Date: 26 Jan 2021
High air pollution linked to irreversible sight loss
People living in areas with higher levels of air pollution are more likely to develop a progressive and irreversible type of sight loss, a study has shown.
Researchers from University College London found higher rates of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) among people in more polluted areas, even when pollution levels were within World Health Organisation guidelines.
AMD is the leading cause of irreversible blindness among over-50s in high income countries. In the UK about 600,000 people are affected.
Date: 26 Jan 2021
Depression among children is at frightening levels, doctors warn
Schools must fully reopen with vaccinations for staff to avoid a “calamitous” impact on children’s mental health, some of the country’s top paediatricians have warned.
In a letter to The Times today, ten of the UK’s top experts in child health say that anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts are at “frightening levels” among children and many parents are on the brink of breakdown.
A group of experts including Claire Hogg, a consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine, Andrew Bush, a professor of paediatric respirology, and Ian Balfour Lynn, a specialist in child respiratory medicine, warn that the lockdown is inflicting serious damage on children’s development and wellbeing.
Date: 26 Jan 2021
Quarantine hotel plans set to be announced
Some travellers coming to England will have to quarantine in hotels amid concerns about new Covid variants, the government is expected to announce.
Boris Johnson will discuss proposals with ministers later, but a decision may not be announced until Wednesday.
Most foreign nationals from high-risk countries are already denied UK entry, so the new rules will mainly affect returning UK citizens and residents.
Other Headlines
- Pandemic is 'levelling down' the South, report warns
Date: 25 Jan 2021
The economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic will make it four times harder to level up the North and Midlands, a new study has revealed.
Cities Outlook 2021, published by Centre for Cities, warns the pandemic also risks levelling down prosperous places in southern England. It highlights that 634,000 people outside the Greater South East now need to find secure, well-paid jobs to level up the country, compared to 170,000 last March.
The report found Birmingham, Hull and Blackpool face the biggest levelling up challenge, while London, Crawley and Slough are among the prosperous places of concern due COVID-19’s potential long-term impact.
- Councils back postponement of May local elections
Date: 25 Jan 2021
Senior council figures have urged the Government to postpone the local elections planned for May, according to a new poll.
The survey by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) reveals that councils are overwhelmingly concerned about their ability to deliver a May poll. Instead, 69% of council officials believe an autumn timetable is more achievable.
Those responding to the poll call on the Government to provide additional ring-fenced funding to make elections safe, and greater expansion of postal voting.
- Government must use 2021 to get levelling up back on track
Date: 25 Jan 2021
Urgent action is needed to level up Northern cities and towns – and prevent parts of the South being levelled down, writes the chief executive of Centre for Cities.
After many difficult months there is reason to hope that the end of the pandemic is in sight and our lives could soon return to some form of normality. A speedy vaccination programme could mean that by summer restaurants, shops and pubs can re-open and, despite what some commentators have said, the benefits of face-to-face interaction mean many people will return to their offices.
But the scaling down of the public health crisis will mean a scaling-up of economic crisis – primarily repairing the damage Covid-19 has done to the national economy and the economies of our cities and towns.
- councils to get £23m to encourage high-risk groups to have jab
Date: 25 Jan 2021
The government will provide £23m in funding to dozens of councils in England to help fight misinformation around coronavirus vaccines and to encourage uptake of the jab among more high-risk communities.
Councils with plans to contact people from minority ethnic backgrounds, older people and disabled people have been chosen for the financial support, as these groups have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and are more likely to be dealing with its long-term effects.
A number of experts and politicians recently called for people in high-risk minority ethnic groups to be prioritised for immunisation, and for them to be targeted by publicity campaigns aimed at tackling vaccine scepticism.
- Most job roles for youths not yet filled
Date: 25 Jan 2021
Fewer than 2,000 young people have so far started new roles under the government's £2bn Kickstart jobs scheme, data shows.
The programme, which launched in September, has created 120,000 temporary jobs to date.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the BBC coronavirus restrictions were making it harder for more young people to get started.
- Councils report nearly 5% dip in parking profits
Date: 25 Jan 2021
Local authorities in England have reported a slight dip in parking profits, which they warn could impact their ability to fix potholes and tackle congestion.
An analysis by the RAC Foundation of the standardised financial returns made by 338 English councils to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) found that they made a combined profit of £891m from parking in 2019-20. This was 4.6% lower than the £934m surplus made in the previous year.
Responding to the RAC’s findings, the Local Government Association (LGA) emphasised that any money made from parking management is reinvested in ‘essential transport projects’.
- ‘Pressure cooker’ lockdown set to drive rising costs
Date: 25 Jan 2021
Councils were facing a Covid-driven funding gap of more than £2bn in 2020-21 even before the latest lockdown led to a further soaring service demand, LGC has learned, as expectation mounts that the gap between government funding and the cost pressures authorities are facing is widening again.
Analysis of the sector’s latest financial returns to the government by the Local Government Association found total in-year Covid pressure projected by councils was around £9.7bn, made up of £6.9bn of cost pressures and £2.8bn of non-tax income losses.
After taking account of additional funding provided by ministers, including via clinical commissioning groups for social care and an estimated £1bn from the sales, fees and charges compensation scheme, the LGA estimated the gap this year is almost £2.3bn.
- Almost four in five of over-80s have received first dose of coronavirus vaccine but supply is 'tight', says Matt Hancock
Date: 25 Jan 2021
Almost four in five of those aged over 80 have received a first dose of a COVID vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.
Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Mr Hancock said the government was "on track" to meet its deadline of offering a first dose of a coronavirus jab to 15 million of the most vulnerable by 15 February.
He said more than one in nine of the UK's adult population had now received a jab, including 78.7% of all over-80s.
- UK records lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases so far this year
Date: 25 Jan 2021
The UK has recorded its lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases so far this year, with 22,195.
The last time the number of cases by date reported was lower than that was 15 December, according to the government's coronavirus data dashboard.
While there is usually a reporting lag over and immediately after the weekend, resulting in lower increases, it's also well down on yesterday's figure of 30,004 and the 37,535 posted last Monday.
- Schools will be told of reopening plans 'as soon as we can'
Date: 25 Jan 2021
The government will tell teachers and parents when schools in England can reopen "as soon as we can", the prime minister has said.
MPs have called on the government to set out a "route map" for reopening amid concerns for children's education.
Boris Johnson said he understood why people wanted a timetable but he did not want to lift restrictions while the infection rate was "still very high".
- English council chiefs back postponement of May local elections
Date: 24 Jan 2021
A further postponement to this year’s local elections, in the wake of the continuing difficulties caused by the Covid pandemic, is backed by the vast majority of senior council figures across England, the Observer can reveal.
Only 11% of the senior officials dealing with the forthcoming elections believe they should go ahead in May as planned, despite the government’s determination to press ahead. More than two-thirds (69%) believe the huge set of elections should now take place in the autumn, according to the most comprehensive survey of council chief executives, leaders and officers in charge of organising elections to be conducted on the issue.
A further 14% called for a shorter delay to the summer and 6% backed a postponement beyond this autumn, according to the analysis by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU). Of the more than 350 officials who responded, two-thirds said they were “very concerned” about holding elections in May.
- Swathes of England's vital flood defences ‘almost useless’
Date: 24 Jan 2021
Thousands of England’s vital flood defences were in such a state of ruin last year they would fail to protect communities from extreme weather, an investigation has found.
More than 3,400 of England’s “high consequence” flood assets, defined as those where there is a high risk to life and property if they fail, were judged by the Environment Agency to be in such a bad condition they were almost useless.
This means that more than one in 20 of the country’s crucial flood defences were in disrepair in 2019-20, the highest proportion in years. This rose to nearly one in 10 in the regions battered by Storm Christoph last week.
- Fears grow over hidden child abuse since start of pandemic
Date: 24 Jan 2021
Vulnerable children are facing an increasing wave of hidden abuse since the start of the pandemic, according to ongoing evidence of a slump in the numbers being identified by social services.
The impact of the pandemic since March has intensified issues such as domestic violence, parental mental health and alcohol and substance abuse – all factors that put children at greater risk.
However, there has been a significant fall in referrals to council children’s services of 10% between the end of April and November, according to research by the Office for the Children’s Commissioner in England.
- UK variant 'may be more deadly'
Date: 23 Jan 2021
Early evidence suggests the variant of coronavirus that emerged in the UK may be more deadly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
However, there remains huge uncertainty around the numbers - and vaccines are still expected to work.
The data comes from mathematicians comparing death rates in people infected with either the new or the old versions of the virus.
- Ministers to discuss £500 Covid payment to boost self-isolation rates
Date: 22 Jan 2021
Ministers are to discuss proposals to pay anyone in England who tests positive for Covid-19 £500 to self-isolate.
It is among the suggestions in a leaked document from the Department of Health. There are fears the current financial support is not working because low paid workers cannot afford to self-isolate.
But a senior government source cast doubt on the idea, saying it had been drawn up by officials and had not been considered by the prime minister.
- Government finances at 'significant risk' from debt-laden councils due to Covid
Date: 22 Jan 2021
Local authorities who are taking on risky levels of debt to shore up dwindling resources during the pandemic present a “significant risk” to the government’s finances, MPs have warned.
The Commons’ public accounts committee urged the Treasury on Friday to detail how it will manage the risk to the nation’s finances as the extra pressures of dealing with coronavirus adds to the pressure on councils.
Meg Hillier, the committee’s chair, criticised the department as having a “worryingly laissez-faire attitude” to the issue as the MPs predicted more authorities will soon be unable to balance their books.
- Councils face legal challenges against pop-up cycle lanes and road closures introduced during Covid-19 pandemic
Date: 22 Jan 2021
Town halls are facing at least ten legal challenges against road schemes brought in during the pandemic.
Residents' groups are applying for judicial reviews into measures such as road closures and pop-up cycle lanes at a High Court hearing next month.
The cases include schemes introduced in the London boroughs of Hackney, Ealing, Hounslow, Lambeth, Croydon and Camden which the campaigners want scrapped.
- UK borrowing hits highest December level on record
Date: 22 Jan 2021
UK government borrowing hit £34.1bn last month, the highest December figure on record, as the cost of pandemic support weighed on the economy.
It was also the third-highest borrowing figure in any month since records began in 1993, the Office for National Statistics said.
The figures underline Chancellor Rishi Sunak's problems as he prepares his March Budget. Borrowing for this financial year has now reached £270.8bn. That is £212.7bn more than a year ago, the ONS said.
- Council finances a ‘significant risk' to the Treasury
Date: 22 Jan 2021
MPs have warned that the financial sustainability of some local authorities presents a “significant risk” to the government's finances, and urged the swift implementation of the Redmond review into council audit.
In a report on the Whole of Government Accounts, the Public Accounts Committee said that, due to the Covid-19 and investment pressures, it expects more local authorities to issue section 114 notices to stop essential spending.
The PAC expressed concerns about the level of oversight and control that the Treasury is exercising and whether it has a sufficient handle on local government finance, given it would be responsible for bailing out any struggling organisations.
- Councils ‘in driving seat’ over shared prosperity fund, Jenrick insists
Date: 22 Jan 2021
The communities secretary has said the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and the £4bn levelling up fund - both intended to replace current EU funding - will have “localism and local government at their heart”.
Robert Jenrick's comments at a meeting of the Local Government Association councillors' forum this afternoon should go some way to diminishing fears local enterprise partnerships (leps) would be given the primary local role in their delivery, rather than local government.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government will publish prospectuses for the levelling up fund and £220m to pilot projects in preparation for the UKSPF “within weeks”, he said.
- County’s leaders present legal solution to let remote meetings continue
Date: 22 Jan 2021
Council leaders from across Essex have written to Robert Jenrick urging him to extend provisions to hold virtual meetings after obtaining legal advice that it would be in his power to do so.
The letter to the communities secretary, seen by LGC, warns that without the ability to hold remote meetings councils will not be able to comply with their duty under the Local Government Act 1999 to secure continuous improvement in services.
It says that as it is “inevitable that social distancing advice will be in place in May 2021 and for many months thereafter”, come May Essex CC will “have the least transparent arrangements it has ever had”. This is because under social distancing requirements it will only be able to fit 49 of its 75 members into the council chamber and no members of the public or press.
- Cambridgeshire’s £24m education boost may not be enough for SEND pupils
Date: 22 Jan 2021
Cambridgeshire County Council has announced that £24m will be added onto schooling budgets in the upcoming year, owing to extra demand placed on schools during coronavirus, because of added infrastructure despite schools being closed for most pupils for most of the year.
However, although extra funding is welcomed within the education sector, critics warn that £24m may not be enough to meet the deficit that they’re facing, particularly in relation to SEND pupils.
With rising costs, the deficit for provisions for SEND mean that the Council could be facing a £27m deficit, rising the year after to £38m.
- High Court deals blow to expansion of cycle lanes and wider pavements
Date: 21 Jan 2021
Road closures designed to boost walking and cycling could face legal challenges after a judge declared that a big expansion of the plans was “unlawful”.
The High Court in London ruled that the introduction of road closures in the capital was based on guidance that was “seriously flawed”.
Mrs Justice Lang found in favour of black cab drivers who opposed the schemes that were introduced during the pandemic to promote social distancing and exercise. She said it was “possible to widen pavements to allow for social distancing” without seeking to transform parts of central London into “predominantly car-free zones”.
- Johnson raises fears of lockdown in England continuing into summertime
Date: 21 Jan 2021
Boris Johnson raised fears that tough Covid restrictions could continue well into the spring and beyond on Thursday as ministers refused to be drawn on plans for any potential easing of lockdown.
While the vast majority of Tory MPs have toed the line since the new variant of the virus sent cases soaring, Downing Street’s reticence is already causing anxiety among a few backbenchers, who are urging an easing of the restrictions if vaccination rates stay on target.
Downing Street is committed to reviewing the current England-wide lockdown in mid-February, by which point all people in the four top target groups for vaccinations should have been offered at least their first injection.
- Auditors raise questions over council transparency
Date: 21 Jan 2021
Bristol City Council’s auditors have raised concerns over transparency relating to the council’s failed energy company Bristol Energy.
In a review of the governance arrangements of the council's subsidiaries, published ahead of an audit committee meeting, Grant Thornton said that information on key decisions made by the deputy mayor in relation to the company were not routinely published.
This meant the audit committee was not always sufficiently updated on developments and information relating to the governance and risks at Bristol Energy, Grant Thornton said.
- Council shifts £11m of land to housing account
Date: 21 Jan 2021
Reading Borough Council has approved plans to move £11m of land assets to its housing revenue account as part of a major regeneration project.
The move was agreed in a council meeting earlier this week, and will see the transfer four banks of land earmarked for a £44m affordable housing project from the general fund to the HRA.
The council made the move using powers under section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972, as the land is surplus to the general funds requirements and no longer required for its previous purposes.
- Jenrick ‘made arguments within government’ to delay local elections
Date: 21 Jan 2021
The communities secretary has told the country’s most senior councillors that he sees a “very strong argument” for delaying the local elections, putting him on collision course with the prime minister who has made it clear he wants to see the polls go ahead.
Robert Jenrick told councillors during this afternoon’s councillors forum that he understands “it isn’t just about campaigning” but the “delivery of the elections” but that “for those people not involved in local government it’s easy to miss that, and that delivery begins now”.
“Your officers will be beginning to think about [polling] and those efforts will ramp up in the month of February and into March which is a time when they need to be thinking about many other things as well. So I can see a strong argument [for delaying] and I have made those arguments within government.”
- £148m to target county lines drug gangs and treat addiction
Date: 20 Jan 2021
Police have shut down more than 550 county lines and arrested nearly 3,500 people connected with the drug dealing gangs in just over a year.
The Home Office revealed the crackdown as it announced a £148 million package to cut crime and tackle issues around illegal drugs. It also gives more resources to police to tackle organised urban criminal gangs, which take over provincial drug markets, often exploiting young and vulnerable people. The county line is the mobile phone line used to take drugs orders.
- Fears over coronavirus vaccine supplies as rate drops
Date: 20 Jan 2021
Ministers are increasingly concerned about the pace of the coronavirus vaccine rollout after a reduction in the supply of Pfizer-Biontech jabs.
The number of people receiving their first dose on Monday fell for the third day in a row to 204,076 from a high of 324,000 on Friday.
Pfizer said supplies of vaccine would be lower this month and next as it was upgrading its factory in Belgium before increasing production in March.
- Cost of living up despite Covid Christmas curbs
Date: 20 Jan 2021
Prices rose at a faster rate in the UK in December, despite Covid curbs that forced non-essential shops to shut.
Consumer Prices Index inflation jumped to 0.6%, from 0.3% in November, pushed higher by rising transport and clothes prices, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Many people rushed to travel and beat Christmas restrictions, forcing up prices.
- London chief takes on national vaccines role
Date: 20 Jan 2021
The chief executive of Southwark LBC Eleanor Kelly has taken up a key role in the national Covid vaccine rollout.
Ms Kelly, who has been Southwark chief for the last eight years, is joining the government and NHS’s national vaccinations team, helping to coordinate the local government response.
In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, Ms Kelly was praised by then-communities secretary Sajid Javid for her role as a key member of a specialist task force publicly fronting the gold command operation in Kensington & Chelsea RBC. She also held one of the senior roles on London's strategic coordinating group when it was convened at the start of the pandemic.
- Croydon ordered to hold May mayoral referendum
Date: 20 Jan 2021
Croydon LBC has been told to hold a referendum this May on introducing an elected mayor after the government legislated to make it possible.
A petition that campaigners claim was signed by more than 17,000 borough voters was presented to the council in September, exceeding the required 5% of electors needed to compel Croydon to hold a referendum. However, the council’s then leadership declined to schedule a referendum alongside local elections in May, citing emergency coronavirus legislation that deemed such petitions invalid before 6 May 2021.
The council, which is under new political and officer leadership following a damning public interest report into its commercial and investment decisions and effectively declaring itself bankrupt, has since committed to hold a referendum in October 2021.
- Government greenlights councils’ ambitious zero carbon housing plans
Date: 20 Jan 2021
New government measures to improve energy performance of new homes have been welcomed for allowing councils to retain powers to set local energy efficiency standards, but some campaigners have been left disappointed by the failure to adopt a more rapid timetable.
The government yesterday published its response to the Future Home Standard consultation carried out last year, in which it has confirmed that new homes will need to be 'zero carbon ready' from 2025.
The government had previously indicated it would remove councils’ powers to go higher than government thresholds when it comes to housing efficiency standards, which could have potentially watered down more ambitious plans for low carbon homes in areas including Stroud and the Oxford-Cambridge arc.
- UK cities and towns hardest hit by COVID-19 likely to recover fastest, report finds
Date: 20 Jan 2021
The cities worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic are likely to make the fastest economic recovery, new analysis has revealed today.
The Good Growth for Cities report by PwC and Demos shows that towns and cities such as Bradford, Liverpool and Southend have seen their economies decrease by more than 12.5% in 2020. However, these cities are predicted to recover faster than others in 2021, with projected GVA growth rates of 5.3% and higher.
However the report warns these places will also be left with smaller economies in 2021 than they were in 2019.
- Inquiry launched into role of local authority pension funds in fighting climate change
Date: 20 Jan 2021
A parliamentary group has launched an inquiry into how institutional investors such as local authority pension funds can help drive a ‘just transition’ to a net zero economy.
The Government is committed in law to transition the UK to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 as part of the struggle against climate change.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Local Authority Pension Funds today announced the launch of its inquiry to investigate what local authority pension funds and other investors can do to ensure that no one is left out during the transition.
- New homes will need to reduce emissions by at least 75% by 2025
Date: 20 Jan 2021
All new buildings will have to meet tough new energy efficiency standards under plans published by the Government.
The Government said all new homes will be expected to produce 75-80% lower carbon emissions compared to current levels by 2025. An interim target of 31% lower carbon emissions has been set from 2021.
Existing homes will also be subject to higher standards with a requirement for replacement, repairs and parts to be more energy efficient.
- Councils urged to update their Local Plans
Date: 20 Jan 2021
A small number of councils are failing to keep their Local Plans up-to-date, the housing minister has warned.
Christopher Pincher urged all councils to ensure they have an up-to-date Local Plan in place by the government deadline of December 2023 in order to ensure they can deliver the homes needed.
Mr Pincher said: ‘Despite the significant challenges caused by the pandemic, I know the majority of councils are doing all they can to build much-needed homes across England. I would like to thank them for the important work they do to deliver the homes, jobs and supporting infrastructure that make such a difference to their local communities.
- Rollout of daily testing of close contacts paused in English schools
Date: 20 Jan 2021
The government has paused plans to roll out rapid daily coronavirus testing of close contacts, in all but a small number of secondary schools and colleges.
Testing close contacts of a positive case as an alternative to isolation showed some benefits in trials.
But the emergence of a new variant means the risk of missing infections has risen, health officials say.
- Oxford scientists preparing new vaccine versions to combat emerging Covid strains
Date: 20 Jan 2021
Oxford scientists are preparing to rapidly produce new versions of their vaccine to combat emerging Covid-19 variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil.
The university has confirmed that the team behind the AstraZeneca jab is undertaking feasibility studies to reconfigure the technology at 48 hours notice.
The news emerged as new research suggested that the current generation of Covid vaccines may not work against the new South African strain.
A laboratory study found that the 501Y.V2 variant achieved "complete escape" from monoclonal antibodies, the man-made proteins that act like the antibodies produced by jabs.
- Record 343,000 people in UK receive Covid vaccine in one day
Date: 20 Jan 2021
A record 343,000 people in the UK received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday as the NHS scaled up its push to vaccinate 15 million people by mid-February – but Tony Blair called on ministers to hit 600,000 jabs a day.
Downing Street said it was increasingly confident that it would hit the target as long as the supply was maintained, although with 25 days to go it will require about 400,000 immunisations a day to remain on track.
Blair, the former prime minister who was among the first to advocate prioritisation of single doses before the approach was adopted by the UK, today calls on ministers to increase the pace of vaccinations to 600,000 a day, arguing this could allow a return to normality by mid-May.
- Majority of discretionary self-isolation support applications rejected, Labour say
Date: 20 Jan 2021
Three quarters of applications for a £500 discretionary grant, which aims to help those on low incomes self-isolate, have been rejected, figures suggest.
Employed or self-employed people in England who do not qualify for the Test and Trace Support Payment because they do not receive benefits can apply.
Data obtained by Labour and shared with BBC Newsnight suggests just 12,069 of 49,877 applications were successful.
- Covid jabs diverted to over-80s in vaccination blackspots
Date: 19 Jan 2021
Coronavirus jabs will be diverted to areas falling behind on vaccinating the over-80s amid concerns about regional disparities in the programme.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said that stocks would be prioritised for areas with a large number of unprotected over-80s, despite a promise yesterday to let GPs begin vaccinating younger patients.
More than four million people across Britain have received a first dose of the vaccine after 1.8 million were reached in the seven days to Sunday.
- One in four UK young people have felt 'unable to cope' in pandemic
Date: 19 Jan 2021
Young people are in danger of giving up on their futures and on themselves, with a quarter saying they feel unable to cope with life, one of the UK’s leading charities has said.
The Prince’s Trust long-running annual survey of young people’s happiness and confidence returned the worst findings in its 12-year history.
“The pandemic has taken a devastating toll on young people’s mental health and wellbeing,” said Jonathan Townsend, the trust’s UK chief executive. “Many believe they are missing out on being young, and sadly we know that the impact of the pandemic on their employment prospects and overall wellbeing could continue far into their futures.”
- MPs call for Universal Credit cut to be scrapped - but majority of Tory MPs abstain
Date: 19 Jan 2021
MPs have backed a motion calling for the upcoming cut in Universal Credit to be scrapped, with nearly all Conservative MPs abstaining.
There were 278 votes in favour of the motion, with no votes against recorded. Boris Johnson ordered his MPs to abstain, which means not voting for or against the motion.
A £20-a-week increase in Universal Credit was introduced last year to help families cope during the COVID-19 pandemic, equating to an extra £1,000 a year for six million families.
- Babies’ needs overlooked in COVID response
Date: 19 Jan 2021
The ‘hidden harms’ of the spring lockdown on 0-2s were broad and significant, and experienced unevenly depending on family circumstances and background, according to the report commissioned by the First 1001 Days Movement.
It reveals evidence that ‘historically inadequate or insecure funding and a rising tide of need has inhibited the ability of some services and areas to respond to the coronavirus crisis’.
For some families with babies, spring lockdown brought some broad benefits, for example around increases in quality family time. But babies in families already experiencing disadvantage ‘appear less likely to have seen many of these benefits’ says the report.
- Return of free school meals voucher scheme
Date: 19 Jan 2021
The Government has relaunched the free school meal vouchers following the scandal surrounding 'disgusting' food parcels.
The Government had promised to investigate after pictures appeared on social media of inadequate food parcels.
The voucher scheme will allow schools to order supermarket gift cards for eligible pupils, worth £15 a week per child.
- Casey accuses government of ‘systemic failure’ over no recourse to public funds
Date: 19 Jan 2021
Whitehall’s former chief adviser on homelessness and the architect of its ‘Everyone In’ policy has delivered a stinging rebuke of the government’s failure to deal with those with no recourse to public funds.
Giving evidence to the Commons' housing, communities and local government committee yesterday, Dame Louise Casey branded it a “mismanaged policy” and warned that the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s rough sleeping team are having to deal with “systemic failure” elsewhere in government with councils left to pick up the tab.
Dame Louise, who has advised both Labour and Conservative governments on their homeless strategies and was tasked with getting all rough sleepers off the streets during the first wave of Coronavirus, told the committee that “one of the causes of rough sleeping is an inability to manage immigration properly”.
- Councils told to visit every supermarket as Covid enforcement ramps up
Date: 19 Jan 2021
The communities secretary has told councils to step up their enforcement efforts by paying a visit to every supermarket and corner shop in their area to ensure they are complying with Covid rules, and to have a “stern conversation” with those found to be remiss.
LGC has learned Robert Jenrick told councils on a ministerial webinar last Wednesday to mobilise their enforcement officers over the course of the following two weeks and “make an effort” to visit all essential retailers in their area to “have that conversation” about their Covid procedures.
“Clearly there is an advantage to doing it unannounced,” he added.
- Brexit deal ‘could impact UK credit rating’
Date: 19 Jan 2021
The UK’s credit rating could decrease if the Brexit free trade agreement with the European Union undermines economic performance, according to ratings agency Fitch.
In a rating action commentary affirming the UK’s AA- rating with a negative outlook, Fitch said the free trade agreement will cause less disruption than a no-deal scenario would have.
However, the agency warned that the agreement will still entail significant new non-tariff barriers, which could negatively impact the UK.
- Treasury minister warns against tax rises
Date: 19 Jan 2021
Jesse Norman, financial secretary to the Treasury, has warned against immediate tax rises in the upcoming budget which could “impede” economic growth.
Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee yesterday, Norman said his department is focused on stabilising Britain’s economy before any thoughts on wider fiscal policies.
He added that a rapid economic recovery could be caused by a “pronounced bounce” in consumer spending and could mitigate the need for tax rises.
- Spelthorne commercial income allows council tax freeze
Date: 19 Jan 2021
Spelthorne Borough Council’s controversial commercial investment strategy has allowed it to propose council tax freezes next year despite Covid-19 disruption, according to its finance chief.
The council has been the most high-profile council using cheap government borrowing to buy property – taking ownership of £1bn in properties offices and shopping centres in recent years.
However, Terry Collier, deputy chief executive and chief finance officer at the council, told PF that it has allowed them to propose the freeze in its budget proposals to be published next week.
- Schools might not all reopen at the same time across England, suggests Dr Jenny Harries
Date: 19 Jan 2021
Schools might not all reopen at the same time across England as lockdown restrictions are eased, MPs have been told.
