Whitehall
Leicester mayor criticises business support U-turn
Leicester City Council’s mayor has criticised an apparent government U-turn over the provision of extra financial support to businesses during its extended coronavirus lockdown.
North-east mayor back on agenda
Gateshead MBC’s leader has revived hopes of a north-east devolution deal by accepting that an elected mayor for the entire north-east region may be necessary.
Watchdog head in 'bankruptcy' warning
The head of Parliament’s financial watchdog has warned that ‘a lot’ of councils remained at risk of ‘effectively going bankrupt’ despite another £500m cash injection.
Care chiefs reject Boris' COVID claims
Care chiefs have rejected claims by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that it was their lack of vigilance that led to a high number of coronavirus deaths in care homes.
District warning after £63m handed to counties
Help for families struggling to put food on the table will be delayed due to ‘needless extra red tape in distributing funding,’ district councils have warned after ministers handed counties control of a £63m fund to support the most vulnerable families.
Government warns queues could be new terror target
Queue-filled high streets could be a new target for marauding terrorists using a vehicle as a weapon, the Government has warned.
Selbie hits back at PHE criticism
Public Health England’s (PHE) boss has hit back as ministers appear to shift blame onto the organisation for COVID-19 errors.
EXCLUSIVE: Labour support for bigger pay rise revealed
Labour has distanced itself from rival parties’ decision to block the Local Government Association (LGA) lobbying for a bigger pay rise for council workers.
Clarke vows to 'finish the job' on mayors and create more unitaries
Local government minister Simon Clarke has emphasised the Government’s commitment to introducing more elected mayors and unitary councils.
Councils in local virus data call
Councils have called for the Government to go further after it finally started to publish more coronavirus testing data.
Jenrick: We'll back local government
Robert Jenrick has promised that Whitehall will back local government in the same way councils ‘stepped up and supported people in their time of need’.
Government’s ‘top down’ approach hindering LRFs
Poor communication by the UK Government of crucial changes to coronavirus policies is a central problem being experienced by local resilience forums (LRFs), says new research.
Jenrick announces more cash, income compensation and tax delay
Local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced more cash and new ways councils will be reimbursed for income lost as a result of coronavirus.
Starmer to replace House of Lords with elected body
A Labour government will replace the House of Lords with an elected body of representatives from local and regional government, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told a virtual Local Government Association conference session.
Walking and cycling plea to avoid 'car-mageddon'
A senior councillor has warned against a ‘car-mageddon’ recovery post-lockdown as he urged the sector to invest in walking and cycling.
LGA shies away from reorganisation 'fight back'
The Local Government Association (LGA) has shied away from calls for it to launch a ‘fight back’ against reorganisation though senior members criticised any top-down approach.
MHCLG rejects statutory duties review
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has rejected calls to review statutory duties on councils, The MJ has learnt.
Former MHCLG officials mooted for cabinet job
Two former Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) officials are among the candidates tipped to take over from the ousted cabinet secretary.
Council urges residents to stick to two metre rule
Luton BC has urged its residents to continue to stick to socially distancing by two metres despite the Government easing the rule.
Fresh reorganisation offensive leaves districts quaking
The County Councils’ Network (CCN) has launched a fresh offensive to rip up the local government map as the country emerges from the shadow of coronavirus.
