas to share £200m defence fund [11 Mar 2020]
- Budget 2020: £27bn for national roads and £2.5bn for potholes [11 Mar 2020]
- Budget 2020: Mayoral authorities win big in transport [11 Mar 2020]
- Budget 2020: A "new era" for the country [11 Mar 2020]
- Budget 2020: £1bn fund to strip cladding from tall buildings [11 Mar 2020]
- West Yorkshire £1.8bn devolution deal agreed [11 Mar 2020]
- Two-mile tunnel underneath Stonehenge COULD go ahead as part of £27billion Budget masterplan to improve Britain's roads [11 Mar 2020]
- Budget 2020: Business rates suspended for shops and cafes [11 Mar 2020]
- UK interest rates cut in emergency move [11 Mar 2020]
- Councils pile back into PWLB following coronavirus rate drop [10 Mar 2020]
- Homelessness: Councils 'telling people to contact private landlords' [10 Mar 2020]
- Social care funding gap inquiry launched by MPs [10 Mar 2020]
- Tory MPs demand Chancellor kick starts a council house building boom in Wednesday’s Budget [09 Mar 2020]
- Environment Bill new burdens could cost districts £300m [09 Mar 2020]
- City threatened with 114 notice in budget row [09 Mar 2020]
- PM welcomes £5.2bn flood fund and announces further £200m [09 Mar 2020]
- Home Office extends funding for EU Settlement Scheme [09 Mar 2020]
- Councils warn 3.6 million extra cars are damaging Britain’s roads [09 Mar 2020]
- Labour challenge Chancellor to make up £27 billion social housing cash shortfall [09 Mar 2020]
- The tax that hits struggling High Streets hardest [09 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus: Boris Johnson to hold emergency Cobra meeting [09 Mar 2020]
- New budget rules for councils may hit special needs school spending [08 Mar 2020]
- Workers over 40 to be taxed 2.5% to fund cost of old-age care under plans being considered by Matt Hancock [08 Mar 2020]
- Top-speed broadband will reach even remotest parts of Britain, promises Chancellor [08 Mar 2020]
- Parents of sick babies to get extra £160 a week [08 Mar 2020]
- Council closes offices amid coronavirus scare [06 Mar 2020]
- Consultation on new business rates funding model expected in the summer [06 Mar 2020]
- Fears raised after Scottish government borrows £200m to balance budget [06 Mar 2020]
- MHCLG spent £85m preparing for EU Exit [06 Mar 2020]
- More than £100m allocated for local government Brexit preparations [06 Mar 2020]
- Matt Hancock asks MPs and peers for views on adult social care reform [06 Mar 2020]
- Boris Johnson close to breaching 100-day promise on social care talks, warn councils [06 Mar 2020]
- Service reform needed to tackle persistent use of Spice within homeless population [06 Mar 2020]
- Councils face £6.5bn funding gap by 2025 [06 Mar 2020]
- LGA responds to CIPFA council tax research [06 Mar 2020]
- People moves: MHCLG confirm interim permanent secretary [05 Mar 2020]
- Kier suffers £41m loss [05 Mar 2020]
- Councils and teachers call for over £5bn of extra school funding [05 Mar 2020]
- Flybe collapse hits council-owned airports [05 Mar 2020]
- Government delays Budget infrastructure plan [05 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus will brutally expose the effect of a decade of public service cuts [opinion] [05 Mar 2020]
- NHS long-term plan did not include workforce needed to deliver, says NAO [05 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus could shut down parliament for months under emergency plans [05 Mar 2020]
- Hot air from the Tube recycled to keep homes warm [05 Mar 2020]
- 2 million over-55s live in dangerous homes, say charities [05 Mar 2020]
- Tackling ‘two-tier’ access to care in Central Bedfordshire [opinion] [04 Mar 2020]
- Councils report 'huge overspends' on social care [04 Mar 2020]
- The 'levelling up' agenda cannot overlook shire counties, says report [03 Mar 2020]
- Council warned of section 114 notice danger as reserves dry up [03 Mar 2020]
- This Budget needs to remember local government [03 Mar 2020]
- Civil servant 'tried to kill herself after Priti Patel bullying' [03 Mar 2020]
- The Tories say austerity is over: this budget will prove it isn’t [opinion] [03 Mar 2020]
- To truly ‘level -up’ we need to power up counties [02 Mar 2020]
- Warwick District Council gives green light to council tax referendum [02 Mar 2020]
- Coronavirus set to restrict chancellor’s Budget choices [02 Mar 2020]
- Jenrick voices support for East Midlands Combined Authority plans [02 Mar 2020]
- Lincolnshire council ‘delighted’ by £3.5m Grimsby investment [02 Mar 2020]
- Dorset facing £16m overspend following ‘challenging year’ [02 Mar 2020]
- Unitary’s children’s services leaps from requires improvement to outstanding [02 Mar 2020]
- DCN chair slams district’s plan for ‘climate emergency’ tax hike [02 Mar 2020]
- Chancellor Rishi Sunak to snatch £3bn entrepreneurs’ tax relief to pay for the north [01 Mar 2020]
- 'My husband's care will cost me my £2m house' [01 Mar 2020]
- County lines car thefts: Police chief says gangs target youngsters to steal luxury vehicles [29 Feb 2020]
