Garden communities – context and complexities
David Churchill warns the Local Plan process could potentially cripple the delivering of ambitious long-term development projects.
PPE supply for care workers was 'inadequate'
24/11/2020 The social care sector was ‘left to fend for itself’ during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an investigation into supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE). |
‘Forgotten city’ in plea for government aid
17/11/2020 The leader of Hull City Council has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to plead for additional support amid rising COVID-19 cases. |
Councils bid for vaccine role
16/11/2020 Councils have made a bid to play a key role in distributing the new coronavirus vaccine. |
Childhood obesity rises again in past year
30/10/2020 Children living in the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to be obese as those in the least deprived, new figures have revealed. |
Barking & Dagenham offers same-day testing to key workers
26/10/2020 Barking & Dagenham LBC is thought to have become the first in England to set up a same-day COVID testing service for key workers, to sidestep delays in the national system for tests and results. |
Councils gain COVID enforcement powers
23/10/2020 Councils are to be given new powers to issue businesses with improvement notices and close premises if they breach coronavirus restrictions. |
Greater Manchester will move into Tier 3 as talks collapse
20/10/2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Greater Manchester will head into Tier 3 restrictions on Friday after talks with local leaders broke up without a deal. |
Greater Manchester's mayor will not 'roll over' on COVID cash
19/10/2020 Greater Manchester’s standoff with government on moving to new tier three COVID-19 restrictions continues today, with mayor Andy Burham saying he will not ‘roll over’ at the sight of a cheque. |
Manchester leaders unite to oppose Tier 3 restrictions
15/10/2020 Local leaders across Greater Manchester have rejected plans to put the region into Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions. |
PM pledges extra £1bn for local government amid three-tier system
12/10/2020 Boris Johnson has announced a further £1bn in funding for local government as the country heads into the second wave of COVID-19. |
Northern leaders propose five point plan to manage local lockdowns
07/10/2020 Four northern leaders have called for more local input to bring down COVID-19 infection rates. |
Council leaders call for local track and trace systems
02/10/2020 Five council leaders have called on the Government to ditch the private track and trace system. |
Ten million people may need mental health support due to pandemic, study warns
01/10/2020 Local authority leaders have called for a ‘new national focus’ on mental health as a study estimates that up to 10 million people in England may need support for depression and anxiety as a result of COVID-19. |
Leaders call for a ring-fenced Sports Recovery Fund
22/09/2020 The Government has been urged to ringfence funding for sports and physical activities to avoid creating health problems for a generation. |
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. |
Women struggling to access contraception due to cuts, inquiry finds
11/09/2020 Women in England are struggling to access contraception putting them at risk of unplanned pregnancies, MPs have warned. |
Watchdog warns progress on childhood obesity is 'slow'
09/09/2020 Government efforts to tackle childhood obesity have been slow and uncoordinated, the public spending watchdog has warned today. |
Health experts urge ‘safer sex’ after rise in gonorrhoea cases
03/09/2020 The Government has urged people to practice safer sex after data reveals that gonorrhoea cases in England have risen by 26%. |
Councils call for more investment in suicide prevention
02/09/2020 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to invest more in public health to help councils prevent suicide with a locally-driven approach. |
Health experts raise serious concerns over scrapping PHE
02/09/2020 Health experts have raised 'serious concerns' about Government plans to reorganise the public health system. |
Fifth of care homes took on Covid patients, survey reveals
24/08/2020 One in five care homes had to accept patients discharged from hospital who had tested positive for COVID-19 during the early part of the pandemic, a survey has found. |
Hancock under pressure on anti-obesity plans following PHE closure
24/08/2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock is under growing pressure today to say who will take responsibility for the national fight against obesity following his decision to close down Public Health England (PHE). |
Obesity stigma fuelling ‘severe impact’ on adult social care
20/08/2020 Weight-related stigmas need tackling to help prevent rising levels of obesity having a significant impact on adult social care, local authority leaders say. |
Hancock scraps Public Health England
17/08/2020 Ministers have been accused of making Public Health England (PHE) a scapegoat by scrapping the body for alleged failures in the testing and tracing of coronavirus. |
Council test and trace teams to be rolled out
