Public health funding frozen or cut for 100 councils
06/04/2021 Spending per capita has fallen for 31 authorities and frozen for a further 69 after new spending commitments are taken into account. |
Family services offered share of £4m to support conflict resolution
06/04/2021 Local authorities are now able to bid for a share of a £3.87m funding pot to help family services resolve conflicts between parents. |
Pre-paid card firms supplying councils acted ‘as a cartel’, regulator says
01/04/2021 Three out of five firms that issue councils with pre-paid cards have admitted to breaching competition rules and agreed to pay penalties totalling over £32m. |
Councils taking ‘too long’ to pay support grants to businesses
01/04/2021 The Government has written to the leaders of 314 councils in England urging them to pay out grants money to local businesses more quickly. |
Council tax revaluation would help level up, says IFS
31/03/2021 A new council tax revaluation would boost the Government’s levelling up agenda, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. |
Government announces £2.4m to support charities during pandemic
31/03/2021 The Government has announced £2.4m of funding for thirteen charities that help autistic people, disabled people and those with a learning disability. |
Government 'rules out' COVID-19 business rates appeals
26/03/2021 Local authorities will be allocated a £1.5bn funding pot to help businesses adversely affected by COVID-19. |
Croydon council ends section 114 thanks to £120m bailout
26/03/2021 Croydon Council has announced that it is now able to end its ban on non-essential spending thanks to a £120m Government bailout. |
Levelling up funding is 'poorly targeted' report warns
25/03/2021 There are 6.5 million people living in deprived local authorities that will not be helped by the Government's levelling up funding, new analysis has revealed. |
Welsh councils get £12m to improve local roads
24/03/2021 The Welsh Government has announced an extra £12m for local authorities to 'fix potholes and improve roads, pavements and active travel routes' across the country. |
Councils call for public health funding boost
23/03/2021 The Government should increase the public health grant to at least £3.9bn by 2024/25 to reduce health inequalities and protect from future outbreaks, local leaders have argued. |
'Welcome back' fund launched for high streets and coastal areas
22/03/2021 Councils will receive £56m to help high streets and seaside resorts open safely this summer. |
Local authorities allocated £100m leisure recovery fund
22/03/2021 The Government has allocated £100m funding to 266 local authorities across England to help leisure centres prepare to re-open safely. |
Hancock unveils £7bn funding boost for NHS and social care
19/03/2021 The Government has announced an extra £341m for infection control measures and rapid testing in adult social care services. |
Charity criticises 'small' increase in public health funding
17/03/2021 The Government has increased councils' public health grants by £45m for 2021/22. |
Chancellor urged to reform 'poorly designed' council tax
15/03/2021 Campaigners have called for a review into 'poorly designed' council tax, warning it places the biggest burden on those living in less prosperous parts of the country. |
Councils welcome boost to COVID Winter Grant Scheme
15/03/2021 Council leaders have welcomed the £59m funding boost to the COVID Winter Grant Scheme to help support vulnerable families over the Easter period. |
Only half the Culture Recovery Fund paid out, NAO finds
12/03/2021 Only half of the money from the Government’s arts recovery fund has been paid out so far, a spending watchdog has warned. |
Council tax hits £2,000 barrier in two regions
11/03/2021 The typical council tax bill for an average property in England’s north-east and south-west will be more than £2,000 a year for the first time, according to research from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). |
Councils share £5m in Air Quality Grants
10/03/2021 A further £5m has been awarded to local authorities across England to deliver projects that tackle air pollution. |
Councils left seriously underfunded, NAO finds
08/03/2021 Coronavirus has left local authorities seriously underfunded and facing budget cuts unless the Government can create a long-term financial plan for the sector, a study from the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned. |
Welsh government announces £15.2m ‘placemaking’ fund
04/03/2021 The Welsh government today announced a £15.2m ‘placemaking’ funding package to help revive Wales’ town centres in the wake of the pandemic. |
Budget 2021: OBR highlights post-war peak in public spending
03/03/2021 Total public spending is expected to rise by £256bn or 29% in 2020/21, the largest increase on record and the largest percentage rise since just after the oil price shock in 1974/75 according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. |
Budget 2021: Sunak warns of pain to come
03/03/2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a budget to protect ‘livelihood and jobs’ – with a warning of public finance pain to come. |
Budget 2021: Sunak freezes VAT rate to support hospitality and tourism
03/03/2021 Support for hospitality and tourism businesses was underpinned in the Budget by a freezing of the current 5% rate of VAT for another six months until the end of September. |
Budget 2021: Universal credit boost extended for six months
