Funding
Kent leader warns of migrant crossing ‘crisis’
The council's leader has asked the home secretary to make it mandatory for authorities to provide support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).
‘Golden opportunity’ to end rough sleeping
The Government has been urged to commit £100m to councils in a bid to end rough sleeping in England.
Call to release ‘trapped’ troubled families funding
Bureaucracy threatens to hold up cash needed to support vulnerable children, the County Councils Network (CCN) has warned.
Road to disaster?
With a huge proportion of income vanishing almost overnight, there is the very real possibility that every council in Yorkshire will have to issue s114 notices, says Cllr Judith Blake.
2020 could be the year councils start to roar
As the rest of the country suffers lockdown fatigue, local government has also had enough and it is starting to show. says Heather Jameson.
Difficult questions lie ahead for Government and the sector
Graeme McDonald says we have some important decisions to make and a challenging new future to plan for. Will Westminster fulfil its promises and cover the full cost of the crisis for local councils?
Can councils convene local systems to develop resilience against future shocks?
In the very near term there are enormous challenges in London, not least of the capacity of public transport to move a reasonable number of people around safely to jobs and schools, says John O'Brien.
Facing down an uncertain future
Already cash-strapped following a decade of austerity, councils now face fighting a national crisis on a basic budget with their financial futures left in the balance. Heather Jameson reports.
Questioning the quantum
The ‘business as usual’ funding envelope is not enough in a time of emergency. Rob Whiteman advocates a rethink of the planned fair funding review.
Paying the price for Government’s mixed messages
In a 'killer blow' Jenrick has issued his caveat, says Heather Jameson. The Government will only pay for the ‘specific tasks’ it has handed down in relation to COVID-19. 'This is not just penny pinching, it is playing with people’s lives', she adds.
Caring where it matters most
Cllr Iain Malcolm says South Tyneside MBC has worked fast to support care homes during the pandemic, but emergency funding ‘falls far short of what we will need to meet additional costs’.
Targeted funding and innovative thinking are crucial for recovery
Coastal resorts are particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, says Sheila Oxtoby - and the Government’s national plans, including timescales, for easing social distancing restrictions will be critical in localised planning.
We must take stock
Sir Bob Neill says that in the ‘grown-up public discussion’ that he hopes will take place after the pandemic has subsided, ‘we should give serious thought to what is expected of local government’
'We cannot sleepwalk into going back to normal'
After the pandemic, 'our plans must include how we keep hold of some of the brilliant things we have done over the last month', says Tracie Langley.
A better place
The current crisis should become a reset moment - 'flipping centralisation on its head, so that recovery can lead to renewal', argues Dr Arianna Giovannini.
The show must go on
Tony Kirkham says that without the full backing of Government, and the surety that the money needed for the pandemic emergency will be there, 'then we will have to realign our decisions and actions within the financial restraints'.
A system of finance that’s ready for extinction
Heather Jameson says the current system of local government finance ‘looks more and more like it was designed by dinosaurs and is due for extinction’.
Councils must urgently allocate funding to social care providers, report warns
Funding given to local authorities to deal with the coronavirus crisis must urgently get through to independent adult social care services, a new report has warned.
Pandemic is making ‘inadequate funding baseline’ worse, says new ADCS president
The incoming president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) says she wants ‘unprecedented levels of investment in our children’s futures, please’, in response to the pandemic.
Councils need a 'rock-solid' commitment on crisis funding
Chairman of the LGA Cllr James Jamieson says Robert Jenrick has reiterated his promise that councils will get all the resources they need to cope with this pandemic. He adds: 'This will need to be rock-solid.'
