Expansion of scheme assessing firm's COVID-19 safety measures
Children's Laureate calls for £100m ring-fenced school library fund
Discrimination twice as high among ethnic minorities in local services
Eastleigh BC permits airport expansion planning application
Navigating the new National Bus Strategy
Bus Users explains what responsibilities local authorities will have for community engagement under the new National Bus Strategy.
Councils pay tribute to Prince Philip
09/04/2021 Councils across the country have paid tribute to His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, after his death was announced today. |
Public back more city devolution
09/04/2021 More than eight in ten people support more devolution to England’s largest cities, a new poll has revealed. |
Shapps announces £18m cycle training fund
09/04/2021 Local authorities will be able to offer bespoke Bikeability Family training sessions to help people feel more confident cycling. |
Council to review decision to block humanist from religious education committee
08/04/2021 Southampton City Council has agreed to retake a decision to block humanists from becoming full members of the local religious education committee following a threat of legal action. |
Councils urged to make off-site affordable housing a higher priority
08/04/2021 A greater emphasis needs to be placed on delivering affordable housing through off-site allocations, a new report says. |
Ofsted to visit schools facing sexual abuse allegations
08/04/2021 Ofsted has announced it will visit a sample of schools and colleges in England where sexual abuse claims have been made. |
Government urged to consult on a national 'right to food' in England
07/04/2021 MPs have urged the Government to consult on a national 'right to food' and appoint a new minster for food security to prevent food poverty in England. |
Council apologises over faulty COVID support vouchers
07/04/2021 Lancashire County Council has launched an investigation after vulnerable families were given faulty vouchers meant to buy food and pay bills. |
COVID passports have ‘significant implications’ for councils
06/04/2021 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to work closely with councils on the COVID-19 status certification proposals because of the impact they will have on local enforcement and other areas. |
Domestic abuse victims facing 'unfair lottery' of support
06/04/2021 Victims of domestic abuse are not getting the help they need due to 'significant' gaps in support, new research has warned. |
Levelling up fund faces legal challenge
06/04/2021 The Government could face legal action over its ‘troublingly opaque’ allocation of the Levelling Up Fund. |
UC claimants given access to longer work-related training
01/04/2021 An initiative aimed at increasing access to training for UC claimants will see an extension to the time people can receive UC during work-focused study. |
‘Left behind’ neighbourhoods isolated by poor public transport
01/04/2021 People living in ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods are cut off from urban centres and services due to poor public transport and low car ownership, new report finds. |
Summer school guidance published
31/03/2021 New guidance for secondary schools to help progress plans for summer schools once they return from the Easter break has been published. |
Notts leader warns residents to stick to social distancing rules
31/03/2021 The leader of Nottingham City Council yesterday called on residents to stick to social distancing rules as lockdown restrictions are eased. |
Grenfell council apologises over monitoring failings
31/03/2021 Kensington & Chelsea LBC has apologised for failings in its monitoring of the organisation that managed Grenfell Tower. |
MPs call for ‘coherent exit plan’ to protect private renters
31/03/2021 The Government should establish a system of financial support for renters who have amassed significant rent arrears during the COVID-19 pandemic, MPs say. |
Cost to fix pothole-ridden local roads £10.24bn
31/03/2021 The estimated one-time cost to get local roads in England and Wales back into a ‘reasonable, steady state’ is £10.24bn, according to this year’s ALARM survey. |
Controversial planning laws threaten to do ‘more harm than good’
31/03/2021 New planning laws coming into force today will allow commercial premises to be converted into homes without requiring a full planning application. |
Cost of youth unemployment forecast to be £7bn
30/03/2021 A new study has warned that the economic cost of youth unemployment is forecast to rise to £6.9bn in 2022. |
Get aboard zero-emission bus scheme, DfT says
30/03/2021 The Government has launched its £120m fund scheme to help local transport authorities in England roll out zero-emission buses. |
Tobacco industry could be forced to pay £40m bill to collect littered butts
30/03/2021 Tobacco companies could be forced to pay for the litter created by cigarettes, the Government has announced. |
Thousands of vulnerable EU children face legal ‘cliff edge’
30/03/2021 A charity has warned that thousands of children in care who are from EU countries could find themselves with no legal status in the UK because of Brexit. |
Non-recyclable packaging costs councils £48m per year
29/03/2021 Packaging manufacturers are not doing enough to stop producing non-recyclable packaging or to contribute to the costs of disposal, council chiefs say. |
Burnham takes back control with bus franchising
26/03/2021 Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed that he plans to implement bus franchising in the city region ‘as part of plans for a joined-up and truly passenger-focused transport network’. |
