No bail outs for commercial investments
Charities warn millions of people in council tax arrears due to Covid-19
Building safety fund not 'enough' says task force
Funding boost brings 'hope' for councils, says NILGA
Participatory budgeting
Evgeny Barkov explains what participatory budgeting means and how it can reveal what citizens need.
Local roads get £1.7bn funding boost
15/05/2020 The Government has pledged £1.7bn to repair local roads and tackle 11 million potholes. |
Councils face £10bn funding 'black hole'
14/05/2020 Councils could be forced to cut billions from social care services due to £10bn 'coronavirus black hole', Labour has warned today. |
Districts braced for lost income
13/05/2020 Woking, South Norfolk and Craven DCs are likely to be the hardest hit when it comes to lost income. |
'Too early to tell' if councils need more cash, says Jenrick
07/05/2020 It is ‘too early to tell’ if councils will need more cash to tackle coronavirus, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has said. |
Whitehall delays revaluation of business rates
06/05/2020 The Government has confirmed the planned revaluation of business rates will no longer take place next year due to coronavirus. |
Councils receive extra £617m funding to support small businesses
04/05/2020 Local authorities will receive a 5% uplift in funding to help support local small businesses. |
Jenrick unveils £76m funding for ‘most vulnerable’
04/05/2020 The communities secretary has announced £76m funding to support the ‘most vulnerable’ in society during the pandemic. |
Government urged to fund council tax payment holidays for vulnerable households
01/05/2020 The Government should provide councils with extra funding to offer payment holidays for people struggling to pay their council bill, according to Citizens Advice. |
Bonds Agency announced two more councils for bonds issue
30/04/2020 The UK Municipal Bonds Agency has announced Westminster City Council and Barnsley BC will take part in its maiden pooled bonds issue. |
Multi-million pound funding to support children affected by domestic abuse
29/04/2020 Specialist services that support children affected by domestic abuse will receive £3.1m in extra funding. |
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. |
Counties call for clarity on how coronavirus cash will be allocated
28/04/2020 County councils have called for clarity on how the latest round of emergency cash to deal with the coronavirus crisis will be split. |
Councils need another £12.8bn to cope with coronavirus - LGA
27/04/2020 Councils may need up to another £12.8bn from the Government to get through the coronavirus crisis, the chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA) has suggested. |
Councils given power to reallocate free childcare funding
24/04/2020 Councils have been given the freedom to move government funding for free childcare entitlements to meet demand during the coronavirus outbreak. |
Councils warn adult education services need grant funding
24/04/2020 Councils have warned that emergency grant funding is needed to protect adult education services. |
Report uncovers high debt levels in Northern England and Wales
23/04/2020 People living in large cities and towns in Northern England and Wales have the most debt and will be hit hardest by a post-Covid economic downturn, research has found. |
Districts’ warning on coronavirus funds
22/04/2020 District councils need a ‘fair share’ of the government’s latest round of funding, or they face having to cut vital services, the District Councils’ Network (DCN) has warned. |
Coronavirus could cost Government £246bn this year, think tank warns
21/04/2020 The coronavirus crisis is likely to cost the Government £246bn this year, a think tank has predicted. |
Jenrick unveils an extra £1.6bn for coronavirus crisis
18/04/2020 Councils are to receive an extra £1.6bn in funding to deal with the coronavirus crisis, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has announced. |
Jenrick moves to ease cash flow pressures
16/04/2020 New measures to help ease immediate financial pressures faced by councils in England due to the coronavirus outbreak have been announced by the Government. |
Think-tank voices fears over gloomy fiscal outlook
16/04/2020 Recent forecasts by the official spending watchdog of a swift return to normality for the economy and the public finances after the coronavirus lockdown have been downplayed by a new think-tank study. |
Adoptive families given access to £8m support fund
14/04/2020 Local authorities will be able to provide adoptive families with emergency support following the announcement of a £8m fund. |
Thousands of firms receive financial help from councils
14/04/2020 Almost 100,000 small businesses across the country have already been paid a share of more than £1bn to help support them through the coronavirus crisis, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said. |
Coronavirus cash allocations are 'out of date', says IFS
14/04/2020 Out of date spending assessments mean councils may not be getting their fair share of cash to deal with the coronavirus crisis, latest figures from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) have revealed. |