Dr Jenny Harries, one of England's deputy chief medical officers, said there was "likely" to be regional differences in COVID measures once the national shutdown ends.
Appearing before the House of Commons' education committee on Tuesday, Dr Harries was asked if there could be a regional or phased approach to reopening schools.
- Covid-related deaths in care homes in England jump by 46%
Date: 19 Jan 2021
Deaths in care homes in England have hit the highest level since mid-May, according to the latest official figures, which revealed a 46% jump in coronavirus-related deaths in the last week as the more transmissible variant of Covid-19 breaches care homes’ defences.
In the week to last Friday, 1,260 deaths in care homes involving Covid-19 were reported to the Care Quality Commission, a sharp jump from 824 and 661 in the previous two weeks. The weekly death toll in care homes had fallen to well below 100 in early October.
The rising numbers came after the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, described the inoculation programme as “a race against deaths” and GPs scrambled to deliver vaccines to the half of care home residents yet to receive jabs.
- Nottingham plans £100m asset sale
Date: 19 Jan 2021
Nottingham City Council has identified £100m of assets for sale as part of a plan to bring its finances under control.
The recovery and improvement plan, ordered by the Government following a rapid review last year, also proposed closing up to three companies, a complete rewriting of the council's constitution, a management restructure and efficiency savings.
Nottingham's plan will be overseen by an external improvement and assurance board chaired by Sir Tony Redmond, with members appointed by the Government, including council leader Cllr David Mellen.
- Vaccination rollout begins for over-70s in England
Date: 18 Jan 2021
People in England aged 70 and over, as well as those listed as clinically extremely vulnerable, will begin receiving offers of a coronavirus vaccine this week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move was a "significant milestone" in the nation's vaccination programme.
More than five million people - from priority groups three and four - will be invited to have the jab from Monday.
- 24-hour vaccination sites to be piloted in London before end of January
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Twenty-four hour vaccination sites will be piloted in London before the end of January, the vaccines minister has said.
Speaking to Sky News, Nadhim Zahawi said the NHS will be "targeting forensically who we want to protect" to ensure the most vulnerable people can be vaccinated first.
He said that as there is "limited supply" of the vaccine, "it needs to get into the arms of the most vulnerable" such as those who are elderly or clinically extremely vulnerable.
- Free fast broadband offered in UK to support home schooling
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Thousands of families struggling with home learning are being offered free high-speed broadband following a partnership between internet provider Hyperoptic and dozens of local authorities across the UK.
Families in 37 local authority areas, from Tower Hamlets in London to Newcastle and Leeds that are struggling with remote learning due to poor or no internet will be offered the chance to have a high speed connection installed with no usage charges until the end of the summer term.
At that point there is no obligation to stick with the service. Telecoms regulator Ofcom has estimated that more than 880,000 children live in a household with internet access only via mobile phone.
- Green belt at risk from ‘wrong ideas about cities’
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Thousands of acres of green space around towns and cities could be built on because of “implausible” population forecasts, campaigners claim.
The Office for National Statistics predicted that Coventry’s population would rise by 32 per cent between 2011 and 2031. That figure has led the city council to plan for more than 40,000 new homes on green belt land that once formed the Forest of Arden.
However, Keep Our Green Belt Green said that the city’s “vital signs” did not reflect the population growth projected. Its research, which four professors have reviewed, found that jobs had grown by 18 per cent in recent years but this was half that of some nearby towns.
- Universal credit: Labour presses PM for action ahead of benefit vote
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Boris Johnson has been urged to give millions of families a "helping hand" ahead of a Commons vote on extending benefit increases worth £20 a week.
Labour will use a debate on Monday to ramp up the pressure on the government to keep the universal credit uplift, worth £1,000 a year, beyond 31 March.
Sir Keir Starmer said families "needed certainty" incomes would be protected. Tory MPs will abstain, meaning the non-binding motion will pass but ministers have not committed to implementing it.
- Jenrick accused of starting ‘culture war’ with new statues law
Date: 18 Jan 2021
New laws being drawn up to protect statues by ensuring they can only be removed with permission from the communities secretary have been slammed by the Labour party's most senior local government representative as "profoundly disturbing".
Under proposals announced this weekend, the removal of any of England’s 20,000 historic statues or monuments, whether they are listed or not, will in future require listed building consent or planning permission . Under the new regulations, if a council intends to grant permission for removal of a particular statue and Historic England objects, the communities secretary will be notified so he can make the final decision about the application in question.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government says the new rules will mean historic statues can be “retained and explained” for future generations and only be removed in “the most exceptional circumstances”.
- £120m care staff funding branded ‘gesture politics’
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Questions have been raised over how much impact the £120m announced over the weekend for care staffing can have in a sector already facing a workforce crisis.
The cash will be handed to councils to be distributed to care homes to spend on boosting staffing levels by funding extra care staff or administrative support to free up existing staff to focus on providing care. The Department for Health & Social Care said it could also be used to help existing staff to take on additional hours by covering overtime payments or childcare costs.
However, it falls well short of the £480m the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services called for last week to avert an immediate workforce crisis in the sector. It said that Covid infection, self-isolation and “sheer fatigue” were reducing the number of staff able to work in social care teams – on top of the 112,000 vacancies reported in the sector before the start of the pandemic.
- London chief to leave after 17 years
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Merton LBC is seeking to appoint a new chief executive to succeed Ged Curran after 17 years in the post.
Mr Curran was appointed in March 2004 after holding senior positions at Newham, Waltham Forest, Lambeth and Merton LBCs. He had previously practiced as a solicitor.
Merton’s appointments committee will discuss the process to appoint his successor on Thursday, with a report outlining a timeline that would see applications close in the week commencing 26 March, and full council confirm the appointment of the new chief executive on 19 May.
- As many as six in 10 care home residents in England still awaiting Covid jab
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Wide disparities have emerged in the campaign to protect care home residents from Covid-19, with 100% getting their first jab in Slough, while nearly six in 10 are still awaiting vaccinations in one of the UK’s largest care home chains.
In what the vaccines minister described as a “race against deaths”, care bosses reported struggles to protect the oldest and most vulnerable members of society.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told a Downing Street press conference that the government is “prioritising the supply of the vaccine into those parts of the country that need to complete [vaccination of] the over-80s”.
- Call to prioritise minority ethnic groups for Covid vaccines
Date: 18 Jan 2021
People in high-risk minority ethnic groups must be prioritised for Covid immunisations, alongside a targeted publicity campaign, experts and politicians have said amid growing concerns over vaccine scepticism.
With figures on Monday recording more than 4m Covid vaccine doses now administered across the UK, and the rollout being expanded to all over-70s, public health experts and MPs called for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities to be better protected.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has also raised concerns after research showed up to 72% of black people said they were unlikely or very unlikely to have the jab.
- Fewer UK children 'school ready' after Covid nursery closures
Date: 18 Jan 2021
The number of children starting school without basic skills such as being able to go to the toilet unaided, put on a coat or respond to questions is at record levels because of nursery closures, according to research.
Experts say further closures could widen gaps in school readiness between children from rich and poor backgrounds.
Research commissioned by Kindred2, a charitable foundation working to improve early education and child development, found that a record proportion of children were starting school without basic skills.
- Councils raked in £7.3m from rubbish-tip 'tax' last year amid fly-tipping fears
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Councils who charge residents to dump non household waste at rubbish tips raked in £7.3m last year from toilet seats, fences and sheds, the Telegraph can reveal...
- Treasury in property tax rethink
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is believed to be rethinking property taxes – including council tax and business rates – in a bid to balance the books post-COVID.
The move comes amid rising calls for change, including a report from think tank Onwards on changing the finance system and 10-minute rule Bill on scrapping business rates, launched by Conservative backbencher Kevin Hollinrake.
The 3 March Budget is expected to continue to fund existing support during the latest COVID lockdown, but any return to normality would also see the Chancellor starting to claw back his financial position through tax rises.
- £269m given to local authorities for social care
Date: 18 Jan 2021
The Government has announced that £269m will be given to local authorities for social care purposes as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.
£120m of the funding is designed to help staffing levels, including the hiring of more staff, reskilling existing DBS checked staff and also being able to provide overtime pay for existing staff to meet current demands.
The Government says that some of the money can be used for administrative costs for care homes so that higher skilled staff can focus on caring for patients rather than dealing with paperwork.
- Call for inquiry into COVID’s 'devastating' impact on children
Date: 18 Jan 2021
A coalition of child health experts has called for a wide-ranging independent commission to examine the ‘devastating impact’ of the pandemic on children.
In a letter to The Observer newspaper, they warn that many families are being ‘swept into poverty’ by the pandemic, which is set to significantly add to the four million children living in deprivation before the COVID crisis started.
According to the letter, whose signatories include the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the National Children’s Bureau and leading child health academics, ‘children’s welfare has become a national emergency’.
- £120m care staff funding branded ‘gesture politics’
Date: 18 Jan 2021
Questions have been raised over how much impact the £120m announced over the weekend for care staffing can have in a sector already facing a workforce crisis.
The cash will be handed to councils to be distributed to care homes to spend on boosting staffing levels by funding extra care staff or administrative support to free up existing staff to focus on providing care. The Department for Health & Social Care said it could also be used to help existing staff to take on additional hours by covering overtime payments or childcare costs.
However, it falls well short of the £480m the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services called for last week to avert an immediate workforce crisis in the sector. It said that Covid infection, self-isolation and “sheer fatigue” were reducing the number of staff able to work in social care teams – on top of the 112,000 vacancies reported in the sector before the start of the pandemic.
- Former housing association chair named new MHCLG minister
Date: 18 Jan 2021
A former housing association chair has been appointed housing and rough sleeping minister at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government following the departure of Kelly Tolhurst.
Ms Tolhurst, who is the MP for Rochester and Strood announced over the weekend that she was stepping down from the government following “some very sad news to care for and spend time with my family”.
Ms Tolhurst joined MHCLG last September from the Department for Transport, where she had been maritime, aviation and security minister since February. Prior to that she was small business minister in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
- COVID-19 living standards hit ‘ahead, rather than behind us’, think tank warns
Date: 18 Jan 2021
The coming year is set to mark the peak of the pandemic-induced living standards downturn for households, especially those on lower incomes, think tank warns.
Published by the Resolution Foundation, the Living Standards Outlook offers forecasts for living standards growth across the income distribution, both over the next 12 months and the remainder of the parliament.
It notes that despite the UK experiencing a huge economic contraction in 2020, many households have been protected from its impact by the £63bn Job Retention Scheme and the £6bn uplift to Universal Credit (UC) and Working Tax Credit.
- Forget local government, the whole country needs a fair funding review
Date: 18 Jan 2021
With the future of business rates under review and council tax reform reportedly attracting the interest of the Treasury the government has some fundamental questions to answer, writes LGC deputy editor Sarah Calkin.
The case for reforming council tax is growing ever louder. That it is a regressive tax, hitting those in lower value homes proportionately harder than those in higher ones, is not disputed.
Meanwhile, as the property values that council tax bands are based on turn 30-years-old this year their relationship with the reality of local property markets grows ever weaker. As the only locally-set tax – albeit within the strict confines of centrally-determined referendum limits – the casual observer may assume councils are quite attached to it.
- School closures could wipe out a decade of progress for less privileged pupils
Date: 17 Jan 2021
Closing schools has been one of the most painful consequences of the pandemic - the action Boris Johnson described as his "last resort".
Charities have warned that it could wipe out a decade of progress closing the gap between less privileged pupils and their peers.
New research from the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) has found that half of students from disadvantaged backgrounds believe they won't get the grades they deserve after this year's examinations were scrapped.
- Make May elections in England more Covid-safe, Labour urges
Date: 17 Jan 2021
Labour has urged ministers to make May’s elections in England more Covid-secure, after the emergence of a Cabinet Office document that warned the pandemic could severely hamper the process and put millions off voting.
The paper raises the possibility that even if coronavirus infection levels are relatively low, it could be difficult to attract enough election staff, and that safety fears may “disenfranchise large proportions of [the] community”.
Labour is calling for safeguards such as the possibility of spreading voting over several days, or having an all-postal vote, options that have been prepared for elections to the Scottish parliament, also due to take place on 6 May.
- ‘Far too many turned away’: Domestic abuse victims left with nowhere to go as services struggle in pandemic
Date: 17 Jan 2021
As Covid cases across the country surge, a shadow pandemic of domestic abuse has also grown, with many unable to escape an abusive partner as soaring demand makes it difficult for victims to get the help they need.
Boris Johnson used an address to the nation this week to emphasise those trapped at home with abusers were free to leave the house during lockdown, while home secretary Priti Patel appeared on ITV's This Morning to alert people to the fact pharmacies have launched a codeword scheme to provide a “lifeline” to victims.
But cash-strapped services have not been given any further funding, meaning they are forced to turn away victims fleeing abusive partners.
- All over 18s could have vaccine by 'end of June'
Date: 16 Jan 2021
Every adult in Britain will be vaccinated by the end of June, senior Government figures hope, as they grow increasingly optimistic they will be able to accelerate the rollout....
- Councils losing tens of millions of pounds supporting businesses through pandemic
Date: 16 Jan 2021
Local authorities are losing tens of millions of pounds supporting struggling business tenants through the pandemic which could have dire and long-lasting consequences for local services, Sky News has found.
Freedom of Information requests reveal English councils have already written off at least £19.7m associated with measures to support local businesses, including rent relief, rent renegotiations, payment holidays or business tenants going into administration.
A further £5.8m was lost as a result of Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs). These are arrangements where companies on the brink of insolvency negotiate debt repayments with their creditors in order to stay afloat - in this case, rent and rates paid to the council.
- Low-paid shun Covid tests because the cost of self-isolating is too high
Date: 16 Jan 2021
Families on low incomes are avoiding the Covid-19 testing system because they cannot afford to isolate if they get sick, while red tape is hampering access to the government’s £500 compensation payments.
People in some of the most deprived areas of England, including Middlesbrough, Liverpool and the London borough of Newham, are less likely to request a coronavirus test.
According to the CIPD, the association of HR professionals, when people on low incomes do self-isolate, they find it difficult to access the NHS Test and Trace support payment scheme. Freedom of information releases from 34 local authorities show that only a third of claims were granted.
- Councils making the most cash from parking fines named
Date: 16 Jan 2021
Greedy councils are raking in an average £850,000 a year from car parking fines. New figures show some town halls are issuing as many as 307 parking tickets every day.
Nine of the 10 local authorities making the most cash from fines are in London, with each one collecting more than £4million a year.
Newham is the biggest earner, at £10.6million. Second is Haringey, making £9.8million, followed by Ealing with £8.3million.
The biggest parking revenue outside the capital is Glasgow at £5.4million while Birmingham is next with £3.9million.
- Marcus Rashford and top chefs demand free school meals review
Date: 15 Jan 2021
Marcus Rashford and a group of celebrity chefs and campaigners have called on Boris Johnson to review the government's free school meals policy.
The group, including Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Tom Kerridge, have written to the PM asking him to "fix" the system long-term. They called for a strategy to help "end child food poverty" before the summer holidays.
No 10 said "no child will ever go hungry" because of the Covid pandemic. The call for a wide review comes after another row over free school meals during February half-term.
- Public could force councils to sell off vacant land and buildings under proposed 'right to regenerate' law
Date: 15 Jan 2021
The public will be able to force councils to sell off vacant land and buildings under a proposed new law.
Its aim will be to allow vacant plots of land and derelict buildings to be converted into homes or community spaces.
The ‘right to regenerate’ proposals, to be announced by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick today, would make it easier to challenge councils and other public organisations to release land for redevelopment.
- UK shuts travel corridors and requires negative Covid tests to enter
Date: 15 Jan 2021
Boris Johnson has announced a dramatic tightening of the UK’s borders, with all international arrivals to be forced to quarantine as well as demonstrate they have had a negative Covid test.
After months of criticism of the government’s lax border policies, which Labour claimed were “costing lives”, the prime minister said he was tightening the rules to prevent new variants of the virus reaching the UK and safeguard the vaccination programme.
“It is vital to take these extra measures now when day by day, hour by hour, we are making such strides in protecting the population,” Johnson told a Downing Street press conference.
- UK to face delay in delivery of Pfizer Covid vaccine
Date: 15 Jan 2021
The UK is among several countries facing delays in delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine due to upgrades in its production capacity, the company has said.
The US pharmaceutical firm is increasing production at its plant in Puurs, Belgium, in an effort to produce more doses than originally planned for 2021, temporarily reducing deliveries to all European countries.
Shipments of the vaccine, produced in partnership with Germany’s BioNTech, to the UK are set to be affected this month.
- Doctors told to throw away leftover Covid vaccines rather than giving second doses
Date: 15 Jan 2021
Local NHS leaders are forcing GPs to throw away vaccines rather than give second doses, medics have revealed....
- TfN’s budget cuts to ‘threaten levelling-up’
Date: 15 Jan 2021
Proposed cuts to government funding for public transport body Transport for the North would “undermine levelling-up” and put planned improvement works at risk, according to the group’s finance chief.
A report released ahead of a TfN board meeting this week said that core funding from the Department for Transport for 2021-22 would drop to £6m from £10m that was allocated last year.
The body’s annual budget to develop the Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme has also been frozen at £75m, 33% less than the amount requested by TfN during the Comprehensive Spending Review, the report said.
- Second Covid-19 lockdown hurts UK GDP
Date: 15 Jan 2021
The UK’s economy shrank by 2.6% in November, as a result of the second English lockdown, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The ONS said November’s contraction was the first month of decline in six months, since April’s record 20% contraction at the beginning of the first national lockdown.
GDP in November was 8.5% below pre-Covid-19 levels in February, and overall, the economy has fallen 8.9% in the 12 months to November, the ONS said.
- The mental health effects of Covid will last for a decade
Date: 14 Jan 2021
In the normal course of his work as a GP Gavin Francis would expect to spend about a third of his time dealing with the mental ill health of his patients. The pandemic has changed that. “Consultations about mental health vary from week to week, but are commonly at double what they were before the pandemic,” he says.
From his position at the grass roots of the response to Covid-19 Francis has witnessed the spread of the virus at a community level. Some days every call he has taken was about loneliness, self-harm and the contagion of mental health problems.
In a memoir of the past year he describes panic and anxiety as “the virus’s dark refrains, a second pandemic leaching into everyone’s lives”. When I ask how long he expects this to last he is unequivocal. “For years.”..
- 'High bar' for postponing local elections in England, MPs told
Date: 14 Jan 2021
There should be a "high bar" for postponing local elections in England this year, a minister has told MPs.
Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith said the position would be kept "under review".
She said work was under way to ensure people could cast their ballots in a "COVID-secure" way - but Labour has raised concerns a "lack of preparation" could force people to "choose between their health and their right to vote".
- High Street chemists start vaccinations in England
Date: 14 Jan 2021
Some High Street pharmacies in England will start vaccinating people from priority groups on Thursday, with 200 providing jabs in the next two weeks.
Six chemists in Halifax, Macclesfield, Widnes, Guildford, Edgware and Telford are the first to offer appointments to those invited by letter.
But pharmacists say many more sites should be allowed to give the jab, not just the largest ones.
- Social care directors warn of 'exhausted' workforce
Date: 14 Jan 2021
Social care needs an immediate cash injection to support exhausted staff and ensure services don’t collapse, service directors have warned today.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) said ‘alarming’ gaps are appearing in services due to staff shortages caused by sickness absence, people self-isolating and sheer fatigue.
It also highlights the fact the sector had existing vacancies of 112,000 prior to the start of the pandemic.
- 'Shocking' care home Covid outbreaks at levels not seen since first peak
Date: 14 Jan 2021
Outbreaks of Covid-19 in care homes have more than trebled in a month, with levels of infections now similar to the peak of the first wave, figures show.
The latest surveillance data from Public Health England (PHE) reveals that, in the week to January 14, there was the second highest weekly total since records began in April.
On Thursday night, senior figures said the numbers were "shocking" and warned: "Care homes cannot be neglected again." It came as the Government closed Britain's borders to Portugal and South America amid fears over a new strain of the virus from Brazil.
- Regulator refuses to approve mass daily Covid testing at English schools
Date: 14 Jan 2021
Boris Johnson’s plans to test millions of schoolchildren for coronavirus every week appear to be in disarray after the UK regulator refused to formally approve the daily testing of pupils in England, the Guardian has learned.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told the government on Tuesday it had not authorised the daily use of 30-minute tests due to concerns that they give people false reassurance if they test negative.
This could lead to pupils staying in school and potentially spreading the virus when they should be self-isolating.
- Almost 200,000 patients now waiting at least a year for routine NHS operations
Date: 14 Jan 2021
The coronavirus crisis overwhelming the NHS has caused waiting lists for routine treatment to surge to the highest levels ever recorded, figures released on Thursday showed.
More than 4.5 million people are currently on the health service waiting list, while almost 200,000 have been left waiting more than a year for treatment – a figure that stood at just 1,163 less than a year ago.
As hospitals are forced to free up intensive care beds for Covid-19 patients, hundreds of cancer operations have been cancelled across London with thousands waiting over the NHS target of 62 days for urgent treatment.
- UK population 'in biggest fall since Second World War'
Date: 14 Jan 2021
The UK population may have fallen by as much as 1.3m - the biggest decline since the Second World War - in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, academics have said....
- Hospital patients to be sent to hotels to free up beds for critical Covid-19 cases
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Thousands of hospital patients are to be discharged early to hotels or their own homes to free up beds for Covid-19 sufferers needing life-or-death care, the Guardian has learned.
Hospital chiefs in England intend to start discharging patients early on a scale never seen before, as an emergency measure to create “extra emergency contingency capacity” and stop parts of the NHS collapsing, senior sources said.
Documents seen by the Guardian also revealed that the NHS is asking care homes to start accepting Covid patients directly from hospitals and without a recent negative test, as long as they have been in isolation for 14 days and have shown no new symptoms.
- Retail giants clamp down in bid to halt coronavirus growth
Date: 13 Jan 2021
John Lewis became the first big retailer to suspend its click-and-collect service yesterday amid pressure on shops to do more to help to contain the virus.
The chain said that it was acting after a “change in tone” from government, adding that it wanted to help the national effort by removing reasons for non-essential travel.
Tesco, Asda, Aldi and Waitrose joined Morrisons and Sainsbury’s in banning shoppers without masks from stores unless they have a medical reason. Supermarkets in England will be spot-checked by council staff to ensure that they are Covid-secure.
- Laptops for all pupils at only one in ten schools
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Only one in ten teachers say that all their pupils have adequate access to laptops despite 700,000 being handed out by the government.
A leading social mobility charity says the situation has not improved since the first lockdown and that the gulf between rich and poor is as wide as ever.
It came as Ofsted backed down on conducting in-person inspections this term after inspectors voted overwhelmingly against going into schools.
- Free school meals: Minister demands 'urgent improvement'
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Caterers must "urgently" improve the quality of food parcels being provided to the poorest pupils in England while schools are closed during the national lockdown, a minister has said.
Children's minister Vicky Ford said this would ensure eligible children received "a healthy, nutritious lunch".
It comes after footballer Marcus Rashford shared images of some parcels online, calling them "not good enough".
- Enough children living in temporary housing to fill 450 primary schools
Date: 13 Jan 2021
The number of children living in temporary accommodation during the latest coronavirus lockdown is enough to fill 450 primary schools, town halls warn today.
Some 127,240 kids are in accommodation such as bed and breakfasts, according to the Local Government Association.
The average primary has about 281 pupils – meaning 450 schools would be needed to house all the youngsters with no home of their own.
- Council chiefs call for restoration of local welfare funding
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Local authority leaders have called on the Government to restore local welfare funding as a study warns of the impact the pandemic is having on people who were already struggling with poverty.
In their annual study on poverty, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that before the coronavirus pandemic began, around 14.5 million people in the UK lived in poverty. This equates to more than one-in-five people.
The report warns that those who were already struggling to stay afloat have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. These include part-time and low-paid workers, Black, Asian and minority ethnic households, single parents (mostly women), and private renters.
- Council chiefs call for mental health services funding
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Local authority leaders have urged the Government to ensure that councils’ mental health services receive the funding they require to meet ‘unmet demand’ in response to a landmark reform of mental health laws.
The Government today published the long-anticipated Reforming the Mental Health Act white paper, which builds on the recommendations made in 2018 by Sir Simon Wessely’s Independent Review of the Mental Health Act.
The white paper stressed the importance of empowering individuals to have more control over their mental health treatment. It also promises to deliver parity between mental and physical health services.
- ‘Dismay’ over continuing lack of detail on UKSPF
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Senior councillors have expressed growing alarm that almost a fortnight after UK completed its exit from the EU they are still in the dark on vital details of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund intended to replace EU funding for the regions.
A meeting of the Local Government Association’s people and places board yesterday also heard that the government had yet to set up a promised taskforce bringing central and local government to co-design the fund while there are concerns that rather than devolving more powers to councils, the fund could end up drawing existing responsibilities away from them as it covers a wider remit than current EU funds.
A paper prepared to Tuesday’s meeting warned of an “urgency” to the issue as current EU funding winds down, with all funding programmes completed by the end of 2023.
- Extra cash made available for self isolation support
Date: 13 Jan 2021
An extra £20.4m is to be provided by the government to extend the current self isolation support grants scheme to the end of this financial year after many councils reported running out of the discretionary funding provided so far.
Just over half of the funding is to go towards extending the national £500 scheme to support those on in-work benefits required to self-isolate while councils will also be handed an additional £10m of discretionary funding. This is paid to those on low-incomes required to self-isolate by NHS Test & Trace who could suffer financial hardship as a result of not being able to work but who do not meet the criteria for the separate £500 payment.
However, there are still understood to be concerns in the sector that the £500 national scheme is not capturing all those in need as the eligibility criteria too tight, and this is putting pressure on discretionary budgets.
- Mental Health Act reforms aim to tackle high rate of black people sectioned
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Reforms to the Mental Health Act will help tackle the disproportionate number of black people sectioned, the government has announced.
Black people are more than four times more likely to be detained under the act and more than 10 times more likely to be subject to a community treatment order.
The package of reforms includes piloting culturally appropriate advocates so patients from all minority ethnic backgrounds can be better supported to voice their individual needs and allow sectioned people to nominate family members to represent their best interests if they are unable to do so themselves.
- Schools in England may not reopen after February half-term, Boris Johnson suggests
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Schools in England may not reopen after the February half-term, the prime minister has suggested.
Boris Johnson said the government's priority was to get pupils back in the classroom "as soon as possible", but that whether this would happen after half-term in the middle of next month depended on a "number of things".
The PM told MPs on the Liaison Committee that the determining factors would be the success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, the effect of new variants, any other possible changes in the virus, and the success of lockdown measures.
- Covid hospital patients can be discharged to care homes without a test, say guidelines sent to providers
Date: 13 Jan 2021
Coronavirus hospital patients can be discharged into care homes without being tested under draft Government guidelines leaked to the The Telegraph.
Care providers have said they are "deeply worried" about the latest proposed rules, which advise clinicians to release patients without requiring them to have a test 48 hours before discharge if they have no new virus symptoms and have isolated in hospital.
For the first time, the Government appears to acknowledge that people could test positive for Covid but not be infectious, suggesting "it will be appropriate for them to move directly to a care home from hospital... because we now know they do not pose an infection risk to other residents in a care home".
- NHS orders rapid acceleration of care home Covid vaccinations
Date: 13 Jan 2021
NHS England has ordered a rapid acceleration of care home vaccinations in response to rising Covid outbreaks in which deaths of residents have risen to levels not seen since May.
GPs have been instructed to complete all care home vaccinations by the end of this week “wherever possible” or by 24 January at the latest. The government’s original target was the end of the month.
