On behalf of its membership, the cross-party LGA regularly submits to Government
consultations, briefs parliamentarians and responds to a wide range of parliamentary inquiries. Our recent
responses to government consultations and parliamentary briefings can be found here.
To ensure councils can continue to support their most vulnerable residents, it is crucial Government brings forward plans for long-term reform to the adult social care system and additional funding for child and family support services. As a starting point, returning the Early Intervention Grant to 2010/11 funding levels by providing an extra £1.7 billion would enable councils to reinstate some lost preventative and early help services which help tackle and prevent emerging problems and avoid costs and impact escalating later on.
The current UK financial sector is not well suited for many low-income households. The case for supporting people to access affordable and responsible finance from organisations like credit unions and Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) is clear.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill acts upon long running asks from councils and the LGA for further devolution in England. We are pleased that the Government has proposed to speed up the process and make good on its commitment to offer all of England the opportunity to benefit from a devolution deal by 2030. It is also important that councils of all sizes are engaged in the devolution process.
Local government is committed to innovative community engagement with residents to identify key issues in their communities and co-produce solutions. Many councils have adopted methodologies such as citizens’ assemblies, juries and panels to help engage with voices and communities who might otherwise not be heard.
The early years sector experienced challenges throughout the first national lockdown with more than 69,000 early years providers temporarily closing during the coronavirus pandemic.
LGA’s view is that the £20 per week uplift in Universal Credit (UC) should be retained to provide necessary support to low-income households and to prevent unsustainable costs falling on councils.
The response to, and recovery from, an emergency is carried out first and foremost at the local level. Better coordination between the local, regional and national levels of response and greater support for organisations involved in response planning is needed to share and apply learning from exercises and real-life events.
White Ribbon UK is part of the global White Ribbon movement to end men’s violence against women. UK White Ribbon Day, on 25 November 2021, is a national day to raise awareness, educate and campaign to change the cultures that lead to violence against women and girls and marks the start of the 16 days of Action to end gender-based violence.
The Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill legislates to ensure that COVID-19 cannot be taken as a cause of material changes of circumstances for business rates and makes provision in connection with the disqualification of directors of companies that are dissolved without becoming insolvent. We welcome the provisions in in the Bill.