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Cllr Nesil Caliskan, Chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, responds to the Prime Minister’s announcement that councils will be given tougher powers to tackle businesses flouting COVID-19 rules.

The Local Government Association is launching its third year of the Housing Advisers Programme, an innovative scheme to help councils overcome housing challenges in their local areas, with bids invited from today.

The programme, which opens for bids today, boosts council capacity through the provision of independent expertise for councils undertaking specific projects to tackle the effects of the housing crisis in local communities – including on housing delivery, planning for homes, and reducing homelessness.

The Local Government Association is launching the sixth year of the Housing Advisers Programme, an innovative scheme to help councils overcome housing challenges in their local areas.

The Local Government Association has today published seven original articles from leading policy thinkers exploring the future of local publicly funded cultural services and devolution.

“Councils have proven that they are already leaders of place. This guidance will help councils to attract investment in the right infrastructure to help their communities meet their full potential.” 

Responding to the Government’s announcement creating an Office for Product Safety and Standards, Cllr Simon Blackburn, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “The LGA is pleased that its call for more support from government for local trading standards teams around product safety has been answered. “Today’s announcement is a positive step towards making sure that those teams are able to protect our residents from faulty electrical equipment, such as tumble dryers or fridge freezers, which can cause fires which can destroy life and devastate

“Councils continue to face significant extra cost pressures and huge income losses as a result of the pandemic. The Government’s commitment to fund a portion of lost income from fees and charges is a step in the right direction but does not cover full losses, nor does it extend to commercial income losses."

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board, responds to the report by Which? that found that millions are at risk of mobile signal ‘blackouts’.

“Our recent research found that nearly 700,000 jobs would be needed in England’s low-carbon and renewable energy economy by 2030, rising to more than one million by 2050. An integrated and devolved approach to the development of skills is urgently needed and our Work Local proposals set out the steps for handing funding and powers over skills to local areas.”