The urgent move came as new figures showed 1,200 care residents died from Covid in England in the first week of January. Weekly death tolls in Scotland and Wales have also been rising.
- Care home bosses ‘jumping ahead of elderly’ for Covid vaccine
Date: 12 Jan 2021
Care home executives, NHS staff working from home and members of the public are jumping the queue for coronavirus vaccinations.
The joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) prioritisation list begins with “residents in a care home for older adults and their carers”, followed by over-eighties and frontline health and social care workers.
Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said one of his family members, an NHS administrator working from home, had been offered a vaccine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
- Local authorities to roll out asymptomatic testing
Date: 12 Jan 2021
The Government has announced that it will help local authorities to ramp up asymptomatic testing across communities in England.
The new scheme will include all 317 local authorities, with 131 already signed up and 107 already testing asymptomatic people for Covid-19.
The idea behind asymptomatic testing is that by discovering more cases, more people are able to isolate and therefore protect those working on the front line. Many of the councils that have started testing such as Essex and Milton Keynes are focusing on those not able to work from home.
- LGA steps up lobbying over council tax and £2.3bn Covid funding gap
Date: 12 Jan 2021
Councils are still facing a Covid-driven funding gap of nearly £2.3bn in 2020-21, the Local Government Association has warned, despite recent additional funding for being made available to places facing the highest tiers of restrictions.
During a session at the LGA’s annual finance conference this morning, deputy chief executive Sarah Pickup said councils’ latest returns on the financial impact of Covid 19 showed they were forecasting full-year pressures of £9.7bn. However, they will have received funding of £7.4bn from emergency Covid funding, money via clinical commissioning groups to support social care and an estimated £1bn to cover lost sales, fees and charges income.
- Labour’s constitution review would put local government on firm footing
Date: 12 Jan 2021
Shadow communities secretary has advocated putting the local government sector on a more secure long term footing by enshrining its existence into a new UK constitution, and has criticised the government for not working with councils on the Covid vaccine rollout.
Steve Reed, who believes his party is more supportive of devolution than at any time in its history, has revealed his hopes that the constitutional commission on devolution the party plans to hold imminently will explore the legal basis that national, regional and local government stands on and the resourcing it needs.
- Coronavirus (COVID-19): emergency funding for local government in 2020 to 2021 and additional support in 2021 to 2022
Date: 12 Jan 2021
Allocations of additional funding to local authorities in financial year 2020 to 2021 and additional support for local government in financial year 2021 to 2022.
- Khan proposes 9.5% rise in GLA precept
Date: 12 Jan 2021
Proposals from London mayor Sadiq Khan would see annual bills rise by more than £31 on average in 2021-22, with £15 to help fund the Metropolitan Police and £15 for Transport of London subsidies for children and over 60s.
The remaining £1.59 per-household would go towards helping the fire service respond to changes recommended by the Grenfell Tower inquiry.
However, in order to implement the proposed increases for TfL, the GLA requires approval from the government to amend its referendum limits as the increase would be greater than its current 2% limit before a referendum was required.
- Tax reforms 'would raise more than wealth tax'
Date: 12 Jan 2021
In a presentation to the Local Government Association’s annual finance conference, David Phillips, associate director at the IFS, warned that a wealth related levy could harm the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic.
He said that trying to capture tax on people who have saved during the pandemic could have a dampening effect on the economy, as the recovery will be reliant on the public spending money.
Phillips said: “Rather than trying to introduce a new wealth tax for a long-term boost to government revenues, it actually makes sense to reform some of the existing taxes, including income tax, capital gains tax, council tax, inheritance tax, so they are actually more efficient, fairer, and raise more for the long-term.”
- High turnout leaves schools struggling in lockdown
Date: 11 Jan 2021
Demand for school places has forced almost half of head teachers in England to create priority lists for children of key workers, a survey suggests.
Schools remain open to vulnerable children and those of critical workers but a large number qualify, including some in food production, local government, communications and finance.
Matt Hancock yesterday urged key workers not to send their children to school if they could manage at home. The health secretary told Sky News: “If you’re a key worker and your partner doesn’t work then you shouldn’t be sending your children to school. That’s clear in the guidance. I understand that more people are sending their children to school than they did last time. But we really do need everybody who works in the NHS where at all possible to be able to make it to work.”
- Protect family incomes, Starmer urges ministers Published1 hour ago
Date: 11 Jan 2021
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is to urge the government to "protect family incomes" as it deals with the economic effects of coronavirus.
In his first speech of the year, he will demand that teachers, the armed forces and care workers are left out of the public sector pay freeze.
Sir Keir will also call on ministers not to end the temporary £20-a-week boost to Universal Credit.
The Conservatives said ministers were "already taking steps" to help people.
- Care homes at risk of being overwhelmed again as outbreaks triple
Date: 11 Jan 2021
Care homes risk being overwhelmed by the coronavirus once again, the government has been warned, with the number of outbreaks having tripled in the past month.
Public Health England figures reveal they went up by 60% in one week alone, as the UK as a whole battles a major surge in COVID cases and growing concerns about staffing levels.
- Test and trace needs radical overhaul to prevent further Covid surges in England – experts
Date: 11 Jan 2021
England’s test-and trace system will fail to prevent further surges of coronavirus without radical improvements by spring, experts have said, as concern increases about the use of inexperienced call-centre workers to carry out the role of clinically trained staff.
The government’s £22bn programme is under increasing strain as it attempts to contact nearly triple the number of infected people and more than double the number of close contacts compared with a month ago.
There is increasing concern among test-and-trace healthcare professionals about the use of outsourced call centre staff, often employed on minimum wage by telesales firms contracted by Serco, who have been drafted in to carry out detailed interviews with coronavirus patients.
- Vaccinations begin at seven mass jab centres which have opened today
Date: 11 Jan 2021
Elderly people and healthcare workers have begun to be immunised against COVID-19 at seven new mass vaccination sites across England.
The new centres in Bristol, Surrey (Epsom), London, Newcastle, Manchester, Stevenage and Birmingham will have the capacity to vaccinate four people a minute.
Moira Edwards, 88, was the first to receive a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine at Epsom racecourse and said it was "extremely important" to get it.
- Government accused of side-lining millions in sugar tax revenue pledged for children’s health projects
Date: 11 Jan 2021
The Government has been accused of side-lining millions of pounds worth of sugar tax income that ministers had promised to spend on children’s health projects.
More than £760m of forecasted Treasury income generated by the tax on soft drinks has been failed to be accounted for by Government departments, despite an original promise that “every penny” of the spending raised would go towards improving children’s health.
Sustain, which campaigns for improved food and agricultural policies, said the Department for Education (DfE) has failed to specify where the money has been spent, despite repeated requests to do so.
- 2.6 million jabs given to 2.3 million people - but UK is warned vaccine 'not a free pass' to ignore rules
Date: 11 Jan 2021
More than 2.6 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been given to almost 2.3 million people, the health secretary has said, as an NHS boss warned the jab is "not a free pass" to ignore national guidance.
Matt Hancock told a Downing Street news conference that the government was on track to achieve its pledge of offering a vaccine to the top four priority groups by the middle of February, a total of nearly 15 million Britons.
Asked whether this was a possibility, Mr Hancock said people should be focusing on sticking to the current rules "as they are".
"The NHS, more than ever before, needs everybody to be doing something right now - and that something is to follow the rules," he said.
- New exercise restrictions in England 'under active consideration'
Date: 11 Jan 2021
A ban on people in England walking or exercising with anyone from outside their household is under “active consideration” sources have told the Guardian, although the health secretary, Matt Hancock, on Monday evening insisted that he did not want to have to tighten the rules.
Discussions have taken place in government about returning to the rules of March 2020, which limited people to one form of outside exercise a day – such as a run, walk, or cycle – either alone or only with people you live with.
However Hancock said he hoped that the current rules, which allow people to exercise with one other person, would remain. “We are seeing large groups and that is not acceptable,” he said. “This is one of those rules where if too many people keep breaking it then we are going to have to look at it. But I don’t want to do that because for many people being able to go for a walk with a friend, especially if they live alone, is their only social contact.
- Councils should have key role in getting jabs to the vulnerable, says public health chief
Date: 11 Jan 2021
Councils’ knowledge is crucial in order to ‘get the vaccine to people’ in homes and workplaces, rather than expecting the vulnerable to travel for their jabs, says Liverpool’s public health chief.
Writing for The MJ, Liverpool City Council’s director of public health Matthew Ashton said: ‘It is absolutely vital we get the vaccine to people, rather than bringing people to the vaccine.
‘This means getting it closer to their homes and workplaces, rather than expecting vulnerable people – many who are already on the breadline and struggling to make ends meet – to get a bus or taxi to have their jab. And this is where councils come in’, he said.
- Fears over resource implications of rapid community testing scale up
Date: 11 Jan 2021
Public health experts have warned that vaccination and contact tracing efforts could suffer as a result of the trade offs that councils will have to make as they answer the government’s call to scale up community testing in their areas.
The government yesterday reaffirmed its pledge to roll out community testing to all local authority areas and is encouraging councils to target testing at key workers who cannot work from home during the lockdown, so they can self-isolate if they are carrying the virus.
Directors of public health are being urged to carry out mass programmes of asymptomatic testing of key workers using lateral flow devices, which give results within half an hour but have been shown to be less accurate than the lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
- Starmer demands halt to ‘absurd’ council tax rises
Date: 11 Jan 2021
Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for central government to increase funding for local authorities to prevent council tax hikes.
In a speech today, he claimed the Conservative Government had ‘sprayed money on private contracts that didn’t deliver, but won’t give councils the support they need’.
Mr Starmer said the Government should instead be ‘backing local councils to prevent council tax rises’.
In the latest Spending Review, local authorities were permitted to raise council tax without the need for a referendum by 2%, alongside a 3% precept for those that provide social care.
Writing in a national newspaper, Mr Starmer said increasing council tax during the pandemic was ‘absurd’ and laid the blame at the foot of the Government, claiming local authorities had in effect been ‘forced to raise taxes’.
- Council disputes MP allegations on Covid-19 grants
Date: 11 Jan 2021
Last week, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, used parliamentary privilege in the House of Commons to accuse the council of misusing Covid-19 grant funding.
Liddell-Grainger told Johnson that funding which was intended to support services and businesses in the county was used to meet budgetary pressures.
He said: “Somerset County Council has been given huge grants but has then diverted much of the money to balance its books, which is not what it was for.
“The prime minister is Somerset born and bred. I urge him to put a stop to this, so that the money goes to the people who need it most—the people of Somerset.”
In response, Johnson, said: “My honourable friend is absolutely right to highlight what is going on in Somerset."
- Cladding flat owners told not to talk to press
Date: 10 Jan 2021
Flat owners applying to a fund to help pay to remove flammable building cladding will be told not to talk to the press without government approval.
A draft agreement, uncovered by the Sunday Times, says that even where there is "overwhelming public interest" in speaking to journalists, the government must be told first.
The government said the wording was "standard".
- Record number of small firms 'set to close'
Date: 10 Jan 2021
A record number of small firms could close in the next 12 months, says the Federation of Small Businesses.
Without further government help to cope with the effects of the pandemic, more than a quarter of a million businesses could be lost, it said.
The FSB said it had put forward ideas to help some of those firms, which it hoped ministers would adopt.
- Covid crisis will force councils to make ‘deep cuts’ to services to plug funding shortfall of up to £2.2bn
Date: 10 Jan 2021
Councils across England are facing having to make unprecedented cuts to services in the coming years, after coronavirus left them with multimillion-pound black holes in their funding.
The cost to local authorities of the pandemic has been revealed as £1.1bn to £2.2bn, prompting leaders to describe their financial situations as the worst they have ever seen.
Early intervention and prevention projects for vulnerable families, as well as recycling schemes, are among the cutbacks most likely to be in the firing line as local authorities seek to claw back cash to avoid meltdown.
- More fines expected for lockdown breaches as home secretary warns of tighter enforcement
Date: 10 Jan 2021
"Strong enforcement" of coronavirus restrictions is needed to control the spread of the disease, the home secretary has warned.
Priti Patel said police forces should focus their resources on people who "are clearly breaking" lockdown rules to "safeguard our country's recovery from this deadly virus".
Government sources have told Sky News this will mean that "more fines will be issued, and quicker".
- Spending watchdog highlights 'litany of failures' on superfast broadband
Date: 08 Jan 2021
A 'litany’ of failures by the Government will leave rural homes and businesses without superfast broadband, MPs have warned today.
A new report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) argues the government’s pledge to deliver gigabit broadband to at least 85% of the nation by 2025 will be ‘challenging’ due to a catalogue of failures.
It said that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has failed to make meaningful progress in delivering the policy and legislative changes needed, amongst other problems.
- Sadiq Khan proposes 9.5% council tax increase
Date: 08 Jan 2021
The mayor of London has announced council tax will increase by 9.5% to help fund free travel for young people and the over 60s.
Sadiq Khan said the proposed increase includes £15 a year to pay for free public transport travel for under 18s and the over 60s, and £15 to go directly to the Metropolitan Police.
He said the increase was necessary to meet ‘draconian conditions’ set by the Government in return for funding during last year’s emergency TfL negotiations.
- Closure of leisure centres to cost £7.25m in missed health savings
Date: 08 Jan 2021
The continued closure of sport and leisure facilities during the latest lockdown will cost £7.25m in missed health savings, new analysis has revealed.
Research for ukactive also found the closure of more than 7,200 gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools is costing the sector around £90m in lost revenue every week in the UK.
The analysis of the first lockdown showed that an extra 3.4 million people were classed an inactive, with anxiety levels doubling compared to 2019.
- Eviction ban extended days before it was due to end
Date: 08 Jan 2021
The Government has announced that its eviction ban, which came into force in April 2020, will be extended just days before it was due to come to an end.
The ban has been extended to at least February 21st according to the Government.
Boris Johnson told MPs in the Commons on Wednesday that the eviction ban was under review, and with a third lockdown imposed upon the country, it was almost inevitable that the Government would choose to extend the ban which came into force during the first lockdown.
Although eviction notices will still be able to go through courts and be approved, bailiffs will not be able to enforce the evictions except in extreme cases such as anti-social behaviour.
- Covid: arrivals to UK will need to show a negative test before entry
Date: 08 Jan 2021
International travellers will need to show a negative Covid-19 test before being allowed into the UK, the government has announced, in a significant toughening of border controls to try to stem the spread of new coronavirus variants.
The new rules will take effect next week and apply to returning UK nationals as well as foreign citizens. Passengers will need to produce a test result taken less than 72 hours before boarding planes, boats or trains to the UK, and could be fined £500 in border spot checks without a negative result.
Arrivals will still need to quarantine for 10 days, even with a negative test, unless they are coming from one of the limited number of countries deemed low risk on the government’s travel corridor list.
- Councils asked to 'redouble efforts' on rough sleeping
Date: 08 Jan 2021
English councils have been asked to ‘redouble their efforts’ to help accommodate people sleeping rough, with the Government finding an additional £10m funding.
The £10m investment, which comes amid rising infection rates, builds on more than £700m government spending on homelessness and rough sleeping?this financial year.
Under the latest plan, local authorities will be asked to ‘reach out again’ to rough sleepers who have previously refused help.
- Council defies government by closing nurseries
Date: 08 Jan 2021
A council has closed all of its nurseries to prevent the spread of COVID-19 despite the Government insisting they are ‘safe’.
Brighton & Hove City Council yesterday announced all council-run nurseries were to be closed to all but vulnerable children and children of key workers.
Although the national lockdown rules in England do not require the closure of early years providers, the council said the move was consistent with the restrictions imposed on schools.
- High Court to hear four exit pay cap legal challenges
Date: 08 Jan 2021
Another trade union has been granted permission to challenge the public sector exit pay cap at the High Court.
Justice Smith gave the green light for the British Medical Association (BMA) to put its case for a judicial review alongside Unison, a joint submission by Unite and GMB, and another joint legal challenge by the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Lawyers in Local Government.
The judge said that the Government ‘accepted that the claim raises arguable issues’ and therefore the BMA would proceed to the High Court.
- People drank more alcohol, exercised less and ate less healthily during first lockdown
Date: 07 Jan 2021
Britons drank more alcohol, ate fewer fruit and vegetables and exercised less during the first national lockdown, a study has suggested.
Younger people, women and those who are overweight were more likely to have adopted unhealthy lifestyle choices last spring, the research by the University of East Anglia (UEA) shows.
The study of more than 1,000 people also indicates that women drank alcohol more frequently, but men consumed greater quantities of it in one sitting.
- County may be forced to limit school places during lockdown
Date: 07 Jan 2021
Norfolk County Council has warned it may be forced to prioritise who is given a school place during the new lockdown because of high demand.
The council said it may only be able to offer school places to children if both their parents work in emergency life-saving services due to the number of families requesting critical worker places.
It warned that many schools are facing unique factors during the new lockdown such as more staff off sick and self-isolating, and stricter bubble systems.
- Intervention threat over 'unwise' investments
Date: 07 Jan 2021
Councils have been warned the Government will intervene if they rely too much on commercial investments.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick told councils they should ‘consider the future of their investments’ and ‘reduce their dependence’ during a finance webinar hosted by the Local Government Association this morning.
He warned the Government would ‘need to take a more active role’ if the sector failed to respond.
- Rishi Sunak’s business Covid support is a £4bn ‘sticking plaster’
Date: 06 Jan 2021
Businesses were told yesterday to wait until March for any further help despite increasing evidence that the UK is heading back into recession.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, sought to relieve pressure for more support with a stop-gap package to keep the worst affected businesses afloat through the latest lockdown.
Pubs, cafés and shops are to be given one-off cash grants worth up to £9,000 in a £4 billion injection into the high street, with a further £600 million for other businesses.
- Thousands of children sent to unregulated care homes amid Covid
Date: 06 Jan 2021
Thousands of the most vulnerable children have been sent to unregulated care homes during the pandemic at a cost of millions to the taxpayer, a Guardian investigation has found.
Council bosses say they have nowhere else to put those most at risk as there are not enough places for the number of children in need, which has soared during the Covid crisis. The result is young people are placed in supported living facilities not monitored by Ofsted and therefore deemed a safety risk. One council chief described these homes as the “wild west”.
Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner for England, said the children’s care system had been “left to slip deeper into crisis” this year and that children were now being put at risk of “abuse or exploitation” after being let down by the authorities.
- Councils grapple with multi-million pound budget deficits
Date: 06 Jan 2021
Councils are mulling service cuts and council tax rises as they attempt to balance next year's budgets.
Cuts totalling £28m will be made at Lewisham LBC next year as it attempts to bridge a £40m budget gap.
A second round of cuts worth £13m has been announced on top of £15m already agreed by members, blamed on ‘a decade of Government cuts and underfunding’.
The council is also to review its adult social care service, and conduct service reviews into its libraries, street cleansing, housing needs and legal service under proposals to be considered at a meeting next week [commencing 11th].
- Call for ‘urgent clarity’ on elections
Date: 06 Jan 2021
Speculation over whether local elections will take place in May as scheduled has been labelled ‘unhelpful’ by councils.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson prompted doubts after he refused to rule out postponing the vote for a second time, following the cancellation of the elections last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has claimed there are currently no plans to postpone May's local elections.
- OECD says public will not accept austerity post-Covid-19
Date: 06 Jan 2021
Unprecedented stimulus measures taken by governments to fight the pandemic have changed the public perception of spending and debt, meaning sharp tax hikes or spending cuts would risk popular backlash, the OECD’s chief economist has said.
Laurence Boone told the Financial Times that public officials will struggle to argue for austerity during the recovery from Covid-19, and may not be in a position to pay for certain measures – such as those to combat climate change.
“People are going to ask where all this money has come from,” she said, referring to the programmes rolled out by governments to address the coronavirus pandemic.
She said countries should continue to use higher spending and low taxes to help their economies throughout the recovery period, taking a lesson from the last global financial crisis.
- Council rejects social care precept rise
Date: 06 Jan 2021
Councillors at Lincolnshire County Council have rejected the option of using the 3% increase to the adult social care precept next year which was announced during the local government settlement.
The move was approved in an executive committee meeting held yesterday, which outlined the draft budget proposal for 2021-22.
The council has opted for a 2% increase in council tax next year, which it said would raise £6.2m next year.
- The Brexit deal: financial implications for local government
Date: 06 Jan 2021
The list of current events that one would not have predicted a year ago is a long one.
But pretty high up would be that the Brexit deal and the end of the transition period should have had such fleeting prominence on the front pages and in the public consciousness.
Instead, our attention has been consumed once again by the Covid-19 pandemic...
- English schools struggle with demand for key worker places
Date: 06 Jan 2021
Schools have pleaded with parents to be “completely honest” about whether they are really key workers after some primaries received requests for hundreds of children to come to class in the latest lockdown.
Across England, schools reported struggling to cope with the demand for places in school while also offering remote teaching.
One primary headteacher in Greater Manchester said staff had spent all of Wednesday “interrogating” parents after they received 210 applications from key workers, some of whom they discovered were able to work from home.
- Worcestershire Council aim to plug £26m gap
Date: 06 Jan 2021
Worcestershire County Council are to discuss plans to increase their portion of Council Tax by 2.5% in the coming year to plug the £26.5m funding gap that awaits in 2021.
The increase will amount to approximately £5m extra for the Council to use towards its budget.
This would equate to a £33 increase for the average band d household in the area, providing that other parts of tax aren’t increased.
- Pupils without laptops can still go to school in England lockdown
Date: 05 Jan 2021
More than a million children in England who have no access to laptops have been designated as “vulnerable children” and can turn up at school for face-to-face learning, it emerged on Tuesday night.
The development raises questions about whether schools will be ready for the resultant influx of children, when they have been told to restrict teaching for at least six weeks as England begins its third national lockdown.
The new guidance came as a surprise to the children’s commissioner, Anne Longfield, who learned of it after she had called for pupils to be designated vulnerable if remote learning equipment could not be provided to them. Sources at Longfield’s office questioned when the advice had been updated and why the Department for Education (DfE) was making no effort to publicise it.
- Borrowing from PWLB jumps following rate cut
Date: 05 Jan 2021
In October 2019, the Treasury raised the PWLB rate by one percentage point, which led to monthly borrowing dropping as low as £40m in November.
However, the rate rise was reversed at the Comprehensive Spending Review and in December more than 40 PWLB loans, averaging £5.9m each, were agreed, according to figures from the Debt Management Office.
David Whelan, managing director of public sector treasury at Link Group told PF: “Local authorities sat on their hands, and had not borrowed much, since the rate increase was announced.
“Following the rate reduction, they have now gone in and borrowed quite a lot.”
- Covid has exacerbated inequalities
Date: 05 Jan 2021
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has released its first report of the year, titled Deaton Review of Inequalities: a New Year’s message.
The report outlines how Covid has not only highlighted inequalities in Britain, but how it has also made them worse.
The report focuses on key areas such as income, employment and education to objectively demonstrate that those from poorer backgrounds are worse off as a result of Covid, than those who are from privilege.
The report found that graduates were less likely to be out of work because of Covid, falling just 7% when compared to non-graduates who saw employment rates rise by 17% over the same period, showing that there is still a gap between those that go to university and those that don’t. Non-graduates are also more likely to have lost out on income due to an inability to do their job from home, having to choose between their health or their income.
- No third section 114 for Croydon this year
Date: 05 Jan 2021
In November, Croydon became only the second council in two decades to issue a section 114 notice, freezing all non-essential spending as it forecast a £66m funding gap this year.
A second notice was issued by the council in early December.
However, the council told PF that, following discussions with CIPFA, a third notice will not be necessary for 2020-21.
A council spokesperson said: “Following the extraordinary council meeting on 16 December, the council’s chief finance officer sought advice from CIPFA about whether to issue another section 114 notice, given that there had been no substantial change to the council’s financial position.
- Union calls for nurseries to be closed during lockdown
Date: 05 Jan 2021
Pre-schools including nurseries must be closed except to educate the children of key workers and those who are vulnerable, union says.
The Government has decided to keep nurseries open during the new lockdown with the Prime Minister promising that ‘everyone will still be able to access early years’ settings such as nurseries.’
However, Unison has urged the Government to close nurseries to everyone except the children of key workers and those who are vulnerable.
- Property searches face delays from underfunded councils
Date: 05 Jan 2021
The trade body representing property search organisations has written to the communities secretary urging him to provide councils with more funding to speed up the provision of searches to homebuyers.
According to data from the Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO), more than 35% of local authorities are taking more than 20 working days to process search requests and for many of these the delays are more than 30 working days.
CoPSO warned that these delays are impacting on the progress of property transactions, which they say is particularly problematic because of the imminent expiry of the stamp duty holiday.
- Park services ‘need £500m funding boost’
Date: 05 Jan 2021
The government has been warned that council park services require a £500m boost after a report revealed the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. A Local Government Association study, co-funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, focused on six council case studies and found that...
- New Year Honours awarded to local government workers
Date: 04 Jan 2021
Figures across local government have been recognised for their response to the pandemic in the 2021 New Year Honours list.
Pat Richie, chief executive of Newcastle City Council, was awarded a CBE for her services to local government and public service reform.
Professor Graeme Betts, director of adult social care at Birmingham City Council, was awarded a CBE for services to adult social care.
A knighthood was also awarded to David Charles Pearson, the lately director of adult social care at Nottinghamshire Council for services to health and social care integration.
- Councils resist pressure to reopen schools
Date: 04 Jan 2021
Councils have raised concerns over the return of primary school pupils to classrooms amid soaring COVID-19 infection rates.
Secondary schools are due to remain closed this week but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted that primary schools are 'safe’.
However, Essex CC said its primary schools would remain closed to all but vulnerable children and those of key workers, and Brighton & Hove City Counil has advised its schools to do the same.
Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle and Wolverhampton city councils said they would back schools that decide not to reopen.
- High streets across England secure cash boost for regeneration
Date: 04 Jan 2021
More than 70 towns and cities across England are to share up to £830m to help boost high streets, the government has said.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the funding plan, initially revealed before the Covid pandemic, would help areas to "bounce back" through regeneration.
Sunderland and Swindon will each get £25m to fund railway station and town centre improvements.
Some 15 areas share £255m, with 57 others provisionally granted £576m.
- Leader of England’s largest council calls for Government to “act now”
Date: 04 Jan 2021
The leader of Birmingham City Council has urged the Government to “act now” in order to avoid the catastrophic case numbers that are currently being seen in certain boroughs of London.
The leader, Ian Ward, cited the 36% increase in cases in Birmingham over the past week, with hospitals being at breaking point in the region
- Council backs calls for new national lockdown
Date: 04 Jan 2021
Liverpool City Council has called on the Government to introduce a new national lockdown to stop the rapid spread of the new strain of coronavirus.
The council warns that COVID cases have reached ‘alarming levels’ after they trebled in the past two weeks across the city.
Acting mayor, Cllr Wendy Simon, said a new national lockdown, coupled with mass testing, is the only way to slow the spread of the new strain of the virus.
- Exit pay cap judicial review granted
Date: 04 Jan 2021
A judicial review into the public sector exit pay cap will take place in March.
The joint application by the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives (ALACE) and Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) has been granted by the High Court today.
The two-day hearing will take place towards the middle of March.
LLG president Quentin Baker said: ‘In a year when local authority key workers have given their all, LLG has fought to preserve pension rights for those suffering redundancy at a late stage in their career, rights which were unjustifiably stripped away by the exit cap regulations.
‘The granting of permission to apply for judicial review gives us all a glimmer of hope that common sense and justice may prevail in 2021.’
- Major incidents over COVID declared
Date: 04 Jan 2021
Essex, Oxfordshire and Berkshire have declared major incidents amid fears the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases could overwhelm health services.