10/08/2020 Local coronavirus test and trace teams are to be rolled out to all upper-tier English councils. |
Calls for urgent investment in mental health recovery
07/08/2020 Investment in mental health is crucial to seeing the country through the next phases of the pandemic, a new report has said today. |
Hancock's new rules to halt COVID spread
31/07/2020 New rules on social gatherings have been introduced in Northern England as the number of COVID cases has started to rise. |
A third of council-owned pools will stay closed this year
27/07/2020 Nearly a third of council-owned swimming pools could remain closed until next year, new research has revealed. |
Councils call for public health funding to avert obesity crisis
27/07/2020 Council leaders have warned that the Government must reverse public health funding cuts in order for any new obesity strategy to be successful. |
Millions more people to be offered free flu vaccine
24/07/2020 More than 30 million people in England will be offered a free flu vaccination in a bid to ease the pressure on the NHS this winter. |
Hancock announces plans to share more data
20/07/2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock has announced plans to share more data with local government in a bid to help track and trace COVID-19 cases more effectively. |
Councils call for action to ensure smoke-free pavements
20/07/2020 Councils have called for pavements outside pubs, bars and cafes to be smoke-free. |
PM announces new powers for local lockdown
17/07/2020 Councils will get new powers to shut down premises in a bid to control the spread of coronavirus as we head towards the next phase of the pandemic, the Prime Minister has announced. |
A million smokers quit during pandemic
15/07/2020 More than a million smokers have quit the habit since the start of the coronavirus crisis, figures have revealed today. |
Blackburn with Darwen announces new local measures to control virus
15/07/2020 Blackburn with Darwen Council has introduced five new local measures to control the spread of coronavirus, including wearing masks in all enclosed public spaces. |
Less than one in seven people are now smokers, data reveals
08/07/2020 The number of smokers in the UK has fallen from 14.7% in 2018 to 14.1% in 2019, according to official figures. |
Local authorities need extra resources to lead contact tracing now
02/07/2020 Pascale Robinson explains why local public health teams are best placed to lead contract tracing services. |
Local public health teams should manage contact tracing, poll reveals
02/07/2020 Two-thirds of the public want local public health teams to be in charge of the contact tracing system, a new poll has revealed. |
Leicester locks down after surge in coronavirus
30/06/2020 England’s first local lockdown will begin in Leicester this week in a bid to combat a surge in COVID-19 cases. |
Leicester could be first city to face local lockdown
29/06/2020 Leicester could be the first place in England to be placed in a local lockdown following a rise in the number of coronavirus cases, the home secretary warned over the weekend. |
Combined authority 'spending reserves like it's going out of fashion'
17/06/2020 Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s chief executive has expressed doubts about whether his region would be able to cope with a second wave of coronavirus infections. |
Racism raises the risk from COVID-19 for minorities
17/06/2020 Racism has raised the risk of people from black and ethnic minority communities developing COVID-19 and dying from the disease, says an official report. |
Councils call for clarity on local lockdowns
16/06/2020 Councils this week called for clarity on the legal powers they will have if they are forced to implement local coronavirus lockdowns. |
IFS exposes impact of COVID-19 on different areas
15/06/2020 The balance of protecting public health and returning to economic activity varies from one area to the next, research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found. |
The power of local systems to save lives
22/05/2020 Councils and their partners could do even more to contain the spread of COVID-19 if properly funded to undertake a robust localised system of testing, tracking and tracing, argues Professor Donna Hall. |
Campaigners warn children more exposed to secondhand smoke since lockdown
14/05/2020 More than one in ten smokers who live with children are smoking indoors more since lockdown, new research has revealed today. |
Leeds chief takes on key contract tracing role
13/05/2020 Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan will take on a key role in the Government’s contact tracing programme in the battle against coronavirus. |
Helping smokers to quit during Covid-19
06/05/2020 Alan Sutherland calls on councils to make use of more digital tools to help smokers quit during Covid-19 |
'High risk' staff are being forced back, claims Unison
04/05/2020 Unison is demanding Milton Keynes Council steps back from what it says is a ‘rogue local plan’ to order staff in high risk categories back to work. |
Around 300,000 quit smoking due to coronavirus
04/05/2020 Council leaders have welcomed figures that show around 300,000 people have quit smoking due to an increased risk from coronavirus. |
