Ombudsman reprimands council over support for vulnerable people
Union warns 130,000 people trapped in social care debt
Launch of £5m fund to support unpaid carers
Poorest children most affected by early years funding crisis, research finds
How councils can improve support for independent living
Paul Smith outlines his five top tips on how councils can improve the outcomes for disabled people living in their area.
Council apologises for failing to protect girls from grooming gang
11/06/2019 Kirklees Council has apologised for failing to protect two girls from abuse, after an independent review found opportunities were lost to protect them from exploitation. |
Some schools 'discouraging' admission of special needs children
11/06/2019 Children with special needs are being discouraged from attending some primary schools, education experts have warned. |
Local authorities will continue to commission public health services
10/06/2019 Councils will continue to commission local public health services, a government review has concluded. |
Domestic abuse victims more likely to develop a mental illness
07/06/2019 Women suffering domestic abuse are three times more likely than others to develop mental illness, according to a study. |
Councils warn of national 'special needs emergency'
06/06/2019 Councils are supporting more than 130 extra children and young people with special education needs every day, new figures have revealed. |
Calls for sugar-free schools by 2022
05/06/2019 All schools in London should be sugar-free by 2022, according to health experts. |
Over half of the disease burden in England ‘preventable’
04/06/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed a report which urges the Government to increase investment into initiatives supporting public health. |
Sure Start had ‘major benefits’ for disadvantaged children, think tank says
04/06/2019 The twenty-year-old childcare programme has had major health benefits for children in poorer neighbourhoods, a new analysis reveals. |
MPs warn of ‘worrying’ sexual health inequalities
03/06/2019 Members of Parliament have called for a new national strategy to ensure high quality sexual health services for all. |
Council leaders welcome Panorama’s ‘powerful’ social care episode
30/05/2019 Local authority leaders have welcomed a recent ‘powerful and emotive’ episode of Panorama that shone some light on the adult social care crisis. |
England faces £4.4bn care funding gap
29/05/2019 There will be a social care funding gap of £4.4bn in England by 2023/24 unless there is a funding commitment from the Government, a health think tank says. |
County council chiefs warn of ‘fragile nature’ of care system
29/05/2019 Councils will need to spend £6.1bn per year more in 2025 on adult social care services compared to what they were spending a decade ago, figures reveal. |
Older people waiting too long for care, charity warns
28/05/2019 Four out of ten older people with critical or substantial needs are waiting more than six weeks for social care in Scotland, a charity has warned. |
Free social care for the elderly could save NHS £4.5bn a year, think tank says
23/05/2019 The introduction of free social care for everyone over 65 would save the NHS in England £4.5bn a year and help improve care in the community, think tank says. |
Council criticised for ‘serious delays’ in completing SEND plans
23/05/2019 Hackney Council has been criticised by the ombudsman over serious delays when completing plans for children with Special Educational Needs. |
Closure of public toilets ‘threat to health’, warns report
23/05/2019 The decline in public toilets is a threat to health, mobility, and equality, according to a public health body. |
Suffolk CC’s children’s services awarded ‘outstanding’
22/05/2019 Ofsted inspectors have awarded children’s services at Suffolk County Council the top grade of ‘outstanding'. |
Over 14 million people live with more than one long-term condition, study shows
22/05/2019 Almost one in four people are living with long-term multiple health conditions, according to new research. |
Hancock pledges review of every patient in long term segregation or seclusion
21/05/2019 Health secretary Matt Hancock today ordered a review of the care that patients in long term segregation or seclusion receive. |
Nearly 600 people arrested to tackle county lines drug gangs
21/05/2019 Nearly 600 people have been arrested in a single week for their suspected involvement in drug dealing across county lines. |
Children with autism ‘let down’ by system, report finds
20/05/2019 The system of support for young people with learning difficulties and autism is letting down some of the most vulnerable children in the country, according to the Children’s Commissioner. |
‘Significant’ variations in rates of dental visits, study finds
17/05/2019 Children living in areas of deprivation are more likely to visit the dentist compared to those in more affluent areas, a new study has revealed. |
Coventry ordered to implement clean air zone
17/05/2019 Coventry City Council has accused the Government of using ‘heavy handed’ tactics after it was ordered to implement a clean air zone. |
‘Locked up’ children cost £300m to care for, commissioner says
16/05/2019 An estimated 1,500 children in England are locked up by the state for their own or others’ safety at a cost of a third of a billion pounds a year, new report reveals. |
Commissioner appointed to improve Stoke’s ‘inadequate’ children’s services
16/05/2019 Stoke-on-Trent council has said it is ‘looking forward’ to working with a new commissioner who has been appointed to improve the authority’s children's services. |