- Cash-starved councils face big bills after buying up shopping centres [29 Feb 2020]
- LGPS funds given discretion over employer exit payments [28 Feb 2020]
- County hopeful of ‘devo alternative’ growth deal [28 Feb 2020]
- Social care 'cracks are turning into chasms' and system faces collapse in 2029, the Government is warned in an alarming report [28 Feb 2020]
- Coronavirus: Shares face worst week since global financial crisis [28 Feb 2020]
- Number of rough sleepers falls for second year in row [28 Feb 2020]
- Gove outlines EU trade talk plan [27 Feb 2020]
- Peterborough plans £7m repeat of controversial capital receipts treatment [27 Feb 2020]
- Housing benefit reform a ‘false economy’ [27 Feb 2020]
- London boroughs’ joint chief to depart [27 Feb 2020]
- District approves 34% ‘climate emergency’ tax hike [27 Feb 2020]
- Maintaining performance - Social Care IMPOWER INDEX [27 Feb 2020]
- PM announces extra £236m to end rough sleeping [27 Feb 2020]
- Political horse trading yields extra 20% funding for Scottish councils [26 Feb 2020]
- Elphicke handed junior role at MHCLG [26 Feb 2020]
- Structure review could take place ‘alongside’ North Yorks devo deal [26 Feb 2020]
- Councils spend average of £2 per head on cycling infrastructure, study reveals [26 Feb 2020]
- Flood infrastructure funding increased by only £3m over decade [26 Feb 2020]
- Treasury plan for land value duty falls on stony ground [26 Feb 2020]
- Budget 2020: Chancellor must raise taxes in first Budget, says IFS [26 Feb 2020]
- Government to review Public Works Loan Board [25 Feb 2020]
- Rutland named strongest performer in adult social care index [25 Feb 2020]
- Extra council tax bands call [24 Feb 2020]
- Why a Mansion Tax Could Be a Conservative Winner [opinion] [24 Feb 2020]
- Burnham calls for Barnett formula for the regions [24 Feb 2020]
- District plans referendum on 34% council tax hike [24 Feb 2020]
- Public back local tourism taxes [24 Feb 2020]
- Councils struggle with £3 billion budget hole for keeping children safe [24 Feb 2020]
- Rishi Sunak to move Treasury officials north [24 Feb 2020]
- Somerset leader launches unitary bid [21 Feb 2020]
- Think tank launches £3m fund to support community ‘wellbeing’ [21 Feb 2020]
- Migration reform may tip social care ‘over the edge’ [21 Feb 2020]
- Lancs leaders told to reorganise if they want devo [21 Feb 2020]
- Households in England to face council tax rises, research says [21 Feb 2020]
- Councils braced for mounting pressure on aslyum support system [20 Feb 2020]
- Government funding could reduce the number of potholes by 25 per cent [20 Feb 2020]
- Ofsted fears schools will 'squander' extra cash [19 Feb 2020]
- Government announces financial support for flood-hit areas [19 Feb 2020]
- Sean Anstee: Government needs to ‘level beyond’ as well as ‘level up [19 Feb 2020]
- North East unitaries set to pursue South of Tyne devo deal [18 Feb 2020]
- UK Budget date kept at 11 March [18 Feb 2020]
- Large employers fail to spend apprenticeship money [18 Feb 2020]
- Measures to prevent crime could begin as early as nursery, experts say [17 Feb 2020]
- Building 'resilience' won't stop traumatised social workers quitting [17 Feb 2020]
- COP26: Climate summit policing bill estimated at £250m [17 Feb 2020]
- Fall-out from suspected unitary cyber-attack enters second week [17 Feb 2020]
- Chief of flood hit council criticises slow government response [17 Feb 2020]
- Housing Secretary confirms new support for survivors of domestic violence [17 Feb 2020]
- Tories to reinstate all 3,000 bus routes axed in spending cuts, claims transport secretary [16 Feb 2020]
- Hell-on-Sea: how a drugs gang took over a sleepy Devon town [16 Feb 2020]
- Dementia sufferers dumped in hospitals after mass closures of day centres and respite care [16 Feb 2020]
- Flood defences in England get 1% of infrastructure spending [16 Feb 2020]
- It’s time to create a National Care Service for us all, says Susie Boniface [Opinion] [16 Feb 2020]
- Budget may be delayed, says Transport Secretary Grant Shapps [16 Feb 2020]
- Council tax set to soar by four per cent as the government struggles to fund social care - potentially costing families hundreds [15 Feb 2020]
- Tories have closed 1,300 family centres in last 10 years, figures reveal [15 Feb 2020]
- Boris Johnson vetoes mansion tax after backlash [15 Feb 2020]
- Edinburgh sets out £2.5bn housing-investment plans [13 Feb 2020]
- Major investment plans for Kirklees council approved [13 Feb 2020]
- Ombudsman reminds councils of care home ‘top-up fees’ duties [13 Feb 2020]
- Record number of A&E 'trolley waits' reached in January, NHS say [13 Feb 2020]
- Alarm bells over £6.6bn property spending spree [13 Feb 2020]
- Cabinet reshuffle: Sajid Javid resigns as chancellor; replaced by Rishi Sunak [13 Feb 2020]
- Ofcom Board appoints Dame Melanie Dawes as Chief Executive [13 Feb 2020]
- Economy beats gloomy forecasts to be third-fastest growing in G7 [12 Feb 2020]