Districts win in latest allocations
28/04/2020 Districts have won a significantly higher share of funding in the latest allocations of government cash to help councils cope with coronavirus. |
Council staff will be deployed for Covid-19 contact tracing
21/04/2020 Council staff will be deployed to help spot, trace and isolate new cases of coronavirus, the Welsh Government has confirmed. |
Officials warn coronavirus impact could trigger measles outbreak
15/04/2020 The UK is at risk of a measles outbreak if routine vaccinations are delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Measles & Rubella Initiative has warned. |
Councils to be fully funded for coronavirus costs
18/03/2020 Councils in England will be fully funded for implementing measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, the chancellor has confirmed. |
Electoral Commission calls for autumn polls
12/03/2020 May’s local elections should be postponed until the autumn, the Electoral Commission has said. |
Jenrick launches taskforce to ‘strengthen’ plans to tackle coronavirus
10/03/2020 The local government secretary, Robert Jenrick, has launched a new taskforce to strengthen local plans to help tackle the outbreak of coronavirus. |
Government to give volunteers job protection to help fight coronavirus
09/03/2020 New measures to make it easier for volunteers to help support health and social care services have been introduced by the Government in the fight against the coronavirus. |
A fifth of public toilets lost in past decade
05/03/2020 More than a fifth (22%) of public toilets have been closed down since 2010 due to council funding cuts, a trade union has found. |
Public health cuts ‘stall’ progress in children’s health
04/03/2020 Progress in children’s health and wellbeing has ‘stalled or is in reverse’ partly because of cuts to local authority budgets, study finds. |
Council advises pupils to ‘self-isolate’ following Coronavirus fears
26/02/2020 Cheshire East Council has told pupils who have been to Italy where Coronavirus cases have been identified to ‘self-isolate’ as a precautionary measure. |
Life expectancy stalls for the first time in a century
25/02/2020 Life expectancy has stopped improving for the first time in more than 100 years, and has actually declined for England’s poorest women, according to a new study. |
England ‘unlikely’ to meet 2030 smoke-free target
25/02/2020 England will fail to reach the Government’s 2030 smoke-free target unless smoking in the poorest communities is tackled, research has revealed today. |
Cuts will lead to tragedy, health visitors warn
20/02/2020 Nearly half of health visitors in England worry a tragedy is waiting to happen where they work due to cuts to public health budgets. |
Councils cannot afford to roll-out anti-HIV drug
12/02/2020 Local authority leaders have warned that cash-strapped councils cannot afford to roll-out the anti-HIV drug PrEP without guarantees it will be fully funded. |
London aims to be ‘first city’ to stop new HIV infections
05/02/2020 Over 30 organisations have joined together in an effort to make London the first city in the world to stop new HIV infections. |
Public health cuts leading to 'spiralling' STI rates
05/02/2020 Local authority leaders have called for more investment into public health services as a new report reveals that there is an STI diagnosis every 70 seconds in England. |
Nearly 300 children start smoking every day, figures show
03/02/2020 Campaigners have called for tobacco manufacturers to pay to end smoking after figures show 280 children in England start smoking every day. |
Funding cuts put 2030 smokefree target ‘at risk’
14/01/2020 Funding shortages for local tobacco control could put the 2030 smokefree target at risk, campaigners have warned today. |
Planning system is ‘failing’ children’s rights, says report
29/11/2019 The planning system is neglecting the rights and needs of children, a new report has warned today. |
Asbestos still ‘serious’ threat to public heath
25/11/2019 Asbestos can be still be found in 1.5 million public buildings putting people at risk of exposure, a think tank has warned. |
Councils chiefs call for more powers to ‘restrict’ takeaways
12/11/2019 Local authorities have called for more planning powers to help them prevent takeaways from ‘clustering’ as part of the fight against health inequalities and obesity. |
Policy action to secure the future health of young people
08/11/2019 We need to invest across housing, employment and transport to secure the health prospects of the next generation, argues Martina Kane. |
Councils welcome increase in funeral expenses payments
06/11/2019 Councils leaders hope the increase in funeral expenses payments will help lower the number of public health funerals. |
Think tanks calls for public health funding to be linked to NHS budgets
05/11/2019 Public health funding should be linked to increases in the NHS budget, a briefing published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) suggests. |
Thousands of inpatients with learning disabilities and autism to receive care review
05/11/2019 Thousands of people with learning disabilities and autism that have detained in a mental health hospital will have their care reviewed over the next 12 months, the Government announced today. |
