Councils to receive 'generous' funding under Afghan resettlement plan
Chancellor forecasts £650bn infrastructure investment over coming decade
Sheffield and Milton Keynes win £1.4m housing funding
Schools forced to make cuts due to Government’s ‘failure to invest’
Decarbonising your housing stock with heat pumps
William Eichler reports from the recent Green Housing Forum webinar, looking at the funding available to local authorities to deliver low carbon homes.
Funding boost to train staff on early language and numeracy skills
06/09/2021 A £10m funding boost to improve early language and numeracy skills will be awarded to an additional 50 local authorities, the Government has confirmed. |
Government set to hike NI to pay for care and health
03/09/2021 Government is set to plough ahead with plans to raise national insurance to fund health and social, with an announcement expected next week. |
COVID welfare claimants seen as more deserving than pre-pandemic claimants
02/09/2021 New research has revealed that COVID-19 benefit claimants are seen as much more deserving of welfare support than pre-pandemic claimants. |
Council signs £67m deal to deliver affordable housing
01/09/2021 An insurer of benefit pension funds has completed a multi-million-pound deal with the London Borough of Bromley to help deliver affordable housing. |
Business rates system 'discourages shift to net zero'
31/08/2021 Small firms have written to the Government warning that the business rates system is a disincentive to invest in net zero and employee wellbeing measures. |
Jenrick announces nearly £9bn housing boost
31/08/2021 The Government has committed £8.6bn of investment in order to boost the provision of affordable housing across the country. |
Welsh Government looks at holiday home reforms
26/08/2021 Holiday home owners in Wales could be charged the full amount of business rates amid claims people are being priced out of their local area. |
Khan pledges Afghan resettlement help
26/08/2021 The Mayor of London has pledged funding to help councils resettle Afghan refugees. |
Universal Credit cuts to force two million people into debt
26/08/2021 Government plans to cut Universal Credit this October could push 2.3 million people into the red, Citizens Advice warns. |
Over a third of the most deprived areas will not benefit from Levelling Up Fund
25/08/2021 More than a third of England’s most deprived areas will not benefit from the Government’s £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, according to new Salvation Army research released today. |
High Court grants permission for ‘Levelling Up Fund’ legal challenge
24/08/2021 The High Court has granted permission for a legal challenge to the ‘Levelling Up Fund’ after campaigners accused the Government of using the fund for political purposes. |
£3bn gap looms for councils
24/08/2021 Councils in England, Wales and Scotland are grappling with huge budget deficits totalling more than £3bn for the next financial year, according to research published by trade union Unison today. |
Community-led housing groups given access to £4m fund
24/08/2021 The Government has launched a £4m fund to help community groups build homes in their neighbourhood. |
Bids open for £160m fund to improve efficiency of social housing
23/08/2021 Social housing providers are being urged to bid for a share of £160m to create warmer, greener and cheaper homes for tenants. |
Government announces £20m for Family Hubs
19/08/2021 Vulnerable families will benefit from a multi-million-pound investment to improve access to early education, health and care services, Government announces. |
Colleges need extra £570m to deal with ‘immense resource challenges’
18/08/2021 The rising student numbers in colleges mean that an extra £570m will be required in 2022 to prevent a further fall in spending per student, think tank warns. |
Retailers tell Government to fix ‘broken’ business rates system
10/08/2021 Retailers have urged the Government to reform the business rates system as part of the effort to help high streets recover from the pandemic. |
Tax ‘loophole’ costs councils £110m
09/08/2021 New research suggests business rates relief for holiday lets is currently worth £110m a year. |
Call to invest £600m to avoid 'bed blocking' this winter
06/08/2021 Council and health leaders are calling for £600m to free up thousands of hospital beds this winter. |
London borough to see £85m investment in affordable housing
05/08/2021 A new £85m funding initiative will deliver up to 300 affordable housing units in Bromley. |
Councils missing out on £110m a year due to holiday home tax break
05/08/2021 Councils are missing out on £110m a year in council tax income due to a loophole in the business rates system, new research has shown. |
Sports funding essential to enable repeat of Team GB’s success, council chiefs say
04/08/2021 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to make the most of Team GB’s success at the Tokyo Olympics by investing in grassroots and community sport facilities. |
Rural communities 'overlooked' in levelling-up funding, report finds
04/08/2021 The allocation of levelling up funding is 'overlooking' rural communities, a report has claimed today. |
Changing Places toilet fund opens for bids
30/07/2021 Councils in England are being urged to apply for a share of £30m to install Changing Places toilets in public places and tourist attractions. |
Government threatens borrowing cap return
