Ellie Ames
MPs sign off indefinite delay to no-fault evictions ban
The Renters (Reform) Bill, which now includes an indefinite delay to the long-awaited ban on ‘no-fault’ evictions, passed its third reading in the Commons yesterday.
Unison warns of looming strike as it awaits pay offer
Scotland’s largest local government union has warned strike preparations could begin next week amid growing tensions over pay.
Asylum seekers moved from RAF Wethersfield due to incomplete safety checks
The Home Office has moved 70 people away from an asylum accommodation site after it failed to complete necessary safety checks on time.
Lib Dems pledge to scrap business rates
The Lib Dems would deliver tax reforms to ‘revive struggling high streets,’ leader Sir Ed Davey has announced.
Scottish councils’ debt is one-and-a-half times funding
The debt of councils in Scotland is more than one-and-a-half times the latest local government funding settlement, the Scottish Conservatives have found.
14 councils ‘likely’ to issue s114s next year
More than half of councils are likely to issue a section 114 notice within the next Parliament unless funding is reformed, senior local authority figures have warned.
Two-thirds of councils to cut neighbourhood services
Community services will have to be ‘drastically scaled back’ or cut altogether without further funding for councils, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.
Ukrainian homelessness likely to rise
The risk of homelessness among Ukrainians in the UK is likely to increase as arrangements with sponsors end or break down, MPs have warned.
Children’s needs not prioritised, service leaders warn
Children’s services directors have raised concerns that Government policy does not prioritise children.
Council appeared to be in ‘crisis management mode’
‘Multiple and repeated’ failures by Hammersmith & Fulham LBC left residents feeling ‘anything but secure in their homes,’ an investigation has found.
Two-thirds of councils expect to miss waste reform deadline
Councils have urged Government to reconsider its ‘unrealistic’ waste reform deadline after research found local authorities face shortfalls to fund the changes.
Senior Nottingham councillors refuse to back budget cuts
Senior members of cash-strapped Nottingham City Council have refused to recommend a report that proposed £20m in budget cuts.
New legal bid as long-term asylum site plans confirmed
A council has launched a fresh judicial review after Government confirmed its intention to use RAF Scampton to house asylum seekers for another three years.
Officer-member relations ‘fractured’ at Wrexham
Issues in Wrexham CBC’s planning service mean it is hindered in fulfilling its role, an audit has found.
Council to consider levelling up fund judicial review
Durham County Council will consider seeking a judicial review into how the Government allocated levelling up funding after the authority spent £1.2m on failed bids.
Call for council tax overhaul
Work should begin now on the ‘long-overdue’ revaluation of all domestic properties in England to bolster local government finance, a think-tank has argued.
Millions would need to double income to escape poverty, report warns
Six million people in the UK would need to more than double their income just to escape poverty, a new report has found.
40% of councils face ‘financial failure’
Two in five councils in England could see their reserves drop to less than 5% of their net revenue expenditure within the next five years, new study finds.
Gove criticises ‘unacceptable’ maladministration findings
Housing secretary Michael Gove has told three councils he will take a ‘personal interest’ in how they improve following findings of severe maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman.
Thousands of refugees face homelessness at Christmas, LGA warns
The Government’s push to clear the asylum backlog is putting ‘tens of thousands’ of refugees at risk of homelessness over Christmas, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.