- Shared service venture to create “finance academy” for managers [11 Feb 2020]
- Councils to receive share of £4.5m to roll out digital social care projects [11 Feb 2020]
- Finance settlement pulled for new terror law [11 Feb 2020]
- HS2 gets go ahead despite cost ‘explosion’ [11 Feb 2020]
- Bus funding: Where would it make the most difference? [11 Feb 2020]
- UK economy saw zero growth at the end of 2019 [11 Feb 2020]
- Government to pledge £5bn for bus services and cycling routes [11 Feb 2020]
- Families in the north have biggest council tax bills [11 Feb 2020]
- Equalities watchdog launches inquiry into pupil restraint in schools amid concerns from parents [11 Feb 2020]
- LGA: £80m from PWLB rate hike should be given back to councils [10 Feb 2020]
- Pooling of LGPS schemes has saved £155m in four years [10 Feb 2020]
- Bus cuts turn rural areas into ‘transport deserts’ [10 Feb 2020]
- Sajid Javid is under pressure to fix unfair business rates system [10 Feb 2020]
- UK’s cities and councils call for fiscal devolution [10 Feb 2020]
- No 10 power grab for NHS sparks backlash over ‘turf war’ [08 Feb 2020]
- Auditors beg for extension to local council accounts deadline [08 Feb 2020]
- Councils receive 4.4% increase in finance settlement [07 Feb 2020]
- Almost 2,000 frail and elderly people are refused home help every day because they do not qualify for social care, new figures suggest [07 Feb 2020]
- DfE schools funding clarification sparks treasurer unease [07 Feb 2020]
- Lisa Nandy promises to let councillors nominate Labour leadership candidates [07 Feb 2020]
- Council tax bills could rise by £70 as ministers confirm 4 per cent hike from April [07 Feb 2020]
- ‘Chancellor has little chance of achieving economic growth goal’ [06 Feb 2020]
- Cumbria devo proposal sparks county fear of ‘super districts’ [06 Feb 2020]
- Gwynne calls for Government to scrap fair funding review [06 Feb 2020]
- Government’s £170m bus boost a ‘drop in the ocean’ [06 Feb 2020]
- Unions’ claim rejected as staff offered 2% pay deal [05 Feb 2020]
- Short-term fixes leaving NHS financially unstable [05 Feb 2020]
- County warns of ‘predatory’ loan offers following PWLB rate rise [05 Feb 2020]
- Councils in crisis with more tax rises and service cuts due [05 Feb 2020]
- Business rates blow [04 Feb 2020]
- Commission calls on government to devolve skills [04 Feb 2020]
- Temporary accommodation industry worth £1.1bn [04 Feb 2020]
- Northants targets £23m savings [04 Feb 2020]
- Ministers must heed local productivity gaps [04 Feb 2020]
- Motorbike firm which said UK would thrive outside of EU goes into administration [03 Feb 2020]
- County offered devo deal with reorganisation and outsourced care services [03 Feb 2020]
- Borough seeking unitary status sparks spending row [03 Feb 2020]
- Scale of children’s funding gap revealed [03 Feb 2020]
- UK regional productivity gap widest in a century [03 Feb 2020]
- Universal credit rollout delayed again - to 2024 [03 Feb 2020]
- Adult Care crisis deepens as providers 'run out of options' [03 Feb 2020]
- Glitch delays business rates relief for hundreds of companies [03 Feb 2020]
- English schools buying in mental health support has 'almost doubled' in three years [03 Feb 2020]
- Apprentice levy ‘failing small firms’ [03 Feb 2020]
- Departmental savings of 5% will be hard to find [31 Jan 2020]
- Mets set to benefit overall from funding review [31 Jan 2020]
- Tories will write minimum school funding into law [30 Jan 2020]
- Ministers told to make cuts to pay for ‘radical agenda’ [30 Jan 2020]
- Kent beefs up support for pension fund following Woodford losses [29 Jan 2020]
- Majority of councils overspend on homelessness as pressure mounts [29 Jan 2020]
- Funding boost for rough sleepers initiative [28 Jan 2020]
- Housing waiting list rises again as 17,000 social homes lost [28 Jan 2020]
- Immigration salary threshold should drop by £4,400, says committee [28 Jan 2020]
- E-scooters on UK roads set for the green light [28 Jan 2020]
- Small music venues to get 50% reduction in business rates [27 Jan 2020]
- NAO to probe one-off Government funding pots [27 Jan 2020]
- Labour councils set to lose under new funding formula [27 Jan 2020]
- English councils set to miss carbon emission targets [27 Jan 2020]
- Auditors in fees increase warning [27 Jan 2020]
- Thousands of pubs will see £1,000 slashed off business rates in reforms aimed at saving the High Street [25 Jan 2020]
- Government urged to fund upgrades to outdated council leisure facilities [25 Jan 2020]
- County lines gangs using Breaking Bad-style motorhomes as drug-dealing bases [25 Jan 2020]
- Grenfell Tower inquiry member Benita Mehra resigns [25 Jan 2020]
- Former 'red wall' areas could lose millions in council funding review [25 Jan 2020]
- UK borrowing falls ahead of March Budget [24 Jan 2020]
- County lines drug gangs must be tackled nationally [24 Jan 2020]
