Councils urged to approve more self-build homes
Marcus Rashford honoured by Manchester City Council
Nottinghamshire faces tougher Tier 3 lockdown measures
Rapid review into Croydon’s ‘dysfunctional governance’
Making a holistic case for devolution
Penny Rinta-Suksi argues the Government needs to make a holistic case for devolution, and back it with legislation.
Rural homelessness doubles in past two years, campaigners warn
28/10/2020 Homelessness in rural areas has more than doubled since 2018, new research from campaigners has warned. |
Baroness Lawrence calls for urgent action to tackle structural racial inequalities
27/10/2020 Structural racism meant Black, Asian and minority ethnic people were disproportionately affected by the COVID pandemic, a new review has warned. |
Seven areas across England set to receive nearly £180m investment
27/10/2020 Communities in seven areas across England are set to benefit from up to £178.7m in new Town Deals, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has announced. |
Blue wall rebels call for economic kickstart
27/10/2020 Northern Tory MPs led by the former Northern Powerhouse minister Jake Berry have urged their government to kickstart its promised ‘levelling up’ agenda with a Northern Economic Recovery Plan. |
New guidance to prevent care leavers becoming homeless
26/10/2020 Councils have been urged to identity care leavers that are at risk of becoming homeless, in new guidance published today. |
Police make first Grenfell arrest
26/10/2020 Detectives investigating the fire have arrested a man on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. |
Councils gain COVID enforcement powers
23/10/2020 Councils are to be given new powers to issue businesses with improvement notices and close premises if they breach coronavirus restrictions. |
Charity warns parents are struggling to cover school food costs
23/10/2020 Nearly one million children are living in households that are struggling to afford to feed their children during a school day, according to a new survey. |
London council fines two rogue landlords £110,500
22/10/2020 Islington Council has fined two landlords £110,500 for providing dangerous and sub-standard housing. |
Capacity for 1.3 million homes on brownfield land, campaigners reveal
21/10/2020 There is enough brownfield land to deliver 1.3 million new homes, new analysis has revealed. |
Calls to pause enforcement of council tax arrears in Tier 3 areas
21/10/2020 Local authorities in Tier 3 areas should not be required to enforce the collection of council tax debts, argues Citizens Advice. |
Nearly one million children set to lose free school meals over holidays
21/10/2020 Nearly one million children living in areas that are subject to Tier 2 and 3 coronavirus restrictions are set to lose access to free school meals over the holidays, a new analysis has revealed. |
Greater Manchester will move into Tier 3 as talks collapse
20/10/2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Greater Manchester will head into Tier 3 restrictions on Friday after talks with local leaders broke up without a deal. |
Reorganisation battle lines drawn over think-tank report
20/10/2020 The bitter war of words between counties and districts over reorganisation stepped up this week as battle lines were drawn around a new think-tank report. |
Wales to introduce coronavirus 'firebreak'
20/10/2020 A two-week 'firebreak' will be introduced in Wales this Friday to help slow the spread of coronavirus. |
MPs call for ‘starter payment’ to support new UC claimants
19/10/2020 A starter payment should be made to people claiming Universal Credit (UC) for the first time to ensure that they have enough money for the basics, MPs say. |
Labour calls for free school meals to be provided during holidays
19/10/2020 Labour has thrown its weight behind a petition urging the Government to extend the provision of free school meals during holidays by threatening to force a vote in the Commons. |
Greater Manchester's mayor will not 'roll over' on COVID cash
19/10/2020 Greater Manchester’s standoff with government on moving to new tier three COVID-19 restrictions continues today, with mayor Andy Burham saying he will not ‘roll over’ at the sight of a cheque. |
Counties warn of test and trace ‘missed opportunity’
16/10/2020 Calls for more support for local contact tracing have been redoubled after the national system’s success rate plummeted. |
Over 200 more heritage sites now 'at risk'
16/10/2020 More heritage sites have been added to the 'at risk' register than the number that have been saved this year, an annual register has warned. |
Welsh councils given new powers to buy empty homes
16/10/2020 Councils in Wales will be allowed to compulsory purchase empty houses and vacant land under new planning rules. |
Welsh councils to get pavement parking enforcement powers
15/10/2020 Councils in Wales could have greater powers to prevent pavement parking by 2022 after ministers backed recommendations from an independent taskforce. |
London council to improve Blue Badge assessments
15/10/2020 Harrow Council has been told to improve the way it assesses Blue Badge and Freedom Pass applications after an investigation found a number of faults with its processes. |
Sheffield council apologises for ‘numerous problems’ with tree felling scheme
15/10/2020 Sheffield City Council has issued an apology after a report from the local government Ombudsman found ‘numerous problems’ with the way it removed trees in 2016. |
Manchester leaders unite to oppose Tier 3 restrictions
15/10/2020 Local leaders across Greater Manchester have rejected plans to put the region into Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions. |
