Briefings and responses

Analysis of a recent survey conducted by the LGA among local leaders on public health delivered by their local authority showed that the top priority for public health is to give children and young people the best start in life.

Good mental health is essential for a healthy and prosperous society. Unfortunately, it is easier to focus on what happens when a person becomes mentally ill, and how the health service intervenes, rather than how to keep our communities mentally well in the first place. Improving and maintaining good mental health for communities is a key priority for councils.

Research commissioned by the LGA reveals that the skills gap is worsening. By 2024 there will be more than four million too few high-skilled people to take up available jobs, two million too many with intermediate skills and more than six million too many low-skilled.

Research commissioned by the LGA reveals that the skills gap is worsening. By 2024 there will be more than four million too few high-skilled people to take up available jobs, two million too many with intermediate skills and more than six million too many low-skilled.

Local buses provide 4.7 billion passenger trips a year in England, which is around three times as many trips made by rail. Bus services are key to providing people with access to work, education and leisure time.

Between 2010 and 2020, councils will have lost almost 60p in every £1 of central government funding. This has created an unsustainable gap in council funding that is having a significant impact on the services which local authorities deliver in their communities.

The private rented sector has more than doubled in size since 2002. To accompany the rise in the number of private renters, councils have stepped up their engagement with landlords.

The LGA has long called for businesses and manufacturers to pay the full cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging.

As the UK exits the European Union (EU), national and local government should consider how communities in England can take greater control over the public service and investment decisions that affect their lives.

We welcome the steps that have been taken to date to address dangerous cladding and other fire safety issues, including the ban on combustible cladding. However, the Government needs to act with urgency to deliver protections for residents in dangerous buildings as quickly as possible.