The declarations, which allow the areas to seek further support from the Government, came in response to growing demand on health and social care services due to coronavirus.
Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, Martin Tett, said: ‘Our rate in the over 60 years population is now putting our health and social care services under very severe pressure.
- Former CIPFA presidents receive New Year honours
Date: 04 Jan 2021
Gardner, who was auditor general of Audit Scotland from 2012-2020 and CIPFA president in 2006, was awarded a CBE for her services to the Scottish public sector.
She had worked at Audit Scotland since its inception in 2000 and was also chair of CIPFA in Scotland in 2001.
Roberts, who was CIPFA president in 2016, was awarded an OBE for his services to local government and public sector finance.
He was appointed as one of two finance commissioners to help advise at Northamptonshire County Council in 2018, after the council issued two section 114 notices.
- Prime Minister commits to uplift in public sector jobs
Date: 04 Jan 2021
The Prime Minister has committed to continuing to invest in public sector jobs as the country aims to “build back better” after the Covid-19 pandemic.
2020 saw record numbers of nurses recruited with 13,313 new nurses joining the NHS in England, taking the total figure up to 299,184.
41,000 trainee teachers were recruited last year, with every teacher in the country receiving an above-inflation pay rise.
Archived Headlines
- 2020
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- 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]
- Providers: No-deal ‘could lead to social care statutory duty failure’ [16 Sep 2019]
- 'Care crisis': Sent-away children are 'easy victims' [16 Sep 2019]
- ‘Armchair auditors’ frustrated by attempts at accounts scrutiny [16 Sep 2019]
- Stinging criticism over ministry's double rates error [16 Sep 2019]
- Legal action threatens council income [16 Sep 2019]
- Positive results found for axed project [16 Sep 2019]
- Councils spend £1bn on shopping centres [16 Sep 2019]
- Somerset auditors recognise improved finances [13 Sep 2019]
- Council PWLB borrowing hits record level in August [13 Sep 2019]
- Chief executives demand 10% pay rise [13 Sep 2019]
- Spending Review saves council from depleting reserves [12 Sep 2019]
- Number of households in temporary residence highest since 2007 [12 Sep 2019]
- Tory conference: Government confirms £25bn for road upgrades [11 Sep 2019]
- Peterborough capital receipts episode prompts prudential framework review [11 Sep 2019]
- Cash-strapped councils struggling to support SEND children, auditors warn [11 Sep 2019]
- Retailers call for action as high street store closures soar [11 Sep 2019]
- Government pledges £62m flood funding for communities in England [10 Sep 2019]
- Britain has biggest primary school classes in the developed world, report finds [10 Sep 2019]
- Major Review into Support for Children with Special Educational Needs [10 Sep 2019]
- Exclusive: Government to launch major review into support for children with special needs [05 Sep 2019]
- Gap in academic skills of girls and boys widens, show Sats [05 Sep 2019]
- Snack tax 'could be more effective than sugary drinks levy' [05 Sep 2019]
- Spending review: Outlined [05 Sep 2019]
- Spending Round 2019: what you need to know [04 Sep 2019]
- Burns to be Cipfa director [04 Sep 2019]
- Chancellor set to unveil government spending plans [04 Sep 2019]
- Food banks increasing in schools for pupils' families [03 Sep 2019]
- Spending Review: What's it all about? [03 Sep 2019]
- [BBC] General Election expected should Opposition Brexit Bill succeed [02 Sep 2019]
- Combined authority moots buses takeover [02 Sep 2019]
- Updated: £700m will form part of high needs block [02 Sep 2019]
- Brexit: No 10 'considering' election amid no-deal battle with MPs [02 Sep 2019]
- UK factory output 'falls at fastest pace for seven years' [02 Sep 2019]
- Labour could give private tenants chance to buy their rented homes [02 Sep 2019]
- Surge in defence spending catches chancellor Sajid Javid off guard [02 Sep 2019]
- Teacher starting salaries could rise to £30,000 [31 Aug 2019]
- Sajid Javid pledges £400m further education funding [31 Aug 2019]
- Councils facing £2.4bn black hole in social care funding urge the Government to continue grants which make up 29% of their cash [30 Aug 2019]
- Umbrella groups make Spending Round plea for social care [30 Aug 2019]
- Price collapse threatens paper recycling collections [29 Aug 2019]
- Sajid Javid’s spending round set to focus on vote winners [29 Aug 2019]
- Parliament suspension sparks furious backlash [29 Aug 2019]
- Give schools incentives to admit more special needs children, councils urge [29 Aug 2019]
- £3.5bn education package not enough, say school leaders [28 Aug 2019]
- Javid pledges spending review cash for schools, NHS and police [28 Aug 2019]
- £4bn school funding boost set to be confirmed [28 Aug 2019]
- Stabilising Northamptonshire County Council [27 Aug 2019]
- £800m overspend on children's social care [27 Aug 2019]
- 'Alarm bells' over private equity foster care firms, councils warn [27 Aug 2019]
- 5G: Rural areas could see bigger and taller masts [27 Aug 2019]
- Warning over children's care 'crisis' amid claims of councils overspend reaching £770m [26 Aug 2019]
- England school places shortage 'made worse by academies' [26 Aug 2019]
- Schools set for long-awaited cash injection [24 Aug 2019]
- 130,000 families with children live in one-bed flats [23 Aug 2019]
- Universal credit 'forces tenants into rent arrears' [23 Aug 2019]
- Call to abandon coastal towns before sea claims them [23 Aug 2019]
- Number of 16 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training jumps by 30,000 [22 Aug 2019]
- No-deal Brexit 'will see more waste going to landfill' [22 Aug 2019]
- Council reserves rise to record levels [22 Aug 2019]
- Campaigners warn that special needs children have been forced out of mainstream schools [21 Aug 2019]
- Disadvantaged teenagers more likely to score low GCSE grades [21 Aug 2019]
- Government's budget surplus shrinks in July [21 Aug 2019]
- Brexit blow as councils miss MHCLG deadline [20 Aug 2019]
- District had ‘no choice’ in leaving LEP [20 Aug 2019]
- No-deal papers reveal council fears over food supply [20 Aug 2019]
- CIPFA index 'must be forward-looking' [19 Aug 2019]
- North ‘to receive £2,300 less per person in transport spending than London’ [19 Aug 2019]
- Electric buses: Wales' first to hit the roads in Newport [19 Aug 2019]
- London planned transport spending 'seven times more per head than for Yorkshire' [18 Aug 2019]
- Special educational needs crisis deepens as councils bust their budgets [18 Aug 2019]
- Sajid Javid will 'simplify' the tax system in first Budget [18 Aug 2019]
- State Pension Age should be raised to 75 to boost economy, argues think tank founded by ex-Tory leader [18 Aug 2019]
- Two local government pension funds record total deficits of £14.5m [16 Aug 2019]
- A love letter to my hometown high street [16 Aug 2019]
- Hike in council spend on external legal advice, research finds [16 Aug 2019]
- Northamptonshire trebles deficit projection [16 Aug 2019]
- Leaders call for £39bn for Northern Powerhouse Rail project [15 Aug 2019]
- Care homes forced to drop nurse provision amid staffing crisis [15 Aug 2019]
- Council chiefs call for billions to fix North’s ‘creaking infrastructure’ [15 Aug 2019]
- Council-owned solar farm generates £1.2m for frontline services [14 Aug 2019]
- Stop cuts to adult social care, petition urges [14 Aug 2019]
- Homeless person dying every 19 hours in UK, figures show [14 Aug 2019]
- Asda and Boots urge reform of 'broken' rates system [13 Aug 2019]
- More children being cared for in failing council services, says think tank [12 Aug 2019]
- Electric cars to enter next gear as government doubles funding for charging points on residential streets [12 Aug 2019]
- Dams in danger of flooding as dozens in need of safety work [12 Aug 2019]
- High Streets hit as shop vacancy rate worst since 2015 [12 Aug 2019]
- David Davies MP: General election will be called next month [11 Aug 2019]
- Government activates emergency funds for flood-hit councils [10 Aug 2019]
- Real pay cut for millions since 2010, TUC study suggests [10 Aug 2019]
- Stay of execution for civil servants’ £95,000 redundancy cap [09 Aug 2019]
- PSAA records dramatic rise in delayed audit opinions [09 Aug 2019]
- U.K. Economy Unexpectedly Shrinks for First Time Since 2012 [09 Aug 2019]
- Chancellor fast-tracks Spending Round to free up departments to prepare for Brexit [08 Aug 2019]
- Druid Heath's disused Baverstock Academy costs council £241k [08 Aug 2019]
- Local government ‘shut out’ of Brexit discussions, Labour warns [08 Aug 2019]
- Northants finance director to leave after 12-month term [08 Aug 2019]
- Million more young adults still living with parents [08 Aug 2019]
- Thousands of sexual offences reported against children aged four to eight [06 Aug 2019]
- Dame Barbara Windsor calls on Boris Johnson to improve dementia care [06 Aug 2019]
- Jenrick announces £10m for council ‘Brexit leads’ [05 Aug 2019]
- John McDonnell questions chancellor's suitability for office [05 Aug 2019]
- Brexit: Anger as government set to spend five times more on 'propaganda' than helping councils prepare for no deal [04 Aug 2019]
- Councils will share £20m extra to fund no-deal tsars [03 Aug 2019]
- UK spends less on social care than nearly all the other countries in Western Europe with dementia patients among the worst affected by spending shortfall [03 Aug 2019]
- Councils ‘poor relations of Whitehall’ in no deal funding [02 Aug 2019]
- Schools in poorer areas ‘to lose out on pupil funding’ [02 Aug 2019]
- Brexit: How have UK councils prepared? [02 Aug 2019]
- Childcare costs set to soar following Government proposals to raise registration costs by 20 per cent [01 Aug 2019]
- Number of over-16s going into care increases 25% in four years, report finds [01 Aug 2019]
- Prime Minister opens first meeting of National Policing Board [31 Jul 2019]
- Resolution Foundation says council tax unfairly burdens the poor [30 Jul 2019]
- Will Boris Johnson's present for hard-up teachers be enough? [30 Jul 2019]
- Johnson pledges billions of pounds to ‘left behind towns’ [30 Jul 2019]
- £1m boost to sports projects that keep young Londoners out of violent crime [30 Jul 2019]
- Disadvantaged pupils 'stuck 18 months behind' [30 Jul 2019]
- Value of PWLB loans to local authorities rises 75% [29 Jul 2019]
- More than 4m in UK are trapped in deep poverty, study finds [29 Jul 2019]
- Nearly a quarter of the UK's dementia care homes are failing, with many patients neglected and left at risk in 'toxic' environment, new report shows [28 Jul 2019]
- Sajid Javid: What should we expect from new chancellor? [26 Jul 2019]
- School funding top priority for Gavin Williamson [26 Jul 2019]
- Controversial Help to Buy scheme may be extended [26 Jul 2019]
- NI civil servants strike over pay and conditions [26 Jul 2019]
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he has a plan to 'fix the crisis in social care once and for all' [24 Jul 2019]
- Robert Jenrick takes over after Brokenshire sacked [24 Jul 2019]
- Boris Johnson: We will fix the crisis in social care once and for all [24 Jul 2019]
- Prevention green paper blasted as ‘shopping list of half-complete ideas’ [23 Jul 2019]
- Government pumps £348million into new schemes to improve local roads [22 Jul 2019]
- Schools face cutbacks to fund pay rise for teachers in England [22 Jul 2019]
- Schools face cutbacks to fund pay rise for teachers in England [22 Jul 2019]
- Government offers 'inflation-busting' pay rises [22 Jul 2019]
- Counties warn SEN costs ‘spiralling out of control’ [19 Jul 2019]
- £2bn public sector pay rise to have limited impact [19 Jul 2019]
- ‘Anything but inclusive’: No school places for three disabled sisters [19 Jul 2019]
- SEND duties ‘increasing pressure on councils’ [19 Jul 2019]
- Public sector pay rise: May gives £2bn to teachers, police and armed forces [19 Jul 2019]
- Councils in country have far less to spend on elderly than those in cities [19 Jul 2019]
- ‘Anything but inclusive’: No school places for three disabled sisters [19 Jul 2019]
- SEND duties ‘increasing pressure on councils’ [19 Jul 2019]
- Public sector pay rise: May gives £2bn to teachers, police and armed forces [19 Jul 2019]
- No deal Brexit ‘will create £30bn black hole’ [18 Jul 2019]
- CIPFA launches drive for ‘easier to understand’ public accounts [17 Jul 2019]
- CIPFA launches drive for ‘easier to understand’ public accounts [17 Jul 2019]
- Unions united on pay claim as Unite back 10% rise [17 Jul 2019]
- Rubbish-tip 'tax' for households prompts fears of a surge in dumping [16 Jul 2019]
- Doctors, teachers and police to share in £4bn-a-year pension boost [16 Jul 2019]
- ‘More clarity required’ despite pension ruling [16 Jul 2019]
- Forget the spending review, we should be talking about taxation [16 Jul 2019]
- CIPFA backs alternative tool for measuring councils’ financial resilience [15 Jul 2019]
- Audit review raises prospect of new transparency rules for s151s [15 Jul 2019]
- Audit review raises prospect of new transparency rules for s151s [15 Jul 2019]
- UK 'scarily' exposed to next major downturn, economists warn Save [15 Jul 2019]
- High street suffers 'summer slump' as Brexit and wet weather bite [15 Jul 2019]
- Lack of homes suitable for older people fuels housing crisis – report [14 Jul 2019]
- Libraries told to focus on books as lending slumps [12 Jul 2019]
- Councils welcome government review of guidance for youth services [11 Jul 2019]
- Councils featured in Government’s £135m health research fund [11 Jul 2019]
- Enterprise zones 'failed to deliver' jobs boost in England [11 Jul 2019]
- ‘Well-run’ council faces £15m budget gap [10 Jul 2019]
- UK to become a ‘smoke free’ nation by 2030, leaked government document says [10 Jul 2019]
- Theresa May’s multi-billion pound school splurge could include a pay rise for teachers [10 Jul 2019]
- Essex drops library closure plans following sustained public protests [10 Jul 2019]
- ‘Core offer’ not enough to reduce county’s budget gap [09 Jul 2019]
- Katherine Fairclough: Sparsity tests your leadership [09 Jul 2019]
- Inner London boroughs back fair funding delay [09 Jul 2019]
- Revealed: Shattering £15billion cost of 'cruel and unfair' bills that families have paid in just 2 years to care for loved ones with dementia [09 Jul 2019]
- A proper plan is needed for local government funding [08 Jul 2019]
- Court date set for NHS business rates challenge [08 Jul 2019]
- NHS waiting lists surge due to pensions row [08 Jul 2019]
- Future High Streets fund shortlist revealed [05 Jul 2019]
- County Councils Network announces new chairman [05 Jul 2019]
- LEPs ‘lack transparency’ despite receiving £12bn of Government funding [05 Jul 2019]
- Northamptonshire CC delivers ‘remarkable’ multi-million underspend [04 Jul 2019]
- Matt Hancock: social care green paper held up by 'partisan politics' [04 Jul 2019]
- Twelve children's homes closed down by Ofsted [03 Jul 2019]
- The Communities Secretary's speech at the LGA Conference 2019 [02 Jul 2019]
- Government has to answer questions on council funding [02 Jul 2019]
- Funding of local authorities’ children’s services: government response to the Select Committee report [02 Jul 2019]
- Spending on children number one worry, says Hillier [02 Jul 2019]
- The Guardian view on the social care impasse: hurting people and politics [opinion] [01 Jul 2019]
- Councils 'in the dark' over future funding amid cash warnings [01 Jul 2019]
- Young people face ‘renting into retirement’, council chiefs warn [01 Jul 2019]
- Childcare might become 'available only in rich areas' [01 Jul 2019]
- Apprenticeships pledge 'will be missed' [27 Jun 2019]
- Striking the right balance - James Maker [26 Jun 2019]
- Landmark High Court case told of ‘genuine crisis’ in special educational needs funding [26 Jun 2019]
- Variation victory as LGA lobbies Treasury [26 Jun 2019]
- Councils save over £1bn by sharing services, council chiefs say [26 Jun 2019]
- Cambridge school PTA asks parents to raise £60k to plug budget gap [24 Jun 2019]
- Jeremy Hunt admits Tory social care cuts went too far [19 Jun 2019]
- Concern as county cancels integration deal [19 Jun 2019]
- Rising levels of poverty in working families [19 Jun 2019]
- Calls for 195-year-old Vagrancy Act to be scrapped [19 Jun 2019]
- Cuts to social care funding went too far, admits Jeremy Hunt [19 Jun 2019]
- UK's problem debtors to get 60-day 'breathing space' [19 Jun 2019]
- Campaigners renew calls for UK to accept 10,000 child refugees [18 Jun 2019]
- '£3.8bn needed to reverse school cuts' [18 Jun 2019]
- Fifth of lead finance officers not at top table [14 Jun 2019]
- 'Stuck in the past' [13 Jun 2019]
- Councils sitting on billions in reserves while cutting back services [10 Jun 2019]
- Review concludes public health should stay with councils [07 Jun 2019]
- Truss admits spending review 'unlikely' in time for 2020-21 [05 Jun 2019]
- Councils slam ‘misleading’ BBC reserves danger list [04 Jun 2019]
- Labour report calls for radical tax and planning reforms [04 Jun 2019]
- Sure Start centres 'big benefit' but face cuts [04 Jun 2019]
- Jeremy Corbyn unveils plans for 'progressive' tax raid on homes and gardens of the middle class [04 Jun 2019]
- Rough sleeping: Arrests fall as police brand law 'archaic' [04 Jun 2019]
- Ministry offers 'goodwill' cash after repeating rates pilot blunder [03 Jun 2019]
- 19 face audit delay due to EY staffing issues [03 Jun 2019]
- Ministry offers 'goodwill' cash after repeating rates pilot blunder [03 Jun 2019]
- Councils across the UK have spent £74million in just two years on maintaining 6,000 empty buildings [03 Jun 2019]
- Amazon to open 10 pop-up shops in UK town centres [03 Jun 2019]
- Austerity to blame for 130,000 ‘preventable’ UK deaths – report [01 Jun 2019]
- Three-quarters of councils move to insource services [31 May 2019]
- May resignation sparks fears for fair funding in 2020 [31 May 2019]
- Families rally against special educational needs funding cuts [30 May 2019]
- Special needs: Petition demands end to 'national crisis' [30 May 2019]
- Council funding system ‘unsustainable’, financial experts warn [29 May 2019]
- English 'short-changed on care funding' [29 May 2019]
- Council funding 'unsustainable' as budgets cut by 20% [29 May 2019]
- Why councils are bringing millions of pounds worth of services back in-house [29 May 2019]
- English councils warned about 'exhausting' reserve cash [29 May 2019]
- Council spending on local services down 21% over past decade [29 May 2019]
- BBC Panorama: Crisis in Care [29 May 2019]
- Funding gap forces national cycling targets off track [28 May 2019]
- Council tax ‘only regressive tax in the UK’ [27 May 2019]
- Pupils with special educational needs to stage funding protests [27 May 2019]
- Rise in special needs pupils forced to attend out-of-area schools [25 May 2019]
- Treasury ‘must do better’ on Whole of Government Accounts [24 May 2019]
- Free social care for the elderly could save NHS £4.5bn a year, think tank says [23 May 2019]
- Bus services outside London need reform, MPs warn amid passenger decline [23 May 2019]
- County director takes on lead STP role [22 May 2019]
- MPs call for coordinated bus strategy to address decline [22 May 2019]
- Tory council chief warns of social care funding shortfall [22 May 2019]
- Even ‘draconian cuts won’t be enough’ as councils face £50bn funding blackhole [22 May 2019]
- Norfolk County Council: Extra cuts to hit children's services [21 May 2019]
- English councils 'face £50bn funding black hole' [21 May 2019]
- 'Broken' care system for most vulnerable [21 May 2019]
- Councils urged to take control of bus services [20 May 2019]
- Social care shake-up delayed again after row over who will pay for new system [20 May 2019]
- Teens in care 'abandoned to crime gangs' [20 May 2019]
- £200m boost for rural super-fast broadband [20 May 2019]
- Home Secretary Sajid Javid calls for tax reforms to cut red tape as small business deserts Tories, with 62 per cent saying Government is no longer on their side [16 May 2019]
- Troubled Northamptonshire makes ‘unprecedented’ in-year turnaround [15 May 2019]
- Central-local relations at 'all-time low' - study [15 May 2019]
- Whiteman calls for fair funding delay [15 May 2019]
- Knife crime prevention being ‘seriously hampered’ as councils left in dark about youth offending funding [15 May 2019]
- MHCLG oversight of local authority governance 'reactive and ill-informed' [15 May 2019]
- Carillion's ‘relationship with auditors too comfortable’ [14 May 2019]
- Northamptonshire: Unitary authorities plan approved [14 May 2019]
- Councils restructuring in face of ‘unparalleled cuts’ [14 May 2019]
- Report urges prevention rather than cure in public health spending [14 May 2019]
- Council pays out over £40,000 for ‘mistakes’ in respite centre closure [14 May 2019]
- Update on Northamptonshire - Written Statement [14 May 2019]
- Female unemployment rate lowest since 1971 [14 May 2019]
- Instant fines for idling drivers ‘would send message about pollution’ [14 May 2019]
- Mental health spending varies widely across England [14 May 2019]
- Councils to be placed under legal duty to house victims of domestic abuse [14 May 2019]
- Introduce ‘smart bins’ and hand out tax cuts to drive up recycling, urges think tank [13 May 2019]
- Councils get £30m boost to look after asylum seeking children [10 May 2019]
- Deal signed to deliver 3,000 new homes in Nottinghamshire [09 May 2019]
- Tories hold on to LGA by tiny margin [09 May 2019]
- Truss: Spending Review will prioritise SEND children [09 May 2019]
- Government agrees to £30m a year South Yorkshire devolution deal [09 May 2019]
- Home Office increases funding for child refugees after warnings lone minors were being left 'in limbo' [08 May 2019]
- Whitehall ‘unwilling’ to help the high street, committee says [08 May 2019]
- How rural Britain's 'failing' bus routes compare to our European neighbours [08 May 2019]
- Basic income of £48 a week in UK urged [07 May 2019]
- Excluded pupils' results 'to be part of league tables' [07 May 2019]
- Youth club closures put young people at risk of violence, warn MPs [07 May 2019]
- Rising knife crime linked to council cuts, study suggests [07 May 2019]
- ‘Massively unfair’ gulf in bus fares between London and rest of England [05 May 2019]
- Academisation rebellion: parents resist school takeovers [05 May 2019]
- Schools 'should fine parents who swear at teachers, skip parents' evenings and fail to enforce their children's detentions' [05 May 2019]
- Local elections: Results in maps and charts [03 May 2019]
- Schools sports facilities may open in summer to fight child obesity [03 May 2019]
- Health visiting services on 'knife-edge' as cuts take toll [02 May 2019]
- County chiefs call for government to lead on reorganisation [02 May 2019]
- Secret to happiness? A free bus pass in your 60s as researchers link fewer symptoms of depression with concessionary travel cards [02 May 2019]
- Election 2019: Council polls to take place across England and NI [02 May 2019]
- Children's services 'at breaking point', MPs say [01 May 2019]
- Leeds child obesity: ‘My two-year-old only ate baked beans’ [01 May 2019]
- Four Seasons Health Care: Care home giant on brink of collapse [30 Apr 2019]
- Queen’s speech delayed until Brexit deal reached [30 Apr 2019]
- Auditors find ‘significant weaknesses’ in record-breaking investment deal and slam Surrey [district] council’s £1bn ‘property roulette’ [29 Apr 2019]
- Rural areas 'ignored' by Government, Lords claim [29 Apr 2019]
- Social care: Homeowners urged to pay £30,000 towards care by downsizing [29 Apr 2019]
- Former cabinet minister unveils plan to tackle care funding crisis [29 Apr 2019]
- Unexpected rise in voter registrations [29 Apr 2019]
- Labour pledges to fund 160k extra care packages [26 Apr 2019]
- Amount of unpaid council tax rises to £3bn [26 Apr 2019]
- Government to hear Brexit legal base fears [24 Apr 2019]
- Spending Review could be next year because of Brexit [24 Apr 2019]
- Over 1,500 pubs close since controversial business rates revaluation [23 Apr 2019]
- Homelessness charity wins £3.6m lottery grant [23 Apr 2019]
- Have the poorest councils had the biggest cuts? [23 Apr 2019]
- Mental health patients detained in hospital wards for up to 21 years [23 Apr 2019]
- UK falls behind on public service spending [23 Apr 2019]
- What about social care? [opinion] [17 Apr 2019]
- LGPS governance consultation moots s151 responsibilities split [17 Apr 2019]
- County and district push ahead with 'non-structural reform' [17 Apr 2019]
- Warning over pupils moving between schools [17 Apr 2019]
- Mental health of pupils is 'at crisis point', teachers warn [17 Apr 2019]
- SEND funding cut by more than £1bn as nine in 10 councils hit ‘massive funding shortfall’ [16 Apr 2019]
- High Court ruling clarifies councils’ SEND funding duties [16 Apr 2019]
- Special needs provision in schools cut by over £1bn [16 Apr 2019]
- Families still struggle to find primary school places in English cities [16 Apr 2019]
- Four out of 10 teachers plan to quit, survey suggests [16 Apr 2019]
- Are we witnessing the return of the council house? [15 Apr 2019]
- Children with special needs forced out of school for years as funding fails to meet demand [15 Apr 2019]
- Details delay social care green paper [15 Apr 2019]
- Stephen Hughes: Growing national income can fund local services [13 Apr 2019]
- Council tax debts in England soar 40% in six years [13 Apr 2019]
- Unregistered schools given council funding [12 Apr 2019]
- Ofsted uncovers 500 suspected illegal schools in England [12 Apr 2019]
- EU foster children should be given automatic British citizenship, charity says [12 Apr 2019]
- IMF's Lagarde says further Brexit delay will 'hinder' UK growth [11 Apr 2019]
- Minister: Response to high streets fund 'fantastic' [11 Apr 2019]
- Corbyn launches attack on fair funding review [11 Apr 2019]
- Developers encouraged to fund school places [11 Apr 2019]
- Care homes 'failing to keep pace with just 10 beds for every 100 people over 75' [11 Apr 2019]
- PMQs erupts as Corbyn savages council cuts - 'George Orwell would've been proud' [10 Apr 2019]
- Family's anger as government's social care plans delayed for fifth time [10 Apr 2019]
- Children who need help with mental health face postcode lottery – study [10 Apr 2019]
- Two-thirds of councils say they can’t afford to comply with homelessness law [10 Apr 2019]
- Wales promotes council tax discounts for mentally impaired [10 Apr 2019]
- LGA in finance director plea [08 Apr 2019]
- Rob Whiteman: A wider response is needed to Northamptonshire [opinion] [08 Apr 2019]
- Local elections: 12 councils to watch [opinion] [08 Apr 2019]
- The price of Brexit has been £66 billion so far, plus an impending recession — and it hasn't even started yet [08 Apr 2019]
- Philip Hammond unveils tax cut [08 Apr 2019]
- What do parish councils do? [07 Apr 2019]
- Councils spend millions on agency social workers amid recruiting crisis [07 Apr 2019]
