VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Alcohol-related deaths prompt health funding call
06/02/2025 The number of alcohol-related deaths hit record levels in 2023, prompting council chiefs to call for certainty over funding for public health services. |
ADCS: Cuts have led to poor safeguarding outcomes for children
14/01/2025 The combination of poor-quality housing and the cost-of-living crisis is contributing to ‘family distress and breakdown’, safeguarding report concludes. |
Call to exclude alcohol industry from health policymaking
05/08/2024 Campaigners have urged the new Government to protect public health policy from ‘interference’ from the alcohol industry. |
Alcohol harm costs England £27.4bn a year
20/05/2024 Research has uncovered a £27.4bn annual bill for alcohol-related harm in England, prompting a call for local powers to control alcohol availability in the worst affected areas. |
Sunderland considers minimum alcohol price
03/04/2024 Sunderland City Council is set to launch a consultation on introducing a local minimum unit price for alcohol. |
Offering alcohol-free beer on draught can improve public health
21/03/2024 Making alcohol-free beer more widely available on draught in pubs may help people switch to non-alcoholic drinks without hurting profits, a new study suggests. |
Nearly 460k unemployed due to unhealthy lifestyle
21/11/2023 Nearly 460,000 people in the UK are unemployed due to the health impact of tobacco, alcohol, and obesity, costing the economy £31.1bn. |
Councils urged to allow pubs to open early for World Cup final
18/08/2023 Michael Gove has written to council leaders across England urging them to ensure pubs can open early on Sunday for the Lionesses historic World Cup final. |
Takeaway pint licensing rules extended
14/08/2023 The trade association representing pubs in England and Wales have welcomed an extension of the licensing rules that allow landlords to sell takeaway pints. |
MPs call for more funding for alcohol treatment
25/05/2023 Local authorities must be given the certainty and stability over funding they need to maintain and improve alcohol treatment programmes, MPs say. |
Former drug addicts to help mentor jobseekers
19/05/2023 Former drug addicts and alcoholics are to be appointed as mentors in Job Centres to help people cope with their addictions. |
Over £420m drug treatment funding announced
16/02/2023 Local government leaders have welcomed the announcement of an extra £421m for councils in England to improve drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery. |
Councils receive £53m for drug and alcohol treatment
03/02/2023 The Government has announced grants totalling up to £53m for councils to provide housing support to people in drug and alcohol treatment. |
Council chiefs call for ‘clarity’ on addiction services funding
19/01/2023 Council leaders have called for ‘urgent clarity’ on how addiction services will be funded after the figures reveal a rise in number of people seeking help. |
Deaths caused by alcohol reach 'record high'
09/12/2022 Council leaders have called for a 'concerted approach' to tackling alcohol dependency after figures showed the number of deaths caused by alcohol has hit a record high. |
Council apologises after teenage suicide
29/09/2022 West Sussex County Council has apologised for failing to provide the right level of support to a teenage boy who has died after a suicide attempt. |
Report calls for stronger action on major health risk factors
23/02/2022 The Government's current approach to tackling the leading risk factors for ill health is 'insufficient' to deliver on its key targets, according to a new report. |
Alcohol-related deaths rose by record levels during pandemic
08/12/2021 The number of deaths caused by alcohol misuse increased by nearly 19% in 2020, official figures have shown. |
Largest ever funding boost to tackle drug misuse
07/12/2021 All local authorities in England are set to receive new funding to tackle drug and alcohol misuse over the next three years. |
Two councils to pilot new approach to children’s care
26/11/2021 Two local authorities in Wales will pilot a new approach to helping families where there are concerns about substance misuse. |
'Deeply concerning' rise in alcohol-related deaths during pandemic
15/07/2021 Increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic has led to a 'deeply concerning' increase in deaths, new figures have warned. |
Alcohol-related deaths hit record high during pandemic
03/02/2021 Alcohol-related deaths in England and Wales rose to record highs during the first nine months of 2020, official figures have revealed. |
Rough sleepers to get extra support for drug and alcohol dependency
14/12/2020 Extra funding will be given to 43 areas across England to help rough sleepers recover from drug and alcohol misuse. |
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Council chiefs call for investment to cope with lockdown addictions
15/09/2020 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to increase investment in public health services to help them tackle drug and alcohol addiction. |
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Council seeks temporary drinking ban in London Fields Park
03/07/2020 Hackney Council is taking legal action to temporarily ban drinking in London Fields Park after high levels of antisocial behaviour. |
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Thousands miss out on drug services due to cuts, charity finds
29/01/2020 At least 12,000 people experiencing homelessness missed out on vital drug and alcohol services last year, new research has revealed. |
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Only one in five alcoholics receiving treatment, health experts say
08/11/2019 Local authority leaders have called on the next Government to reverse public health cuts as figures reveal only one in five alcoholics receiving treatment. |
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Council proposes random drug testing of staff
10/04/2019 West Lothian Council is considering introducing random drug testing for staff in posts defined as ‘safety critical’. |
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Health body announces £6m for alcohol treatments
22/03/2019 The Government today announced that £6m of capital funding will be made available to help councils increase access to alcohol treatments. |
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Treatment cut despite ‘soaring’ alcohol-related A&E admissions
11/02/2019 Councils are reducing spending on alcohol and drug treatment services despite ‘soaring’ numbers of hospital admissions due to alcohol misuse, FOI data reveals. |
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Plan to help problem drinkers and smokers unveiled
07/01/2019 All problem drinkers and smokers that are admitted to hospital will be given extra support under new NHS prevention measures. |
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NHS to fund council ‘drunk tanks’ over Christmas
21/12/2018 The NHS has announced it will be funding council ‘drunk tanks’ over the Christmas period to ease the pressure on local hospitals. |
