Finley Boden: Council apologises for ‘missed opportunities’
28/03/2024 Derbyshire CC has apologised for the ‘missed opportunities’ to do more to safeguard 10-month-old Finley Boden who was murdered on Christmas Day in 2020. |
Council leader refuses to be ‘held to ransom’ by bin lorry vandals
18/03/2024 Vandals have been sabotaging Brighton & Hove City Council’s fleet of bin lorries, causing disruption to collection rounds. |
Bodies removed from funeral home in fraud case
11/03/2024 Police have removed 34 bodies from the premises of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Yorkshire over concerns about the care of the deceased. |
Chesterfield council welcomes record drugs bust
26/02/2024 Dozens of gang members have been jailed for more than 120 years after a drugs bust in Chesterfield succeeded in disrupting nine county lines gangs. |
Former council worker jailed for fraud
19/02/2024 A former council employee and a roofing firm worker have been jailed for fraud and bribery after they conspired to defraud New Forest District Council. |
The Trading Standards Crisis
15/02/2024 John Herriman, chief executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, discusses the impact of the local government funding crisis on Trading Standards. |
Call to recruit 19,000 neighbourhood officers
13/02/2024 A think-tank has urged the Government to launch a recruitment drive to boost police numbers and restore trust in neighbourhood policing. |
British boys most at risk of modern slavery in UK
12/02/2024 People suffering criminal exploitation, often young British boys, must be recognised as victims of modern slavery, a new report has argued. |
Council seizes £55k of illegal supersize vapes
01/02/2024 Supersize vapes with tanks many times the size of the UK legal limit were among a recent £55,000 haul made by Westminster City Council from one West End shop. |
Worcestershire council contacted 36 times before child’s death
29/01/2024 Worcestershire County Council was contacted multiple times about the welfare of nine-year-old Alfie Steele, who was killed by his mother and her partner. |
Council chiefs welcome drop in fly-tipping incidents
17/01/2024 Local authorities in England dealt with 1.08 million fly-tipping incidents in 2022/23, a decrease of 1% on the previous year, according to the latest figures. |
Investigation launched into ULEZ camera explosion
08/12/2023 The Metropolitan Police has launched a criminal investigation after an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) camera in Sidcup exploded on Wednesday night. |
Liverpool launches taskforce to tackle criminal landlords
04/12/2023 Liverpool City Council has launched a taskforce to go after rogue landlords involved in criminality. |
West Suffolk defrauded of £52,000
27/11/2023 West Suffolk Council has revealed that it lost £52,000 in a fraud incident this year. |
Street calls for PCC powers
02/11/2023 West Midlands mayor Andy Street has formally asked the Government to transfer police and crime commissioner (PCC) powers to the mayoralty. |
Agency found guilty of harassing tenants
11/10/2023 In a prosecution by Brighton and Hove City Council, a lettings agency has been found guilty of harassing tenants and fined £60,000. |
Labour announces programme to tackle youth crime
10/10/2023 Labour would set up a ‘young futures’ programme to help tackle crises in youth crime and mental health, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced. |
Safeguarding review after 10-year-old's death
05/10/2023 An independent safeguarding review is to begin following the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif. |
Concern over Bristol schools’ app use to monitor children
22/09/2023 Campaign groups have accused Bristol schools who use an app to monitor pupils and their families of ‘intrusive monitoring’. |
‘Shockingly high’ justice system involvement among care-experienced children
21/09/2023 A third of care-experienced children born from 1996-99 received a youth justice caution or conviction – a finding described as a ‘terrible indictment of the failure of local authorities’. |
Scam warning amid digital switchover
18/09/2023 Criminals are exploiting the analogue to digital switchover to scam users of health care telephony devices into giving personal information, councils warn. |
Landlord fined £285,000 after council investigates illegal homes
01/09/2023 A landlord who crammed vulnerable tenants into tiny flats above a Stoke Newington pub has been fined £285,000 after Hackney Council enforcement officers intervened. |
Councillor charged over child grooming allegations
30/08/2023 A Scottish Labour councillor has been suspended from the party after he was charged over allegations of child grooming. |
Council confirms murdered Sara Sharif was known to authorities
21/08/2023 A 10-year-old girl who was found dead in Surrey nearly two weeks ago was known to the county council. |
Brent issues first ever ban on ‘criminal' landlord
17/08/2023 Brent Council has for the first time used a power that enables it to ban serial rogue landlords. |
Council seizes £32,000 of illegal tobacco
07/08/2023 North Somerset Council has seized £32,000 worth of illegal tobacco from premises in Weston-super-Mare. |