- Cipfa resilience index: cause for concern? [23 Jan 2020]
- Care home costs leap to £34,000 a year in the biggest jump for nearly a decade, new figures reveal [23 Jan 2020]
- Police settlement ‘biggest in a decade’ [23 Jan 2020]
- NHS pledges elderly rapid response community teams [23 Jan 2020]
- Lack of care for dementia sufferers saw war heroine 'abandoned' in hospital [22 Jan 2020]
- Health watchdog reinspects care homes following inaccurate inspection reports [21 Jan 2020]
- Seven fixes for local government grant funding to tackle the North-South divide [21 Jan 2020]
- Government to ‘name and shame’ owners of blocks with dangerous cladding [21 Jan 2020]
- Universal Credit's regional divide exposed as 52% of Liverpool families worse off [20 Jan 2020]
- Cost of placing homeless people in B&Bs has risen by more than £20m [20 Jan 2020]
- Tory manifesto author backs NHS-style social care funding [20 Jan 2020]
- How the Labour leadership candidates stack up on local government [20 Jan 2020]
- Shopping centre owner Intu seeks emergency cash [20 Jan 2020]
- Hull asks to be first UK city to trial universal basic income [20 Jan 2020]
- Youth services suffer 70% funding cut in less than a decade [20 Jan 2020]
- Boris Johnson sends the House of Lords up north [19 Jan 2020]
- Brexit: Price rises warning after chancellor vows EU rules divergence [18 Jan 2020]
- Local buses clocking lowest mileage in decades [18 Jan 2020]
- Councils losing £250m a year through business rates avoidance [17 Jan 2020]
- Ministerial intray: Signs so far are social care will not be a top priority [17 Jan 2020]
- Dozens of social housing blocks still covered in Grenfell-style cladding [17 Jan 2020]
- ‘Government must give at least £2bn to replace EU regional funds’ [17 Jan 2020]
- Lift-off for bonds agency as Lancashire agrees first deal [17 Jan 2020]
- Business rates avoidance costs councils £250m a year, study suggests [17 Jan 2020]
- Officials have no idea how many people were forced to sell their houses to pay for social care, report reveals [16 Jan 2020]
- Work to start on devolution deal for South Yorkshire [16 Jan 2020]
- Officials have no idea how many people were forced to sell their houses to pay for social care, report reveals [16 Jan 2020]
- Scores of tower blocks with Grenfell-style cladding have no plan in place to remove it, figures show [16 Jan 2020]
- Empty business rates relief 'costs £1bn' [16 Jan 2020]
- Fall in inflation raises prospects of interest rate cut [15 Jan 2020]
- 20% spike in pothole-related breakdowns [15 Jan 2020]
- Commercial income could be excluded from council funding calculations [14 Jan 2020]
- Government lifts four-year freeze on Local Housing Allowance [14 Jan 2020]
- Sector accused of ‘overreacting’ to PWLB rates rise as alternatives line up [14 Jan 2020]
- Boris backtracks on cross-party social care solution [14 Jan 2020]
- Care fee divide gets worse as new report reveals nursing home residents who pay their own bills are charged £250 a week more than those who are state-funded [14 Jan 2020]
- Care firm's leadership criticised by Care Quality Commission [14 Jan 2020]
- 90 online abuse crimes against children recorded a day, NSPCC estimates [14 Jan 2020]
- UK GDP: Pound slips on unexpectedly weak growth figures [13 Jan 2020]
- South west launches growth alliance to rival Northern Powerhouse [13 Jan 2020]
- Roundtable: Making NHS-council collaboration work [13 Jan 2020]
- Unitary leadership ordered to seek support over children’s failure [13 Jan 2020]
- Boris Johnson urged to tackle climate emergency as poll shows huge support for carbon emission cuts [13 Jan 2020]
- Sugar tax is WORKING: Britons' consumption of sugar has dropped by a teaspoon a day since tax on sweetened drinks was launched [13 Jan 2020]
- Rural motorists more likely to drive on pothole ridden roads as figures show cities spend three times more on repairs [13 Jan 2020]
- Climate emergency: Boris Johnson faces calls to step up action as poll shows public support for accelerated cuts in carbon emissions [13 Jan 2020]
- Millions left unspent on NHS as councils fail to cash in on money from housing developers [13 Jan 2020]
- Lisa Nandy: 'Councils must have the power to run bus services for people, not profits' [13 Jan 2020]
- Families sending relatives with dementia to Thailand for care [12 Jan 2020]
- Crimes next to primary schools go up sharply [12 Jan 2020]
- County’s unitary call ignites reorganisation row [09 Jan 2020]
- Ministry creates new hub to oversee Towns Fund [09 Jan 2020]
- A&E staff 'despair' as NHS delays are at their worst ever level [09 Jan 2020]
- Housing-benefit errors 'making families homeless' [09 Jan 2020]
- Councils under huge pressure as number of children in care soars [09 Jan 2020]
- LGA calls for seat at table in children's care review [08 Jan 2020]
- Scottish fury at ‘unprecedented’ Budget delay [08 Jan 2020]
- Council buys £10m out-of-area commercial property [08 Jan 2020]
