Briefings and responses

For local government to maximise its potential and to protect local services from further cuts, it must be made financially sustainable and truly independent.

EU laws impact many of the council services that affect people's day-to-day lives, from protecting people from unsafe food when they eat out to regulating how councils buy goods and services.

We are calling for the Government to address the overall funding gap of £5.8 billion facing local government by the end of the decade, and to provide an additional £1.3 billion required to stabilise the adult social care provider market.

We support Amendment 23 tabled by Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods MP,Teresa Pearce MP and Jim McMahon MP. This would remove from the Bill all the provisions relating to restrictions of the use of planning conditions by local planning authorities

House of Commons, Public Bill Committee, Tuesday 25 October 2016 Key messages

Local government shares the Government's ambition to increase housing supply. Councils want to play a lead role in building new homes and support measures that will enable councils to capture the value from increased land prices on land they acquire for development.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is preparing to launch a new Work and Health Programme (WHP) for people with health conditions and disabilities and those unemployed for over two years. It will replace the current Work Programme (WP) and Work Choice contracts.

Adult social care is a crucial service in its own right that transform peoples’ quality of life. However, years of significant underfunding coupled with rising demand and costs for care and support, have combined to push adult social care services to breaking point.

Local government supports the collective national ambition to build one million new homes by 2020, but house building is currently well below the levels required for an efficient and fully functioning housing market.

This briefing aims to provide councils with current information as it is available.