Public health
Doubts raised over mass testing rollout
Public health officials have questioned the feasibility and effectiveness of extending mass COVID-19 testing in tier three areas.
Spending review: Ensuring an economic recovery which benefits everyone
Investment in local public services is critical to national recovery, and councils can only lead local efforts to tackle the inequalities the pandemic has exposed and made worse with the right funding and freedoms, says Cllr James Jamieson.
Ofsted warns of unseen child abuse
Opportunities to protect children at risk of harm are being missed due to the pandemic, Ofsted has warned.
How Irish innovation is helping the green recovery
Smart traffic solutions are helping councils meet a range of sustainability objectives, says Enterprise Ireland's UK Local Authority Lead Laura Brocklebank.
Casting light on a dark problem
An innovative integrated approach to tackling drug-related harm in Blackpool is achieving promising early results – but significant challenges remain on funding, commissioning cycles and data. Ann McGauran reports.
Councils key to tackling 'anti-vax mob'
Councils must act quickly to knock down the ‘anti-vax mob’ as the Government puts the sector at the heart of its strategy to tackle coronavirus, a senior public health chief has urged.
PPE supply for care workers was 'inadequate'
The social care sector was ‘left to fend for itself’ during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an investigation into supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Hackney shifts the dial on contact tracing
Cllr Chris Kennedy talks to Ann McGauran about the highlights and challenges of Hackney LBC’s local coronavirus contact tracing service and how it works alongside the national approach.
Councils are critical to beating this pandemic
Stoke-on-Trent was the first area to pilot new quick turnaround lateral flow testing. Here, council leader Abi Brown outlines what the technology is achieving and what is being learned from the trial.
Surge support required for local test and trace
Council-run test and trace systems cannot entirely replace the national system, the Local Government Association (LGA) has conceded.
NHS lays out plan for working with councils on mass vaccination
The NHS has started to detail its mass vaccination strategy, outlining how it expects to work with local government.
Role of councils in mass vaccination roll-out remains unclear
The role local government will play in mass coronavirus vaccination remains unclear, as it emerged that health leaders have been told to find sites for administering the vaccine.
Councils uncovered COVID-19 figures error
An error in recording the location of COVID-19 cases has been rectified by Public Health England (PHE) weeks after it was discovered by councils.
Tier system to be stronger and more consistent
A stricter, more consistent tier system of COVID-19 restrictions in England is being looked at when the country emerges from lockdown.
‘Forgotten city’ in plea for government aid
The leader of Hull City Council has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to plead for additional support amid rising COVID-19 cases.
The coming weeks are critical for testing
Cllr George Duggins says the roll-out of lateral flow testing is welcome news – but to oversee it council staff need the right support and funding from Central Government.
Councils bid for vaccine role
Councils have made a bid to play a key role in distributing the new coronavirus vaccine.
Public health is a core part of the ‘levelling-up’ agenda
Reducing health inequalities is part of the ‘levelling up’ agenda, says Michael Burton - 'and just as the chancellor promises his Northern MP colleagues to invest in infrastructure in the region so should he invest in public health'.
Councils demand post-lockdown role
The local government sector has said its involvement is key to the emergence from lockdown.
Building trust in test and trace
David Nabarro of the World Health Organisation says local capacity is the ‘mainstay’ for finding and interrupting transmission. Here, Martin Ford puts councils’ approaches to testing and tracing under the spotlight.