- Newham Council fined £145,000 over gangs list leak [05 Apr 2019]
- The England that Westminster forgot [05 Apr 2019]
- Ofsted grades are misleading parents and are wrong in up to half of cases, ex-Government adviser says [05 Apr 2019]
- Tories resign to fight former colleagues as Dorset tension continues [04 Apr 2019]
- ‘North suffers most from special educational needs budget cuts’ [04 Apr 2019]
- Councils say homelessness act not adequately funded [04 Apr 2019]
- ‘North suffers most from special educational needs budget cuts’ [04 Apr 2019]
- Funding for pupils with special educational needs drops 17% [04 Apr 2019]
- Seaside town reinvention 'should start with Blackpool' [04 Apr 2019]
- Government homelessness funding 'not enough' [03 Apr 2019]
- Northants closes £65m funding gap in under a year [03 Apr 2019]
- Mother sues over daughter's suicide attempt in school isolation booth [03 Apr 2019]
- Brexit: Councils left in the dark, MPs say [03 Apr 2019]
- Liddington: EU elections preparations will be funded [02 Apr 2019]
- Council register of home-schooled children proposed [02 Apr 2019]
- New £201m road repair fund is ‘drop in the ocean’ [01 Apr 2019]
- Fund to fix our potholes gets an extra £200m in emergency government funding to help resurface more than 1,000 miles of highway [01 Apr 2019]
- Calais child refugees waiting 10 times longer to join family in UK [01 Apr 2019]
- Suffolk now has 'largest district council in country' [01 Apr 2019]
- Clive Betts: My committee will try to solve the funding crisis [01 Apr 2019]
- 'Massive challenge' due to EU election uncertainty [01 Apr 2019]
- Fund to fix our potholes gets an extra £200m in emergency government funding to help resurface more than 1,000 miles of highway [01 Apr 2019]
- Minimum wage rates rise, but bills go up too [01 Apr 2019]
- Ministers must act to save tens of thousands of jobs on UK's struggling high streets, Tesco boss warns [29 Mar 2019]
- Northants commissioner: Council still has a long way to go [29 Mar 2019]
- Government is ‘failing’ to combat child poverty, campaigners say [28 Mar 2019]
- More than 1m childless people over 65 are 'dangerously unsupported' [28 Mar 2019]
- How Northamptonshire balanced the books [28 Mar 2019]
- SURVEY RESULTS: Officers expect no extra cash from Fair Funding Review [28 Mar 2019]
- Council taxes to rise by 5% but service cuts ‘still needed’ [28 Mar 2019]
- Northamptonshire to lift spending ban [28 Mar 2019]
- Whiteman: Local government finance needs to be more transparent [27 Mar 2019]
- Whiteman: Local government finance needs to be more transparent [27 Mar 2019]
- Councils make record £867m from parking charges as profits soar by two-thirds in a year fuelling concerns that authorities are exploiting motorists [27 Mar 2019]
- Report finds disparities in highways maintenance funding [26 Mar 2019]
- MHCLG ‘concerned’ over councils’ investment code compliance [26 Mar 2019]
- MHCLG appoints new director general [26 Mar 2019]
- MHCLG appoints new director general [26 Mar 2019]
- Report finds disparities in highways maintenance funding [26 Mar 2019]
- Barry Lewis: Fair funding must recognise rural challenges [26 Mar 2019]
- Schools funding shortfall of £5.4bn 'worse than estimated' [26 Mar 2019]
- Whitehall announces £36m to develop coastal communities [25 Mar 2019]
- Legislation linked to 60% rise in temporary accommodation [25 Mar 2019]
- Automation could replace 1.5 million jobs, says ONS [25 Mar 2019]
- Unease as cash-strapped councils buy hotels [25 Mar 2019]
- Government backs down over 'myth-busting' guide on child protection [24 Mar 2019]
- Tax avoidance measures ‘a long way short of a solution’ [22 Mar 2019]
- MPs criticise children's social care progress [22 Mar 2019]
- Councils told to seek no-deal Brexit legal advice [22 Mar 2019]
- Bin collections are weekly for just one in six councils [22 Mar 2019]
- Chronic Underfunding Will Force More Children's Centre To Close, LGA Warns [22 Mar 2019]
- LGA and others issue a joint letter on adult social care [22 Mar 2019]
- Local income tax best bet for fiscal devo - IFS [22 Mar 2019]
- Lawyers wanted: Legal workforce on the rise [22 Mar 2019]
- Rubbish: Britain's Tipping Point? [21 Mar 2019]
- High praise for Liverpool health campaign [21 Mar 2019]
- Waiting for Godot and the Social Care Green Paper [19 Mar 2019]
- Frustration mounts on Brexit legislation list [19 Mar 2019]
- Grimsey criticises speed of high streets bidding process [19 Mar 2019]
- Exasperation at rules for new high street cash [19 Mar 2019]
- UK employment at highest since 1971 [19 Mar 2019]
- New £9.75m fund to clean high streets [18 Mar 2019]
- Public sector ‘likely to suffer’ with collapse of Interserve [15 Mar 2019]
- Squeezing local government finance will hit women hardest [15 Mar 2019]
- End 'lazy language of austerity,' sector urged [14 Mar 2019]
- Local bodies poor at securing value for money, says PAC [14 Mar 2019]
- Spring Statement was ‘dead rubber’ [14 Mar 2019]
- Nearly all councils to build new homes after scrapping of borrowing cap [14 Mar 2019]
- Councils collaborate to address homelessness crisis [14 Mar 2019]
- Welsh households to face biggest council tax rise in 15 years [14 Mar 2019]
- Right to Buy homes re-sold since 2000 made £6.4bn in profit [14 Mar 2019]
- 8 Things Buried In Philip Hammond's Spring Statement [13 Mar 2019]
- Parking fees to more than double as council set to collect over £1 billion [13 Mar 2019]
- Spring Statement: Hammond promises 'deal dividend' [13 Mar 2019]
- Outgoing NAO chief questions ministerial accountability [12 Mar 2019]
- Funding cuts hamper knife crime prevention in England, say schools [12 Mar 2019]
- Weaker pupils removed before exams [11 Mar 2019]
- Women ‘bear the brunt’ of social care crisis, charity warns [08 Mar 2019]
- Council to fine anti-social drivers [08 Mar 2019]
- Northants apologises for underpaying childminders [08 Mar 2019]
- Heads angry at minister's school funding 'snub' [08 Mar 2019]
- Southern cities provide more jobs for low-skilled workers than in the North [07 Mar 2019]
- Revealed: Nearly 80,000 Jobs Lost In Radical Council Upheavals [07 Mar 2019]
- Parsons Green bomber's foster carers sue council [07 Mar 2019]
- Rising number of councils issuing fines for rough sleeping [07 Mar 2019]
- Libraries and parks face closure in bid to pay for social care services facing multi-billion pound funding gap, LGA warn [06 Mar 2019]
- Households facing one of the highest council tax hikes in a decade, survey reveals [06 Mar 2019]
- Apprenticeship take-up down by a quarter [06 Mar 2019]
- Department for Transport issues pothole warning [06 Mar 2019]
- Revealed: The thousands of public spaces lost to the council funding crisis [04 Mar 2019]
- Struggling towns to get £1.6bn post-Brexit boost [04 Mar 2019]
- MPs to debate school funding crisis after 100,000 sign head teacher's petition [03 Mar 2019]
- Childcare funding ‘insufficient’, council chiefs warn [01 Mar 2019]
- Business rates appeals will cost councils over £1bn [01 Mar 2019]
- Government urged to publish a rural strategy [01 Mar 2019]
- Diana Terris: ‘It’s much harder when things are being sliced’ [01 Mar 2019]
- Spending review: Councils braced for further austerity [01 Mar 2019]
- Early intervention key to helping those at risk of falling into debt, says report [01 Mar 2019]
- Business rates appeals will cost councils over £1bn [01 Mar 2019]
- Teaming up at the top: the sharing of lead officer roles [01 Mar 2019]
- Lancs councils launch unitary call [01 Mar 2019]
- Parents pay as much as university tuition for part-time childcare – study [28 Feb 2019]
- Interserve rescue fees hit £90m [28 Feb 2019]
- Vulnerable pensioners with dementia facing crippling care bills following NHS attempts to restrict funding [28 Feb 2019]
- More than a million public sector workers paid below the voluntary living wage [28 Feb 2019]
- Firefighters tackle huge blaze on Saddleworth Moor [27 Feb 2019]
- Public services are about empowerment – not a transaction [27 Feb 2019]
- UK hunger survey to measure food insecurity [27 Feb 2019]
- Independent Group gains first two councillors [26 Feb 2019]
- Charities warn government that cuts to children's services 'leave thousands at risk' [26 Feb 2019]
- Council tax pushing thousands into poverty because of online applications process [26 Feb 2019]
- Cuts to children’s services are pushing young people into violence and exploitation, experts warn [26 Feb 2019]
- English councils accused of hiding scale of homelessness crisis [25 Feb 2019]
- Council stings residents of Cranbrook for ‘new town tax’ of £370 a year [24 Feb 2019]
- Analysis finds London could lose £0.5bn under fair funding reforms [22 Feb 2019]
- Tony Travers: Delay protects ministers from awkward reality [22 Feb 2019]
- Northamptonshire approves 4.99% council tax rise [22 Feb 2019]
- Teachers being driven away by ‘impossible’ workloads [22 Feb 2019]
- Exclusive: Theresa May warned plans for £100,000 cap on care costs will require significant tax rises [22 Feb 2019]
- Council tax: England's first £2,000 bill revealed [22 Feb 2019]
- Paul Johnson: The present model of funding for local government is unsustainable [22 Feb 2019]
- Paul Johnson: The present model of funding for local government is unsustainable [22 Feb 2019]
- How much will my Council Tax rise in April 2019? [22 Feb 2019]
- Counties and districts to clash over rates split [21 Feb 2019]
- Andrea Leadsom fails to guarantee MPs' Easter break [21 Feb 2019]
- Record UK government borrowing surplus in January [21 Feb 2019]
- City centres 'could become ghost towns' [21 Feb 2019]
- Council spending on child asylum seekers almost doubles in four years [21 Feb 2019]
- Local authorities with major ports to receive funding boost to help with Brexit preparations [20 Feb 2019]
- British children living in poverty 'could hit record high' – report [20 Feb 2019]
- Council chiefs insist waste reforms must be ‘fully funded’ [18 Feb 2019]
- Gove launches consultation on waste system overhaul [18 Feb 2019]
- Have You Been Made Redundant From Your Council Job? [18 Feb 2019]
- MPs ‘to scrutinise local authority finances’ [18 Feb 2019]
- Crackdown on monthly bin collections after residents complain of rats, flies and stenches [17 Feb 2019]
- Crackdown on monthly bin collections after residents complain of rats, flies and stenches [17 Feb 2019]
- New funding to get people more involved in local issues [15 Feb 2019]
- Most English local authorities 'plan to raise council tax' [14 Feb 2019]
- MJ and LGiU LGF Survey: Down to the core [13 Feb 2019]
- Standards of conduct in local government [13 Feb 2019]
- Whitehall cuts result in ‘lost generation’ of deaf children [13 Feb 2019]
- Pothole compensation costs councils nearly £3m a year [13 Feb 2019]
- Whitehall announces £9m boost for garden communities [13 Feb 2019]
- MHCLG to make 'compelling case' for more funding [13 Feb 2019]
- Council rolls scooters out in bid to tackle pollution [13 Feb 2019]
- UK inflation falls to two-year low in January [13 Feb 2019]
- Brexit 'could cause migration to rise by 100,000,' report by Migration Watch UK claims [13 Feb 2019]
- Updated: Yorkshire leaders ‘disappointed’ as devo bid rejected [12 Feb 2019]
- A view from north of the border [12 Feb 2019]
- The price of freedom passes [12 Feb 2019]
- Uncollected rubbish: 1.8 million missed bin complaints in UK [12 Feb 2019]
- Planning appeal wait ‘could be cut by months’ [12 Feb 2019]
- Young people told - become a care worker [12 Feb 2019]
- Spending Review ‘make or break’ for cash-strapped councils [11 Feb 2019]
- Labour would create local government commission [11 Feb 2019]
- Northern leaders approve £70bn transport plan [11 Feb 2019]
- Brokenshire announces plans to improve integration [11 Feb 2019]
- Underfunding of bus scheme leaves elderly ‘isolated’ [11 Feb 2019]
- IFS: Public services need billions of extra pounds to end austerity [11 Feb 2019]
- Hammond £5bn short of 'austerity is ending' target, says thinktank [11 Feb 2019]
- The hidden housing crisis: Low-income workers are living in unsafe and unsanitary buildings [10 Feb 2019]
- Grammar schools to create 3,000 new places in the next three years to end middle class stranglehold with £50m fund focusing on poorer pupils [10 Feb 2019]
- 'Perfection will have to be sacrificed in favour of the practical on fair funding' [08 Feb 2019]
- 'Deprivation must be given due prominence in the fair funding formula' [08 Feb 2019]
- The row over fair funding is just getting started [08 Feb 2019]
- Greater Manchester budget has £1m 'hole' due to moor fire funds delay [07 Feb 2019]
- Brexit: Budget cuts threaten Ramsgate ferry plan [07 Feb 2019]
- Cutbacks at dozens of councils will see street lights turned off at night despite inquests linking switch-offs to deaths [06 Feb 2019]
- Who needs libraries anyway? How the Tories warped the purpose of local government [opinion] [06 Feb 2019]
- More than 50,000 people have died waiting for social care since Tories vowed to fix system [06 Feb 2019]
- Teaching units for deaf children keep closing, report finds [06 Feb 2019]
- Ladbrokes staff told to sign gamblers to online accounts to avoid redundancy [05 Feb 2019]
- Labour to vote against ‘unfair’ local government funding [05 Feb 2019]
- Cities call for post-Brexit powers to rebalance economy [05 Feb 2019]
- Met and district face intervention over local plans failure [05 Feb 2019]
- Dick Sorabji: Funding review shows flaws in government machine [05 Feb 2019]
- James Brokenshire confirms funding package for local authorities in 2019 to 2020 [05 Feb 2019]
- Council funding: MPs debate local government settlement [05 Feb 2019]
- Freedom passes costing councils £650m [04 Feb 2019]
- Freedom passes costing councils £650m [04 Feb 2019]
- Consumer enforcement system on ‘verge of collapse’, report warns [04 Feb 2019]
- Rebuild the faded towns of Britain to end our national malaise [opinion] [04 Feb 2019]
- ‘Suicidal generation’: tragic toll of teens doubles in 8 years [03 Feb 2019]
- Foster care is faced with a ‘looming crisis’ [02 Feb 2019]
- Brexit: Third of UK businesses considering move abroad - survey [01 Feb 2019]
- £8bn funding gap threatens discretionary services, LGA warns [01 Feb 2019]
- 'Commercialisation is good. But only if the risks are appropriate' [31 Jan 2019]
- Teachers' pay should be capped at 2%, says government [31 Jan 2019]
- So the government choose Brexit debate day to quietly finalise its council cuts [31 Jan 2019]
- Council underestimates value of housing stock by £86m [31 Jan 2019]
- £70bn plan to boost the North’s infrastructure published [31 Jan 2019]
- Multi-million funding boost to prevent potholes [31 Jan 2019]
- Bus journeys fall by 90 million in a year [30 Jan 2019]
- Transport Secretary ploughs £22million into plastic roads to fix UK’s pothole crisis [30 Jan 2019]
- Special needs overspend in eight out of 10 councils [30 Jan 2019]
- Charity hits out at Theresa May over Child Funeral Fund pledge [30 Jan 2019]
- LGA hit by unexpected £1m insurance bill [30 Jan 2019]
- Inadequate Brexit funding 'better spent on tinned food' [30 Jan 2019]
- Local authorities forced to cut council tax support sees surge in unpaid tax bills [29 Jan 2019]
- Drivers twice as likely to have a pothole accident now than in 2006 [29 Jan 2019]
- £400m cuts leave museums in crisis [29 Jan 2019]
- Northamptonshire gets green light to raise council tax [29 Jan 2019]
- Austerity hits prevention funding [29 Jan 2019]
- A Government Memo Says A No-Deal "Brexodus" Could See 250,000 Expats Returning To The UK [29 Jan 2019]
- Council bans adverts for chocolate bars, ice creams and chips from billboards and bus stops to encourage residents to exercise more and eat healthier [29 Jan 2019]
- Drivers more than twice as likely to suffer pothole damage than in 2006 [29 Jan 2019]
- Tory Cuts To Local Council Budgets Are Leaving A Wake Of Social Destruction [29 Jan 2019]
- Labour councils and activists are at war. But it won’t stop austerity [opinion] [29 Jan 2019]
- Redundancy costs at Essex County Council reach £8.6m after 277 employees exit [28 Jan 2019]
- Local government could do far more if given the power [28 Jan 2019]
- Kent looks to Whitehall to fund Brexit pressures [28 Jan 2019]
- Councils could dip into reserves to deal with Brexit aftermath [28 Jan 2019]
- Funding for libraries down 40 per cent as cities are hit hardest by austerity [28 Jan 2019]
- Care home residents face funding drop as councils refuse to meet fee increase [28 Jan 2019]
- Councils say more arts cuts inevitable amid rising social care need [28 Jan 2019]
- Brexit: Local councils to receive £56.5m fund [28 Jan 2019]
- Sigoma: The ministry must revise fair funding approach [28 Jan 2019]
- Surrey interim staffing spend spirals [28 Jan 2019]
- Kent looks to Whitehall to fund Brexit pressures [28 Jan 2019]
- ‘Least equipped’ northern cities have taken brunt of funding cuts [28 Jan 2019]
- Home Office tracks debit card use to ‘spy’ on asylum seekers [27 Jan 2019]
- Hinds: More schools should convert to academies [25 Jan 2019]
- Third council joins unitary legal action [25 Jan 2019]
- Teachers to be offered cash to stay in school [25 Jan 2019]
- Brexit uncertainty threatens £400m regeneration scheme [25 Jan 2019]
- John Sinnott: The fair funding review is a challenge to the sector [25 Jan 2019]
- Peer review praises 'inward looking' county's finances [25 Jan 2019]
- Committee examine ‘county lines’ drug distribution networks [25 Jan 2019]
- Rural housing crisis ‘forgotten’ by Whitehall [25 Jan 2019]
- Whitehall makes £50,000 available for high streets [25 Jan 2019]
- Little time left for detail needed over funding [25 Jan 2019]
- Brexit funding for councils ‘only half of what MHCLG requested’ [25 Jan 2019]
- Hope for rough sleepers as pilot programme begins [25 Jan 2019]
- Online sales tax to help save high street falls foul of EU [25 Jan 2019]
- After Carillion: The future of local service outsourcing [24 Jan 2019]
- 'Public-public partnerships offer a strong alternative to outsourcing' [24 Jan 2019]
- Minister says Whitehall lacks city-level Brexit data [24 Jan 2019]
- LGA backs cities over deprivation funding [24 Jan 2019]
- Cycle lanes are the solution to congestion not the problem [24 Jan 2019]
- Top ratings from Ofsted lowered on return visit [24 Jan 2019]
- Shops lose 70,000 jobs in a year, says BRC [24 Jan 2019]
- East Sussex council strips back budget cuts by £20m with help of government grants [23 Jan 2019]
- Council staff left ‘deeply shocked’ after new Dorset unitary sends out redundancy letters [23 Jan 2019]
- Norfolk County Council rubber-stamps plans to close 38 children’s centres amid fierce protests [23 Jan 2019]
- Rural areas defend plan to downgrade deprivation role [23 Jan 2019]
- Parents kept in the dark over wasted academy cash [23 Jan 2019]
- 'Appalling' ignorance of child-protection pressures [23 Jan 2019]
- Growing demands on children's social services not understood by Government despite £872 million overspend, report claims [23 Jan 2019]
- Academy School Failures And Misuse Of Funds Are Damaging Children's Education, Spending Watchdog Warns [23 Jan 2019]
- Department For Education 'Doesn't Understand Drivers Of Children's Social Care', Says Watchdog [23 Jan 2019]
- Firm ‘uses aggressive tactics’ to collect millions in fines for councils [22 Jan 2019]
- Right to Buy scheme under pressure to be scrapped as councils spend millions renting homes they sold for below market rate [22 Jan 2019]
- Dawes: No-deal Brexit could mean councils take on ports role [22 Jan 2019]
- Council investigates using ‘smart’ cars to detect potholes [22 Jan 2019]
- UK employment total hits record high [22 Jan 2019]
- Lancashire school's '£1,000 holiday fine' warning denied [21 Jan 2019]
- Fair funding review must not drive us apart [21 Jan 2019]
- Crime prevention budgets ‘slashed’ under Tories [21 Jan 2019]
- Districts threaten legal action over unitary plans [21 Jan 2019]
- Over 23,000 shops and 175,000 high street jobs predicted to go in 2019 [21 Jan 2019]
- Plan to redirect inner-city funds to Tory shires 'a stitch-up’ [20 Jan 2019]
- Coventry City Council is UK's slowest to fill potholes [18 Jan 2019]
- Wakefield, Grimsby, Plymouth win share of £20m culture fund [18 Jan 2019]
- Mackay defends local government planned settlement [18 Jan 2019]
- Schools pushing children into home schooling, say councils [17 Jan 2019]
- Mental capacity changes give care homes too much power, critics say [17 Jan 2019]
- MPs Debate Children's Social Care [LIVE] [17 Jan 2019]
- Hundreds of UK care workers threaten walkout over wage cuts [17 Jan 2019]
- Leading academies ordered to promote apprenticeships [17 Jan 2019]
- Anger as NHS England accused of public health 'land grab' [16 Jan 2019]
- Inflation falls to lowest level in nearly two years [16 Jan 2019]
- Wales has 'highest imprisonment rate' in western Europe [16 Jan 2019]
- Norfolk council rebuked over special needs provision [16 Jan 2019]
- How Ashford in Kent became the poster town for the high street fightback [15 Jan 2019]
- Bristol council launches bid to save community hub [15 Jan 2019]
- MHCLG must have better oversight of local authority governance, says NAO [15 Jan 2019]
- Combined authority backs bus alliance [15 Jan 2019]
- Town halls cut services but spend millions on CCTV [15 Jan 2019]
- Universal credit: Rudd backs tax cut for workers [14 Jan 2019]
- Education spending falls by more than £7 billion since the Tories came to power [14 Jan 2019]
- Redistribute schools’ cash to help struggling secondaries, think-tank urges [11 Jan 2019]
- Government proposals offer pension security for outsourced council jobs [10 Jan 2019]
- Value for money concerns at one in five top tier councils [10 Jan 2019]
- Departing chief in line for £470,000 package [10 Jan 2019]
- Amazon business rates bill prompts calls for reform [10 Jan 2019]
- Care cuts failing older people in England, says human rights group [10 Jan 2019]
- NHS and councils full of financial problems, says watchdog [10 Jan 2019]
- Grammars ‘are vital for social mobility’ [10 Jan 2019]
- 250,000 children should be classed as victims of domestic abuse, says NSPCC [10 Jan 2019]
- Spelthorne borough council splashes out £1bn on property [10 Jan 2019]
- Pete Moore to lead CIPFA’s pension panel [09 Jan 2019]
- Hancock plans to publish social care green paper before April [09 Jan 2019]
- Nine out of ten councils blow the budget on children's care [09 Jan 2019]
- Amber Rudd insists Universal Credit benefits will go ahead despite Commons vote delay [09 Jan 2019]
- Whitehall should pass more power to councils, says Truss [09 Jan 2019]
- Councils enjoy a surge in parking charge profits while slashing their spending on crumbling roads [09 Jan 2019]
- Paupers' funerals cost UK councils nearly £5.4m in a year [09 Jan 2019]
- England 'needs millions of homes to solve housing crisis' [08 Jan 2019]
- Teachers’ leaders accuse Theresa May of breaking funding promise [08 Jan 2019]
- Full steam ahead for hydrogen trains [07 Jan 2019]
- NHS plan ‘missed opportunity’ to fix social care [07 Jan 2019]
- Cost of bringing road bridges up to scratch rose by a third last year – study [07 Jan 2019]
- Volunteers left to stack bookshelves as hundreds of libraries are closed [07 Jan 2019]
- Families waiting too long for special needs support in England [07 Jan 2019]
- Elderly are being treated like 'Amazon parcels' with only 15 minutes handling time by care staff, former pensions minister warns [06 Jan 2019]
- Greater Manchester: New homes plan to tackle 'housing crisis' [06 Jan 2019]
- Town hall chiefs fear a spike in A&E admissions from elderly people slipping on untreated icy pavements this winter amid £48m budget cuts [06 Jan 2019]
- Social housing report calls for massive overhaul of tenants’ rights [05 Jan 2019]
- Theresa May poised to play for time by further postponing final vote on her Brexit deal [05 Jan 2019]
- NICE: New roads should prioritise cyclists and pedestrians [04 Jan 2019]
- CCG accused of using 'flawed' test to cut spending on elderly [03 Jan 2019]
- Mental health budget worth £1.9bn 'to be devolved' [03 Jan 2019]
- Brokenshire to announce funding for manufacturing zones [03 Jan 2019]
- Number 10 denies government is planning to merge Departments for Business, Transport, and Culture [03 Jan 2019]
- Government hands out £38m to help [London boroughs] accommodate homeless families [02 Jan 2019]
- Mental health: target to boost staff numbers by 21,000 set to be missed [02 Jan 2019]
- Taxis should be used as public transport in rural areas, say campaigners [01 Jan 2019]
- 2018
-
- One in six councils face financial stability risk [21 Dec 2018]
- More scrutiny in local government? [opinion] [21 Dec 2018]
- CIPFA index finds up to 15% of councils ‘at risk of financial instability’ [21 Dec 2018]
- Theresa May ditches key pledges to prepare for no-deal Brexit [19 Dec 2018]
- Hancock refutes reports of 'shelved' social care green paper [19 Dec 2018]
- Government: Start preparing for no-deal Brexit [19 Dec 2018]
- Binmen refuse to get their hands dirty as council tells residents: clean up your own mess [17 Dec 2018]
- Reading ‘disappointed’ after Wokingham rejects £20m scheme [14 Dec 2018]
- Social care green paper delayed again [14 Dec 2018]
- Stephen Houghton: Negative RSG plans are a gift to rich authorities [14 Dec 2018]
- Residents will see 'inflation-busting' council tax rises under new government plan, Labour warns [13 Dec 2018]
- Child homelessness in England rises to highest level in 12 years, new figures show [13 Dec 2018]
- England's primary school league tables are published [12 Dec 2018]
- Stoke-on-Tent City Council announce tax hike on empty homes [12 Dec 2018]
- Wages rises accelerate to fastest pace since 2008 [11 Dec 2018]
- Councils urgently need financial certainty, and Brexit is holding that up [11 Dec 2018]
- Mayor Sadiq Khan to look at imposing rent controls in London [10 Dec 2018]
- Turning off lights saves councils £15m ‘but costs lives’ [10 Dec 2018]
- Plan to raise rent for high earners after MP scandal [10 Dec 2018]
- Grammar schools given £50m diversity cash have only 2% poor pupils [10 Dec 2018]
- Ministers and NHS England chief at loggerheads over targets [07 Dec 2018]
- Private firms are making big money out of children's social services [05 Dec 2018]
- The Government Thinks No-one Will Notice Their Devastation Of Local Government – We Won’t Let That Happen [05 Dec 2018]
- Brexit debate delays English councils' funding announcement [05 Dec 2018]
- Whitehall announces £1m ‘pocket park’ fund [05 Dec 2018]
- Supported housing system ‘isn’t working’, charity warns [05 Dec 2018]
- Northern Powerhouse needs ‘clear break’ with original vision, report says [05 Dec 2018]
- How cuts changed council spending, in seven charts [05 Dec 2018]
- Reality Check: Are these councils defying the cuts? [05 Dec 2018]
- Homeless at Christmas: 'How will Santa find us?' [05 Dec 2018]
- MHCLG’s needs-based view of local government won’t endure [04 Dec 2018]
- Resilience index response prompts major rethink [04 Dec 2018]
- Northants’ budget sets out savings plans and council tax rise [03 Dec 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council: Libraries to be community managed [03 Dec 2018]
