News

Vital public health services such as drug and alcohol treatment, early years and school aged support, weight management and sexual health services need urgent investment in the Spending Review if the country is to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic, councils say today.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board responds to an Institute for Fiscal Studies report on council spending on adult social care.

The Government’s £2.5 billion Pothole Repair Fund - announced in the Budget - will help councils to do more to maintain our roads this year and will go a long way to help tackling our local road repairs backlog.

Simpler rules regulating how councils buy goods and services after Brexit could boost local growth and create jobs.

Six out of 10 retailers in some areas are breaking the law on underage knife sales with councils warning that a lack of funding for enforcement activity will make tackling the knife crime epidemic a huge challenge.

Providers of adult social care services may face more than £6.6 billion in extra costs due to the coronavirus crisis by the end of September this year, stark new analysis commissioned by councils and social care directors reveals.

New toolkit aimed at putting an end to the increasing intimidation reported by a number of councillors as they attempt to go about their daily business supporting local residents.

“Schools and councils need to focus on providing education during the pandemic, without any unnecessary distractions. This is why we are urging Ofsted to postpone the resumption of monitoring inspections for schools, either in-person or virtual, until after February half-term at the earliest.”

“Councils support the Government's ambition to create 3 million apprenticeships. Good apprenticeships can give people the experience, skills and understanding that can often lead straight into a full-time job. However the Apprenticeship Levy must be improved in order to reach its potential."

"The proposals risk having an adverse impact on local roads, increasing traffic, and pumping out more carbon emissions and making air pollution worse."