- MPs reject Labour's call to reinstate child refugee pledge [08 Jan 2020]
- Ofsted seeks judgement-free approach to 'stuck schools' [08 Jan 2020]
- Quarter of minimum wage workers underpaid, says study [08 Jan 2020]
- UK budget date is 'disrespectful to devolution', says Derek Mackay [07 Jan 2020]
- 'Infrastructure revolution' in March Budget [07 Jan 2020]
- HS2 spending ‘out of control’, says former review official [06 Jan 2020]
- Number of children admitted to A&E with mental health problems jumps 330 per cent over past decade [06 Jan 2020]
- Troubled families will be helped to get their lives back on track with a new funding boost [05 Jan 2020]
- More pupils to get access to free school breakfasts and meals in the holidays in fight against child hunger [04 Jan 2020]
- Nearly 3.5 million UK working age people have never had a job, report says [04 Jan 2020]
- Rogue landlords who house tenants in freezing homes to be targeted by government crackdown [03 Jan 2020]
- Arts Council boss vows more funding for those at early stages of career [01 Jan 2020]
- Almost one in 10 children miss lessons without the school's permission to go on holiday, figures show [01 Jan 2020]
- Voters tell Boris Johnson they prefer public services to tax cuts [01 Jan 2020]
- 2019
-
- Poor white boys are underdogs of the education system [30 Dec 2019]
- Charity calls for more adopters [30 Dec 2019]
- York wants private cars banned in three years [29 Dec 2019]
- Call to end ‘scandal’ of child in care costing four times annual fee for Eton [29 Dec 2019]
- Foster agencies add pressure on UK to take child refugees [29 Dec 2019]
- Rise in families seeking help for youngsters with special needs [28 Dec 2019]
- Boris Johnson warned to act Immediately to end social care crisis [27 Dec 2019]
- Treasury to rip up public spending rules in cash boost for north and Midlands [27 Dec 2019]
- Revealed: councils paid inadequate care homes £2.3m to house children [26 Dec 2019]
- Boxing Day sales 2019: Climate crisis fears will 'drive Britons away from shops' [26 Dec 2019]
- Hedge funds bet against recovery on high street [26 Dec 2019]
- Revealed: thousands of children in care placed in unregulated homes [25 Dec 2019]
- Leisure centres close as spending on council-run sports facilities plunges [25 Dec 2019]
- Amount of flood-prone land used for new houses in England doubles in a year, figures reveal [24 Dec 2019]
- Thousands of children in care over 100 miles away from family [24 Dec 2019]
- Ministers accused of ‘abject failure’ as fewer people get on their bikes [24 Dec 2019]
- Boris Johnson announces extra money to tackle homelessness [23 Dec 2019]
- Devon town councillor calls for babysitting allowance [20 Dec 2019]
- Chaotic diaries of headteachers' weeks expose shocking truth of crippling budget cuts [20 Dec 2019]
- Government promises to engage with sector in business rates review [19 Dec 2019]
- Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold [19 Dec 2019]
- More than 28% of England's secondary schools now in the red, study finds [19 Dec 2019]
- State Opening: Queen to outline PM's Brexit and NHS agenda [19 Dec 2019]
- David Williams: Give counties the power and money to level up ‘left behind’ places [18 Dec 2019]
- London Fire Brigade 'slow to learn' and needs improvement, says watchdog [17 Dec 2019]
- Shropshire faces £51m funding gap over five years [17 Dec 2019]
- [opinion] Rob Whiteman: Tory spending pledges don’t reflect stress on public services [17 Dec 2019]
- Former West Sussex leader and chief dispute blame as direction issued [17 Dec 2019]
- Oxford City Council announces £19m climate change emergency budget [17 Dec 2019]
- Whitehall silence as Gwynne calls for provisional settlement [17 Dec 2019]
- Sector remains ‘lukewarm’ about ‘crude’ resilience index [17 Dec 2019]
- Jenrick’s re-appointment confirmed [17 Dec 2019]
- Incoming London fire chief to prioritise rebuilding trust of Grenfell community [17 Dec 2019]
- No home for 280,000 on Christmas Day in England, figures show [17 Dec 2019]
- Bus travel hits record low amid 3.3% fares rise [17 Dec 2019]
- Brexit bill to rule out extension to transition period [17 Dec 2019]
- London Fire Brigade 'slow and wasteful', according to inspectors [17 Dec 2019]
- OBR deficit prediction ‘sobering warning’ for new government [16 Dec 2019]
- Shaw to replace Elvery at West Sussex [16 Dec 2019]
- Zero-emission street to ban petrol and diesel vehicles [16 Dec 2019]
- General election 2019: Hart gets Welsh post in government reshuffle [16 Dec 2019]
- What does business want from Boris Johnson? [16 Dec 2019]
- Abuse of politicians ‘undermining democracy’ [16 Dec 2019]
- Boris Johnson to announce new laws to ban train strikes, toughen prison sentences and stop landlords evicting their tenants this week [16 Dec 2019]
- CIPFA resilience index shows just 10% of councils are at financial risk [15 Dec 2019]
- Massive £33billion cash boost for NHS will be enshrined in law [14 Dec 2019]
