LocalGov Elections: Ones to watch in May
Dr Greg Stride, Senior Researcher, Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) provides a primer for the upcoming local elections.
LGA calls for powers to withhold members’ address
03/04/2024 Council leaders have repeated their call for legislation enabling councils to withhold councillors' home addresses amid fears of abuse and intimidation. |
Council criticised after teacher harassed for Muhammad cartoon
25/03/2024 Kirklees Council demonstrated a ‘lack of consideration’ towards a teacher who faced harassment for showing a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad, advisor says. |
Council apologises for failing to recognise abuse
14/03/2024 The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has apologised after failing to properly identify the abuse suffered by a homeless man. |
Nine in 10 women cycling in London face abuse
19/01/2024 A new report has highlighted the extent and toxicity of abuse experienced by women cycling in London. |
LGA calls for powers to withhold councillors' address
10/01/2024 Monitoring officers should be allowed to withhold councillors’ home addresses from public registers to help tackle rising levels of abuse and hate, Smith Square has said. |
‘Toxic’ environment at council waste service
15/11/2023 A report describing a ‘toxic’ working environment at Brighton and Hove City Council’s waste service includes accounts of staff bringing weapons to the depot. |
Council suspends social media comments to stop ‘abuse’ after facility closures
03/10/2023 North Lanarkshire Council has suspended Twitter users’ ability to comment on its posts and said people’s anger over a decision to close 39 facilities ‘does not entitle them to post abuse’. |
Scandal-hit firm reports losses
14/08/2023 A firm at the centre of a residential care abuse scandal has reported operating losses of £5.8m for the year to June 2022. |
Disadvantaged women in North East dying early
10/07/2023 Disadvantaged women in the North East are dying prematurely as public services are failing to meet their needs, according to a new report. |
Campaigners call for more ‘sex for rent’ protections
29/06/2023 Generation Rent has called for the Government to do more to protect financially vulnerable renters from being forced into ‘sex for rent’ arrangements. |
Council stops publishing planning application comments
12/06/2023 Leeds City Council has stopped publishing public comments on planning applications due to the amount of ‘vociferous comments’ they receive and GDPR concerns. |
Abuse victims ‘exposed to risk’ due to funding issues
24/05/2023 Funding to tackle violence against women and girls in London is fragmented, complex and difficult to understand, according to a new report. |
Court clarifies council obligations under Human Rights Act
18/05/2023 There is no requirement for children to be in the care of a local authority for the obligations under the Human Rights Act to arise, Court of Appeal rules. |
Councils failing to support abused children, charity warns
15/05/2023 Children and young people who have suffered sexual or domestic abuse risk missing out on the help they need due to lack of support from councils, NSPCC warns. |
Abuse survivors take legal action against council
05/04/2023 Former pupils who were sexually and physically abused at a school in Liverpool have begun legal action against the city council that ran it. |
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 criticised for failing to support woman fleeing violence
08/02/2023 West Berkshire Council did not do enough to support a woman and her children who were fleeing threats of violence, the Ombudsman has ruled. |
Domestic abuse fund gets £18m boost
10/01/2023 Up to £18m per year over two years is set to go towards the next phase of the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Intervention Fund, the Home Office has announced. |
Council staff face abuse over traffic filters
08/12/2022 Councils in Oxfordshire have been forced to clarify how Oxford’s new traffic filters will work after misinformation led to abuse of staff and councillors. |
Toolkit to combat abuse of councillors launched
01/12/2022 A new toolkit to help combat abuse of councillors was launched yesterday by the Local Government Association (LGA). |
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. |
Councils told to review children’s homes after ‘culture of abuse’ revealed
26/10/2022 Councils have been urged to ensure children with disabilities living in children’s homes are safe after a new report finds a ‘culture of abuse’ in three homes. |
Council ‘gatekeeping’ endangers abuse survivors
26/09/2022 Bureaucratic obstacles across local authorities are preventing survivors of domestic abuse from accessing housing support, a new report has revealed. |
Former looked-after child to appeal abuse case
21/09/2022 Court of Appeal agrees to hear appeal in case brought by a former looked-after child (“AB”) against Birmingham City Council and Worcestershire County Council. |
Councils receive £6m supported housing boost
04/08/2022 Four local authorities have been given a £6m boost to help support vulnerable tenants living in supported housing. |
Seven in 10 councillors face abuse, survey reveals
30/06/2022 Council leaders are calling for a change in legislation to allow councillors to withhold their personal addresses as evidence of abuse and intimidation grows. |
Children’s trust at Star Hobson council to ‘go live’ next year
07/06/2022 A report to Bradford Council’s executive has confirmed that a children’s trust will ‘go live’ next year as part of the response to the murder of Star Hobson. |
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. |
Council criticised after homophobic abuse complaint
26/05/2022 Coventry City Council has been criticised for not doing enough to help a man who was subject to homophobic abuse. |
Council chiefs warn of ‘increasing number’ of threats against councillors
03/05/2022 Council leaders have called for more action to be taken to ensure that councillors and candidates in local elections are not subjected to threats and abuse. |
Mayor Khan launches campaign against epidemic of misogyny
14/03/2022 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today launched a new campaign to tackle misogyny and violence against women and girls in the capital. |
Shortcomings revealed in second child murder case
14/12/2021 A second court case in a month has revealed serious shortcomings in how local agencies responded to allegations of abuse shortly before a child’s murder. |
Ofsted to visit schools facing sexual abuse allegations
08/04/2021 Ofsted has announced it will visit a sample of schools and colleges in England where sexual abuse claims have been made. |
Burnham launches strategy to tackle gender-based abuse
18/03/2021 Greater Manchester Combined Authority is consulting on proposals that support councils in seeking PSPOs that protect women and girls from abuse. |
New £40m fund launched to support victims of abuse
01/02/2021 The Government has launched a £40m fund to help victims of rape and domestic abuse during the pandemic. |
Covid-19 recovery will ‘pile on pressure’ for families, report warns
16/06/2020 A report released today reveals concerns about the impact the coronavirus crisis has had on vulnerable children and families. |