Councils chiefs call for more sexual health funding
25/10/2019 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to ensure that its updated sexual and reproductive health strategy is ‘fully funded’. |
New academy to drive forward 'social prescription'
23/10/2019 Every patient with long-term health problems will be offered a 'social prescription' including arts, sport or leisure activities in a new Government initiative. |
Nearly £2m awarded to projects improving health services for the homeless
22/10/2019 Nearly £2m has been awarded to six projects as part of an effort to help test models that improve access to health services for people sleeping rough. |
Council chiefs call for investment into leisure facilities
18/10/2019 Local authority leaders have voiced concerns over the ability of councils to continue to provide leisure centres, which contribute to public health, without more Government investment. |
Number of young people gambling is ‘emerging’ public health risk
16/10/2019 A new study has found an increasing number of young people are experimenting with gambling, making them more likely to be problem gamblers later in life. |
Half of mental health patients with diabetes not receiving ‘vital checks’
08/10/2019 A charity has called on the NHS to better integrate mental health and diabetes care after it was revealed that half of those needing treatment in both areas are not receiving vital checks. |
Local councils aim to make communities 'seizure savvy'
02/10/2019 A new partnership to help local councils raise awareness of how to help someone having an epileptic fit has been launched. |
Councils issue warning over toxic skin-lightening creams
30/09/2019 Local government leaders have warned of the dangers of skin-lightening creams that 'act like paint stripper' and increase the risk of cancer. |
Councils voice concern over 'alarming' fall in childhood vaccination rates
27/09/2019 An 'alarming' fall in childhood vaccination rates should serve as a wake-up call to parents and authorities about the need for children to be protected against disease, local government leaders have warned. |
Social care for smokers costing councils £720m a year
26/09/2019 Smoking-related social care is costing local authorities £720m a year, new research has revealed. |
Cuts force councils to slash public health funding by £72m
16/09/2019 Local authorities plan to cut public health spending by £72m this year in response to reductions in Whitehall funding, the Labour Party says. |
Ban junk food shops near schools, report argues
13/09/2019 Unhealthy fast food outlets within a five-minute walk from schools should be banned, a new report has argued today. |
Charity calls for re-investment in public health grant
10/09/2019 A new study of health and social care spending has found that the Government focuses too much on acute services rather than investing in long-term preventative measures. |
Think tank calls for councils to have powers over immigration post-Brexit
06/09/2019 Councils should be given powers after Brexit to issue visas to foreign workers based on their assessment of local need, according to think tank Localis. |
New HIV diagnoses at lowest level since 2000
03/09/2019 Figures show that new diagnoses of HIV have fallen by a third in the UK since 2015, and are now at their lowest levels since 2000. |
5G: Unlocking new opportunities for healthcare
28/08/2019 5G will be revolutionary for UK businesses and industry, but especially in the healthcare sector. |
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. |
NHS Health Checks to be ‘modernised’, health secretary says
16/08/2019 Health secretary Matt Hancock has launched a review of NHS Health Checks with the aim of moving away from standardised checks towards more tailored programmes. |
Air pollution could be causing a third of child asthma cases, study warns
08/08/2019 Air pollution could be the cause of up to a third of new cases of childhood asthma in Europe, according to a new study. |
Dementia causes one in ten deaths, new figures show
07/08/2019 Dementia and Alzheimer's disease were the cause of more than a tenth of the registered deaths in England and Wales last year, according to new figures. |
Campaigners call for 'calorie tax' to tackle obesity
07/08/2019 Companies producing high-calorie foods should be taxed to help tackle the 'obesity crisis', campaigners have demanded. |
Calls for ugent investment in public playgrounds
05/08/2019 The decline in public playgrounds is ‘pushing’ children away from outdoor play, a new survey has revealed. |
Council leaders join call for fairer public health funding
01/08/2019 Local authorities have backed a call by Cancer Research for the new Government to increase public health funding. |
Councils report 'worrying rise' in body image drugs
29/07/2019 Council leaders have reported a ‘worrying’ increase in the number of people using illegal and dangerous body enhancing drugs. |
Prevention green paper blasted as ‘shopping list of half-complete ideas’
23/07/2019 Local authority leaders have criticised the Government’s prevention green paper as a ‘missed opportunity’ which neglects the role councils play in delivering public health services. |
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.