Met still stop and search without body-worn cameras
31/07/2023 The Met have carried out 6,225 stop and searches since January 2022 without using body-worn video (BWV) cameras, according to new data. |
Sheffield council staff dismissed or resigned over fraud, report says
28/07/2023 Staff at Sheffield City Council have lost their jobs or resigned following the discovery of fraudulent activity, according to a report. |
Councils issue record number of finds for 'busybody' offences
20/07/2023 Local authorities issued the highest ever number of penalties for anti-social behaviour – or for what have been branded 'busybody' offences – in 2022. |
Cap on fly-tipping fines should be ‘removed altogether’
12/07/2023 The Government’s decision to increase the maximum fines for fly-tipping falls short of what is required to crackdown on offenders, council chiefs have said. |
Union warns of ‘significant rise’ in social care exploitation
10/07/2023 Unison has warned of a ‘significant rise’ in the number of migrant workers who are being exploited in the social care sector. |
Nottingham City Council leader ‘shocked’ by deadly attack
14/06/2023 The leader of Nottingham City Council has said he is ‘shocked and saddened’ by an attack in the city that left three people dead and three others injured. |
Councils warned over £16m of fake pothole claims
09/06/2023 Insurance experts have warned councils over a rise in fake claims for damage to vehicles caused by potholes. |
Council threatens evictions to force children to inform on knife crime
06/06/2023 Barking and Dagenham council has warned families could be evicted from their homes if their children do not inform on people who commit knife crime. |
Rogue landlords are using ‘fake bailiffs’, charity warns
05/06/2023 Rogue landlords are using fake private security guards dressed like court bailiffs to force families out of their rented homes, a charity has warned. |
Council helps Premier League stop £7m streaming fraud
31/05/2023 Five men who illegally streamed Premier League matches have been jailed following a trading-standards investigation led by Hammersmith and Fulham Council. |
Review into Leicester unrest launched
26/05/2023 The Government has commissioned an independent review into the unrest in Leicester last year that occurred between groups of young Muslim and Hindu men. |
Westminster council takes on tax avoiding candy stores
25/05/2023 Westminster City Council has declared war on US-style candy and souvenir stores that are failing to pay business rates or selling illegal or unsafe goods. |
Council investigation reveals mother’s forgery
23/05/2023 A mother in Barnet has admitted in court to forging official documents to get her son into a popular secondary school. |
Alarming figures reveal 300% increase in ‘cuckooing’
19/05/2023 Figures collected from local authorities across London have revealed a 300% increase in the number of ‘cuckooing’ cases across the capital. |
Waste officers call for fly-tipping funding
11/05/2023 Majority of council waste officers think their local authority does not have enough resources and capacity to effectively tackle fly-tipping, poll reveals. |
Parents reluctant to report missing children, report finds
26/04/2023 Low trust and confidence in the Metropolitan police is making some parents and carers reluctant to report children missing, according to the London Assembly. |
Campaigners call for ‘community-led approach’ to youth violence
25/04/2023 Police powers should be reduced and a ‘community-led approach’ to violence among young people adopted instead, according to campaigners. |
Woman fined £1,500 for discarded cigarette butt
21/04/2023 A Bristol woman has been fined a total of nearly £1,500 after throwing her cigarette butt on the ground outside a supermarket. |
Safeguarding review of child sex abuse case withheld
11/04/2023 Walsall Safeguarding Partnership (WSP) will not be publishing its review into the largest child sex abuse case investigated by West Midlands Police. |
Trust for children's services at Star Hobson council goes live
03/04/2023 The Trust tasked with running Bradford Council’s children’s services following the tragic death of 16-month-old Star Hobson has gone live. |
Child sexual exploitation taskforce announced
03/04/2023 PM Rishi Sunak has announced the establishment of a new taskforce of specialist police officers to help investigate child sexual exploitation and grooming. |
Police called after LTN planters set on fire
29/03/2023 Rochdale Borough Council has called the police after local low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) planters were set on fire. |
Children in youth custody face ‘tension and paranoia’
29/03/2023 Children as young as 10 in youth custody are facing ‘palpable tension and paranoia’, according to an official report. |
Woman served 10-year anti-social behaviour injunction
24/03/2023 A woman who exploited vulnerable people has been served a 10-year anti-social behaviour injunction following an investigation by Milton Keynes City Council. |
Investigator says 'heads must roll' after Croydon collapse
