LGA
Will steps finally be taken to protect public servants?
As Westminster contemplates the tricky tightrope of balancing safety and democracy, free speech and abuse, the same debates must be held for local government, says Heather Jameson.
‘Tough decisions’ for Peterborough
Peterborough City Council faces ‘tough decisions’ to get a grip on its finances, according to a peer challenge report.
Age UK warns 10% council tax hike would still not fix care
Charity Age UK has warned council tax would need to go up by another 10% next year just to allow social care to ‘stand still’.
Penna view
Julie Towers and Toni Hall offer a sneak preview of the annual Chief Executive Survey set to be published in full by Penna, The MJ and the Local Government Association on 1 December.
Ombudsman flags housing waiting lists 'backlog'
The high number of families trying to join councils’ housing waiting lists has been highlighted by the local government and social care ombudsman.
Council tax could easily rise by 5% a year - IFS
English councils will need billions more from government and big tax rises to maintain services and pay for social care reforms, says new analysis published today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
Public health grant cuts run counter to levelling up, say experts
Real terms cuts to local public health work against levelling up and the Government must boost funding after years of underinvestment, say two leading health organisations.
Local services face £8bn funding black hole by 2024, councils warn
Council tax will have to rise by more than a quarter in the next three years to cover the shortfall in funding for local services, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned today.
Future Forum: Councils, not Whitehall, are leaders of place
Civil service ‘heads of place’ should not supplant councillors, Local Government Association (LGA) chief executive Mark Lloyd has said.
Building forward in local government
Failure by the Government to recognise the great strides councils have made harnessing the positive power of technology during the pandemic would be a significant opportunity missed, says Pauline Yau.
Transforming services through COVID
Keeping children’s services going through a pandemic was hard enough, but St Helens MBC has embarked on its own journey of transformation, as Jim Leivers explains.
Ministers urged to ensure council staff have access to fuel
Ministers have been urged to introduce emergency measures to ensure local government workers continue to have access to petrol amid the UK’s fuel crisis.
Michael Gove must ensure councils get the resources and freedoms they need
With significant ministerial changes at the top of the newly-named Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities there will be many big issues on the agenda, not least how councils can support levelling up plans, says James Jamieson.
‘Dig deep and continue’
A ‘huge’ unvaccinated group of six million adults and deepening inequalities are among the risks as communities begin to move towards economic and social recovery. Ann McGauran reports.
Social care plan 'contains far too little detail,' councils warn
Implementing the Government's cap on care costs will be an 'enormous undertaking' for councils, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.
Kerslake: Government must act now on rough sleeping
Strides made to end homelessness during the pandemic could be lost if the Government does not act now, a major new report on rough sleeping has concluded.
Unintended consequences of tax hikes
Heather Jameson says: 'Something that may appear straightforward – raising taxes to pay for care and capping the cost for the consumer – is fraught with unintended consequences.'
Government fails to consult DPHs on winter plan
Public health directors have hit out at a lack of engagement by the government in developing its autumn/winter COVID-19 plan.
Let’s see some fair play
A new report makes the case for a radical new approach to secure their future of local sports and leisure services, including a call for longer-term investment, say Paul O’Brien, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson and Debbie Kaye.
The time for team spirit is now
Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson says there has never been a more important time to work together to protect the future of community-based sport and leisure services.
