The LGA's media office provides the national voice of local government in England and Wales on the major issues of the day for national, regional and local press.
"Councils are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the NHS and are working closely with their health service colleagues in preparing for this unprecedented rollout, to ensure everybody receives this life-saving vaccine as soon as possible."
“It is great to see councils continue to take the lead to tackle the spread of COVID-19. More than 200 councils have now launched their own locally-supported contact tracing arrangements, which continue to reach the vast majority of complex cases assigned to them."
"The causes of substance misuse and finding solutions for it are complex, but we know the positive impact that adequate funding and early intervention can have."
"Councils continue to lead local communities through this pandemic and will be working hard to ensure residents and businesses understand and are able to follow the rules they face."
Responding to announcements about adult social care and public health in today’s Spending Review, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated the crucial value of councils’ adult social care and public health services.
“Extra funding for children’s and adult social care will help address some short-term pressures, but we need a clear plan on the future of care and support and how we pay for it, which recognises low pay in the adult social care workforce and finally delivers parity of esteem with
“Councils have been calling for urgent certainty and clarity about what to expect after the national lockdown ends and it is good that the Government has listened and provided this much-needed announcement."
Vital public health services such as drug and alcohol treatment, early years and school aged support, weight management and sexual health services need urgent investment in the Spending Review if the country is to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic, councils say today.
“It remains extremely worrying that with infection rates and deaths from coronavirus continuing to increase during this lockdown, the test and trace system is still only picking up six out of every ten contacts of people who tested positive."
The LGA said the Government and NHS must utilise the knowledge and experience of directors of public health when it comes to distributing a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
"Local health protection teams have reached 99.1 per cent of contacts who were asked to self-isolate, compared to 59 per cent of close contacts managed either online or by call centres."