24/02/2023 An independent report into the reasons for the financial collapse of Croydon LBC that has finally been officially published has said ‘heads must roll’. |
Council welcomes ‘significant’ £20m Blyth investment
24/02/2023 The Government has announced a multi-million-pound funding package to help spread opportunity and boost local pride in Blyth. |
Rochdale council disrupts £65m counterfeit goods network
23/02/2023 The trading standards team at Rochdale Borough Council has disrupted a criminal counterfeit goods operation worth up to £65m a year. |
Wandsworth Council stopped from issuing ‘unlawful’ fines
15/02/2023 The DfT has stopped Wandsworth Council from ‘unlawful’ fining of speeding drivers after the council became the first local authority to issue tickets. |
Tenant jailed for £200,000 housing fraud
14/02/2023 A tenant who lived in council housing in Dudley while renting out a flat she owned has been jailed for 32 months. |
Council deletes contacts due to Nicola Bulley disappearance ‘abuse’
13/02/2023 Wyre Council has been forced to remove the contact details of councillors due to ‘inappropriate’ emails in the wake of Nicola Bulley disappearance. |
Council officer praised after crossbow-wielding man arrested
02/02/2023 A Barking and Dagenham Council community ranger has been praised after their actions led to the arrest of a man armed with a crossbow. |
Charge manufacturers for fly-tipping clean up, council chiefs say
01/02/2023 Manufacturers should contribute to the cost of cleaning up fly-tipped rubbish to help tackle the health risk posed by the illegal practice, council chiefs say. |
Khan announces £14m to restore trust in Met
27/01/2023 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has set out proposals for £14.2m of new funding to rebuild the trust and confidence of London’s communities in the Met Police. |
Triple on-the-spot littering fines, think tank urges
23/01/2023 A think tank has called for a ‘revitalised’ litter strategy including tripling the level of fines and ranking councils on enforcement of anti-littering laws. |
Mayor Khan announces £7m to tackle drug violence
16/01/2023 More than £7m will go towards helping the Met tackle drug-related violence, the Mayor of London has announced. |
Council seeks court order to crack down on ‘street cruising’
22/12/2022 Birmingham City Council is seeking a High Court order to ban street cruising from all city roads. |
Giving good counsel to councils over waste crime
09/11/2022 Niall Burns explores radical measures to target the collusion and corruption driving a new illegal waste dumping pandemic. |
Former children’s commissioner calls for ‘Sure Start Plus’
04/11/2022 The Government should establish a Sure Start Plus programme that could be targeted at teenagers who are at risk of exploitation, former commissioner says. |
Government announces £5m to keep youths away from crime
04/11/2022 The Government has announced that £5m will be made available to help keep young people away from crime by encouraging them to take part in sports. |
Sexual assault conviction prompts investigation
01/11/2022 An independent investigation has been launched by East Devon District Council after a former councillor was convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage boys. |
Edinburgh Council apologises for colonial past
28/10/2022 Edinburgh Council has apologised on behalf of the city for its past role in sustaining slavery and colonialism. |
10,000 cases of child exploitation ‘tip of iceberg’, charity warns
27/10/2022 More than 10,000 cases of child exploitation have been recorded by councils over the last year but this is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’, charity warns. |
Facing up to historic child sex abuse
05/10/2022 Alan Collins, a partner in the abuse team at Hugh James Solicitors, calls on local government to step up and be accountable for child sexual exploitation. |
Rough sleepers ‘criminalised’ by PSPOs
03/10/2022 People experiencing homelessness are disproportionately criminalised in areas with Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), a new report reveals. |
Support for county lines victims gets £5m boost
26/09/2022 Services aimed at supporting victims of county lines gangs received a multi-million-pound bump over the weekend. |
Westminster council wages war on ‘dirty money’
21/09/2022 Westminster council will take steps today to tackle economic crime in order to combat the capital’s reputation as the European centre for money laundering. |
Mayor 'baffled' by community unrest
20/09/2022 Leicester’s directly-elected mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, has said he is ‘baffled’ by the widespread disorder in the city. |
Four arrested in connection to council worker’s murder
15/09/2022 Four men have been arrested as part of the investigation into the murder of council worker Ashley Dale in Liverpool last month. |
Liverpool receives £150,000 trauma support after shootings
30/08/2022 Liverpool and Knowsley are to receive £150,000 to make specialist trauma support available to residents in the wake of the tragic shootings in the city. |
Council chiefs call for tougher punishments for fly tippers
