Opinion The MJ
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Let’s deliver a long-term local resettlement system
May 19, 2022
Schemes to support refugees must exist around a core, standardised resettlement programme that has a multi-year commitment and specific targets and a variety of housing strategies, says Yvonne Kachikoti.
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Delivering school transport services during a fuel crisis
May 19, 2022
The cost of living has been especially felt in home-to -school transport, says Nicola Beach. The Government may need to look at the particular county-based issues in delivering it and set out specific and targeted solutions, she adds.
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Drawing from the past to help today’s refugees
May 18, 2022
Brad Collier draws from his experience resettling Vietnamese people in the 1980s to set out what support needs to be provided to Ukrainian refugees – and he believes councils must be empowered to manage resettlement.
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Cost of living crisis loomed large at The MJ Forum
May 18, 2022
Heather Jameson says it was clear from The MJ Future Forum that the sector is facing a massive agenda. 'But what is perhaps more of a surprise is how little the Queen’s Speech addressed the main issues and captured the zeitgeist of the forum.
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Boring not bad
May 18, 2022
Sir Bob Neill says this wasn’t a Queen’s Speech packed with surprises, ‘but if dull means getting the job done, let’s welcome the dull’.
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Will new Levelling Up Fund round repeat ‘beauty contest’?
May 16, 2022
Dr Nicola Headlam says the Government may have renewed its commitment to empower local leaders but as yet the reality does not match the rhetoric on funding for local growth.
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The ‘people’s choice’ for health and care leadership
May 12, 2022
Andrew Laird says local authorities are the driving force for the levelling up agenda through co-production with local communities, and there are many reasons why council leaders are perfect for the role of leading in health and care ‘places’.
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The Government must go all-in on digital democracy
May 12, 2022
Piers Mulroney says the Government must heed the warning of the local elections and commit to increasing trust and transparency, connecting with voters again through digital democracy.
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The deep wounds of moral injury
May 12, 2022
Nick Cole looks at the importance of being alert to ‘moral injury’ and its impact upon workforce wellbeing and retention.
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A new way to finance councils’ net zero
May 12, 2022
There are clear advantages for councils in using community municipal investments as a financing approach to help deliver net zero targets, as John Connor explains.
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Will the fair funding review be another damp squib?
May 12, 2022
David Phillips says that, if the fair funding review becomes a repeat of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, it increases the risk that the Government’s flagship levelling up agenda remains little more than a slogan.
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The results reinforce the realignment of Britain's electoral geography
May 11, 2022
Ben Page says 'nationally the Conservatives are hurting, but you wouldn’t bet against them winning again, despite "levelling up" being the policy area voters think they are worst at'.