03/03/2021 The £20 uplift to Universal Credit has been extended for a further six months, the chancellor has confirmed in his Budget today. |
BUDGET 2021: Sunak's lifeline for workers and business
03/03/2021 Rishi Sunak’s Budget is expected to provide a lifeline for workers as the furlough scheme is extended to September while the universal credit £20 uplift could also be prolonged for six months. |
Welsh public services receive £682m cash boost
02/03/2021 Wales’ public services will receive a cash boost of more than £682m to support their COVID efforts over the coming months, the Welsh government has said. |
MPs call for review of local authority flood funding
26/02/2021 The Government needs a better understanding on whether funding allocated to local authorities to prevent flooding is matching local risks, MPs have warned today. |
Children’s services face £824m budget gap
24/02/2021 A funding shortfall of £824m is being faced by children’s services, according to research published today. |
Johnson announces £700m education recovery funding
24/02/2021 A £700m education recovery package to help students catch up on missed learning has been announced by the Prime Minister. |
Council pension funds invest nearly £10bn in fossil fuels
23/02/2021 Nearly £10bn of local government pension funds are still invested in fossil fuels, new research has uncovered. |
Review of business rates delayed until autumn
19/02/2021 The final report on the review of business rates will be pushed back until autumn, the Government has confirmed today. |
Calls to use Budget to tackle 'rent debt crisis'
18/02/2021 The chancellor has been warned that homelessness will increase if he fails to tackle the rent debt crisis in the upcoming Budget. |
Catch-up support funding for pupils is 'insufficient'
18/02/2021 The catch-up plans for pupils across the UK are 'insufficient' and unlikely to address the scale of learning loss following the pandemic, a report has warned today. |
Charity warns funding for refuges ‘inadequate’
17/02/2021 A charity focusing on supporting women and children who have survived domestic abuse has warned that existing funding arrangements for refuge services are ‘inadequate’. |
SME builders given £250m boost to diversify housing market
16/02/2021 Small and medium-sized builders are now able to access construction loans of between £1m and £10m from a new fund, the Government’s housing delivery agency has announced. |
Council road repairs cash down £400m next year
15/02/2021 County councils have said they will have ‘no choice’ but to cancel high priority highway maintenance works next year after the Government announced capital funding allocations down £398m on current levels. |
Councils allocated £500m to fix ten million potholes
15/02/2021 Councils have been allocated £500m from the Government's £2.5bn Potholes Fund. |
Councils allocated £125m domestic abuse funding
12/02/2021 Councils have been allocated their share of £125m to fund the new duty to support domestic violence victims. |
Four councils get emergency bail out deal from Government
11/02/2021 Four councils that are unable to balance their budgets will receive emergency funding from the Government. |
Jenrick confirms £3.5bn plan to replace unsafe cladding
11/02/2021 Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed that the Government will fully fund the cost of replacing unsafe cladding for all leaseholders in residential buildings six storeys and over in England. |
Defra announces £10m fund to drive private sector investment in nature
10/02/2021 The Government has announced a multi-million-pound fund which aims to help local authorities attract private investment into projects focused on tackling climate change. |
Government announces £35.5m to tackle violence at local level
09/02/2021 Local communities are set to benefit from a multi-million-pound funding boost to help support measures tackling serious violence. |
Red Cross calls for £250m top up for local welfare assistance schemes
08/02/2021 Local authorities should receive an extra £250m a year to help improve access to emergency cash, a charity has said today. |
MPs accuse Government of lacking clear flood-resilience targets
08/02/2021 Local authority leaders have welcomed a call from MPs urging the Government to provide councils with the resources they need to protect vulnerable communities from flooding. |
Councils face £1.3bn shortfall on council tax, says IFS
05/02/2021 Councils face a £1.3bn shortfall in the council tax they were expecting for 2020-21, finance think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated. |
Six councils edge closer to bail out deal
04/02/2021 Six councils are deep in negotiations with the Government in a bid to claw them out of their financial difficulties in the run up to next week’s settlement, The MJ understands. |
Councils face funding shortfall for self-isolation schemes
03/02/2021 Funding for council schemes supporting people forced to self-isolate due to COVID-19 do not go far enough, according to new research. |
Councils urged to bid for extended electric vehicle chargepoints funding
02/02/2021 Local authorities are being urged to apply for a share of £20m funding to help increase the number of on-street electric vehicle chargepoints. |
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.
Charity warns of 'astonishing' level of underclaimed council tax support
Think tank calls for reform of 'regressive' council tax in Scotland
Councils urged to bid for £15m traffic signals cash
Redcar receives £3.7m towards cost of cyber-attack