19/08/2022 Local authority leaders have called for the introduction of tougher sentences to help in the fight against fly tipping. |
Khan announces £2m fund to fight criminal exploitation
17/08/2022 Mayor Sadiq Khan has made £2m of funding available to support children and young people at risk of being exploited by criminal gangs. |
Luton council victim of £1.1m cyber crime
16/08/2022 Luton council was the victim of a ‘highly sophisticated and organised crime group’ that stole £1.1m that had been earmarked for a school, investigation finds. |
Children’s charity raises alarm over modern slavery
12/08/2022 A charity has called for action as figures show record numbers of children are being referred to the authorities as suspected victims of modern slavery. |
More than 100 projects secure money from Safer Streets Fund
26/07/2022 More than 100 projects have been awarded £50m to make streets safer and tackle violence against women and girls. |
Council apologises for child sexual exploitation
13/07/2022 Telford & Wrekin Council has apologised ‘wholeheartedly’ after an inquiry concluded more than 1,000 children were sexually exploited over at least 30 years. |
Licensing laws to be reviewed to fight ‘invisible crime’ of spiking
05/07/2022 Local authority leaders have welcomed a Government decision to review the licensing laws to assess whether they are robust enough to tackle spiking. |
Council employee steals £161,000 from two parish councils
04/07/2022 A woman has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to defrauding two parish councils in Oxfordshire. |
Council leaders welcome end to Friday releases for prisoners
15/06/2022 The Government’s decision to end Friday releases from prison has been welcomed as ‘positive news’ by local authority leaders. |
Commission set up after Bobbi-Anne McLeod murder publishes report
30/05/2022 A commission set up by Plymouth City Council in the wake of the murder of Bobbi-Anne McLeod has published its first report. |
Government announces £300m fund to tackle youth crime
20/05/2022 Councils across England and Wales will be able to draw on a £300m fund aimed at cutting youth crime. |
Hoax calls: How local authorities can protect themselves
18/05/2022 Mike Wills discusses how local authorities can protect themselves against attacks designed to trick, embarrass, steal and defraud. |
Queen's speech: Government brings back measures to stop protestors 'locking on'
10/05/2022 Boris Johnson’s government will bring back measures thrown out by the House of Lords in January to stop protesters ‘locking on’ to infrastructure. |
Commission calls for end to school ‘exclusions culture’
29/04/2022 The rise in the number of exclusions from schools leads to teenagers being put at risk of exploitation and serious violence, new report warns. |
Government struggles to assess scale of waste crime
27/04/2022 Defra does not have the data it needs to assess scale of waste crime and the incentives for criminals to enter the waste market have increased, auditors say. |
MPs urge licensing authorities to use powers to tackle spiking
26/04/2022 Local authorities have been urged to use their licensing powers to ensure venues take action to prevent spiking incidents and keep customers safe by MPs. |
Third of trafficked children go missing from council care
19/04/2022 One in three trafficked children go missing from council care, say children’s charities who warn Nationality and Borders Bill will make the problem worse. |
Council chiefs warn of energy rebate scam
19/04/2022 Local authority leaders are warning residents about a new scam where cold callers pretend to be helping people claim the Government’s £150 energy rebate. |
Khan calls for ‘joined-up approach’ to tackle child-to-parent abuse
13/04/2022 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan today called for a ‘joined-up approach’ to tackle domestic abuse carried out by children against their parents. |
Councils to be banned from charging for disposal of DIY waste
11/04/2022 The Government has proposed banning local authorities from charging for the disposal of DIY waste from households. |
Consultation on replacing Vagrancy Act is launched
08/04/2022 The Government has launched a consultation on replacing an 'outdated' law that criminalises homeless people. |
Harborough DC rejects prison plans after protests
07/04/2022 Harborough DC has rejected Ministry of Justice plans to build a prison on the grounds that it would ‘adversely impact’ the character of the area. |
Council depots see attempted fuel thefts in wake of price hikes
05/04/2022 A Warwickshire council has been forced to step up security at depots following attempted fuel thefts. |
Council chiefs welcome £130m to tackle violent crime
04/04/2022 Local authority leaders have welcomed the Government’s announcement of a multi-million-pound funding package to tackle serious violence and homicide. |
‘Shocking figures’ reveal only 185 modern slavery prosecutions
30/03/2022 There have only been 185 prosecutions under modern slavery legislation despite tens of thousands of children being referred for support in exploitation cases. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.