News

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, responds to Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s commitment to make the UK the first country to reach zero HIV transmissions by 2030.

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, responds to the launch of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s Prevention Vision.

“Social care staff, as well as NHS staff, go above and beyond in their roles day after day and it is vital that we support them in their demanding work to provide high quality care."

"It is vital that the Spending Review shifts the Government’s focus towards the key drivers of homelessness, including a lack of affordable housing, welfare-related poverty, and a lack of an integrated prevention approach."

“Councils invest more than £600 million a year in sexual health services, but rising demand is continuing to push some councils’ sexual health services to capacity. It is therefore essential that the strategy is fully funded."

"As leaders of local communities, only councils can mobilise and join up the collective action to achieve net zero in our villages, towns, and cities, and are able to impact on more than a third of local emissions through housing, transport and the natural environment."

Commenting on the Government’s plans to tackle water pollution, Cllr David Renard, Local Government Association Environment spokesperson said: “Councils want safe, clean, thriving natural environments alongside the sustainable development of housing, growth and jobs. “It is important to strike the balance between ensuring councils can provide new homes for local people alongside protecting our environment such as our rivers. Councils have always been clear that limiting new developments alone will not be enough to improve the state of English rivers. Our recent research found 17,000 homes

“Local government has great ambition to get on with the job of building homes, creating jobs, supporting businesses and investing in new infrastructure. However, massive increases in costs due to spiralling inflation and National Living Wage rises risk undermining those ambitions, by forcing councils to cut local services to meet their legal duty to balance the books."

“What happened at Grenfell Tower can never be allowed to happen again and no-one should have to live in fear about their safety, be that in the buildings they live in, work in or visit."

“This cross-party inquiry will be another important contributor to how we can sustainably pay for social care services, which have been seriously impacted by the pandemic but also affected by decades of delayed reforms by successive governments of different political colours.”