- Northants can use £70m in capital receipts to plug finance gap [03 Dec 2018]
- Northamptonshire elections postponed during consultation [29 Nov 2018]
- Tory-run Northamptonshire county council bailed out by government [29 Nov 2018]
- A no-deal Brexit would shrink the UK economy ‘by 9.3%’ [29 Nov 2018]
- Northamptonshire ‘will have to set unprecedented unbalanced budget’ [29 Nov 2018]
- Greater Manchester proposes radical integration of services [29 Nov 2018]
- Local government ‘is sustainable’, says top civil servant [28 Nov 2018]
- Why this local council has taken matters into its own hands to rejuvenate its ailing high street [28 Nov 2018]
- Complaints over social care in England nearly trebled since 2010 [28 Nov 2018]
- Philip Hammond: UK will be ‘a bit’ poorer after Brexit [28 Nov 2018]
- Philip Hammond and Bank of England to set out analysis of Brexit economic impact [28 Nov 2018]
- Domestic abuse: 'Children are the hidden victims' [28 Nov 2018]
- County chief leaves just six months after appointment [27 Nov 2018]
- Melanie Dawes: Sustainability is defined as 'statutory services' only [27 Nov 2018]
- Brexit deal 'could cut UK growth by 5.5%' by 2030 [27 Nov 2018]
- One in four pubs in UK have closed since financial crisis [26 Nov 2018]
- McDonnell calls for check on council loans that will 'waste £16bn' [25 Nov 2018]
- Selling off student loans ‘could have damaged public finances’ [23 Nov 2018]
- The recycling system is out of date and needs to be overhauled, says Environment Agency chair [23 Nov 2018]
- DfE must ensure ‘academies can be trusted’ [22 Nov 2018]
- Labour plea over £133m Northamptonshire council debt [22 Nov 2018]
- Commission for Countering Extremism launches call for evidence on extremism in England and Wales [22 Nov 2018]
- More than 1,000 people become homeless every month, figures reveal [22 Nov 2018]
- Cycling awareness plan could lead to cheaper insurance for drivers [22 Nov 2018]
- Ten of the best [councils] [21 Nov 2018]
- Brexit ‘stretching government to breaking point’ [21 Nov 2018]
- Sector faces £12m apprenticeship hit - every month [21 Nov 2018]
- Northants moves to bolster confidence over council loans [21 Nov 2018]
- It took decades for Children in Need to raise £1bn – wouldn’t it be more efficient to raise taxes? [21 Nov 2018]
- Council reserves in shock rise [20 Nov 2018]
- Councils spent £160m on school transport for children with special needs – survey [20 Nov 2018]
- Universal credit: Amber Rudd to 'signal shift in approach' [19 Nov 2018]
- Why it costs £73,000 to educate a child [19 Nov 2018]
- Special needs pupils 'spend years out of school' [18 Nov 2018]
- Cumbria council mulls over plans for major ‘one-stop-shop’ local government reshuffle [16 Nov 2018]
- Number of looked after children rises to over 75,000 [16 Nov 2018]
- Many home educated children ‘hidden from sight’ [16 Nov 2018]
- Number of children being adopted from care falls [16 Nov 2018]
- £536m funding shortfall for SEND children, says LGA [15 Nov 2018]
- Councils face £500m bill after ATM business rates ruling [15 Nov 2018]
- Councils ‘unsustainably’ spend millions of pounds more on social care [15 Nov 2018]
- Councils face £536m shortfall in Send budgets, says LGA [15 Nov 2018]
- Shares in outsourcing giant Interserve hit 30-year low [14 Nov 2018]
- Fare freezes ‘adding to Transport for London finance woes’ [14 Nov 2018]
- Back to basics: What’s the point of accounting for depreciation? [14 Nov 2018]
- LGA survey suggests support for national adult social care levy [14 Nov 2018]
- Children’s services commissioner set to be sent into Northants [14 Nov 2018]
- Cipfa past president to lose job as county seeks £35m savings [14 Nov 2018]
- Government must raise taxes to plug £3.6bn social care funding shortfall, councils say [14 Nov 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council slashes deficit by £10m, but services in ‘significant decline’ [13 Nov 2018]
- Gambling rebellion looks set to pay off [13 Nov 2018]
- 'Are councils sitting on a goldmine of untapped data?' [12 Nov 2018]
- Whitehall confirms £22m for domestic abuse survivors [12 Nov 2018]
- City council to cut 100 jobs to balance budget [12 Nov 2018]
- Councils forced to close nearly 350 playgrounds in past four years [12 Nov 2018]
- ‘Devastating’ cuts hit special educational needs [10 Nov 2018]
- Vulnerable children are being auctioned online by councils inviting private firms to bid for up to £7,000-a-week for their care [10 Nov 2018]
- 'Tax on age' to pay for social care being considered for the over-40s [10 Nov 2018]
- Let’s celebrate a win for councils [09 Nov 2018]
- Retailers shut 2,700 shops in first half of the year [09 Nov 2018]
- Councils warn of £3bn child services black hole as thousands more children require protection [09 Nov 2018]
- Owners of holiday homes could soon pay council tax [08 Nov 2018]
- Ministers pledge £2m to help English councils tackle rogue landlords [08 Nov 2018]
- Can the government deliver on radical care reform? [07 Nov 2018]
- Council tax "loophole" that saves wealthy homeowners thousands to be closed [07 Nov 2018]
- Child protection services near crisis as demand rises [06 Nov 2018]
- Older people could become ‘victim of a broken system’ as one of England’s largest care home providers faces closure [06 Nov 2018]
- Inquiry into the funding of children’s services launched [06 Nov 2018]
- Children's services: What do we know about the children most in need? [06 Nov 2018]
- Littering out of your car could now land you up to £450 fine [05 Nov 2018]
- East Sussex council's basic services 'not sustainable' [05 Nov 2018]
- Bus firms pay fat cats £1.5 billion - while prices go up 55% and routes are axed [05 Nov 2018]
- Theresa May's flagship policy to solve housing crisis will deliver no new homes in half of England [05 Nov 2018]
- People must take responsibility for own health, says Matt Hancock [05 Nov 2018]
- 'Audit culture' causing staff burnout in schools, report finds [05 Nov 2018]
- Education Secretary Damian Hinds calls for billions more investment after Chancellor promised more cash for potholes than schools in his Budget [05 Nov 2018]
- Firms cash in on psychiatric care crisis [05 Nov 2018]
- Education spending now 'skewed' to poor following 'remarkable shift' [01 Nov 2018]
- Lord Porter: We need a big, bold move to put social care on a firm financial footing [31 Oct 2018]
- Millions underestimating cost of care - Which? [31 Oct 2018]
- Rural areas 'least socially mobile' [31 Oct 2018]
- School places crisis is worse than ever with half of children in some areas expected to miss out on their chosen secondary [30 Oct 2018]
- Budget 2018: A bit of a gamble, says IFS [30 Oct 2018]
- Hammond no longer on track to balance budget, says OBR [30 Oct 2018]
- Budget income tax cuts 'to overwhelmingly benefit the rich' [30 Oct 2018]
- Budget 2018: Philip Hammond hails better borrowing figures [30 Oct 2018]
- Why did the council 'house' me in a tent? [30 Oct 2018]
- Anger over chancellor's £400m 'little extras' for schools [30 Oct 2018]
- Hammond v McDonnell on Budget 'end of austerity' claim [30 Oct 2018]
- Budget 2018: Mental health ambulances promised in drive for more dedicated treatment [29 Oct 2018]
- Budget 2018: £2billion annual boost for mental health services to be announced [29 Oct 2018]
- 2018 Budget Preview [29 Oct 2018]
- Philip Hammond prepares last Budget before Brexit [29 Oct 2018]
- Philip Hammond: No-deal Brexit would require new Budget [28 Oct 2018]
- Budget to offer business rates relief for small shops [26 Oct 2018]
- MPs demand policing is a Budget priority [26 Oct 2018]
- More children in England at risk of abuse or neglect [26 Oct 2018]
- Arlingclose launches system for rating local authority creditworthiness [25 Oct 2018]
- Lancs appoints combined CEO/151 amid harsh criticism of council’s governance [25 Oct 2018]
- Councils buying care 'on the cheap' [25 Oct 2018]
- Budget 2018: Labour urges Hammond to 'stump up cash' [25 Oct 2018]
- The money messages may be getting back to the centre [24 Oct 2018]
- Local government finance settlement date confirmed in government response to Hudson review [24 Oct 2018]
- Councils sitting on £431m of infrastructure funds [24 Oct 2018]
- 'Grave concerns' about future of council-run nurseries and support for special needs pupils as Tories refuse to guarantee vital funding [24 Oct 2018]
- Social care crisis: Councils receive 5,100 new requests for adult care every day amid soaring demand [23 Oct 2018]
- LGA responds to children's organisations call for Government to fund children's services [23 Oct 2018]
- Children's services are at breaking point, experts say [23 Oct 2018]
- We need to stop local services becoming dependent on property prices [opinion] [22 Oct 2018]
- Whitehall announces £5m fund to fight knife crime [22 Oct 2018]
- Councils affected by China's waste ban [22 Oct 2018]
- PAC calls for costed 10-year social care plan [19 Oct 2018]
- PAC chair seeking ways to beef up local government spending scrutiny [17 Oct 2018]
- Gloucestershire council 'in crisis' as fourth director quits [17 Oct 2018]
- Somerset County Council: Protesters gather to challenge £14m cuts [17 Oct 2018]
- SOLACE Summit: Councils are at back of austerity queue [17 Oct 2018]
- Durham County Council adds £49k security after threats [16 Oct 2018]
- Local government fraud cases rise, says CIPFA survey [16 Oct 2018]
- East Sussex council leader plays down service cuts report [16 Oct 2018]
- LGA improvement cash could be slashed [16 Oct 2018]
- Chiefs warning to May if austerity not lifted [16 Oct 2018]
- Warrington doubles down on solar farm investments [11 Oct 2018]
- Public faces 'care injustice' as NHS struggles [11 Oct 2018]
- Council hit by cyber attack reveals £2m cost [11 Oct 2018]
- DUP 'could vote against the Budget' over Brexit deal [10 Oct 2018]
- Councils turning against outsourcing, survey reveals [10 Oct 2018]
- Councils turning against outsourcing, survey reveals [10 Oct 2018]
- UK public finances are among weakest in the world, IMF says [10 Oct 2018]
- UK economy grows faster than expected in three months to August [10 Oct 2018]
- Fears for the future of music lessons in schools [09 Oct 2018]
- Schools will be asked to track children's happiness amid fears about growing mental health epidemic [09 Oct 2018]
- Warrington Council to invest £59m in solar farms in Yorkshire [09 Oct 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council: £65m of cuts agreed [09 Oct 2018]
- English councils undergoing harshest spending cuts [09 Oct 2018]
- Councils' concern over Universal Support withdrawal [09 Oct 2018]
- 'Territorial injustice' may rise in England due to council cuts – study [09 Oct 2018]
- Stamp it out. Council tax and stamp duty should be scrapped and replaced by a new tax on homeowners, says Left-wing think-tank [08 Oct 2018]
- North's elected mayors call for post-EU spending powers [08 Oct 2018]
- Whitehall announces £24m scheme to ‘boost’ social mobility in North East [08 Oct 2018]
- Metro mayors call for post-Brexit fiscal devolution [08 Oct 2018]
- Should we be forced to pay £30,000 for old-age care? [08 Oct 2018]
- Local government funding to be slashed by a further £1.3bn [08 Oct 2018]
- Number of children referred to mental health services in England rises by a quarter [08 Oct 2018]
- Teacher crisis hits London as nearly half quit within five years [05 Oct 2018]
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45740427 [04 Oct 2018]
- Whitehall 'neglecting' smaller cities and towns, report warns [03 Oct 2018]
- Councils will be allowed to borrow billions more to build new affordable homes for millennials struggling to get on the housing ladder [03 Oct 2018]
- UK's rejection of child refugees under Dubs scheme unlawful, court rules [03 Oct 2018]
- The social care system is collapsing. So why the government inaction? [opinion] [03 Oct 2018]
- Matt Hancock: ‘Emergency social care funding will free up vital hospital beds' [02 Oct 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council plan to cut £65m unveiled [02 Oct 2018]
- Chancellor Philip Hammond announces u-turn on apprentices tax in a bid to build bridges with businesses [01 Oct 2018]
- Teachers to be given extra volleyball and zumba coaching - as they're told to get pupils fit [01 Oct 2018]
- English councils brace for biggest government cuts since 2010 despite 'unprecedented' budget pressures [01 Oct 2018]
- Government spending on children at risk of neglect or abuse slashed by more than a quarter in five years, figures show [28 Sep 2018]
- Government spending on children at risk of neglect or abuse slashed by more than a quarter in five years, figures show [28 Sep 2018]
- Head teachers protest at Downing Street funding rally [28 Sep 2018]
- Number of new-builds falls short of pre-crash level [28 Sep 2018]
- Parents in England seek legal action over special needs funding cuts [26 Sep 2018]
- Chancellor calls early Budget to fit round Brexit talks [26 Sep 2018]
- Labour leaders refuse to back Corbyn's illegal budget comments [26 Sep 2018]
- Labour Plans Dramatic £4.8bn Expansion Of Free Childcare Policy [26 Sep 2018]
- Heads told school pension contributions to rise by over 40% from 2019 [25 Sep 2018]
- Union Worker Who 'Stopped Girl Walking Into The Sea' Makes Plea For Better Youth Services [25 Sep 2018]
- Labour would scrap ATM charges in bid to 'save high streets' [25 Sep 2018]
- Labour leaders demand radical council tax reform [24 Sep 2018]
- Labour conference: No new free schools or academies, Angela Rayner pledges [24 Sep 2018]
- Call a halt to fiscal gerrymandering, says SIGOMA [24 Sep 2018]
- Adult social care vacancies are soaring, according to the sector’s key training organisation. [24 Sep 2018]
- Council misses accounts deadline [21 Sep 2018]
- Government borrowing jumps to £6.8bn in August [21 Sep 2018]
- Public ‘tiring of austerity’ as major survey reveals support for tax and spend [21 Sep 2018]
- James Brokenshire accused of 'putting up barriers' to Yorks devo [20 Sep 2018]
- Counties likely to slash frontline services next year to balance budgets [20 Sep 2018]
- Somerset spending cuts delay new school buildings [20 Sep 2018]
- Potholes: How engineers are working to fill in the gaps [20 Sep 2018]
- '£1bn in unpalatable county council cuts' ahead in England [20 Sep 2018]
- Government ‘should borrow more to protect public services’ [19 Sep 2018]
- Councils overwhelmingly back IFRS9 statutory override for the long term [19 Sep 2018]
- Britain is on the brink of ‘social collapse,’ Labour council leaders warn [19 Sep 2018]
- Social care pressures ‘result of funding issues - not European migration’ [19 Sep 2018]
- Ministers ditch plans to sell off most valuable council properties to fund new social housing Save [19 Sep 2018]
- Bedblocking by elderly patients cost NHS England the equivalent of 130,000 days of care in just one month [18 Sep 2018]
- The scandal of councils in affluent areas getting a better deal [opinion] [18 Sep 2018]
- Somerset blames ‘broken’ funding system for major cuts [17 Sep 2018]
- Radical pension system-type plans considered to solve social care crisis, Health Secretary reveals [17 Sep 2018]
- Westminster ‘ignoring’ councils because of Brexit, says Bob Kerslake [17 Sep 2018]
- Elderly care timebomb: Shock report says people needing help will double to 1.2m costing £18b a year by 2040 [16 Sep 2018]
- LGA in last-ditch warning over rule changes [14 Sep 2018]
- Public sector audit appointment body names new head [14 Sep 2018]
- 'Lost for words': Somerset cuts £28m of help for most vulnerable [14 Sep 2018]
- Councils should ‘step back’ from service provision, think tank says [13 Sep 2018]
- Cash-strapped schools relying on donations from affluent parents [13 Sep 2018]
- Treasury slammed for ‘lacking grasp of real world’ [13 Sep 2018]
- Deprived areas ‘bearing brunt’ of local authority cuts [13 Sep 2018]
- Councils urged to offer staff low interest loans [12 Sep 2018]
- Government ranks areas on health/social care interface [12 Sep 2018]
- Oxford strikes £2.6m deal to maintain its own roads [07 Sep 2018]
- Deal secured between PCC and Hertfordshire County Council as fire services debate dropped [07 Sep 2018]
- Leicestershire district leaders urge county council to halt ‘unreasonable’ merger proposals [07 Sep 2018]
- Councils under the most financial strain [07 Sep 2018]
- 'Supersize' infant classes double over seven years [06 Sep 2018]
- Elderly care on edge of collapse warns charity [06 Sep 2018]
- Children's pressures push Suffolk towards £8.6m overspend [05 Sep 2018]
- Chancellor urged to cut surging business rates to save the high street after 50,000 retail jobs lost this year [05 Sep 2018]
- Councillor designs ‘virtual’ Facebook councillor [05 Sep 2018]
- Special needs funding at crisis point, say school leaders [05 Sep 2018]
- Councils knocked back over settled status costs [04 Sep 2018]
- Almost 1,000 elderly people a day needlessly admitted to hospital amid social care crisis [04 Sep 2018]
- Thousands of children face shorter week at school due to Tory cuts as education crisis deepens [04 Sep 2018]
- Somerset at 'very sharp end of austerity' [04 Sep 2018]
- Sleep-in shifts resolution 'could take a year' [04 Sep 2018]
- Somerset's savings 'difficult to stomach' as cuts concerns raised [04 Sep 2018]
- Free childcare scheme 'closing' nurseries, education charity says [04 Sep 2018]
- Council pension funds invest £9bn in fracking industry [03 Sep 2018]
- Council £6m investment to boost income [03 Sep 2018]
- 'Very sharp end' of austerity hits in Somerset in plans to cut £28m from council spending [03 Sep 2018]
- Schools turn down children who live one minute away with half of secondaries now oversubscribed [01 Sep 2018]
- Police commissioner's bid for fire service control slammed by county [31 Aug 2018]
- Record demand for sexual health services ‘puts huge pressure on councils’ [31 Aug 2018]
- England facing secondary school places ’emergency’, councils warn [31 Aug 2018]
- Numbers of elderly in 24-hour care set to double by 2035 [31 Aug 2018]
- County could axe almost 900 jobs as it seeks to save £33m [30 Aug 2018]
- England's schools face 'severe' teacher shortage [30 Aug 2018]
- Charities urge curbs on pavement parking [30 Aug 2018]
- Council first to use new legal powers to demand Brexit clarity [29 Aug 2018]
- Children forced to travel hundreds of miles for NHS mental health treatment [29 Aug 2018]
- One in four girls aged 14 have self-harmed in ONE year, study reveals [29 Aug 2018]
- England left behind in social care race, charity claims [29 Aug 2018]
- Over 100,000 children homeless over holidays, council chiefs warn [28 Aug 2018]
- Tens of thousands of homeless kids in ‘miserable existence’ this summer holiday as they stay in temporary accommodation [25 Aug 2018]
- Crunch time for municipal bonds [24 Aug 2018]
- Highland Council warns of £5.1m overspend [24 Aug 2018]
- Council to approve accounts after LOBO loan delay [24 Aug 2018]
- Whitehall not doing ‘nearly enough’ to tackle pothole epidemic [24 Aug 2018]
- Clive Betts: My demands for radical funding reform [22 Aug 2018]
- Brexit will leave UK short of 380,000 care workers by 2026, analysis suggests [22 Aug 2018]
- Fair funding review to ‘hit’ inner London boroughs [22 Aug 2018]
- Home Office announces £13m fund to support vulnerable children [22 Aug 2018]
- London could be hit hardest by fair funding review, IFS warns [22 Aug 2018]
- Councils' care spending spirals as other services cut [22 Aug 2018]
- Respite care: families at breaking point as councils slash funds [22 Aug 2018]
- Households have ‘fallen behind on essential bills such as Council Tax by £18.9billion’ [21 Aug 2018]
- Council Cuts To Trading Standards Leaving Vulnerable At Mercy Of Scammers [21 Aug 2018]
- Councils call for funding boost after £2bn budget surplus announcement [21 Aug 2018]
- Council chiefs defend use of Bentleys and limousines [21 Aug 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council 'bought rugby hospitality box' [21 Aug 2018]
- Government's July surplus at 18-year high [17 Aug 2018]
- Leaders agree on two-unitary option for Northants [17 Aug 2018]
- Radical ‘inheritance insurance’ pension pot plan to help the elderly pay for care without losing their home [17 Aug 2018]
- Torbay council stops spending to tackle £2.8m shortfall [17 Aug 2018]
- Northamptonshire leaders to outline plans for two unitary model [16 Aug 2018]
- Torbay fends off s.114 fears despite imposing spend moratorium [16 Aug 2018]
- Fair funding breakthrough? [15 Aug 2018]
- Reality Check: Public toilets mapped [15 Aug 2018]
- Public would prefer council services cuts to tax increases [14 Aug 2018]
- School cuts: ‘Children now raise money for their own education’ [14 Aug 2018]
- There is no new money to end rough sleeping, minister admits [14 Aug 2018]
- Social housing tenants to gain powers against rogue landlords [14 Aug 2018]
- Vulnerable used as 'pawns' in Northamptonshire council budget cuts [14 Aug 2018]
- UK unemployment fell by 65,000 to 1.36 million in three months to June [14 Aug 2018]
- Councils spending a pretty penny on loos [14 Aug 2018]
- Chief leaves by mutual consent after election probe suspension [13 Aug 2018]
- Banks in line of fire over high street crisis – Closures turning centres into ghost towns [13 Aug 2018]
- UK growth boosted by warmer weather [10 Aug 2018]
- Northamptonshire council backs 'radical' cuts to services [09 Aug 2018]
- Northamptonshire council meets to vote on huge cuts [09 Aug 2018]
- Over 300,000 children are being taught by unqualified nursery staff, charity warns [09 Aug 2018]
- Pedestrians tripping on wonky pavements given millions in payouts by cash-strapped councils [09 Aug 2018]
- Tory MP breaks ranks on Northamptonshire council crisis [09 Aug 2018]
- Use Our Loos campaign urges UK firms to open toilets to non-customers [08 Aug 2018]
- Warning that more councils could cut services to bare minimum [07 Aug 2018]
- PM signs off on £600m Edinburgh City Deal [07 Aug 2018]
- Inspectors praise Peterborough’s ‘thriving’ children’s services [07 Aug 2018]
- Council’s solar farm generates £1.3m in second year [07 Aug 2018]
- Birmingham back on the brink [07 Aug 2018]
- Taxes ‘must rise’ to end social care crisis [06 Aug 2018]
- Ex-Northants leader quits party as she rails against new members [03 Aug 2018]
- East Sussex County Council cuts services to 'legal minimum' [03 Aug 2018]
- Bank of England raises UK interest rates [02 Aug 2018]
- Councils want National Citizen Service funding for youth services [02 Aug 2018]
- Brexit - Any port in a storm? [01 Aug 2018]
- Corby refuses to sign Northants unitary plans [31 Jul 2018]
- Details of financial crisis warning 'ignored' by Northants [31 Jul 2018]
- Tax increases proposed to close £3.5bn social care funding gap [31 Jul 2018]
- Somerset County Council proposes 130 redundancies and cuts [30 Jul 2018]
- Local government ‘must transform’ to cope with funding pressures [30 Jul 2018]
- Rubbish piles up as families wait three weeks for bin collections [30 Jul 2018]
- Holiday homes dodge £80m council tax [30 Jul 2018]
- Counties warn unfunded cap on care would cost £691m a year [27 Jul 2018]
- Extra dementia training for care home staff could save up to 20,000 lives a year and reduce levels of depression, study finds [27 Jul 2018]
- Unfunded care cap could have ‘catastrophic’ effects on council services [27 Jul 2018]
- Dying young in Stockton - England’s most unequal town [27 Jul 2018]
- Northamptonshire ‘misappropriates’ £8m of ring-fenced funds to rescue cash-strapped services [27 Jul 2018]
- School holiday hunger cash a 'great first step' [27 Jul 2018]
- Brace yourself - tax increases are coming [opinion] [27 Jul 2018]
- Government attacked over child mental health plan and told it is ‘sleepwalking into deepening crisis’ [25 Jul 2018]
- Ministers plan for social care tax to help plug £3.5billion funding gap and fund care homes [25 Jul 2018]
- Treasury would cover lost EU funding after Brexit [25 Jul 2018]
- Bill for public sector wage rises £820m, estimates IFS [25 Jul 2018]
- John Sinnott: Cipfa deserves backing over resilience [opinion] [24 Jul 2018]
- Calls for Northants County Council leader to resign [24 Jul 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council bans spending again [24 Jul 2018]
- Classroom teachers up to 3.5% pay rise [24 Jul 2018]
- McArdle: Northants needs to face consequences of past actions [24 Jul 2018]
- Government announces new standards for fire and rescue services [24 Jul 2018]
- Northamptonshire's Section 114 Notice [24 Jul 2018]
- Northants issues new section 114 notice [24 Jul 2018]
- At last, a radical solution to the social care crisis [24 Jul 2018]
- Pay rises expected for public sector staff [24 Jul 2018]
- PM to announce North of Tyne CA legislation [23 Jul 2018]
- Think tank publishes scorecard for local government financing [23 Jul 2018]
- MHCLG to consider financial sustainability ahead of Spending Review [23 Jul 2018]
- Britain's tax burden reaches its highest level since Harold Wilson was in charge while Government revenues are now at a 32-year high [23 Jul 2018]
- MHCLG to consider financial sustainability ahead of Spending Review [23 Jul 2018]
- Poor mental health 'part and parcel of childhood' [23 Jul 2018]
- Homeless but working families rise by 73%, says Shelter [23 Jul 2018]
- Northamptonshire new CEO approved by Full Council to lead area through ‘unprecedented time of change’ [22 Jul 2018]
- The Guardian view on school funding: cash is needed but so is a change of direction [22 Jul 2018]
- Hancock highlights 'intense pressure' on social care budgets [20 Jul 2018]
- Northamptonshire CC to axe 'hundreds of jobs’ due to funding crisis [20 Jul 2018]
- Somerset County Council Tories quit over budget crisis [20 Jul 2018]
- Counties query plan for financial resilience index [20 Jul 2018]
- UK government borrowing at 11-year low [20 Jul 2018]
- Heads blame school cuts as exclusions pass 40 a day [19 Jul 2018]
- ‘Double council tax on empty homes to ease crisis’ [19 Jul 2018]
- No section 114 for Somerset CC despite funding issues [17 Jul 2018]
- Wage growth slows despite jobless fall [17 Jul 2018]
- Monthly record set for DTOC reductions [16 Jul 2018]
- Pothole-related car breakdowns ‘at a three-year high’ [16 Jul 2018]
- Nearly 8 million people providing care for family members without pay [16 Jul 2018]
- Heavy toll on firefighters as call-outs to move the obese soar to 900 a year [16 Jul 2018]
- The Guardian view on home-schooling in England: a register is needed [opinion] [16 Jul 2018]
- Wales could show England the way to local government reform [15 Jul 2018]
- Public sector ‘lacks policies to support blockchain’ [13 Jul 2018]
- Court reverses £400m sleep-in shift ruling [13 Jul 2018]
- Number of secondary school pupils in England to rise [13 Jul 2018]
- Extra funding freedoms for Liverpool City Region [12 Jul 2018]
- Rob Whiteman: Rise of dealmaker CEOs puts governance skills ‘at risk’ [12 Jul 2018]
- Somerset chief accountant warns of section 114 risk [12 Jul 2018]
- Grant set to be appointed Northants chief [12 Jul 2018]
