Tens of thousands of homes built after ‘bypassing’ planning system
Informal childcare exempt from local lockdown rules
Councils to ‘regularly report’ on efforts to fight modern slavery
Tackle health and economic inequalities at local level, economists say
Open for business
Andrew Knowles and Leena Gillespie explain how local authorities can reshape the future of Britain’s challenged high street.
Councils warn millions of homes do not have a working smoke alarm
21/09/2020 Councils have launched an urgent fire safety drive after figures showed that more than two million homes in England do not have a working smoke alarm. |
Labour calls for extension of evictions ban to ‘avoid homelessness crisis’
18/09/2020 The Labour Party have called on the Government to extend the evictions ban due to end on Sunday to avoid a homelessness crisis this winter. |
Hull City abandons ‘return of fans’ match due to Covid-19 warnings
18/09/2020 Hull City have pulled out of a pilot that could have seen the return of live audiences at sporting events after the council declared it would not be safe. |
Holyrood announces £16m for fuel-poor households
17/09/2020 Fuel-poor households in Scotland are to benefit from a further £16m investment to improve energy efficiency in their homes, Scottish government announces. |
Wandsworth suspends LTN trials one month in
16/09/2020 Wandsworth Council have suspended their Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) trials over ‘concerns with emergency access and traffic flows’. |
Committee condemns ‘pie-in-the-sky’ cladding promises
16/09/2020 Thousands of people are at risk because of ‘serious shortcomings’ in the Government’s long-term response to the Grenfell Tower fire. |
Citizen's Climate Assembly calls for reductions in car and air travel
15/09/2020 The first citizens’ assembly on climate change has called for tough action including limiting the growth of car and plane travel. |
Some families face being ‘locked into disadvantage’ for generations, report says
15/09/2020 Deprivation in dozens of English councils is now so persistent that some families face being locked into disadvantage for generations, report warns. |
Councils warn of 'housebuilding fiasco'
15/09/2020 New government housing targets will lead to a north-south divide in England, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
ADEPT backs e-scooters to tackle pollution threat
14/09/2020 Council place directors have backed the legalisation of e-scooters but said there are a number of questions that need to be answered. |
Renters facing eviction given a 'Christmas truce'
11/09/2020 The Government has announced a 'winter truce' on the enforcement of evictions over the Christmas period. |
Liverpool launches UK's first heritage-led development plan
11/09/2020 Liverpool is seeking to retain its World Heritage Status through the launch of the UK’s first heritage-led development plan |
Sector surprise at COVID marshal scheme
09/09/2020 Local government has been blindsided by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that an army of COVID marshals will enforce tough new rules. |
Manchester council to consider extending selective licensing schemes
09/09/2020 Manchester City Council’s executive will be asked to approve a consultation on extending selective licensing schemes to up to 12 new locations in the city which cover around 2,500 homes. |
Bolton faces tougher lockdown measures
09/09/2020 The Government has imposed stricter new measures across Bolton, which has the highest rate of COVID-19 cases in the country. |
Local government minister quits
08/09/2020 Simon Clarke said he was leaving the Government for 'purely personal reasons’. |
LEPs need capacity boost to improve delivery, research finds
07/09/2020 Local enterprise partnerships (LEP) would be better at delivering large-scale capital projects if they had more capacity, independent research for the Government has found. |
Housing Ombudsman names six councils with highest number of maladministration findings
07/09/2020 A new report from the housing Ombudsman has found that maladministration in the handling of complaints by landlords is the area of ‘most consistent concern’. |
Over 500 new chargers per day needed to achieve zero emission car market
07/09/2020 Survey reveals that despite billions invested in the development of EVs, UK buyers are still reluctant to buy them and hundreds more charge points are needed. |
Third of local areas face secondary school shortage within five years
04/09/2020 A third of local areas in England could run out of secondary school places within five years, new analysis has warned today. |
Four in ten homes granted planning permission go unbuilt, research shows
04/09/2020 The backlog of unbuilt homes that have been granted planning permission has grown by 100,00 in the last year, new research has revealed. |
Leader of Northumberland Council is deposed
03/09/2020 The leader of a scandal-hit council compared to North Korea has been deposed after a vote of no confidence at a fiery meeting. |
Councils welcome decision not to ease restrictions in Trafford and Bolton
03/09/2020 Lockdown restrictions will remain in place in Bolton and Trafford following a request from council leaders. |
Launch of £2bn youth employment scheme
02/09/2020 The Government has launched its £2bn scheme to create thousands of jobs for unemployed young people. |
Ministers seek middle path on pavement parking
