Dan Peters
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.
Union in industrial action threat over large-scale job losses
Trade union Unite has warned it could launch industrial action unless Nottingham City Council removes its threat of large-scale redundancies.
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.
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.
More burden-sharing than burden-busting
Last week’s funding announcement was ‘miles away from the Government’s initial vow to support local authorities in full’ - and the sector remains unsatisfied, says Dan Peters.
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.
Concerns raised over scrutiny vacuum
A charity has expressed worries about councils that are in danger of effectively having no scrutiny function for six months.
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.
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’.
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.
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.
Jenrick expected to announce plans to ease finance woes
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick is expected to announce new measures to help cash-strapped councils deal with the coronavirus pandemic when he speaks to the Local Government Association virtual conference tomorrow.
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.
CIPFA mulls legal action against council
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has put aside £500,000 to fund potential legal action against Ealing LBC over a contract dispute.
UN expresses 'serious concern' over cladding
The United Nations’ special rapporteur on adequate housing has expressed ‘serious concern’ that 600,000 people in England continue to live in blocks with dangerous cladding.