Cuts creating ‘care deserts’ across England, charity says
15/05/2019 Years of underfunding has undermined the care market and created ‘care deserts’ in England, an elderly persons charity has warned. |
Child poverty is the ‘new normal’ in Britain, campaigners warn
15/05/2019 An estimated half a million more children are having their lives ‘limited by poverty’ today than at the start of the decade, the UK’s leading child poverty coalition has revealed. |
Council pays out over £40,000 for ‘mistakes’ in respite centre closure
14/05/2019 Southampton City Council has paid thousands of pounds in compensation after an Ombudsman ruled that the authority had caused ‘avoidable distress’ when it closed a respite centre. |
Call to ‘rethink’ public health investment
14/05/2019 A culture change is needed in the way local organisations evaluate long-term investment in prevention, a report has argued today. |
Welfare reforms put pressure on struggling families, report warns
13/05/2019 A new study looking at the impact of welfare reforms on child vulnerability has found that a quarter of children in low income families are unable to make ends meet. |
Councils urged to apply for funding to improve health of rough sleepers
10/05/2019 Councils are being urged to bid for a share of £1.9m to help support rough sleepers living with a mental illness or substance abuse problem. |
Government launches £2m programme to tackle child exploitation
09/05/2019 The Department for Education has launched a new programme designed to provide specialist support for children at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation. |
Prevention work for tackling obesity under threat from cuts, council chiefs say
09/05/2019 Early intervention by councils is ‘vital’ for dealing with obesity, council chiefs say as new figures reveal a 15% increase in hospital admissions where obesity was a factor. |
Forty people investigated over child abuse in Rotherham
09/05/2019 Forty people have been arrested or interviewed over child sexual abuse in Rotherham in the past two months. |
Councils receive extra £30m to care for asylum seeking children
09/05/2019 The amount of funding councils receive to look after unaccompanied asylum seeking children is set to rise by £30m. |
Thousands with arthritis unaware of available council support, survey finds
08/05/2019 Thousands of people with arthritis are unaware of how to access support from their local council, a new survey has revealed. |
Charity calls for £2.4bn Dementia Fund
08/05/2019 A report calling for a new £2.4bn Dementia Fund has received backing from 68 cross-party MPs. |
Digital health hub to be rolled out after ‘successful’ pilot
01/05/2019 A digital health and wellbeing learning centre is to be scaled up across England after a successful pilot, NHS Digital has announced. |
Four Seasons Health Care slides into administration
30/04/2019 Funding has been found to prop up more than 300 care homes as Four Seasons Health Care enters administration. |
Green proposes reforms to fix the ‘unsustainable’ care system
29/04/2019 The cash-strapped care system should adopt the model of the state pension to help deal with its multi-billion pound funding hole, Damian Green MP argues. |
DWP pursues 80,000 carers for overpaid allowances
26/04/2019 The Government is pursuing thousands of carers for repayment of overpaid care allowances despite not knowing the impact this will have, auditors say. |
Adult social care is ‘in crisis’, study reveals
26/04/2019 The current system of adult social care is at 'breaking point', local government leaders have warned. |
Councils need more powers to tackle junk food adverts, campaigners say
24/04/2019 Campaigners have called for local authorities to be given more powers to push back against junk food advertising. |
Digital portal showing care home vacancies launched
16/04/2019 Local authorities have partnered with the NHS to provide a new digital portal which shows how many vacancies there are in local care homes. |
Primary schools to be provided with free sanitary products
16/04/2019 Free sanitary products will be offered to girls in all primary schools in England from early next year, the Government has announced. |
Council proposes introducing more smoke-free spaces
12/04/2019 Derbyshire residents could soon be asked to decide on whether they want more smoke-free places in their county. |
London councils agree to 4,000 extra places on HIV trial
12/04/2019 The capital’s boroughs have agreed to provide over 4,000 extra places on a trial of HIV prevention medicine. |
Nearly two thirds of councils cut mental health services for children
10/04/2019 Around 60% of local authority areas have seen a real-terms fall in spending on low-level mental health services for children, a new report has revealed. |
Khan hails 'landmark day' as London ULEZ begins
08/04/2019 London’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) – described by mayor Sadiq Khan as the world’s toughest vehicle emissions standard – began on Monday. |
Council chiefs call for ‘greater proportion’ of soft drinks levy
08/04/2019 Local authority leaders have called for a greater share of the soft drinks levy to go towards the public health budgets of councils. |
The March issue of Local Government News explores alternative funding channels that are available to councils beyond the Public Works Loan Board, what hurdles merging councils face in coming together, and how local government is handling GDPR.
This issue also has a special highways and street lighting section exploring how councils can use lighting to embark on their smart city journey and using IoT technology to weather the storm.