01/09/2020 The Department for Transport (DfT) has published a consultation setting out three options to tackle the issue of pavement parking. |
Tribunal rules foster care workers entitled to employee rights
01/09/2020 A UK tribunal has ruled that foster care workers are council employees and therefore entitled to employment rights. |
Jenrick announces ‘crackdown’ on parking fines
01/09/2020 The Government has proposed a new code of practice aimed at eliminating unfair fines issued by private car parking firms. |
Delivery companies to help map potholes
28/08/2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has launched what his department called a first-of-its-kind audit into the mapping of potholes in England ‘to better target improvements so that roads are in top condition as people return to work and school’. |
Nottingham agrees governance overhaul
28/08/2020 The council will implement a raft of measures in a bid to improve oversight of its companies after its energy firm incurred a £24m loss. |
London council criticised for housing man in Birmingham costing him a job
27/08/2020 Merton Council has been criticised for housing a man from London in Birmingham, forcing him to give up his second job. |
Key workers urged to stand as local councillors
27/08/2020 Labour has urged key workers to stand as councillors in next year's local elections. |
New scheme to support self-isolating workers does not go ‘far enough’, Burnham says
27/08/2020 Mayor Andy Burnham has criticised the Government’s announcement of a new payment for people who are self-isolating, arguing it ‘goes nowhere near far enough’. |
Progress on closing the learning gap has stalled, report warns
26/08/2020 The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in primary schools has increased for the first time since 2017, new figures have shown. |
Birmingham Council given new powers to close businesses
26/08/2020 Birmingham City Council has been given new enforcement powers to help keep the rate of COVID-19 infections reducing. |
Derby council joins campaign for ‘once-in-a-generation’ investment in social housing
25/08/2020 Derby City Council and Derby Homes have joined a national campaign to make social housing a Government priority in the coronavirus recovery. |
Low-income families ‘struggling’ under lockdown
25/08/2020 Coronavirus has left low-income families struggling with a significant deterioration in living standards and high stress levels, child poverty charity finds. |
Debt charity calls for ‘long overdue’ bailiff reform
25/08/2020 A charity has warned that the Government’s public health guidance for bailiffs leaves concerns about the impact of debt collection on households ‘unaddressed’. |
Government announces £9m ‘catch up’ funding for early years pupils
24/08/2020 Schools urged to sign up to ‘catch up’ programme aimed at raising speaking and language outcomes among pupils whose education has been disrupted by Covid-19. |
Evictions ban extended
21/08/2020 The Government has extended the ban on evictions of renters for a further month following lobbying by councils. |
Government tells councils to ‘do their bit’ for child asylum seekers
21/08/2020 The Home Office has called on local authorities to do more to support vulnerable children seeking asylum in the UK. |
Government announces nearly £3m for violence prevention
21/08/2020 The Government has announced that it is committing £2.9m to hundreds of frontline charities working on violence prevention projects. |
Councils warn of ‘avalanche of evictions’
21/08/2020 The local government sector is braced for a deluge of homelessness following the end of the evictions ban. |
Leeds could scrap CAZ as pandemic cuts traffic and pollution
20/08/2020 Leeds City Council could scrap its planned Clean Air Zone (CAZ) if levels of toxic air pollution remain within legal limits. |
Women and single parents ‘most negatively impacted’ by COVID-19
20/08/2020 Women and single parents are likely to be most negatively impacted by COVID-19 and the pressures it is putting on social housing, according to researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA). |
Council to amend school transport appeals policy
20/08/2020 Coventry City Council has agreed to change the way it handles appeals about free school transport following an investigation by the ombudsman. |
Government announces ‘legally binding targets’ to tackle climate change
19/08/2020 The Government has set out a series of legally binding targets under the Environment Bill to combat climate change. |
London councils triple the number of apprenticeships created by boroughs
18/08/2020 Local authorities in London have this year increased the number of apprenticeships created directly by boroughs by 14%, according to new data released by London Councils. |
Council hits out at ‘flawed’ bus lane review
18/08/2020 Newcastle City Council has warned that a review into its bus lane signage contains a ‘number of legal errors’. |
Kent reaches capacity to safely care for migrant children
18/08/2020 Kent County Council has warned it has reached its capacity to safely care for any more unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. |
Calls to extend free school meals to children from migrant families
17/08/2020 Pupils from low-income migrant families should receive free school meals to prevent thousands of children from going hungry, 60 organisations have 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.
