House of Lords
Government defeated over council involvement in skills plans
The Government has lost a House of Lords vote after peers demanded councils should be involved in drawing up local skills improvement plans.
Lords warn social care funding increase is not enough
Peers have told the Government its proposed funding increase will not solve the problems within the social care system.
Planning overhaul ‘crucial’ to climate change
Changes to planning should be a priority in the fight against climate change, MPs have been told.
Peers call for joined up funding for children and families
Peers have urged Cabinet ministers to produce a cross-Whitehall bid for funding for vulnerable children and their families in the next Spending Review.
Procurement overhaul to ‘undermine’ social value
Peers have warned proposed procurement changes could ‘do more harm than good’ in encouraging collaboration.
Peers call for council tax reform
A cross-party chorus of peers has called for reform of the council tax system and new bands to be introduced.
Children’s services trapped in ‘loop’
Peers heard there has been a shift from spending on early help schemes to statutory ‘crisis intervention’.
Councils call for procurement freedom
Removal of red tape during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown what can be done, officers have told the House of Lords' Public Services Committee.
Call to tackle children's services 'postcode lottery'
National standards are needed to tackle variation in the quality of children’s services, the House of Lords' Public Services Committee has heard.
Levelling up is 'meaningless' without devo, say Lords
The Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda is meaningless without more devolution to councils and investment in local public services says a report from the House of Lords.
Call for council powers over school exclusions
Relations between schools and councils dominated an evidence-gathering session of the House of Lords' Public Services Committee.
Lack of ‘clarity’ hampering child protection
Improvements in multi-agency leadership locally and cross-government strategy nationally are required, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have told an inquiry.
Treasury to look at public health spending
Councils are facing increased scrutiny from central government over their use of public health funding.
Gangs 'one step ahead' of authorities
Criminal gangs that exploit children are ‘one step ahead of authorities,’ mandarins have told peers investigating efforts to protect vulnerable young people.
£95k cap will 'erode council rights'
The looming £95,000 cap on exit payments in the public sector will erode the rights of councils to decide workforce changes, a vice-president of the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.
Councils warn of 'housebuilding fiasco'
New government housing targets will lead to a north-south divide in England, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.
EXCLUSIVE: Casey steps back from homelessness response
Dame Louise Casey has stepped back from helping with the Government’s emergency homelessness response, The MJ understands.
Dame Louise Casey to get peerage
Dame Louise Casey has been nominated to sit in the House of Lords as a crossbench peer in the latest list released today.
Call for exercise boom to continue
Paralympian champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has made a rallying call for the exercise boom to continue after lockdown.
Combined authority 'spending reserves like it's going out of fashion'
Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s chief executive has expressed doubts about whether his region would be able to cope with a second wave of coronavirus infections.
