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"Every death to drug misuse is a tragedy and councils are absolutely determined to ensure vulnerable people have the right support and treatment, despite the ongoing pressures of the pandemic, as part of their public health and wider responsibilities."

“We have long argued that reductions to councils’ public health grant, which is used to fund drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services, is a false economy which will only compound acute pressures for criminal justice and NHS services further down the line."

“There have now been 22,500 new cases of FGM identified in just over four years, which highlights the size of the challenge facing all agencies seeking an end to this form of abuse, which is destroying the lives of children and young people in communities across the country."

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responds to latest ONS figures published today on teenage pregnancies in England and Wales for 2017.

Responding to the latest ONS figures published today on teenage pregnancies in England and Wales for 2018, which shows that the conception rate for women under 18 has decreased for the eleventh year in a row, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “The halving of teenage pregnancy rates over the last two decades is a tribute to the hard work of councils and their partners, in helping to improve the health, wellbeing and life chances of young people. “We need to build upon these achievements and tackle health inequalities in more

“With test fails affecting buildings owned by a range of different landlords across the country, it is clear that the current building regulation system has failed. We need a commitment from government that it will meet the exceptional cost to councils of removing and replacing cladding and insulation on high-rise blocks as a result.”

“Councils will continue to get on with what they need to do to ensure people are safe in their homes. This includes replacing materials on high-rise blocks affected by these fire safety tests."

“Rising homelessness demonstrates the need for the duties that the Homelessness Reduction Act imposed on councils are fully funded and resourced."

On average over the last three years, councils are having to house the equivalent of an extra secondary school’s worth of homeless children in temporary accommodation every month.

"Behind this rise in the number of homeless households are thousands of individual tragedies. Councils, on the front line of tackling homelessness, understand this, and are determined to do all they can to prevent people from losing their home in the first place."