- Sunak: Public sector leaders need tech focus [12 Jul 2018]
- Majority of finance professionals pressured into acting unethically, says survey [12 Jul 2018]
- Face up to tax and charging to make services sustainable, says Clarke [12 Jul 2018]
- Majority of finance professionals pressured into acting unethically, says survey [12 Jul 2018]
- This government is indifferent to the crisis in local councils that is about to hit us [12 Jul 2018]
- Pushing boundaries: Reshaping the government estate for the future [12 Jul 2018]
- School spending on pupils cut by 8%, says IFS [12 Jul 2018]
- One in six high street firms taken to court as business rates bite [12 Jul 2018]
- Schools miss out in rush to set up academies, MPs find [11 Jul 2018]
- Brexit will hit public finances, conference hears [11 Jul 2018]
- CIPFA president: We can rebuild trust in public services [11 Jul 2018]
- Government has not learnt from academy failures that damaged children’s education, MPs say [11 Jul 2018]
- ‘There used to be a bus every hour. Now we hardly leave the house’ [11 Jul 2018]
- Hancock’s Big Moment [opinion] [11 Jul 2018]
- Bosses who revive high street properties are punished with soaring business rate hikes [11 Jul 2018]
- Council trials mobile phone detection technology [10 Jul 2018]
- Brokenshire defends Whitehall ‘grasp’ of local government finance [10 Jul 2018]
- County set to cut to 'core offer' [10 Jul 2018]
- Bed blocking costing NHS ‘£550 per minute’ [09 Jul 2018]
- Jeremy Hunt replaces Boris Johnson amid Brexit turmoil [09 Jul 2018]
- Raab replaces Davis as Brexit Secretary [09 Jul 2018]
- Hammond promises tax on digital firms as business rates weigh on struggling retailers [06 Jul 2018]
- Put up tax to pay for social care, say councils [05 Jul 2018]
- Local authority bus budgets cut by 45% [05 Jul 2018]
- Rural roads busier as drivers escape urban congestion [05 Jul 2018]
- 'Councils beat academy trusts at boosting failing schools' [05 Jul 2018]
- Countryside facing a ‘demographic time bomb’ [04 Jul 2018]
- Surge In Children's Social Workers Quitting Profession Amid Violent Crime Wave [04 Jul 2018]
- Tory Peer Tears Into Government Over Social Care Crisis [04 Jul 2018]
- Authorities expect to make almost £900m from parking fees this year [04 Jul 2018]
- Local councils at risk of bankruptcy due to government 'complacency', MPs warn [04 Jul 2018]
- Millions of children 'fending for themselves' and facing 'serious risk' at home [04 Jul 2018]
- Call for business rates to be scrapped [04 Jul 2018]
- Minister promises more self-financing councils will not be abandoned [04 Jul 2018]
- PAC highlights Whitehall’s ‘shaky grasp’ of council finances [04 Jul 2018]
- Brokenshire dodges funding commitment pledge [03 Jul 2018]
- Learner drivers ‘should have to spot potholes to pass test’ [02 Jul 2018]
- Financial pressures could turn unitary to district [02 Jul 2018]
- LGA in social rents plea [02 Jul 2018]
- Councils withheld just £32m last year on underperforming PFI deals [02 Jul 2018]
- Thousands of children facing abuse ‘repeatedly’ referred to social care services [02 Jul 2018]
- Funding for support buses slashed by 45%, campaigners warn [02 Jul 2018]
- Regions left behind by London-centric transport investment, MPs warn [29 Jun 2018]
- Latest Whole of Government Accounts shows £2.4trn net liability [28 Jun 2018]
- By 2020 our local councils will be in utter financial chaos – but the government has chosen to do nothing [28 Jun 2018]
- CIPFA to consult on index to help test councils’ financial resilience [28 Jun 2018]
- Dan Bates: Searching last year’s accounts for signs of resilience [28 Jun 2018]
- MPs call for national ‘premium’ to pay for social care [28 Jun 2018]
- ‘Worst yet to come’ without extra funds for county budgets [28 Jun 2018]
- Rise in children's services spending [28 Jun 2018]
- ‘Worst is yet to come’: Councils fear inability to balance books despite legal duty to do so [27 Jun 2018]
- Counties call for pre-Spending Review cash injection [27 Jun 2018]
- Counties issue budget warning and call for pre-spending review cash injection [27 Jun 2018]
- English councils warn 'worst is yet to come' on cuts [27 Jun 2018]
- Unitary moots reverting to district status amid financial struggle [27 Jun 2018]
- ‘Care should be free with dedicated insurance pot’ [27 Jun 2018]
- MPs highlight weak commitment to transparent financial reporting [27 Jun 2018]
- Over 40s should pay new tax to fund creaking social care, MPs say [27 Jun 2018]
- Neglected children never get to learn about ‘normal’ life [27 Jun 2018]
- Peer calls for tax rises to pay for social care [27 Jun 2018]
- Councils' funding gap to exceed £7bn by 2020 [26 Jun 2018]
- Give councils fiscal flexibility to fund local priorities, says think-tank [26 Jun 2018]
- Ailing cities advised to replace shops with offices and housing [26 Jun 2018]
- Cap on care costs to help elderly keep their homes [23 Jun 2018]
- Britain's most pothole-plagued roads revealed as councils heave with complaints [23 Jun 2018]
- Children face mental health epidemic, say teachers [23 Jun 2018]
- Auditors question county's 'unrealistic' savings plan [22 Jun 2018]
- Philip Hammond hands Bank of England new powers [22 Jun 2018]
- 'Lifeline' bus routes for elderly threatened by funding cuts [22 Jun 2018]
- Threat to buses as councils fear looming £5bn shortfall [21 Jun 2018]
- Another week, another warning [20 Jun 2018]
- UK government borrowing falls more than expected [20 Jun 2018]
- Council demanded payment card details via email [20 Jun 2018]
- Britain needs an investment revolution. Labour will provide it [opinion] [20 Jun 2018]
- Police Prepare for Surge in Domestic Violence Around England Matches [20 Jun 2018]
- Councils should take schools back from struggling academy chains, says education report [20 Jun 2018]
- Six Classrooms' Worth Of Youngsters Put On Child Protection Plans Every Day [20 Jun 2018]
- Delay to green paper caps dismal 48 hours for social care [19 Jun 2018]
- Academies no better than council schools, think tank finds [19 Jun 2018]
- Fresh finance warning for Northamptonshire County Council [19 Jun 2018]
- Sector hits out at ‘unacceptable’ delays to social care reform [19 Jun 2018]
- Councils sell off 4,000 public buildings a year, FOI requests reveal [19 Jun 2018]
- Councils warn about ‘dangerously’ inadequate funding for SEND education [19 Jun 2018]
- Half of council staff considering quitting their job, survey finds [18 Jun 2018]
- Half of council staff considering quitting their job, survey finds [18 Jun 2018]
- Defence, schools and police set to miss out from big spending increases as Theresa May focuses on NHS [17 Jun 2018]
- Over 15,000 delayed transfers of care down to delays in arranging care packages [15 Jun 2018]
- Children’s services per capita spend down 20% [15 Jun 2018]
- Make social care ‘free at the point of need’, former health minister says [15 Jun 2018]
- Hunt admits imminent long-term NHS plan likely won’t include social care [14 Jun 2018]
- NHS announces ambition to cut delayed transfers by 25% [14 Jun 2018]
- Spending on social care down by 9% [14 Jun 2018]
- Unresolved business rates appeals divert £2.5bn away from public services [13 Jun 2018]
- Public support ‘compelling evidence’ for increased social care spending [13 Jun 2018]
- Child protection costs 'threaten local councils' financial stability' [13 Jun 2018]
- LGA calls for business rates reform to minimise appeals risk [13 Jun 2018]
- Councils tighten reins on personalised care [13 Jun 2018]
- 133,000 business rates appeals from 2010 remain unresolved [13 Jun 2018]
- Sir William Worsley, the new tree champion, will give residents a say on chopping [13 Jun 2018]
- Legal system of child protection is in crisis, says senior judge [13 Jun 2018]
- 'There were a lot of strangers around - I didn't feel safe' [13 Jun 2018]
- Somerset should form three unitary authorities, MP suggests [12 Jun 2018]
- Health and social care reforms must be better communicated, MPs warn [12 Jun 2018]
- New bus figures show 'slow death of local buses' [12 Jun 2018]
- Tony Travers: Grenfell inquiry must consider the public policy context [12 Jun 2018]
- Our UK public services don't need 'reform', they need hard cash [opinion] [12 Jun 2018]
- Sending children in care to boarding school reduces risk, says minister [12 Jun 2018]
- More cuts to care on way - council chiefs [12 Jun 2018]
- Adult social care services on brink of collapse, survey shows [12 Jun 2018]
- Early years cuts 'pushing more children into care' in England [12 Jun 2018]
- Philip Hammond to raise billions in extra tax for the NHS [12 Jun 2018]
- Local government figures celebrated in Queen's birthday honours [11 Jun 2018]
- LGA in Right to Buy warning [11 Jun 2018]
- Majority of schoolchildren buy takeaway for lunch at least once a week, child obesity study finds [11 Jun 2018]
- Digital and social media firms should be forced to protect children from addiction, experts say [11 Jun 2018]
- Adoption and care rates higher in some areas [11 Jun 2018]
- £30m cash boost to tackle rough sleepers [09 Jun 2018]
- Most leaders expect some councils to face ‘serious financial crisis’ next year [08 Jun 2018]
- Tesco boss blames business rates for retail woes [08 Jun 2018]
- Council mergers on the rise as almost 500 shared services deals agreed to cope with austerity [07 Jun 2018]
- Hope for children’s services amid the cuts [07 Jun 2018]
- How debt kills [07 Jun 2018]
- Carillion collapse to cost taxpayers £148m [07 Jun 2018]
- Store landlords push back against rent cuts [07 Jun 2018]
- More than 1.5 million Brits are living in destitution as shocking report warns ministers to take urgent action [06 Jun 2018]
- £9m flagship free school to close just four years after opening [06 Jun 2018]
- Massive 82% of voters would back a tax rise to fund the NHS as new poll puts Theresa May under pressure [05 Jun 2018]
- Councils to oversee 'new town' corps [05 Jun 2018]
- Scrap all districts says Heseltine [05 Jun 2018]
- Britain’s shameful care home time bomb [05 Jun 2018]
- A revolution to help Britain's army of unpaid carers: Workers who look after relatives will be offered flexible working including extended lunch breaks and ten extra days off [05 Jun 2018]
- Theresa May should stop tinkering and start spending [opinion] [05 Jun 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council to sell historic County Hall building [04 Jun 2018]
- Liam Booth-Smith appointed Brokenshire's special adviser [04 Jun 2018]
- Teacher recruitment agencies face fees crackdown [03 Jun 2018]
- We need more school places - but not in grammars [opinon] [01 Jun 2018]
- Grenfell Tower fire council spends 25% of reserves [01 Jun 2018]
- 400k frail and vulnerable elderly people lose out on free care at home due to council cuts while others live in ‘care deserts’ where there’s no help at all, warns charity [01 Jun 2018]
- 'Pinball kids experience too much change in care' [01 Jun 2018]
- Potholes putting people off cycling, survey finds [31 May 2018]
- NHS trust deficit nearly twice as much as expected [31 May 2018]
- Councils take key Prevent strategy role [30 May 2018]
- Minister says 'no more Northamptonshires imminent' [30 May 2018]
- Neil Amin-Smith: Research reveals 100% rates retention pilots are not cost-neutral [29 May 2018]
- Parliament passes Dorset reorganisation plans [29 May 2018]
- Free schools boost for England's worst-performing areas [29 May 2018]
- DfE announces £50m to expand special schools, but the money isn’t new [29 May 2018]
- In Britain, Austerity Is Changing Everything [29 May 2018]
- Ranking every pupil helps the poorest, head insists [29 May 2018]
- 'Pay-as-you-go' bin scheme 'could leave households £50 a year worse off' [29 May 2018]
- Landlords to fight use of CVAs by retailers seeking rent cuts [29 May 2018]
- 'Pay-as-you-go' bin scheme 'could leave households £50 a year worse off' [28 May 2018]
- Whitehall must take control of 'faltering' academy finances, council chiefs say [25 May 2018]
- Ofsted admits some 'outstanding schools aren't that good' [24 May 2018]
- Free school transport lost for 20,000 rural pupils [24 May 2018]
- Over £200m spent on inquiries with little evidence of learning, NAO reveals [23 May 2018]
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government single departmental plan [23 May 2018]
- Plant nurseries will remain exempt from business rates [23 May 2018]
- Grammar school expansion fund will not improve children’s outcomes, study says [23 May 2018]
- UK public finances start new tax year on strong footing [22 May 2018]
- German police stop 'truant' families at airport [22 May 2018]
- Parents 'not involved' in new free schools [21 May 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council sells off old sites [21 May 2018]
- Obesity rate in UK children doubles during primary school years to top US figure [20 May 2018]
- Drop in apprenticeships sparks calls for reform of levy-based system [17 May 2018]
- Council told to 'grip financial situation' [17 May 2018]
- The Seattle battle is a warning over tax raising (Opinion) [16 May 2018]
- Singing from the same hymn sheet [opinion] [16 May 2018]
- Fair funding: eyes on the prize [opinon] [16 May 2018]
- Social care funding plans branded costly and unfair [16 May 2018]
- Plan for single 'unitary' Northampton council rejected [15 May 2018]
- Patients trapped by care closures: Elderly face being stranded in hospital wards [14 May 2018]
- Three in four Britons felt overwhelmed by stress, survey reveals [14 May 2018]
- Spiraling drug deaths blamed on swingeing funding cuts to services [14 May 2018]
- Taskforce Drafted In To Run 'Bankrupt' Tory-Led Northamptonshire Council [11 May 2018]
- MPs urge government to release cash for removal of Grenfell-style cladding [11 May 2018]
- Pothole 'epidemic' costs £1m a month in motoring claims, says AA [11 May 2018]
- Grammar and faith schools get green light to expand [11 May 2018]
- Brokenshire announces Northamptonshire commissioners [10 May 2018]
- https://www.themj.co.uk/Dawes-Another-Section-114-possible/210840 [10 May 2018]
- Northants makes ‘unprecedented’ use of reserves to balance books [10 May 2018]
- Interest rates on hold as Bank cuts growth outlook [10 May 2018]
- Somerset £28m unitary savings claim 'unrealistic' [10 May 2018]
- High street rents 'killing more and more retailers' says Debenhams chairman [10 May 2018]
- Simon Edwards: 'No guarantee county unitary moves will snowball' [09 May 2018]
- ‘Cash-strapped care sector needs public image boost’ [09 May 2018]
- Minimum wage for sleep-in shifts poses ‘existential threat’ to care sector [08 May 2018]
- Business Rates Bill and additional information [08 May 2018]
- Tax on pensioners proposed to heal inter-generational divide [08 May 2018]
- Parks provide over £34bn of health benefits, report says [08 May 2018]
- Social care could be ‘rescued’ with £2.3bn boost, report says [08 May 2018]
- Government pledges £28m to help disadvantaged children [08 May 2018]
- Local election results 2018: Mixed picture for Labour and Tories [04 May 2018]
- Anne Ashworth: Brokenshire must mend the market [opinion] [04 May 2018]
- Cities express doubt over four-county 'combined authority' [03 May 2018]
- Schools could be forced to weigh pupils for Ofsted obesity checks [03 May 2018]
- Election 2018: Council polls taking place across England [03 May 2018]
- James Brokenshire: ‘Clear space and scope’ for more unitaries [02 May 2018]
- Scrapping Somerset councils 'may save £28m a year' [02 May 2018]
- David Simmonds: Brokenshire is 'good news' for councils [01 May 2018]
- LGA gets £1.5m to help boost councils’ cyber security [01 May 2018]
- Javid to be new Home Secretary, Brokenshire to MHCLG [30 Apr 2018]
- Incremental pay rises - an endangered species? [27 Apr 2018]
- Councils warned not to cap personal care budgets [27 Apr 2018]
- Cornwall proposes post-Brexit plan to create 20,000 jobs [27 Apr 2018]
- Concern over Northants' future amid rushed reorganisation claims [26 Apr 2018]
- Councils defended for management of £375m in section 106 receipts [26 Apr 2018]
- Lib Dems slam use of property profits at Surrey County Council [26 Apr 2018]
- NHS hospitals face vital vote to free them of £400m a year tax bill [26 Apr 2018]
- Inquiry into child sexual abuse warns of ‘lack of transparency’ [26 Apr 2018]
- Social care system needs £10bn to stay afloat, report warns [26 Apr 2018]
- Grayson Perry backs borough’s £3.5m ‘artists’ house’ plans [26 Apr 2018]
- Councils urged to implement effective interpretation and translation services [26 Apr 2018]
- Concern over Northants' future amid rushed reorganisation claims [26 Apr 2018]
- Government achieves first current budget surplus for 16 years [25 Apr 2018]
- MPs: Councils need grants as well as increased business rates [25 Apr 2018]
- Leaders discuss 'combined authority' across four counties [25 Apr 2018]
- Ministers are wilfully blind to austerity's decimation of preventative services [opinion] [25 Apr 2018]
- Conservatives pledge 'cheaper and better' local councils [25 Apr 2018]
- Sector backs MPs' business rates call [24 Apr 2018]
- Business rates pilot payout proves costly to the sector [24 Apr 2018]
- Food bank use four times higher in Universal Credit areas [24 Apr 2018]
- Areas which rejected devolution deals left with mixed feelings [opinion] [24 Apr 2018]
- County accused of lack of candour over '£60m black hole' report [24 Apr 2018]
- Philip Hammond accepts £2 limit for addictive fixed odds betting terminals [24 Apr 2018]
- Are social care services improving people's wellbeing? [opinion] [24 Apr 2018]
- Sun, sea and stonkingly large council tax bills [23 Apr 2018]
- MPs demand government explains business rate U-turn [23 Apr 2018]
- Outsourcing giant Capita warns of £500m losses [23 Apr 2018]
- Promise broken to compensate councils for business rate changes [23 Apr 2018]
- Councils Have Failed To Spend £375m Earmarked To Ease The Housing Crisis [23 Apr 2018]
- Britain left behind as growth slows [22 Apr 2018]
- Councils ‘could save millions on energy’ [20 Apr 2018]
- Pothole related breakdowns soar following harsh winter [18 Apr 2018]
- UK inflation falls to 2.5% [18 Apr 2018]
- UK pay squeeze comes to an end [17 Apr 2018]
- Hospitals launch legal challenge to save £300m a year in rates relief [12 Apr 2018]
- Minister raises possibility of social care funding boost [12 Apr 2018]
- Home education compulsory registration? [10 Apr 2018]
- Amendment to protect free bus passes announced [10 Apr 2018]
- Holiday town's hidden fight with deadly drug problem [09 Apr 2018]
- How can we tackle the pothole crisis? Scourge of the roads is a £9.3bn headache that's only getting worse [06 Apr 2018]
- Businesses and councils offered own PCSOs for £37k a year. [06 Apr 2018]
- Up to 1,000 Sure Start children's centres have closed since 2009 [05 Apr 2018]
- Over 100,000 children to lose free school meals under reforms [05 Apr 2018]
- Rapid rise in children's centre closures causes concern [05 Apr 2018]
- Review of council powers over unauthorised traveller sites [05 Apr 2018]
- What is the gender pay gap at your company? [05 Apr 2018]
- Travel training gives young people with learning disabilities a ticket to ride [03 Apr 2018]
- Council decides to exhaust reserves [03 Apr 2018]
- Scrutinising care provision [03 Apr 2018]
- Javid announces £30m to tackle homelessness [03 Apr 2018]
- Spending on children and young people's services cut by nearly £1bn in six years, figures reveal [03 Apr 2018]
- Child poverty: Pale and hungry pupils 'fill pockets with school food' [02 Apr 2018]
- Tories accused of manifesto breach after 60,000 homes miss out on legal right to minimum broadband speed [28 Mar 2018]
- MPs call for more holistic approach to improving social care [28 Mar 2018]
- Pupils asked to bring waste home by school [28 Mar 2018]
- Councils awarded £900,000 for connected maintenance [28 Mar 2018]
- Javid calls for unitary proposals from Northamptonshire councils [28 Mar 2018]
- Commissioners to take direct financial control of Northants council [27 Mar 2018]
- Spending restrictions save Northants £400,000 [27 Mar 2018]
- Government intends to take over Northamptonshire's finances [27 Mar 2018]
- Council leader welcomes independent inquiry into child sexual abuse [27 Mar 2018]
- Upgrading wind farms could bring £100m to communities, study says [27 Mar 2018]
- Scale of child abuse survey 'needed every 10 years' [27 Mar 2018]
- Grayling promises to fill "4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire“ and many more elsewhere [26 Mar 2018]
- Taking action for those jailed over unpaid council tax [26 Mar 2018]
- Children in north 'face double whammy' of poverty and bad schools [26 Mar 2018]
- Government announces £15m in cultural regeneration funds [26 Mar 2018]
- Tory vow to repair Britain's potholes slammed as Chris Grayling pledges £100million to tackle £9billion crisis [26 Mar 2018]
- Bottle deposit plan would fix ‘dirty Britain’ [26 Mar 2018]
- What to look out for in May's local elections [23 Mar 2018]
- Government action on councils failing to plan new homes [23 Mar 2018]
- Javid approves creation of new district council [23 Mar 2018]
- Cash-strapped Northants criticised for paying £900,000 to former CEO's firm [23 Mar 2018]
- Whitehall launched £260m package to improve air quality [23 Mar 2018]
- Whitehall announces £3.4m for five new adoption agencies [23 Mar 2018]
- Council employee exploited systems 'failures' to steal £1m [22 Mar 2018]
- IFS: Funding reforms at odds with social care aims [22 Mar 2018]
- Alison Michalska: Not investing in children is a false economy [22 Mar 2018]
- Warning over cash for care leaver advisors [22 Mar 2018]
- Social care faces swallowing half of all tax councils can raise by 2035 [22 Mar 2018]
- Taunton Deane-West Somerset merger backed by Sajid Javid [22 Mar 2018]
- Councils face 'decades more austerity' as social care set to account for half of town hall revenues [22 Mar 2018]
- 'Radical change' needed on countryside [22 Mar 2018]
- Corbyn challenges PM over 'slash and burn' cuts in council funding [21 Mar 2018]
- Teaching union calls for 5% pay rise with possible strike backing [21 Mar 2018]
- Poor children 2kg heavier than rich [21 Mar 2018]
- Benefits payment blunder will cost taxpayer £700m [21 Mar 2018]
- Javid orders review after second council payment error [20 Mar 2018]
- Councils overpaid by £36 million in `historic´ Government error [20 Mar 2018]
- Care workers' pay for 'sleep-in' shifts case reaches appeal court [20 Mar 2018]
- Jeremy Hunt confirms individual costs for social care to be capped [20 Mar 2018]
- Sure Start funding halved in eight years, figures show [20 Mar 2018]
- Ministers propose reducing number of councils from 22 to ten [20 Mar 2018]
- Labour council chiefs promise councils ‘ten new freedoms’ [20 Mar 2018]
- Potholes leave one in five local roads in poor condition as councils face funding deficit [20 Mar 2018]
- Government bails out overspending Kingston [20 Mar 2018]
- Scrap 'outdated and regressive council tax,' says think-tank [20 Mar 2018]
- The long road to rates retention [19 Mar 2018]
- Local councils prepare to lobby MPs for extra powers [19 Mar 2018]
- Updated: Unison set to 'reluctantly' accept pay offer [19 Mar 2018]
- School breakfast clubs to receive up to £26 million in major boost for hungry kids [19 Mar 2018]
- Call for city centre drug testing stations 'to save lives' [19 Mar 2018]
- Eight out of 10 academies in deficit, say accountants [17 Mar 2018]
- ‘Wholly unacceptable’ that central gov does not have clear answer to benefits of LEPs [16 Mar 2018]
- ‘Bankrupt’ council’s problems not a factor in PCC fire service takeover decision. [16 Mar 2018]
- Number of secondary schools in deficit has 'trebled' [16 Mar 2018]
- Secondary school pupil numbers will rise by more than 600,000 by 2023 [16 Mar 2018]
- National Insurance could rise by a penny in the pound to prevent a repeat of this winter's A&E crisis [16 Mar 2018]
- IFRS9 overrides could be in place before April 2019 [15 Mar 2018]
- Inspector slams Northamptonshire officers and members for financial failings [15 Mar 2018]
- Manchester to pay care staff living wage [15 Mar 2018]
- Power in the country lanes [15 Mar 2018]
- Care home quality and choice ‘likely to get worse’, council chiefs warn [15 Mar 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council 'should be scrapped' [15 Mar 2018]
- MPs warn of 'poisonous air' emergency costing £20bn a year [15 Mar 2018]
- Spring statement sees rates revaluation brought forward to 2021 [14 Mar 2018]
- Government backs DoLS replacement [14 Mar 2018]
- Majority of councils have no men working in their nurseries, as parents assume they pose risk to children [14 Mar 2018]
- UK will need to impose tax rises of £30bn to balance budget – IFS [14 Mar 2018]
- Five English councils to adopt integration plans [14 Mar 2018]
- Austerity will have cast an extra 1.5m children into poverty by 2021 [14 Mar 2018]
- Councils ‘struggling to balance the books,’ with no knowledge of how spending will work from 2020 [13 Mar 2018]
- Spring Statement: Hammond opens bids for £840m transport pot [13 Mar 2018]
- Spring Statement: Philip Hammond hails better debt and growth forecasts [13 Mar 2018]
- Guy Ware: The business rates retention row of ducks [opinion] [12 Mar 2018]
- Overwhelming backing for 2% pay offer from GMB's members [12 Mar 2018]
- Slow broadband take-up hurting rural areas [12 Mar 2018]
- Javid backs county unitary in Buckinghamshire [12 Mar 2018]
- Spring Statement 2018: Philip Hammond fixes his eye on the horizon while local councils drown [11 Mar 2018]
- 'Light at the end of the tunnel' Philip Hammond hints at an end to austerity [10 Mar 2018]
- Philip Hammond plots £1billion VAT blitz on small firms by cutting payment threshold [10 Mar 2018]
- Philip Hammond to snub ministers' demands for more money for NHS and defence as he makes Spring Statement [09 Mar 2018]
- Freezing weather will lead to spike in UK potholes, motoring experts warn [08 Mar 2018]
- Councils on the brink of going bust as report reveals Government has slashed funding by 50% [08 Mar 2018]
- Chancellor's spring statement to reveal £11bn boost [08 Mar 2018]
- Class sizes up in 'two-thirds of secondary schools' [08 Mar 2018]
- Freezing weather will lead to spike in UK potholes, motoring experts warn [08 Mar 2018]
- Vulnerable children 'paying the price of Tory austerity', John McDonnell says [08 Mar 2018]
- Councils need urgent long-term funding plan, says watchdog [08 Mar 2018]
- Government owes £5.3trn in pensions - ONS [07 Mar 2018]
- Council chiefs warn of children’s social care crisis in the north west [07 Mar 2018]
- Manchester CC ‘dramatically’ increases spend in local economy [07 Mar 2018]
- Willetts makes case for baby boomer tax [07 Mar 2018]
- Most Yorkshire councils unite in joint devolution bid [06 Mar 2018]
- Counting the cost of adult social care as councils set spending budgets [06 Mar 2018]
- Whitehall blasted for ‘over-simplification’ of social care crisis [06 Mar 2018]
- Cuts to youth services lead to rise in crime warn councils [05 Mar 2018]
- Social Workers 'unbearable' workloads 'underestimated by Government [03 Mar 2018]