Care England hits out at 'insufficient' funding increase
09/04/2020 Care England has branded the 10% funding increase for care homes as ‘derisory’ and warned many providers could collapse. |
Counties warn against a blanket council tax deferral scheme
08/04/2020 County councils have warned that a blanket council tax deferral scheme could create significant financial problems for local government. |
Launch of £50m heritage emergency fund
03/04/2020 A new £50m fund to support heritage organisations at risk due to the coronavirus crisis has been launched. |
Councils welcome £400m funding boost for bus services
03/04/2020 The Government has pledged nearly £400m funding to help keep bus services running during the coronavirus pandemic. |
Sport England unveils £195m funding package
01/04/2020 Sport England will make £195 funding available to support sport and physical activity during the coronavirus crisis. |
Nearly 500,000 new Universal Credit claims made in nine days
26/03/2020 A think tank has warned that the UK is in the midst of an unemployment crisis as 477,000 new Universal Credit (UC) claims are made in nine days. |
Arts council announces £160m of ‘emergency funding’
25/03/2020 Council chiefs have welcomed the announcement of a multi-million-pound injection of funding to support the arts sector during the coronavirus pandemic. |
Councils given direction on using £500m Hardship Fund
24/03/2020 Councils will be given £500m to help reduce council tax payments for vulnerable people and those most affected by the coronavirus crisis. |
Charities struggle to deliver public sector contracts as they lose £4bn
24/03/2020 Charities and public services are more vulnerable to the Covid-19 crisis than was previously thought because of the squeeze on funding the former is experiencing as a result of the pandemic, study shows. |
Local roads backlog exceeds £11bn, survey warns
24/03/2020 The average local authority is facing a shortfall of £4.9m to repair and maintain local roads, new research has shown. |
Council tax ‘arbitrary and unfair’, think tank says
19/03/2020 Financial experts have criticised the current council tax arrangements and called on the Government to reform them as part of the ‘levelling up’ agenda. |
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. |
Emergency funding to help rough sleepers self-isolate
18/03/2020 Councils will be reimbursed the cost of helping homeless people self-isolate to prevent the spread of coronavirus. |
Budget 2020: Sunak reveals spending spree for first budget
11/03/2020 New chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a Budget to end austerity, boost productivity and tackle the problems created by coronavirus. |
Budget 2020: Mayoral authorities win big in transport
11/03/2020 The Government has unveiled £4.2bn for urban transport as part of its spring budget giveaways. |
Budget: £27bn for national roads and £2.5bn for potholes
11/03/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) will spend over £27bn between 2020 and 2025 and pledged an extra £2.5bn for local road maintenance in the Budget. |
Budget 2020: Flood-hit areas to share £200m defence fund
11/03/2020 The money will go to 25 areas based on criteria including repeated flooding. |
Over £30bn annual investment needed to reach net zero by 2050
09/03/2020 An estimated £33bn of investment is needed every year for the next three decades if the Government is to meet its carbon emissions target of net zero by 2050. |
Home Office extends funding for EU Settlement Scheme
09/03/2020 Local authorities will be allowed to bid for a share of £8m to help vulnerable people apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. |
Council tax to rise by 3.7% on average
06/03/2020 The average council tax bill is set to increase by 3.7% in 2020/21, new analysis has revealed. |
Councils face £6.5bn funding gap by 2025
06/03/2020 Local services are facing a £6.5bn funding gap over the next five years, town hall chiefs have warned today. |
Councils and teachers call for over £5bn of extra school funding
05/03/2020 Local authorities, parents and teachers have joined forces to call on the Government to increase school funding by £5.5bn. |
Devolve power to mayor’s office to deliver ‘green investment’ for London, report says
04/03/2020 A study has called for the devolution of power to mayor of London’s office and the creation of a ‘taskforce’ to deliver investment London needs to decarbonise. |
Councils report 'huge overspends' on social care
04/03/2020 More than eight out of ten councils overspent on children's social care last year, with nearly half (47%) spending more than their adult social care budget, new figures have shown. |
North of Tyne mayor announces nearly £20m funding package to ‘boost’ business
03/03/2020 The mayor of North of Tyne has announced a £19.75m funding package to support business growth and innovation. |
Council chiefs warn of ‘chronic need’ for bridge repair funding
02/03/2020 Local leaders have said there is a ‘chronic need’ for investment in local roads in response to a report on the number of substandard road bridges in Britain. |
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.