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Vulnerable offenders increasingly referred to health services rather than prison
10/08/2018 Offenders with mental health, alcohol and drug abuse problems are increasingly being referred to health services as part of community sentences. |
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Council plans ‘random’ drug tests for employees
25/07/2018 Walsall Council employees may soon be subject to ‘random’ drug testing after drugs paraphernalia was discovered. |
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Two million children at ‘serious risk’, report reveals
04/07/2018 Over two million children are growing up in families where there are ‘serious risks’, a major new study has revealed. |
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Council to introduce alcohol and drug tests for staff
10/05/2018 A council in Northern Ireland could soon be introducing a new scheme to test employees for alcohol and drug use. |
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Nine out of ten councils forced to cut health services, study reveals
02/05/2018 Nine out of 10 councils have cut spending on public health services in response to Government reductions to their budgets. |
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Alcohol treatment services at ‘crisis point’
01/05/2018 Severe funding cuts and a loss of qualified staff have pushed England’s alcohol treatment services to crisis point, a report has warned today. |
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Increase in drug-related deaths linked to health cuts
27/04/2018 Whitehall should reverse its cuts to local authority public health grants in order to tackle the increase in drug-related deaths, doctors say. |
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Government launches £4.5m fund to help children with alcoholic parents
23/04/2018 The department for health and social care has launched a new ‘innovation fund’ to help local authorities support children with alcoholic parents. |
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Councils urged to provide more support for children of alcoholics
12/02/2018 Over half of councils do not have a strategy in place to help children of alcoholics despite the ‘horrific’ impact of parental alcohol misuse, a new parliamentary report has warned. |
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Liverpool to measure alcohol consumption in donuts
05/02/2018 Public health officials in Liverpool are abandoning the use of alcohol units in their struggle against heavy drinking and are instead now talking about calories. |
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Government refuses to include public health objective in the Licensing Act
08/11/2017 Councils ‘disappointed’ at lack of public health objective in the Licensing Act as new figures reveal over 7,000 people died because of alcohol last year. |
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London council to help provide safe spaces for intoxicated people
01/11/2017 A pilot scheme to provide a safe space to help people sober up has been launched by Westminster City Council. |
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New law proposed to ban cheap, strong alcohol in Wales
23/10/2017 Plans to introduce a minimum price for alcohol have been unveiled in Wales to help crack down on excessive drinking. |
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Life Chances Fund awards first round of investment
18/10/2017 The first round of funding to projects that tackle drug dependency and support children in care has been awarded to ten projects. |
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Number of Community Alcohol Partnerships to tackle underage drinking
12/10/2017 An organisation dedicated to tackling underage drinking is set to double the number of its local groups around the country. |
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Vulnerable women ‘trapped’ due to patchy service
14/09/2017 Patchy services across the country are trapping vulnerable women in ‘cycle of disadvantage’ a new report has warned. |
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1,300 jobs are saved after charity goes into administration
06/06/2017 Over ,1000 jobs have been saved after a drug and alcohol abuse charity went into administration due to ‘unsustainable financial pressure’. |
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Expansion of drug and alcohol prevention in schools
13/03/2017 Extra funding has been announced to pay for a new drug and alcohol prevention programme in schools and community settings. |
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Drink drive limit should be lowered, LGA says
06/03/2017 Council chiefs have called for the drink drive limit in England and Wales to be cut to help cut road accidents. |
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Charity sees sharp rise in drugs and alcohol being used near children
13/02/2017 The NSPCC has reported more than 20,000 concerns over substance abuse near children to the police and children’s services over the past three years. |
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More local areas granted powers to fight alcohol-related violence
30/01/2017 A programme designed to help local areas tackle alcohol-related problems will be expanded to 33 new regions. |
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New round of funding to support Social Impact Bonds opens
16/01/2017 Local authorities are able to apply for a new round of funding to support the development of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) focused on helping children and young people. |
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'Pocket money' booze prices putting drinkers at risk
06/10/2016 High strength alcohol sold at ‘rock bottom’ prices is putting children and harmful drinkers at risk, health experts are warning today. |
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Binge drinking ‘social glue’ for students and young workers
20/09/2016 Peer pressure and a ‘fear of missing out’ is driving binge drinking among students and young workers, study finds. |
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Whitehall blocks minimum alcohol pricing plans
16/09/2016 Plans for the Welsh government to introduce minimum alcohol pricing have been blocked by Whitehall. |
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Council looks into random drug and alcohol testing
26/07/2016 Council considers implementing a random drug and alcohol testing policy for employees. |
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Data shows rise in numer of alcohol-related hospital admissions
01/07/2016 The number of people admitted to hospital with problems related to alcohol went up nearly 3% last year and is a third higher than a decade ago, latest figures reveal. |
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Alcohol consumption has increased in retirees, Government figures reveal
04/05/2016 Alcohol-related hospital admissions are falling for younger age groups, but increasing for the over 65s, new figures reveal. |