Leeds set to scrap Clean Air Zone but could keep ANPR
14/10/2020 Leeds City Council is set to scrap its planned Clean Air Zone (CAZ) after businesses switched to cleaner vehicles in anticipation but is considering repurposing the vehicle tracking technology installed for the scheme. |
Starmer calls for ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown
14/10/2020 Labour leader Keir Starmer has urged the Government to follow the advice of their scientific advisers and bring in a short lockdown of two or three weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19. |
Record number of spaces achieve Green Flag Awards
14/10/2020 A record number of parks and green spaces have been recognised in this year's Green Flag Awards. |
London council hit by ‘serious’ cyber attack
14/10/2020 Hackney Council has been the target of a ‘serious cyber attack’ that has affected its IT systems and services. |
Child poverty has risen most in Northern areas and Midlands, research finds
14/10/2020 Child poverty has risen fastest in parts of the Midlands and Northern towns and cities in the past four years, new research has revealed. |
Luton Council unable to take action against councillors breaching lockdown rules
13/10/2020 Luton council has expressed its ‘disappointment’ after it was unable to formally sanction three councillors who broke coronavirus lockdown rules in July. |
Universal Credit does not cover ‘basic day to day living costs’, campaigners say
13/10/2020 Four in five people claiming Universal Credit do not have enough money to cover rent, food and bills, shocking new research reveals. |
Millions more of fraud and overpayments detected in Wales
13/10/2020 An extra £2.7m in fraud and overpayments has been identified in Wales after several local authorities started comparing council tax single persons discount with the electoral register, a report has found. |
AA highlights local road spend disparity
12/10/2020 The AA has accused some councils in England of doing ‘next to nothing’ by way of maintenance on their road network. |
Nearly one million children sign up for free school meals
12/10/2020 Around 900,000 children have newly registered for free school meals this Autumn, according to the Food Foundation. |
Council leaders recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours List
12/10/2020 Council leaders and staff have been recognised in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for their services to local government. |
Charity calls for improvements to adoption process to encourage black adopters
12/10/2020 An adoption charity has called for improvements to the adoption assessment process in order to encourage more members of the black community to become adoptive parents. |
Birmingham to launch Clean Air Zone in June 2021
09/10/2020 Birmingham City Council has confirmed the government-mandated Clean Air Zone is now scheduled to launch on 1 June 2021. |
Warning that homeless people will die this winter without action
08/10/2020 The Government has been urged to provide self contained accommodation for homeless people this winter to protect them from coronavirus by charities and health bodies. |
MPs to examine how Whitehall can ensure effective devolution
08/10/2020 A new inquiry examining how to improve the effectiveness of devolution in England has been launched by MPs. |
Government 'likely' to miss full fibre broadband 2025 target
07/10/2020 A Government promise to deliver full fibre broadband to every home by 2025 is likely to be missed unless ministers make radical changes to telecoms policy, think tank warns. |
Planning reforms risk delivery of affordable homes, council chiefs warn
07/10/2020 Communities could have missed out on 30,000 affordable homes in the past five years if proposed Government planning reforms were in place, local leaders warn. |
Call for evidence on appointing Air Quality Partners
06/10/2020 The Government has launched a call for evidence on which public bodies should help local authorities to tackle air pollution. |
Social home shortage fuelling housing crisis, charity warns
06/10/2020 A ‘disastrous’ lack of social homes has caused a housing emergency in England, a charity has warned today. |
Levelling up agenda would add £242bn to economy each year, research finds
05/10/2020 Successfully delivering on the levelling agenda would boost the economy by £242bn a year, new research has argued today. |
'Dramatic' fall in London's air pollution since 2016, data shows
05/10/2020 Despite dramatic improvements in London's air quality since 2016, air pollution is still a major public health challenge, new data has revealed. |
Greater Manchester mayor calls for consultation on ‘three tier’ COVID-19 restrictions
05/10/2020 Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has called on the Government to open negotiations with mayors and local leaders on the leaked ‘three tiers’ policy paper concerning COVID-19 restrictions. |
Aberdeen named council of the year at MJ Awards
02/10/2020 Aberdeen City Council has been named Local Authority of the Year in The MJ’s first virtual local government awards. |
Mayor 'rejects' government lockdown restrictions
02/10/2020 Middlesbrough Mayor, Andy Preston, has said he doesn't accept the new lockdown measures being imposed by the Government as they are based on ignorance and factual inaccuracies. |
Transport Committee backs e-scooter roll-out
02/10/2020 MPs have given qualified backing to the legalisation of electric scooters, including privately owned ones, but warned that this should not be to the detriment of pedestrians. |
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.