- Reserves grow at county a year on from s114 threat [11 Dec 2019]
- How the parties’ manifestos compare on local government funding [11 Dec 2019]
- Council fined £500,000 after death of woman with dementia [10 Dec 2019]
- West Sussex’s financial position worsens by £15m in two months [10 Dec 2019]
- Official figures ‘hiding true scale of A&E waits’ [10 Dec 2019]
- Councils hit out at 'unfair' restrictions on flood repair funding [10 Dec 2019]
- Analysis: English councils ramp up charges for services [10 Dec 2019]
- Labour promises to spend £10bn on free personal care [09 Dec 2019]
- Talk of the towns: the battle to support ‘left-behind’ areas [09 Dec 2019]
- Tim Elwell-Sutton: No party manifesto goes far enough on public health [09 Dec 2019]
- Revealed: one in five school buildings in England require urgent repairs [08 Dec 2019]
- Blue badge fraud up 18%, say official figures [06 Dec 2019]
- General election 2019: Labour pledges more help for smaller firms [06 Dec 2019]
- £845k in charity grants supporting disabled people in London [05 Dec 2019]
- Poor children lose out on exercise, research suggests [05 Dec 2019]
- Could 'slow shopping' revive the high street? [05 Dec 2019]
- Does Boris Johnson's pledge to fix social care system stack up? [opinion] [05 Dec 2019]
- One in eight care homes has closed – despite record numbers of older Brits [05 Dec 2019]
- Social care crisis wastes £½m of NHS money a day [05 Dec 2019]
- Tories announce £4.2bn public transport fund for combined authorities [04 Dec 2019]
- Council tax on empty properties set to be raised by Bolton Council [04 Dec 2019]
- Rise in outstanding business rates challenges ‘creating bottleneck’ [03 Dec 2019]
- Children’s services ‘close to collapse’, says charity chief executive [03 Dec 2019]
- Tory plans would further squeeze councils’ budgets, says IFS [02 Dec 2019]
- Seven charts on the £73,000 cost of educating a child [02 Dec 2019]
- General election 2019: Tory and Labour spending plans 'not credible' - IFS [28 Nov 2019]
- UK inequality 'among worst of developed countries' [27 Nov 2019]
- Paul Swinney: What are Labour and the Conservatives offering cities? [opinion] [27 Nov 2019]
- Parts of England 'have higher mortality rates than Turkey' [27 Nov 2019]
- Boris Johnson under fire over 'vague' social care funding plans [25 Nov 2019]
- Councils’ income from business rates rises 5% [22 Nov 2019]
- Charity demands action on social care [22 Nov 2019]
- Promises for councils in ‘£135bn’ Labour manifesto [22 Nov 2019]
- LGA to draw up funding alternatives amid fears for ‘antiquated’ business rates [22 Nov 2019]
- Economists warn of deficit rise as borrowing hits 5-year high [22 Nov 2019]
- Nearly half of British motorists fear the UK's pothole-riven roads are getting worse, with rural areas the hardest hit [22 Nov 2019]
- Nearly half of British motorists fear the UK's pothole-riven roads are getting worse, with rural areas the hardest hit [22 Nov 2019]
- Council service spending grows by 1.9% [21 Nov 2019]
- Clean air for all: Hedges can halve pollution in playgrounds [21 Nov 2019]
- Older people dying for want of social care at rate of three an hour [21 Nov 2019]
- 'Half of women will be carers by the age of 46' [21 Nov 2019]
- PF and CIPFA to monitor election spending promises [20 Nov 2019]
- Councils’ income from business rates rises 5% [20 Nov 2019]
- Housebuilding data shows dearth of homes for affordable renting [20 Nov 2019]
- Fielding suggests return to revenue support grant [20 Nov 2019]
- Guidance recommends sale of risky investment properties [20 Nov 2019]
- Social care must be solved by next government, coalition of charities and councils tell Telegraph [20 Nov 2019]
- Gary Fielding: Is there a better way for business rates? [19 Nov 2019]
- Data reveals the 20 UK cities with declining high streets [19 Nov 2019]
- Surge in number of council tax fraud cases [18 Nov 2019]
- Children’s services budgets blown as spend continues to rise [18 Nov 2019]
- Business rates: 'We might as well hand back the keys' [18 Nov 2019]
- General election 2019: PM puts corporation cuts on hold to help fund NHS [18 Nov 2019]
- Killer potholes: More than 250 cyclists have been killed or seriously injured in crashes caused by potholes in the past five years [18 Nov 2019]
- Why more people are talking about the issue of social care [18 Nov 2019]
- One visit to care home shows why we can't go on like this [18 Nov 2019]
- Councils spend more than £1.1bn on temporary housing for homeless people in space of a year [15 Nov 2019]
- Public sector leaders call for more joined-up working [14 Nov 2019]
- One in 50 'children in need' are not yet born [14 Nov 2019]
- Councils get just 27p from every £1 collected by bailiffs – and it’s pushing households into debt [13 Nov 2019]
- Inflation falls to three-year low as energy prices fall [13 Nov 2019]
- Hundreds of people with autism wrongly being detained in mental health units [13 Nov 2019]
- Severe flooding becomes election campaign issue [12 Nov 2019]