29/07/2021 The Government has threatened to apply statutory borrowing caps on councils that continue to expose themselves to excessive risk. |
Waste crime could be costing the UK nearly a billion pounds a year
23/07/2021 Waste-related crime is costing the country an estimated £1bn a year, a new report has found. |
Chancellor facing 'difficult' spending review
21/07/2021 Public services could face a £17bn funding cut in the spending review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. |
MPs call for urgent council finance reforms
19/07/2021 Councils should be given more flexibility to raise their own taxes and social care funding urgently needs to be reformed, MPs have said. |
Small businesses took on five times more debt during pandemic
16/07/2021 Independent businesses offer placemakers an opportunity to create a unique experience but need the support of central and local government, report says. |
Children’s services spending slashed in half, charities warn
15/07/2021 Council spending on crucial services that help stop children reaching crisis point has almost halved over the last decade, new research has revealed. |
Local government funding cuts have ‘cost lives’, study warns
15/07/2021 Cuts in local government funding over recent years have cost lives and reduced life expectancy, academics have warned in a new study. |
Reserves used to meet ‘avalanche of need’
14/07/2021 A third of councils have resorted to using reserves to meet adult social care overspends, an extensive survey has found. |
Over £1bn road investment could prevent 11,000 injuries
13/07/2021 A new study has calculated that investment packages totalling £1.4bn could prevent over 11,000 fatal and serious injuries on the roads over the next two decades. |
Committee calls for urgent consultation on UK Shared Prosperity Fund
12/07/2021 Local authorities in Scotland should be consulted on how much funding they will receive under the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), MPs have said. |
Coalition calls for reforms to ‘flawed’ apprenticeship levy
09/07/2021 The Government has been urged to make urgent reforms to the apprenticeship levy by a coalition by local government and major employers in London. |
20 years of economic interventions have failed to help poorest communities, report warns
07/07/2021 The last 20 years of local economic interventions have consistently failed to address the inequalities across the UK’s most deprived communities, a new report has warned today. |
Funding formula has shifted money from most deprived schools, watchdog warns
02/07/2021 Funding for deprived schools has shifted towards more wealthier schools, the public spending watchdog has warned today. |
BREAKING: Slough becomes second council to issue Section 114 in a year
01/07/2021 Slough Council has become the second local authority in less than a year to issue a dreaded Section 114 notice. |
Eight councils to undergo independent financial reviews
01/07/2021 Eight councils granted ‘exceptional support’ from the Government are to undergo independent reviews of their finances. |
Special needs deficits to grow to £1.3bn in two years
30/06/2021 A ‘spiralling deficit’ in special educational needs services (SEN) is expected to grow to an ‘unmanageable’ £1.3bn in just two years’ time, county councils have warned. |
Treasury launches consultation for business rates revaluations every three years
30/06/2021 Business rates revaluations could take place more frequently to better reflect changing economic conditions under proposals unveiled by the Government. |
‘Left behind’ areas receive less targeted funding, research reveals
29/06/2021 England's 'left behind' neighbourhoods receive less than half the charitable grants of other equally deprived places, new research has shown. |
CIPFA to publish strengthened local government Prudential Code
25/06/2021 A new code of practice to ensure local authorities’ financial plans are 'affordable, prudent and sustainable' will be published by the end of the year. |
Council tax debt rises to £4.4bn
24/06/2021 Council tax debt increased by £841m last year due to the pandemic reducing or delaying recovery action, official figures have shown. |
Councils receive extra £160m to support struggling families
23/06/2021 Councils will receive an extra £160m to help struggling families with food and utility bills. |
Seven people charged following missing £10.25m council loan
22/06/2021 Seven people have been charged in connection with a missing £10.25m council loan to Northampton Town FC. |
Councils highlight role of libraries in national recovery from COVID-19
21/06/2021 Councils are warning investment in libraries is crucial to help children catch up on lost learning and support local communities post-pandemic. |
Councils levy over £1m fines for COVID offences
18/06/2021 Councils have issued over £1m in fines to businesses for COVID offences, an investigation has unveiled. |
Sunak announces launch of UK Infrastructure Bank
17/06/2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced the launch of a UK Infrastructure Bank which the Government argues will help level up the country by funding infrastructure projects. |
Councils can issue traffic fines from December
15/06/2021 Powers to enforce moving traffic offences will not be extended to local authorities in England outside London until the end of the year, a Department for Transport (DfT) minister has said. |
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.
