Providing sanctuary for refugees
Neil Merrick finds out what councils across the country are doing to welcome and resettle Syrian refugees.
Welfare provision ‘overly centralised’, London council chiefs say
17/10/2019 Council leaders in London have called on Whitehall to give them the powers to deliver local welfare support to residents. |
Pledging to make air pollution a national priority
09/10/2019 Cllr Julian Bell explains how the capital's local government is leading the way by raising awareness of air pollution, and tackling it with innovative projects. |
London boroughs warn of £540m care crisis
21/08/2019 A report has warned that unless Whitehall addresses the national social care crisis London’s adult social care system faces a funding gap of £540m by 2025. |
Drug poisoning deaths up 16% in face of public health cuts
16/08/2019 Council chiefs warn that cuts to public health grants are a ‘false economy’ which make it more difficult to provide support and treatment to drug users. |
Financial risk for children's services across London is 'unsustainable'
22/07/2019 Children’s services across London are facing an unsustainable level of financial risk, a new report commissioned by London Councils has warned. |
Criminals making £100m a year from London’s illegal tobacco trade
28/06/2019 Illegal tobacco trade in London is bringing crime into communities and undermining stop smoking efforts, London Councils has warned today. |
London Councils welcomes ‘new era of digital transformation’
10/06/2019 The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) has officially launched today to help the digital transformation of public service. |
Council tax system needs 'fundamental reform'
16/05/2019 The council tax system is ‘highly regressive and unsustainable,’ and needs ‘fundamental reform,’ progressive think-tank IPPR has argued. |
London council budgets slashed 17% over last decade
13/05/2019 London’s local authority budgets have dropped by nearly a fifth – or 17% – per head over the last eight years, a new study has revealed. |
Housing benefits should be ‘at least’ 30% of market rates, London Councils says
09/05/2019 London boroughs have called on Whitehall to lift the Local Housing Allowance to at least 30% of local market rates for private sector accommodation to help ease the pressure on councils. |
Modular homes to be developed for homeless families in London
16/04/2019 Temporary modular homes are to be developed for homeless families in the capital following a £11m investment by mayor Sadiq Khan. |
Councils collaborate to address homelessness crisis
14/03/2019 Over a dozen London boroughs have joined the collaborative programme Capital Letters, which aims to support homeless households across the capital. |
Place jobcentres next to council services, London boroughs urge
24/01/2019 Jobcentre support should be placed alongside council services to help tackle long-term unemployment and in-work poverty, London Councils have said today. |
London Councils forms company to tackle homelessness
02/01/2019 A not-for-profit company will be created to provide housing for homeless families in 11 London boroughs. |
Capital's councils demand 'fair share' of new roads cash
13/11/2018 London’s boroughs have said they are not getting a fair share of road maintenance cash after they were awarded only £17m of the extra £420m for local authority roads announced during the budget. |
London boroughs ‘hard hit’ by austerity, think tank says
09/05/2018 London’s boroughs have been ‘hard hit’ by Government cuts, a new analysis shows, with council spending in the capital falling by nearly a fifth in seven years. |
Business rate pilot councils could see £870m cash boost says think tank
12/04/2018 Local authorities are missing out on millions of pounds because of an £870m cash boost to business rate pilot councils, according to a study today from the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think-tank. |
Electric vehicle charging points to quadruple in London next year
19/03/2018 London boroughs are set to deliver another 2,630 charging points in the next financial year, an increase of over 300%, according to a new survey. |
Haringey leader to step down amid controversy over regeneration scheme
30/01/2018 Cllr Claire Kober has announced she will be stepping down from her position as the leader of Haringey Council in light of the controversy surrounding the borough’s regeneration plans. |
Government is misguided on business rates, London Councils warns
17/01/2018 The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) belief that councils do not want 100% business rates retention is misguided, London Councils has warned. |
'Landmark' health and social care devolution deal agreed for London
15/11/2017 National and local leaders have signed a ‘landmark’ devolution deal for health and social care in London. |
Kober reselected for Haringey seat
09/11/2017 The chair of London Councils and leader of Haringey LBC has fought off a challenge from Labour activists to keep her council seat. |
This issue of Local Government News explores how councils can tackle modern slavery and trafficking in their supply chains, finds out more about Cambridge's first cohousing scheme and the launch of a new project to build a shared service pattern library for local government.
This issue also contains a special focus on children's services and how councils are protecting children following local safeguarding children boards being abolished.