- UK wage growth slows as unemployment falls [12 Nov 2019]
- UK GDP: Britain ducks recession but annual growth weakest since 2010 [11 Nov 2019]
- Thousands of UK workers' pay to rise as living wage increases [11 Nov 2019]
- Slavery offences soar as county lines are targeted [11 Nov 2019]
- Call for reform of pupil exclusions 'as schools unaware of legal duties' [11 Nov 2019]
- Cancellations of NHS child mental health sessions jump 25% [11 Nov 2019]
- Councils 'need billions more to fund adult care as population ages' [11 Nov 2019]
- Faith schools contribute millions of pounds less towards own costs, figures suggest [10 Nov 2019]
- GDP monthly estimate, UK: September 2019 [09 Nov 2019]
- Government activates Bellwin scheme to support local communities hit by flooding [09 Nov 2019]
- Council finance settlement timing “up to new government” [07 Nov 2019]
- Tories and Labour announce spending plans [07 Nov 2019]
- Care home operators accused of extracting 'disguised' profits [07 Nov 2019]
- Commissioner details ‘disturbing narratives’ in West Sussex [07 Nov 2019]
- Williamson derided over ‘don’t disrupt children’s Christmas’ poll demand [06 Nov 2019]
- Ofcom selects Melanie Dawes as chief executive [06 Nov 2019]
- Councils asked to avoid using schools as polling stations [06 Nov 2019]
- Business rates retention rise ‘will make council income inequality worse’ [06 Nov 2019]
- Public health cuts have ‘hit poor hardest’ [05 Nov 2019]
- Care review for thousands of patients with learning disabilities and autism [05 Nov 2019]
- None of pledged starter homes built, says watchdog [05 Nov 2019]
- Care children sexually abused or exploited while missing from homes [04 Nov 2019]
- General Election 2019: Public spending 'to rocket' in next parliament [04 Nov 2019]
- Benefits freeze to end in 2020, government confirms [03 Nov 2019]
- Home-to-school transport for special educational needs children under threat as costs rise and funds are cut [02 Nov 2019]
- Chancellor announces £250m ‘infrastructure revolution’ [01 Nov 2019]
- Number of new rough sleepers in London increases by 50% in one year [31 Oct 2019]
- Single tier fear reignited [30 Oct 2019]
- Local government sector guide to tackling loneliness launched [29 Oct 2019]
- Government careers advice scheme will fail to reach thousands of young people, councils warn [29 Oct 2019]
- City could become first in UK to completely ban diesel cars [29 Oct 2019]
- Councils pessimistic about impact of Brexit [29 Oct 2019]
- High streets in danger as planning applications from retailers plummet [29 Oct 2019]
- PWLB interest rate rise won’t have dramatic effect on council costs, says minister [29 Oct 2019]
- Pace of fracking slower than anticipated [28 Oct 2019]
- Opinion: Spending Review needs to address ‘plague of potholes’ [28 Oct 2019]
- Northamptonshire Council 'failed' grandmother by demanding £11k [28 Oct 2019]
- Labour calls for release of forecasts for Javid’s scrapped budget [28 Oct 2019]
- ‘Nearly a fifth of parents quit jobs because of childcare costs’ [28 Oct 2019]
- Some parts of UK ageing twice as fast as others, new research finds [28 Oct 2019]
- £400m for school buildings is 'too little, too late', says union [28 Oct 2019]
- MPs to vote on Boris Johnson's 12 December election call [28 Oct 2019]
- Transport department bids for long term funds to fix Britain's potholes [27 Oct 2019]
- Ten new towns to bolster regions after Brexit [26 Oct 2019]
- Robots capable of caring for the elderly are being developed in £34m government project amid staffing crisis in social care [26 Oct 2019]
- First council built care home in decades opens in Liverpool [25 Oct 2019]
- Failure of £350m Four Seasons deal proof social care is not ‘properly’ funded [25 Oct 2019]
- Javid writes to new treasury committee chair to announce Budget cancelled [25 Oct 2019]
- UK’s health capital funding ‘lags behind that of other developed countries’ [25 Oct 2019]
- Error found in UK public finances, official statistics body admits [25 Oct 2019]
- Brexit: EU considers extension as MPs mull election [25 Oct 2019]
- Overhaul exclusions to beat knife crime, say MPs [25 Oct 2019]
- ‘Flawed’ Safety Test Leaves Thousands At Risk Of Grenfell-Style Fire, Government Warned [24 Oct 2019]
- Extinction Rebellion: Met Police’s London-wide ban on protests was unlawful, court hears [24 Oct 2019]
- School funding boost 'too little too late', say hundreds of protesting parents [24 Oct 2019]
- High Street: How many UK shops have closed? [23 Oct 2019]
- 'Unlawful practices and buck passing' over special needs [23 Oct 2019]
- Powys council plans to open children's care home [22 Oct 2019]
- Business rates reform key, says Labour business chairman Rachel Reeves [22 Oct 2019]
- UK government borrowing up by a fifth over past six months [22 Oct 2019]
- Airbnb probed by UK tax authorities [22 Oct 2019]
- Funding cuts take toll on support for visually impaired pupils [22 Oct 2019]