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Report highlights complex nature of safeguarding in residential schools
03/04/2020 New research has revealed the unique challenges staff in residential schools face to protect children from sexual abuse. |
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Court finds woman has capacity to decide about contact with husband
26/03/2020 The High Court today ruled that a woman with a relatively rare form of dementia has the capacity to make decisions for herself when it comes to her husband. |
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Care leaders must promote ‘awareness’ of good practice in sexual safety
27/02/2020 Care leaders should promote a culture that keeps people in social care safe from sexual abuse and supports them in expressing their sexuality, regulator says. |
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Child sexual exploitation cases in Greater Manchester ‘reopened’
14/01/2020 Victims of child sexual exploitation in Greater Manchester are having their cases newly investigated as a result of a review commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester. |
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Forty people investigated over child abuse in Rotherham
09/05/2019 Forty people have been arrested or interviewed over child sexual abuse in Rotherham in the past two months. |
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Government announces nearly £400,000 to tackle FGM
27/03/2019 Communities secretary James Brokenshire has announced £375,000 of funding to tackle female genital mutilation (FGM). |
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Lambeth survivors of abuse receive £7.7m compensation
25/03/2019 More than 1,000 applications for compensation have been made during the first year of a council scheme which was set up to compensate victims of abuse. |
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One in four trafficked children reported missing from care
21/12/2018 Nearly a quarter of trafficked children were reported as going missing from care in 2017, a new study has revealed. |
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Union calls for action to prevent violence against school support staff
08/11/2018 The union for school support staff has called on councils and schools to sign a charter of demands to help prevent violence against support staff in schools. |
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Thousands of babies at risk due to children’s services cuts
17/10/2018 There are nearly 16,000 babies growing up in households where they are at risk from harm, the commission that monitors the care of children has warned. |
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People who abuse election candidates could be banned from public office
30/07/2018 People who abuse and intimidate those standing for election could be stripped of their right to hold public office under new government proposals. |
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Former council leader censured for ‘repeated’ sexual harassment
06/07/2018 A former leader of Devon County Council has been censured for ‘sustained and repeated’ sexual harassment of female members of staff. |
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Telford leader calls for public inquiry into child sexual exploitation
14/03/2018 Telford council has called for an independent inquiry into cases of child sexual exploitation after revelations that up to 1,000 girls may have been victims of grooming gangs. |
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Council apologises for historical child sex abuse
18/01/2018 The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has apologised to victims of historical child sex abuse, admitting the council failed to protect some children. |
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Council reaches settlement with victims of alleged paedophile
20/12/2017 A council has agreed to pay eight victims of an alleged paedophile in an out-of-court settlement. |
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Counting the cost of foster care abuse
12/12/2017 Ceri Sian Williams warns local authorities could face a significant increase in foster care abuse claims following a recent court ruling. |
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Directors call for more cash to tackle domestic abuse
19/09/2017 Councils need more sustainable funding to invest in the prevention of the domestic abuse of children, say directors of children’s services. |
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Rochdale council apologises for child abuse scandal ‘failings’
19/09/2017 Rochdale council has apologised for its ‘significant failings’ ahead of an investigation into child abuse at two institutions. |
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Council chiefs urge frontline staff to report cases of FGM
06/09/2017 Doctors and NHS trusts have been urged to keep reporting cases of female genital mutilation after new figures showed a slight drop in number being recorded. |
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Jersey child abuse inquiry says children 'still at risk'
04/07/2017 A long-running inquiry into child abuse within Jersey’s care system has blasted the British dependency as ‘an ineffectual and neglectful substitute parent’. |
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Report shows 200% increase in emotional abuse of children
21/06/2017 More resources are needed to deal with a huge increase child abuse, council leaders have demanded. |
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Charity reports ‘staggering growth’ in domestic abuse
15/05/2017 A children’s charity has reported a ‘staggering growth’ in the number of young victims exposed to domestic abuse. |
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Professionals urged to spot ‘soft’ signs of child abuse
22/02/2017 Social workers and other people that work with children have been urged to spot the ‘soft’ signs that a child is being abused. |
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Councils warn £40m package to tackle child abuse ‘not enough’
16/02/2017 Councils have warned a £40m package of Government measures to protect children and young people from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking, is not enough. |
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Charity finds steep rise in child-on-child sexual abuse
03/02/2017 The number of children committing sexual offences against other children has risen by 78% in three years, new research has revealed. |
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Lambeth pays out ‘tens of millions’ in historical abuse compensation
16/12/2016 Lambeth Council has publicly apologised and paid out tens of millions of pounds after a new report revealed the ‘abuse and poor care’ suffered by children in its homes. |
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British adults believe abuse in care homes is ‘common’
25/11/2016 Over half of British adults believe that abuse and neglect in care homes for the elderly is common, new research reveals. |
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.
