Edible playgrounds sprout up in Sunderland schools
Council wrongly threatened to remove children
Ombudsman escalates housing complaint against Leicester council
PAC: Family court delays put social care under strain
Underfunding, Not Demand, Is Breaking SEND
Jack Lowman, Sense, says properly funding the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system is vital for disabled children to get the best start.
Call to boost physical activity for children in care
10/09/2025 Care-experienced children and young people are a ‘hidden group’ often overlooked in physical activity policy, according to a report launched today by the LGA. |
Teenage pregnancy rise sparks call for action
10/09/2025 Council leaders have warned that teenage pregnancies are beginning to rise again after decades of progress, calling for urgent Government action. |
One in four children facing hunger, charity warns
10/09/2025 Millions of children across the UK are growing up hungry with over one in four living in households facing food insecurity, according to the Trussell Trust. |
Council denies leaving man to sleep in car
04/09/2025 A Lincolnshire man with health issues was left sleeping in his car after South Kesteven DC failed to offer him temporary housing, Ombudsman rules. |
Councils push early check service to tackle health gaps
03/09/2025 Free NHS health check invites were sent to more than one million people aged 40 and over by March this year, the Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed. |
One in 10 supported homes at risk
29/08/2025 50,000 specialist homes for people with support needs are at imminent risk of closure due to ongoing funding pressures, National Housing Federation warns. |
£600m boost secures holiday support for children
28/08/2025 Local authority leaders have welcomed the Government’s decision to invest £600m to extend the Holiday Activities and Food programme. |
Scottish care kids failing to attend school
27/08/2025 An increasing proportion of children in local authority care in Scotland are failing to attend school. |
Two-thirds of councils lack safeguarding policy for gender-questioning children
26/08/2025 Two-thirds of councils with care responsibilities could not provide a policy on safeguarding processes for gender questioning children in care, study finds. |
Cuts to council-run pools raise child safety concerns
26/08/2025 More than 120 public swimming pools have closed over the last decade, freedom of information (FOI) requests from GMB have revealed. |
Council acts on Disabled Facilities Grant backlog
20/08/2025 North Yorkshire Council has pledged to improve how it manages Disabled Facilities Grant applications after an investigation revealed a backlog of cases. |
High energy prices forcing councils to cool swimming pools
14/08/2025 Councils are decreasing temperatures in swimming pools due to high energy prices, data says. |
Council wrote to families about EHC plan reviews that never took place
13/08/2025 Stockton on Tees BC has apologised after an investigation revealed that nearly 100 young people with EHC plans have not had their support updated. |
Glasgow CC announces LEZ success
13/08/2025 The introduction of Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) has resulted in air pollution levels being cut by a third in the city centre. |
Social care services in Wales receive £30m boost
12/08/2025 Local authorities across Wales are set to receive a £30m funding boost from the Welsh Government to strengthen community-based social care services. |
Mayor of London triggers air pollution alert
12/08/2025 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has issued an air pollution alert as temperatures threaten to rise above 30C, creating dangerously high ozone levels. |
Work scheme for people with health conditions launches in West England
11/08/2025 A programme to help people with health conditions back into the workplace has been launched in the West of England. |
CQC: Stronger leadership needed to improve Blackpool's inadequate adult social care
11/08/2025 The Care Quality Commission has rated Blackpool Council's adult social care inadequate, warning that ‘stronger leadership' will be needed for it to improve. |
Child protection reforms get £18m boost
08/08/2025 The Government has announced an £18m funding boost to support the roll out of early intervention child protection reforms to councils in England. |
New council licensing system to combat ‘cosmetic cowboys’
07/08/2025 A new licensing system is to be developed to regulate unsafe cosmetic treatments, with restrictions on high-risk procedures like Brazilian Butt Lifts. |
Remove barriers to gym access, councils told
07/08/2025 Councils urged to improve gym access for people with mental illness, as new report highlights barriers and calls for inclusive fitness services. |
Council fails to review support for disabled children
07/08/2025 A London borough has been criticised for ignoring its own advice and failing to complete an investigation into how it supports children with disabilities. |
Council launches investigation into water park death
06/08/2025 Stoke-on-Trent City Council has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a four-year-old girl at the Waterworld water park. |
Government denies delay to ICB cluster launch