- World economy is sleepwalking into a new financial crisis, warns Mervyn King [21 Oct 2019]
- UK population forecast to reach nearly 70 million in the next nine years [21 Oct 2019]
- Police arrest 743 in blitz on 'county lines' drugs gangs [18 Oct 2019]
- Free schools ‘not helping disadvantaged pupils’ [17 Oct 2019]
- Pension tax relief to cost public purse nearly £40bn [17 Oct 2019]
- Chanceller urged to scrap inflationary business rate rise [17 Oct 2019]
- Boris Johnson Confirms Agreed Brexit Deal [17 Oct 2019]
- Troubled fund shut down leaving Kent council waiting for repayments [15 Oct 2019]
- Care for mental health patients has deteriorated in England, regulators say [15 Oct 2019]
- Queen’s Speech sets out Boris Johnson’s election manifesto [15 Oct 2019]
- Vaping: 'I'm 17, and rarely ID'd for e-cigs' [15 Oct 2019]
- County publishes business case for single unitary [14 Oct 2019]
- Chancellor Sajid Javid reveals date of next Budget [14 Oct 2019]
- Labour's nationalisation price tag would start at £196bn, CBI says [14 Oct 2019]
- PM seeks to thrust law and order on to agenda in Queen’s speech [14 Oct 2019]
- How councils 'ignoring the law' on social care forces families apart [13 Oct 2019]
- NHS sets out to tackle homelessness crisis [13 Oct 2019]
- Revealed: the private landlords profiting from England’s housing crisis [13 Oct 2019]
- Families in England hit by 70% cut in school uniform grant [13 Oct 2019]
- Government accused of wrecking plans to build more social housing [11 Oct 2019]
- Modular homes endorsed by Prince William to be built by charity to 'end youth homelessness' [10 Oct 2019]
- South east seeks rail fare freeze to help double economy [10 Oct 2019]
- Thousands of pensioners could be homeless in next 10 years due to soaring rent costs [10 Oct 2019]
- Extinction Rebellion could disrupt Queen opening Parliament [09 Oct 2019]
- CIPFA proposals to 'revolutionise financial reporting' [09 Oct 2019]
- Queen's Speech: What is it and why is it important? [09 Oct 2019]
- Living wage boost would benefit hundreds of thousands of council staff [08 Oct 2019]
- Brexit casts its shadow over budgets [08 Oct 2019]
- NHS bosses warn of social care timebomb [08 Oct 2019]
- Boris Johnson’s spending spree threatens to leave no cash for tax cuts [08 Oct 2019]
- No-deal Brexit would push borrowing above £100bn, IFS warns [08 Oct 2019]
- More than three million Brits struggling to pay basic bills like council tax [07 Oct 2019]
- Leaked Brexit planning memo offers no new guidance for departing EU [07 Oct 2019]
- Fuller: Counties also under threat if devo push has unitary focus [07 Oct 2019]
- Consultation opens on local government finance settlement [04 Oct 2019]
- Climate change targets ‘unlikely to be met’ without funding, council chiefs say [03 Oct 2019]
- ‘Councils should be reduced in size to make savings’ [02 Oct 2019]
- Queen’s Speech ‘must give councils greater fiscal freedom’ [02 Oct 2019]
- Javid announces £4.3bn Brexit 'funding guarantee' [30 Sep 2019]
- Government takes the first steps in a bus revolution? [30 Sep 2019]
- Javid announces white paper as devo ‘regains its Bojo’ [30 Sep 2019]
- Tories tot up cost of free social care [30 Sep 2019]
- Auditors get tough new rules after high?profile collapses [30 Sep 2019]
- Social care for smokers costing councils £720m a year [27 Sep 2019]
- IFS: Johnson’s tax plans will cost economy billions [27 Sep 2019]
- Number of empty shops in UK at highest level for five years [27 Sep 2019]
- No-deal Brexit 'still risk to NHS and care sector' [27 Sep 2019]
- England's most deprived areas named as Jaywick and Blackpool [26 Sep 2019]
- Boris Johnson reveals £5bn broadband bonanza [24 Sep 2019]
- Time is running out for councils to receive EU replacement fund, LGA warns [24 Sep 2019]
- Youth services ‘decimated by 69 per cent’ in less than a decade amid surge in knife crime, figures show [24 Sep 2019]
- Minister confirms creation of Northamptonshire unitary authorities [23 Sep 2019]
- UK ‘needs £128bn’ to solve the housing crisis [23 Sep 2019]
- Government announces over £10 million for 5 more coastal communities [20 Sep 2019]
- Peterborough City Council to tackle homelessness with its own housing company [20 Sep 2019]
- Council to 'terminate' care company [20 Sep 2019]
- Minister handed Brexit cash demand in Portsmouth [19 Sep 2019]
- Think-tank calls for more local taxes [19 Sep 2019]
- Johnson ignores LGA social care deadline [19 Sep 2019]
- Where not to live if you want a good care home [19 Sep 2019]
- Call for views on the financial reporting of local authorities [18 Sep 2019]
- Call for views on the financial reporting of local authorities [18 Sep 2019]
- [Opinion] The Treasury needs to take a place-based view [18 Sep 2019]
- Liverpool ‘in crisis’ over £57.6m funding gap [18 Sep 2019]
- ‘Wasteful’ Treasury slammed for impact on services [17 Sep 2019]
- Research reveals councils' top Brexit risks [17 Sep 2019]
- Why audit needs auditing [17 Sep 2019]