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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.

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Typical British street in dimmed lighting with shops and cafes down the high street

Levelling up should be led by evidence: LGA responds to Levelling Up Fund second round announcement

“Levelling up should be led by evidence of where crucial investment needs to go to, not based on costly competitive bids between areas."

Baby at home receiving massage

Councils face growing shortages of health visitors – LGA responds to IHV report into health visiting

Health visitors play a vital role in our communities but councils face growing shortages of them.

Royal Cornwall Museum, Cornwall Council

‘Cross-government support needed to address skills shortage in culture and creativity’ – LGA statement on Communications and Digital Committee Report on our creative future.

"The creative industries are an important driver of local economies: prior to the pandemic, they accounted for 2.2 million jobs, geographically dispersed in more than 700 micro clusters across the UK."

Environment - Air pollution

‘Councils are intrinsic to a net zero future’ – LGA statement on net zero review

"We are pleased the review recognises the importance of local government in delivering net zero", said Cllr David Renard, Environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association.

Wide shot of a coastal town on a sunny day

Coastal landfill time bomb needs urgent action

Hundreds of historic coastal landfill sites across the country are at risk of polluting Britain’s beaches and waterways, a new survey reveals. The survey from the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group (LGA Coastal SIG), in collaboration with Coastal Group Network, shows that 26 coastal councils have sites already spilling large amounts of waste onto cliffs and beaches. Coastal landfill sites, inherited by councils are a large-scale problem on Britain’s coastlines, are often on low lying coastal and estuary sites that have historically been an easy target for the

Treadmills lined up in a leisure centre

‘Leisure centres and public pools still at risk’: LGA statement on energy bills support announcement

“While it is good the Government will continue to help the public sector as well as businesses keep their energy bills lower and provided some certainty for the next 12 months, we remain deeply concerned about the risk to some council services."

Nurse walking down a hospital hallway

Piecemeal funding won’t fix health and care pressures – LGA statement

“It is disappointing that so much of the current narrative on social care implies it exists solely to ease pressure on the NHS.”

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Major child safeguarding concerns in out-of-school settings prompt renewed calls from councils for tougher powers

Tougher powers are needed for councils to oversee and regulate out-of-school settings (OOSS) – including being able to shut down illegal schools – after an independent report commissioned by the Government uncovered major safeguarding concerns. The Department for Education funded a pilot in 16 council areas over an 18-month period into the oversight of OOSS, examining safeguarding risks and existing legal powers available to councils. OOSS is a wide range of provision including uniformed organisations, sports and leisure clubs, supplementary schools, faith-based organisations and arts

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‘Make Household Support Fund permanent’: LGA statement on Resolution Foundation report

“Councils are urging the Government to make the Household Support Fund it has provided to councils permanent, alongside greater flexibility so they can ensure it helps people in the greatest need."

A group of people participating in a leisure rope activity

‘Future of leisure facilities under threat’: LGA statement on PAC report on participation in grassroots sports

Responding to a Public Accounts Committee report on participation in grassroots sport, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: “The future of leisure facilities is under threat and this report highlights the need for an asset strategy that will preserve the future of these key council services. “The public leisure sector has a critical role to play in helping our communities recover from the pandemic, both physically and mentally, retrain and upskill, and tackle issues like obesity, heart disease and diabetes, reducing