05/08/2025 The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has denied plans to launch Integrated Care Board (ICB) clusters have been delayed. |
Call for £400m sports fund to be channelled through councils
05/08/2025 Council leaders have called for the £400m announced in the Spending Review for grassroots sports to be targeted toward leisure centres and swimming pools. |
Councils deliver ‘inconsistent’ support for young carers, charity reveals
04/08/2025 Twenty one percent of councils lack provision for young carers during school holidays, research finds. |
ICBs and councils replace vital services following NRS Healthcare collapse
04/08/2025 ICBs and councils have announced new partnerships to replace vital services previously provided by NRS Healthcare after it went to liquidation last week. |
Councils support ‘game-changer’ gonorrhoea vaccination rollout
04/08/2025 Councils across England are partnering with the NHS to deliver a world-first public health initiative—the rollout of a gonorrhoea vaccination programme. |
‘Risk to life’ warning as healthcare equipment maker faces collapse
31/07/2025 Council leaders have warned of a ‘a devastating impact’ and ‘risk to life’ with a healthcare equipment maker on the brink of collapse. |
City of London cuts both carbon and transport emissions
28/07/2025 The City of London reduced its carbon emissions by 74% between 2005 and 2023, reveals Government data. |
Sunderland invests over £700,000 to support people with learning disabilities
25/07/2025 Sunderland City Council is to allocate £724,000 to help people with learning difficulties or autism carry out adaptions to their homes when they are discharged from hospital. |
Ombudsman raises concerns over councils’ handling of complaints involving children
25/07/2025 Concerns have been raised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman over the way councils handle complaints of cases involving children. |
Councils hail 24% rise in attempts to quit smoking
25/07/2025 The number of people attempting to quit smoking using council commissioned Stop Smoking Services has grown by almost a quarter, according to NHSE data. |
Council secures £1m investment to support vulnerable children
18/07/2025 Havering Council has secured a £1m investment to support vulnerable children. |
Care workers living in poverty, charity warns
18/07/2025 Care home staff are more than twice as likely to live in poverty compared to the average worker, a health charity has revealed. |
Councillors hold minute’s silence for girl killed by tree
14/07/2025 Councillors in Southend-on-Sea held a minute’s silence in memory of a seven-year-old girl who was killed by a falling tree. |
Measles death prompts call to improve vaccine uptake
14/07/2025 There is an urgent need to address falling immunisation rates to protect children against measles, local authority leaders have said. |
Reform UK council leader raises social care visa alarm
14/07/2025 The leader of Reform UK-controlled Kent County Council has urged the Government to rethink its plans to reduce health and social care visas to the UK. |
EHCPs ‘under threat’, campaigners warn
07/07/2025 Campaigners are urging the Government not to cut education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
Council leaves abuse survivor homeless
04/07/2025 The London Borough of Waltham Forest has apologised after a survivor of domestic abuse was left street homeless for five weeks. |
LGA calls for new coalition to fix health and care system
01/07/2025 Local authority leaders have called for a new ‘national-local coalition’ that puts prevention at the centre of a modern health and care system. |
Care workers face violence ‘day in day out’, GMB says
30/06/2025 More than half of care workers suffer violence at work including being bitten, headbutted and chocked, a survey has revealed. |
EHCPs jump up 11% in a year
27/06/2025 The number of children on Education, Health and Care Plans has increased by 11% in a year, official statistics have revealed. |
Call for proactive social care to support pensioners
27/06/2025 Researchers have recommended proactive social care to support pensioners’ ‘right[s] to live and age well’. |
Scrap council tax for terminally ill people, charity says
24/06/2025 An end-of-life charity has called on councils across England to scrap council tax for people living with a terminal illness. |
Number of family hubs down by a third
24/06/2025 The number of family hubs and children’s centres in England has reduced by more than a third since 2009, freedom of information (FOI) requests have revealed. |
Council chiefs welcome home cervical cancer screening kits
24/06/2025 Local authority leaders have welcomed the Government’s announcement that self-sampling kits used to check for cervical cancer will soon be available. |
Scale not key to social care disaggregation
23/06/2025 Adult social care disaggregation should not focus on scale, according to research published today. |
Council places boy in unregistered children’s home
19/06/2025 A High Court judge has condemned the Isle of Wight Council’s ‘inadequate’ placement of a boy in a £500,000 children’s home. |
Social care commission shelves cross-party talks
17/06/2025 Leader of the Government’s social care review of social care, Baroness Casey, has shelved plans for cross-party talks, it has been reported. |
