The Brownfield Land Release Fund
To what extent does this early initiative of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities deliver on the ‘levelling up’ agenda? Lawrence Turner reports.
Council chiefs urge Government to put children at ‘heart of recovery’
14/07/2021 Local authority leaders have called for a cross-government strategy to ensure that children and young people are at the heart of the post-pandemic recovery. |
Commissioners appointed at Liverpool City Council
10/06/2021 Surrey CC’s chief executive Joanna Killian will be part of the team of independent commissioners who will oversee improvements at Liverpool City Council, local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced today. |
Councils should have legal duty to provide ‘early help’ says report
02/06/2021 A new report is calling for a legal duty on local authorities to provide early help to children and families, rather than providing what is easiest to measure. |
Good luck Liverpool
08/04/2021 Intervention can be the best thing that happens to a council, ‘and can serve only to define the past not the future’, says Jo Miller. But the cause of the failure must be recognised and the right series of actions taken, she believes. |
Jenrick steps in at 'dysfunctional' Liverpool
24/03/2021 Commissioners will be sent in to Liverpool City Council after an independent inquiry found serious mismanagement and a dysfunctional culture, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has told Parliament. |
Nottingham plans £100m asset sale
19/01/2021 The council has identified £100m of assets for sale as part of a plan to bring its finances under control. |
Charities call for 'vital' early intervention funding to safeguard children
18/05/2020 Funding cuts to children's services have left councils unable to cope with the current crisis, charities have warned today. |
Eight councils to receive £20,000 to develop ‘behavioural insights’
08/01/2020 Eight local authorities are to receive £20,000 each in order to help them develop new ways to change the behaviour of residents as part of an effort to reduce demand on overstretched councils. |
Leader of ‘fractious’ council seeks government help
28/06/2019 The leader of Merthyr Tydfil Council has asked the Welsh Government for help to overcome its ‘fractious’ position and financial challenges. |
'We've broken the social contract with people'
05/06/2019 Former Society of Local Authority Chief Executives president Jo Miller is leaving her chief executive role at Doncaster MBC to take up a new local government post in New Zealand. She talks to Heather Jameson about her legacy. |
The rise of anti-social behaviour: Can we stop it?
04/06/2019 Rebecca Bryant suggests collaboration, communication and transparency are key to tackling the rise in anti-social behaviour. |
Brum improvement team issues final damning judgement and walks away
02/04/2019 Birmingham City Council’s intervention team has issued a final, damning report on the crisis-hit council and walked away – despite admitting its job is not complete. |
Councils call for Troubled Families funding after success of scheme
20/03/2019 Council leaders have called for continued funding for the Troubled Families programme after an evaluation found the scheme has helped hundreds of thousands of families. |
Northants can use £70m in capital receipts to plug finance gap
29/11/2018 Northamptonshire CC will be allowed to use £70m in capital receipts to plug its financial black hole, local government secretary James Brokenshire has ruled. |
Whitehall plans to tackle bad health need ‘long-term investment’, charity says
05/11/2018 Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the Government is committed to supporting local councils in improving health locally through ‘innovation, communication and community outreach.’ |
Brokenshire to end intervention at Rotherham Council
24/07/2018 Rotherham Council looks set to regain full control of its services, after communities secretary James Brokenshire said he was 'minded' to end intervention. |
Commissioners call for end of intervention in Rotherham
19/06/2018 Ministers have been urged to return full powers back to Rotherham Council, after an independent report found 'impressive' improvements across the authority. |
Whitehall cuts ‘undermining’ support services for vulnerable children
01/05/2018 Government funding reductions have forced councils to cut back on early support services for vulnerable children, an education policy think tank has found. |
Whitehall launches £40m strategy to fight violent crime
09/04/2018 The Government today launched a multi-million pound strategy to tackle the ‘root causes’ of violent crime, including a task force involving local authorities. |
Javid plans intervention into crisis-hit Northants
27/03/2018 Local government secretary Sajid Javid has bowed to the inevitable and outlined plans for commissioners to run Northamptonshire CC amid concerns over the county’s sustainability. |
Three councils face intervention over local plans
26/03/2018 Three councils are facing government intervention over their failure to produce a local plan. |
County council imposes an emergency spending ban
03/02/2018 Northamptonshire CC’s director of finance has issued a section 114 order, calling a halt to spending at the cash-strapped authority. |
Plymouth agrees to manage Torbay’s failing children’s services
31/01/2018 Plymouth City Council has agreed to take on full managerial responsibility for the ‘inadequate’ children’s services in Torbay. |
Rotherham's children's services rated 'good' in dramatic turnaround
29/01/2018 Rotherham Council’s children’s services have been rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted, following three years of Government intervention in the aftermath of the child sexual exploitation scandal. |
Five London councils commission programme to keep troubled youngsters out of care
16/01/2018 Five London boroughs have jointly commissioned a new programme to help vulnerable young people stay out of care. |
Councils can only afford to help children in crisis, charities warn
15/11/2017 Councils have been forced to close services designed to spot early signs of child neglect and abuse as they can only afford to help those in crisis, a report has warned today. |
Grenfell council asks government to step back
07/11/2017 Kensington and Chelsea RLBC has asked the Government to water down its oversight at the council following the Grenfell Tower fire in June. |
Councils call for 2% health precept to invest in prevention
25/09/2017 District councils have called for introduction of a new health precept on council tax in order to raise £25m for preventative measures. |
Rotherham set to be handed back five powers
19/07/2017 A further five powers are due to be returned to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council following improvements by the council. |
Whitehall to intervene in council after Grenfell tragedy
06/07/2017 The Government yesterday announced it will be intervening in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) following the Grenfell Tower disaster. |
Aiding an unprotected species
19/01/2017 The pressures facing local authority statutory officers are now greater than ever. Simon Goacher argues that tinkering with protection rules in recent years has undermined these vital positions. |
Power to award grants returned to Tower Hamlets
17/01/2017 The communities secretary has confirmed the start of a ‘phased return’ of powers to Tower Hamlets, but commissioners caution there is still ‘much to do’. |
District council makes ‘unusual’ call for Gov intervention into Northamptonshire CC
10/01/2017 Daventry District Council is proposing to call on the Government to intervene in the management of Northamptonshire County Council to resolve its ‘major financial challenges’ - a move Daventry acknowledges is ‘unusual’ and ‘undesirable’. |
Councils should encourage whistleblowing say MPs
19/08/2016 Local authorities must learn from the imposition of commissioners in Tower Hamlets and Rotherham to ensure children are protected and whistleblowers taken seriously, select committee concludes. |
Tower Hamlets fails to win back powers
12/04/2016 Tower Hamlets is still 'some way off' at showing sufficient improvement in order to be handed back control of more functions, according to communities secretary Greg Clark. |
Failing children’s services to be taken over warns Cameron
14/12/2015 Control of failing children’s services will be taken away from councils under radical reforms announced today by the prime minister. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