Next phase of Supporting Families programme launched with £165m
26/03/2021 Local authority leaders have welcomed the next phase of the Government’s programme to support vulnerable families which has been launched with £165m behind it. |
Councils call for long-term plan to tackle education inequalities
25/03/2021 Education inequalities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic are unlikely to be solved by a quick “catch-up” initiative, council leaders have warned today. |
Jenrick steps in at 'dysfunctional' Liverpool
24/03/2021 Commissioners will be sent in to Liverpool City Council after an independent inquiry found serious mismanagement and a dysfunctional culture, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has told Parliament. |
Launch of new independent rough sleeping commission
24/03/2021 A new independent commission to learn the lessons from how rough sleepers were supported during the pandemic has been launched. |
Coventry gets go-ahead for all-electric buses
24/03/2021 Coventry is set to become the UK’s first All Electric Bus City after the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) backed the project. |
MPs launch inquiry into controversial permitted development rights
24/03/2021 The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has launched a new inquiry to examine the Government’s approach to permitted development rights (PDRs). |
Government allocates £562m green improvement fund
23/03/2021 Over 50,000 social housing properties and low-income households will be upgraded with green improvements with the launch of a £562m Government fund. |
Hammersmith Bridge could reopen as ‘double-decker crossing’
23/03/2021 Hammersmith Bridge could potentially reopen for pedestrians and cyclists next summer as a temporary double-decker crossing, the London borough has announced. |
Councils to be given five years to spend Right to Buy receipts
22/03/2021 Councils will be given five years to spend receipts from Right to Buy sales as part of an overhaul of the key housing policy, local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced. |
MPs call for action to improve care options for older people
22/03/2021 A cross-party group of MPs and Peers have called on the Government to take urgent action to improve housing and care options for older people. |
Crack down on abuse of modern slavery safeguards
22/03/2021 Local authorities will receive training to help frontline staff identify genuine victims of modern slavery. |
Liverpool parks to be protected 'forever'
19/03/2021 Liverpool City Council has become the first local authority to legally protect the future of its parks and green spaces. |
Council votes against reinstating Kensington cycle lane
19/03/2021 Kensington and Chelsea Council has voted to not re-install the Kensington High Street temporary cycle lane scheme, which caused controversy last year after being introduced in October only to be abandoned seven weeks later. |
Schools and hospitals face 'serious disruptions' as PFI contracts end
19/03/2021 Vital public assets such as roads, schools and hospitals will face 'serious disruption' if Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts expire without a plan in place, MPs have warned today. |
Burnham launches strategy to tackle gender-based abuse
18/03/2021 Greater Manchester Combined Authority is consulting on proposals that support councils in seeking PSPOs that protect women and girls from abuse. |
Jenrick announces £212m pot to tackle rough sleeping
18/03/2021 Councils have been invited to bid for a share of a multi-million-pound fund aimed at providing people sleeping rough with secure, long-term accommodation. |
Seven million children return to school
17/03/2021 Over seven million children were back in schools and colleges last week as part of the first step in the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown. |
COVID initiative exposes true extent of rough sleeping crisis
17/03/2021 MPs criticise Government’s homelessness strategy after report reveals COVID initiative has housed nine times official estimate of people sleeping rough. |
MPs to examine the role of local government in meeting 'net zero' by 2050
16/03/2021 The role local government can play in helping the UK achieve net zero by 2050 will be examined by MPs. |
Six million people fear homelessness due to COVID-19
16/03/2021 One in seven adults in England – or more than six million people – are more worried about becoming homeless due to the pandemic, new research reveals. |
Call for Beveridge report for children
16/03/2021 A 'once-in-a-generation review' of the future of childhood has been launched by the Children’s Commissioner for England. |
Safer streets fund doubled after death of Sarah Everard
16/03/2021 The Government has doubled the Safer Streets fund to provide better lighting and CCTV following the death of Sarah Everard. |
Fewer than half of local audits done by deadline, watchdog finds
16/03/2021 Fewer than half of local public bodies’ 2019-20 audits were completed by last November, despite a deadline already pushed back due to COVID, says a spending watchdog. |
Bath's Clean Air Zone goes live
15/03/2021 The UK’s first charging clean air zone (CAZ) outside of London has been launched in Bath today. |
Liverpool to host events from April as part of pilot safety scheme
15/03/2021 Liverpool City Council will stage a number of events ahead of lockdown easing to test crowd safety. |
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.