- John McDonnell: Spring Statement 'must help ailing councils' [03 Mar 2018]
- Business rates retention poses ‘some risk’ to core PH funding, says DHSC minister [02 Mar 2018]
- DHSC concerned about Northamptonshire’s ability to meet statutory responsibilities [02 Mar 2018]
- LGA urges for social care to have ‘equal footing’ to NHS to close funding gap [02 Mar 2018]
- George Osborne austerity target is hit — 2 years late [02 Mar 2018]
- Business rate retention ‘may not achieve goal’ [01 Mar 2018]
- Council tax rises to boost bills by £81 in England [01 Mar 2018]
- Northamptonshire county council chief cuts £40m to stave off bankruptcy [01 Mar 2018]
- Nearly half of girls have self-harmed [01 Mar 2018]
- Revised Northamptonshire budget includes ‘regrettable’ proposals in light of severe challenges [28 Feb 2018]
- Chris Buss: Is fair funding mission impossible? [opinion] [28 Feb 2018]
- Nadhim Zahawi: Leadership key to turning round failing children's services [28 Feb 2018]
- Projects launched to support care leavers [28 Feb 2018]
- Survey reveals ‘sharp drop’ in satisfaction with social care [28 Feb 2018]
- Projects launched to support care leavers [28 Feb 2018]
- Cost of childcare surges to £122 a week leaving parents 'treading water', report finds [28 Feb 2018]
- Hammond is unlikely to squander the fiscal dividend he is sitting on [opinion] [28 Feb 2018]
- Dorset councils to merge in biggest local government shake-up in 40 years [26 Feb 2018]
- Council tax hikes will not stop cuts to local services, authorities warn [26 Feb 2018]
- Auditors warn Northamptonshire CC budget could be ‘illegal’ [21 Feb 2018]
- Local government and health leaders urged to remake partnership [21 Feb 2018]
- The extent of business rates relief fraud [16 Feb 2018]
- Roll-out of lane rental plans for local authorities [16 Feb 2018]
- Whiteman raises question of LOBO litigation and mis-selling [15 Feb 2018]
- Room151 survey probes sustainability of local government finance [15 Feb 2018]
- Financial faultline opens to create an east-west economic divide [15 Feb 2018]
- Surge in poverty rates among children of public sector worker parents [15 Feb 2018]
- Dan Bates: Settlement reveals fragility of the system and the need to speak up on fair funding [14 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council repaying £150m in LOBO loans [14 Feb 2018]
- Landowners in Wales face tax in Welsh Government plans [13 Feb 2018]
- Local councils want more power to be able to increase amount of fines handed to drivers [13 Feb 2018]
- UK inflation still at 3% despite fall in food prices [13 Feb 2018]
- Carillion: accountants accused of 'feasting' on company [13 Feb 2018]
- Anxiety over lack of children's sector-led improvement funding [12 Feb 2018]
- Westminster council proposes ‘voluntary’ council tax scheme [12 Feb 2018]
- ..NAO warns on ‘neglected’ social care [09 Feb 2018]
- Care provider Four Seasons temporarily bailed out [09 Feb 2018]
- Over half of councils plan to cut spending on children's services [09 Feb 2018]
- Schools struggle to get mental health help, says survey [09 Feb 2018]
- MPs give green light to local government finance settlement [08 Feb 2018]
- Bank of England hints at earlier and faster rate rises [08 Feb 2018]
- Council tax hikes planned 'across England' [08 Feb 2018]
- Anti-obesity programmes in primary schools 'don't work' [08 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire tables unitary plans to combat ‘bleak financial position’ [07 Feb 2018]
- Council budgets: One in three spent more than planned [07 Feb 2018]
- Cash crisis forces secondary schools in England to cut 15,000 staff [07 Feb 2018]
- Council chiefs call for ‘locally-driven’ successor to EU aid [07 Feb 2018]
- Govt could re-nationalise East Coast line after £200m loss [06 Feb 2018]
- Call for Javid to resign after 'misleading' House of Commons [06 Feb 2018]
- Javid gives councils £150m social care funding boost [06 Feb 2018]
- Councils ‘will not benefit equally’ from business rate retention [06 Feb 2018]
- Poorest areas face biggest cuts to children's services [06 Feb 2018]
- UK must tackle 'astonishing' cost of congestion, study says [06 Feb 2018]
- Carers for disabled adults have ‘no plans for future’, campaigners warn [05 Feb 2018]
- Seven south Essex councils form 'association' [05 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire sparks warnings other councils could ‘fail’ [05 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire MPs call for county council takeover [05 Feb 2018]
- Parents paid £1m over 'shambles' childcare scheme [05 Feb 2018]
- ‘Tax the over 65s to fund their care’ [05 Feb 2018]
- The Guardian view on council spending: a crisis unfolding [opinion] [04 Feb 2018]
- County council imposes an emergency spending ban [03 Feb 2018]
- Dozens of academy schools need bailouts from taxpayers [03 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council 'warned it was unsustainable' [03 Feb 2018]
- Union attacks county plan to take over children and family services [02 Feb 2018]
- Tory councillors all resign from local council [02 Feb 2018]
- Capita situation is not ‘another Carillion’, says Cabinet Office minister [01 Feb 2018]
- 'Council wrong' to stop care home fees, says ombudsman [01 Feb 2018]
- Northern education gap 'should be solved through devolution' [01 Feb 2018]
- Welsh council proposes 12.5% council tax hike [01 Feb 2018]
- Outsourcing giant Capita announces profit warning and massive debt [31 Jan 2018]
- Teacher retention: Government 'failing to get a grip' [31 Jan 2018]
- Councils face huge bills as foster carers jump ship to private agencies [30 Jan 2018]
- Young black men bearing the brunt of deadly violence in London [30 Jan 2018]
- Heads warn of 'chronic' funding shortages [30 Jan 2018]
- Private foster care agencies increasing cost of finding children homes [30 Jan 2018]
- Governments formally agree on first Welsh devolved taxes in 800 years [29 Jan 2018]
- Government to review 1.6m disability benefit claims after U-turn [29 Jan 2018]
- Majority of householders 'face council tax increase of up to £80' as ministers relax cap on bills [27 Jan 2018]
- Potholes send breakdown figures flying [26 Jan 2018]
- Council to sell brand new £53m headquarters [25 Jan 2018]
- High proportions of under-performing schools in some areas [25 Jan 2018]
- MPs invite views on joint inquiry into long-term funding to inform social care green paper [24 Jan 2018]
- UK employment surges to record high, wages edge up [24 Jan 2018]
- Pay offer to local government workers is final, say employers [24 Jan 2018]
- Council offers voluntary redundancy to its staff [23 Jan 2018]
- MPs ‘strikingly pessimistic’ about the quality of local care homes [23 Jan 2018]
- County agrees £10m Carillion exit deal [23 Jan 2018]
- Public health cuts ‘threaten children’s health’ [23 Jan 2018]
- Hinds says schools face digital challenge [22 Jan 2018]
- Children's centres undermined by ministers, says charity [22 Jan 2018]
- A million lonely pensioners left to starve in their homes [22 Jan 2018]
- Road maintenance spending at ‘lowest level’ in a decade [19 Jan 2018]
- Government announces £45m for ‘successful’ academies [19 Jan 2018]
- Children's services in Norfolk no longer need intervention [19 Jan 2018]
- Council tax is a regressive tax - it's time to do something [18 Jan 2018]
- County rejects proposal to lose control of fire services [18 Jan 2018]
- Finance settlement 'shambles' after provisional data wrong [18 Jan 2018]
- Councils accused of putting lives at risk after cash spent on fixing potholes on minor roads falls to lowest level in more than a decade [18 Jan 2018]
- PFI deals 'costing taxpayers billions' [18 Jan 2018]
- Is social mobility really about school cash? [17 Jan 2018]
- Grayling’s East Coast experiment risks coming off the rails [17 Jan 2018]
- Minister for loneliness appointed to continue Jo Cox's work [17 Jan 2018]
- James Maker: What the reshuffle means for counties [15 Jan 2018]
- Union urges council staff to reject pay offer [15 Jan 2018]
- Council tax set to increase as Kent County Council announces spending plans [15 Jan 2018]
- 20mph zones net £57m for police [15 Jan 2018]
- Only five councils bid for electric car charge points funding [12 Jan 2018]
- Councils call for improvement to Apprenticeship Levy [11 Jan 2018]
- Councils urged to be clear on care home costs [11 Jan 2018]
- Child referred to social services every 49 seconds amid rising reports of domestic violence [11 Jan 2018]
- Support for apprentice levy goes up in flames [11 Jan 2018]
- No new devolution deals agreed in 2016-17 [10 Jan 2018]
- Council proposes name change to strengthen ‘geographical identity’ [10 Jan 2018]
- Inspectors sent in to probe Northamptonshire Council's finances [10 Jan 2018]
- Heads warn MPs of 'extremely bleak' funding problems [10 Jan 2018]
- Childcare funding 'will create 9,000 places' [10 Jan 2018]
- Northgate acquired by Japanese corporation NEC for £475m [09 Jan 2018]
- Theresa May's cabinet: Who's who and how diverse are they? [09 Jan 2018]
- Javid: New name will focus minds of cabinet colleagues on housing [09 Jan 2018]
- DCLG renamed Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government [09 Jan 2018]
- Essex council claims it is on track to become UK's first self-sufficient unitary authority [08 Jan 2018]
- Affordable childcare inquiry launched [08 Jan 2018]
- Build care homes by schools to mix generations [05 Jan 2018]
- Crisis in teacher recruitment as applications fall by a third [05 Jan 2018]
- Local gov overwhelmingly ‘opts up’ to professional status as MiFID II launches [04 Jan 2018]
- Local government ‘in need of radical reinvention’ [04 Jan 2018]
- Christchurch bids to stop Dorset councils reorganisation [03 Jan 2018]
- Some councils paying ‘excessive’ costs for paper, research reveals [03 Jan 2018]
- Telford & Wrekin council tax to rise 3.2pc [03 Jan 2018]
- Council warns of ‘unprecedented’ fire safety funding gap [03 Jan 2018]
- Lone child refugees are costing British councils £70,000 a year each [03 Jan 2018]
- 2017
-
- Educational opportunities ‘geographically unequal’, think tank says [22 Dec 2017]
- Barnsley and Doncaster vote for 'One Yorkshire' devolution deal [21 Dec 2017]
- Council tax bills in England may rise by up to 5.99% [20 Dec 2017]
- 'Extra £450m funding' for police in England and Wales [19 Dec 2017]
- Child sex abuse referrals soar by nearly a third in a year, warns NSPCC [18 Dec 2017]
- Pensions: Automatic saving to start at 18 under new plans [17 Dec 2017]
- ‘Culture change’ needed to improve local government scrutiny, MPs say [15 Dec 2017]
- Council proposes stopping sick pay for three days [14 Dec 2017]
- £200 million funding boost for England’s roads [14 Dec 2017]
- Prudential code to drop ‘borrowing in advance’ ban [14 Dec 2017]
- Bus travel plummets amid funding cuts, city congestion and a rise in car ownership [14 Dec 2017]
- Primary league tables: Special-needs pupils struggle with new tests [14 Dec 2017]
- Ofsted warns of 130 schools failing to improve for 12 years [14 Dec 2017]
- Government faces call to slow the pace of funding cuts while business rates retention is resolved [13 Dec 2017]
- More than 1,400 NHS dementia patients well enough to go home at Christmas will be stranded in hospital, warns charity [13 Dec 2017]
- Weakest schools struggle with teacher 'burnout' [13 Dec 2017]
- ITV film reveals serious failings at UK children’s homes [13 Dec 2017]
- Councils urged to unlock £7bn of untapped assets [12 Dec 2017]
- UK inflation rate rises to 3.1% [12 Dec 2017]
- Businesses hit by rate rise wait for cash relief [12 Dec 2017]
- Norfolk County councillors award themselves 11% rise in allowance [11 Dec 2017]
- Unions make 5% pay increase claim for local government craft workers [11 Dec 2017]
- Government awards councils new funding to transform local communities [11 Dec 2017]
- Council funding could be cut in half in next two years [11 Dec 2017]
- Council spending on libraries cut by £66m last year [11 Dec 2017]
- £650m cut from early education [11 Dec 2017]
- DfE has 'growing recognition' of children's funding pressure [08 Dec 2017]
- Minister confirms £72,500 social care cap plan scrapped [08 Dec 2017]
- Green paper seeks to boost school mental health support [08 Dec 2017]
- Chinese plastics ban threatens council tax rise [08 Dec 2017]
- Number of contested business rates bills slumps under new system [07 Dec 2017]
- £72,500 social care cap to be scrapped, MPs told [07 Dec 2017]
- Councils could face up to £1bn in late payment penalties, report warns [07 Dec 2017]
- 'Stark' increase in overweight youngsters [07 Dec 2017]
- More than a million council workers offered 2% pay deal [05 Dec 2017]
- Salford mother Nicola Newns fined over sick son’s school absence [05 Dec 2017]
- Local authority audit fees ‘may be cut’ [04 Dec 2017]
- Poverty hits more children and pensioners, says charity [04 Dec 2017]
- Local authority audit fees ‘may be cut’ [04 Dec 2017]
- Local authority audit fees ‘may be cut’ [04 Dec 2017]
- ‘Corbyn fear’ sees pension fund body advise Labour council to invest abroad [03 Dec 2017]
- Research highlights ways to streamline local authority funding [01 Dec 2017]
- ‘Mansion tax’ proposed for £10m homes in Westminster [01 Dec 2017]
- Teacher training target missed for fifth year in a row in England [30 Nov 2017]
- Care homes: Public 'pay unfair fees to plug £1bn shortfall' [30 Nov 2017]
- Council cuts responsible for £1bn care home sector shortfall [30 Nov 2017]
- Social mobility in UK 'a postcode lottery', report finds [28 Nov 2017]
- Industrial Strategy snubs councils [27 Nov 2017]
- Pullman's plea to save school libraries [27 Nov 2017]
- New industrial strategy to change Britain's productivity 'weakness' [27 Nov 2017]
- Social care councils draw billions from reserves [23 Nov 2017]
- Have there been two decades of failure to reform social care? [23 Nov 2017]
- Apprenticeship numbers fall by 59% after levy imposed [22 Nov 2017]
- Summary of Budget 2017: Key points at-a-glance [22 Nov 2017]
- UK government borrowing grows in October [22 Nov 2017]
- Public services face real-terms spending cuts of up to 40% in decade to 2020 [22 Nov 2017]
- North of England hardest hit by government cuts [21 Nov 2017]
- Counties warn funding for public services is ‘outdated and unfair’ [20 Nov 2017]
- City regions get £1.7bn funding boost to transform transport [20 Nov 2017]
- Government accused of 'dragging feet' on social care review [17 Nov 2017]
- Report calls for end to borough and district councils [17 Nov 2017]
- Councils face more disclosures on their commercial property investments [16 Nov 2017]
- Head teachers across England call for £1.7bn extra school funding [15 Nov 2017]
- Research partner chosen for children's social care project [15 Nov 2017]
- Councils can only afford to help children in crisis, charities warn [15 Nov 2017]
- County outlines savings of £27m [15 Nov 2017]
- Public-sector pay rise should be guaranteed, says think tank [15 Nov 2017]
- Inflation remains at five-year high [14 Nov 2017]
- Budget will be ‘bad news’ for public finances, says Resolution Foundation [13 Nov 2017]
- Council mergers in Dorset and Suffolk move a step closer [13 Nov 2017]
- Social care to cost 60% of council tax by 2020 [10 Nov 2017]
- Social care could drain local services cash dry, warns LGA [10 Nov 2017]
- Councils spend £2.7bn on risky assets in property buying frenzy [08 Nov 2017]
- Teachers demand funding for 5% pay rise in budget [07 Nov 2017]
- 'Why is London getting 10 times as much transport cash per head as Yorkshire?' [07 Nov 2017]
- Boost for small businesses as Philip Hammond scraps rates rise [06 Nov 2017]
- Council staff told to take mandatory unpaid leave [02 Nov 2017]
- Local authorities turning to commercialisation to escape austerity [02 Nov 2017]
- Councils respond to sleep-in back pay announcement [02 Nov 2017]
- First UK interest rate rise in 10 years [02 Nov 2017]
- Overnight carer back pay scheme 'unaffordable' [02 Nov 2017]
- England mayors call for more tax control [01 Nov 2017]
- Councils spend doubles on social workers hired from agencies [01 Nov 2017]
- More than a third of councils haven’t paid into the Chancellor’s £300m fund to help pay firms hit by tax rises [01 Nov 2017]
- Benefit cuts main cause of surge in demand for children’s services, warn council leaders [31 Oct 2017]
- DfE announces pilot programmes to encourage flexible working in schools [30 Oct 2017]
- Hammond's £20bn black hole may mean it's time to scrap deficit target, says IFS [30 Oct 2017]
- Budget: Hammond faces spending dilemma, says IFS [30 Oct 2017]
- Pepper the robot to take on social care tasks [25 Oct 2017]
- PMQs: Long term 'Full and Open' ASC Consultation to be Published 'in Due Course' [25 Oct 2017]
- Council councils’ face £2.54bn funding black hole by 2021 [24 Oct 2017]
- Javid: Government should borrow to build more homes [23 Oct 2017]
- Extra homelessness funding ‘not enough’, say lower tier authorities [20 Oct 2017]
- Government hits 10-year low for September borrowing [20 Oct 2017]
- Childcare costs rise up to seven times faster than wages [20 Oct 2017]
- 'Troubled services' costing £10bn to keep going by Government [19 Oct 2017]
- County funding black hole set to treble to £2.5bn by 2021 [19 Oct 2017]
- Local roads get £350m funding boost [19 Oct 2017]
- Councils paid out more than £3m last year due to pothole damage [19 Oct 2017]
- Councils turn to lotteries in latest drive to raise income [19 Oct 2017]
- Woman who was abused by foster parents wins historic legal battle with 'far-reaching implications' for local authorities [18 Oct 2017]
- Care cap would cost counties £330m a year, warns research [18 Oct 2017]
- Elderly patients could be put at risk by pressure to empty NHS beds, warns social care chief inspector [18 Oct 2017]
- Hospital beds blocked twice as long while old await home help [18 Oct 2017]
- Squabble over bed-blocking leaves older patients in limbo [17 Oct 2017]
- UK inflation at highest since April 2012 [17 Oct 2017]
- Richard Harbord: a clear vision needed for local government [16 Oct 2017]
- The sleep-in care crisis [13 Oct 2017]
- Future standard of health and social care ‘precarious’ [10 Oct 2017]
- Ministers 'refusing to pay for fire safety measures' after Grenfell [10 Oct 2017]
- Britain’s first race audit reveals extent of discrimination [10 Oct 2017]
- Furious businesses cry ‘foul’ over time limit for rates appeals [09 Oct 2017]
- Tories discard plan to cap care home fees by 2020 [08 Oct 2017]
- Productivity decline is headache for Hammond [06 Oct 2017]
- Nine-tenths of English councils ‘facing shortage of care home places by 2022’ [05 Oct 2017]
- Somerset County Council paid out £1.8million on a single pothole compensation claim [05 Oct 2017]
- Hammond’s budget cupboard is almost bare, Treasury document reveals [05 Oct 2017]
- Better for elderly to die at home [05 Oct 2017]
- U.K. Gets Fresh Warning on Consumer Borrowing From Top Regulator [04 Oct 2017]
- Nine in ten councils will run out of care homes places within five years because they are not doing enough to cope with the ageing population [04 Oct 2017]
- Council warns it may have to bring in mandatory unpaid leave [03 Oct 2017]
- Cancelled operations due to 'delayed discharges' thought to cause thousands of deaths each year [03 Oct 2017]
- UK interest rate decision looms [02 Oct 2017]
- Are councils really afraid to innovate? [02 Oct 2017]
- Hammond to announce 'more money' for Northern Powerhouse rail [02 Oct 2017]
- Universal credit rollout going ahead as planned, David Gauke suggests [01 Oct 2017]
- Counties’ funding gap could widen with business rate retention [29 Sep 2017]
- Head teacher turns rebel over funding [28 Sep 2017]
- UK must deal with its debts, May to say [27 Sep 2017]
- LGA calls for Budget to plug councils’ ‘£5.3bn’ funding black hole [26 Sep 2017]
- Cybercrime hit 76% of councils last year, says survey [25 Sep 2017]
- Councils call for 2% health precept to invest in prevention [25 Sep 2017]
- Labour promise to deliver local government ‘renaissance’ [25 Sep 2017]
- Flu may cause bed shortages Public Health England warned [24 Sep 2017]
- STPs ‘under pressure’ and ‘under funded’, survey reveals [21 Sep 2017]
- Councillors agree to creation of new Durham City authority [21 Sep 2017]
- Job stress is 'overwhelming' teachers across the UK [18 Sep 2017]
- Public sector employment is at 70-year low, says GMB report [17 Sep 2017]
- Councils struggle to cope with influx of child refugees as number in local authority's care doubles in a year [17 Sep 2017]
- ..Spending cuts have had no effect on the public, say nine in ten councils despite claims by politicians that less money will cause widespread damage [14 Sep 2017]
- Eddington housing estate in Cambridge scraps wheelie bins [14 Sep 2017]
- Union claims pay cap is stripping billions of pounds from council budgets [13 Sep 2017]
- Northamptonshire County Council: Appeal for 'fairer funding' [13 Sep 2017]
- Firefighters reject 2% pay rise saying it had ‘host of strings’ attached [13 Sep 2017]
- UK cities expected to get millions of pounds for green energy projects [13 Sep 2017]
- Illegal strike threat from unions after pay cap row [13 Sep 2017]
- Teacher retention efforts 'not working' [12 Sep 2017]
- Police and prison staff to get more than 1% pay cap [12 Sep 2017]
- Teachers' pay in England down by 12% in 10 years, influential study reveals [12 Sep 2017]
- UK inflation rate rises to 2.9% [12 Sep 2017]
- Birmingham bin strike: John Clancy resigns as city council leader [12 Sep 2017]
- Unions demand 5% pay rise for all public sector staff [11 Sep 2017]
- Parents ‘sue school’ after boy in son’s class allowed to wear dress [11 Sep 2017]
- Disabled child travel cuts 'force parents to work less' [10 Sep 2017]
- Public sector pay cap to be lifted for police and prison officers [10 Sep 2017]
- U.K. Growth Forecasts Lowered as Business Sees No Pound Boost [08 Sep 2017]
- Half of teachers and social workers want to quit, poll finds [08 Sep 2017]
- Teachers' funding fears for breakfast clubs [08 Sep 2017]
- Newcastle backs calls for a 5% pay rise for all staff [07 Sep 2017]
- Too many new pupils not school ready, say head teachers [06 Sep 2017]
- Cut business rates for premises offering toilet access, says MP [06 Sep 2017]
- Pay cap pressure growing on government ministers [06 Sep 2017]
- How will councils survive the funding abyss? [05 Sep 2017]
- Public sector pay cap 'to be lifted next year' [05 Sep 2017]
- People power: how cash-strapped councils are turning to crowdfunding [05 Sep 2017]
- Theresa May 'to lift public sector pay cap this month' [04 Sep 2017]
- Councils to be banned by ministers from using bin fines as means to generate income [04 Sep 2017]
- Downing St considers plan to lift cap on public pay increases [04 Sep 2017]
- No interest rate rise for at least a year, economists say [04 Sep 2017]
- We’re addicted to debt and headed for a crash. It could be worse than 2007 [04 Sep 2017]
- Riots erupt at HMP Birmingham - one wing 'lost' [04 Sep 2017]
- Government names trial areas for 'full-fibre' broadband [03 Sep 2017]
- Nicola Sturgeon 'to scrap public sector pay rise cap' [03 Sep 2017]
- MPs declare sports and bookies as most common donors [02 Sep 2017]
- High-profile Tories back Labour bill on free meals in school holidays [30 Aug 2017]
- Most adults unprepared for care costs [30 Aug 2017]
- Councils resettle over one third of Gov’s Syrian refugee target [29 Aug 2017]
- Council to test how Amazon Echo can support older people [29 Aug 2017]
- Low emission bus scheme 2015: additional winning bids [28 Aug 2017]
- Maths teachers hit out at 'extraordinary' funding decision [25 Aug 2017]
- Home care provider market under threat from lack of funds [24 Aug 2017]
- Lancs merger of s151 and CEO roles sparks accountability row [23 Aug 2017]
- North should 'take control' of transport, says Grayling [23 Aug 2017]
- Scots business rate review calls for extension to new sectors [22 Aug 2017]
- Government should scrap 'undeliverable' discharge targets warn counties [22 Aug 2017]
- Philip Hammond urged to save struggling small firms from ‘staircase tax’ that will charge businesses thousands [22 Aug 2017]
- European Investment Bank cuts off cash for British building projects due to Brexit [22 Aug 2017]
- Care home chief warns sector is on the brink of catastrophic failure [22 Aug 2017]
- Families could get supermarket discounts if they hit NHS exercise targets [21 Aug 2017]
- Cash-strapped councils told to meet ‘undeliverable’ bed-blocking targets or have social care funding slashed [21 Aug 2017]
- NHS call for equality over private hospitals' tax break [21 Aug 2017]
- Council chiefs call for ‘light touch’ procurement rules post-Brexit [17 Aug 2017]
- Birmingham seven-week bin strike comes to an end [16 Aug 2017]
- Collapse in business rate appeals is a ‘disaster’ for small companies [16 Aug 2017]
- Pay growth to stay weak, says forecast [14 Aug 2017]
- One in six care homes 'at risk of failure due to rising costs and funding cuts' [14 Aug 2017]
- Now Labour backs clampdown on ‘crack cocaine’ betting machines [14 Aug 2017]
- All of a sudden Britain has become the slowest growing of the major western economies [11 Aug 2017]
- Biggest rise in local authority spend to be on adult social services [09 Aug 2017]
- Darling: 'Alarm bells ringing' for UK economy [09 Aug 2017]
- Children’s services more than £600m in the red, warn councils [09 Aug 2017]
- Council chatbots? [07 Aug 2017]
- Is your local care home inadequate? [07 Aug 2017]
- Council vows to continue with £80m development [05 Aug 2017]
- Drug-related deaths could cost councils £700m this year, says LGA [04 Aug 2017]
- Council considers cutting workforce by 20% [04 Aug 2017]
- Most local ombudsman complaints for education and children's services [03 Aug 2017]
- Government awards councils £75m road improvement cash [02 Aug 2017]
- Government announces £54m to help councils unlock surplus land [01 Aug 2017]
- Closing roads for play makes 'sense for public health' [31 Jul 2017]
- Government looks to speed up small business rates relief [29 Jul 2017]
- Government looks to speed up small business rates relief [29 Jul 2017]
- Council writes off £1.2m of debt [28 Jul 2017]
- Sugar tax 'must not be used to plug school budgets' [27 Jul 2017]
- Cities in England's north pressing for more money [26 Jul 2017]
- Government confirms talks over second West Midlands devolution deal [25 Jul 2017]
- Essex nursery 'closes because of universal free hours scheme' [25 Jul 2017]
- London-centric policies have left North underfunded by billions, think tank says [25 Jul 2017]
- Public sector workers work £11bn of unpaid overtime a year, union says [24 Jul 2017]
- Education needs a revolution, not just more cash [21 Jul 2017]
- Fire brigade ‘faces huge legal costs’ over Grenfell Tower disaster [21 Jul 2017]
- Justine Greening raids free schools budget for £1.3bn education bailout [21 Jul 2017]
- Half of people in care at home have ‘unmet needs’ [20 Jul 2017]
- ‘Decisions are being taken out of our hands’ – social workers on care cuts [19 Jul 2017]
- Council-owned company purchases first property [19 Jul 2017]
- CIL: A golden opportunity? [19 Jul 2017]