News

“Councils stand ready to work with government to ensure no child is left behind as we recover from the pandemic and have called for a cross-Whitehall strategy to improve children’s lives and put children at the centre of our COVID-19 recovery."

Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, Cllr Judith Blake, responds to a report by the National Audit Office on the need to review the education of children with special educational needs.

“Homelessness is a tragedy, as a settled home is crucial to health and wellbeing for individuals and families, and is a central cornerstone of successful communities."

“Through programmes like One Public Estate, councils have shown that they are best-placed to lead efforts to make better use of public assets, such as releasing unused or surplus land for housing, and are committed to bringing forward sites to ensure that enough homes and the necessary infrastructure are built to meet local needs."

“The greatest impact for our communities can be achieved through locally-led targeted interventions and local facilities – museums, libraries, leisure centres and parks – which have a major role to play in helping their communities become creative and physically active."

“Councils want to work with government on developing a better system for accommodating and supporting asylum seekers."

"The Government needs to restore funding to councils for local welfare assistance schemes so they can provide the local safety net to help those struggling to cope with welfare reforms, including the roll out of Universal Credit."

“The Government should urgently bring forward its proposals on the future of adult social care, including a timetable for reform, as soon as possible and before the summer parliamentary recess.”

“Prioritising funding for the NHS over social care will not help reduce pressures on hospitals. Instead of making costly short-term bailouts to treat the symptoms of pressures, money would be better invested in treating the causes of these pressures."

“The Government should work with councils and schools on education recovery and set out plans for the summer and beyond as soon as possible to help teachers and staff plan ahead to make up for lost learning due to the pandemic."