On behalf of its membership, the cross-party LGA regularly submits to Government
consultations, briefs parliamentarians and responds to a wide range of parliamentary inquiries. Our recent
responses to government consultations and parliamentary briefings can be found here.
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of ill health and mortality in England. Councillors and officers recognise the harm that smoking inflicts on their communities and the importance of continuing to drive down smoking prevalence.
Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death and the biggest cause of cancer worldwide. As well as impacting upon health, smoking places a significant burden on the public purse, to the tune of £12.6 billion each year.
While these powers are a welcome addition to the tools that councils have to tackle local outbreaks, and some councils have issued directions, there are also some challenges in using the directions. The regulations include the threshold of a serious and imminent threat to public health before a direction can be issued, and there is a need to consult with both the local Director of Public Health and to inform the Secretary of State for Health. This threshold has had the effect of deterring councils in areas where there has not to date been a significant rise in infections from issuing directions, in the belief that they do not meet the test of a serious and imminent threat to public health.
Vaccination policy has been decided nationally, based on evidence-based advice from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), and is very closely managed. Councils do not have local discretion over the decisions and priorities made.
Government announced changes to the system of tiers and restrictions and a new winter plan on 23 November 2020. This briefing provides a simple overview.
Government has published updated care home visiting guidance, (the guidance) applicable from 16 August 2021 in all care homes for working age and older adults.
The situation with COVID-19 is moving quickly, and while we have in place a series of webinars and other events to ensure elected members, officers and partners are updated, there are a number of issues which come up repeatedly or need slightly more detailed information. This briefing series is designed to provide accurate and up to date information on key issues.
This briefing summarises the key messages in the Adult Social Care Winter Plan (published by DHSC on 18 September 2020) and sets out the key actions for local authorities in a format that allows colleagues to clearly identify gaps.