A better start
Councils have a key role to play in ensuring the very youngest children get a good start in life.
The Editorial Team
Cutting air pollution ‘requires resources’
The Government has published its Clean Air Strategy 2019, which aims to reduce the harm to human health from air pollution by half.
Funding to tackle rogue landlords
More than 50 councils are to benefit from nearly £2.4 million to ramp up action against the minority of irresponsible landlords who make tenants’ lives a misery.
New measures to support domestic abuse victims
Economic abuse will form part of a new legal definition of domestic abuse, as set out in a draft Government bill published in January.
Preparing for civil emergencies
In 2017, local government colleagues faced the challenge of dealing with the most devastating emergencies we can imagine.
Social care concerns
While it may feel like 2019 has started where 2018 left off, with Brexit very much the focus of Parliament and the Government, work has continued on a number of important issues such as health and social care.
‘Bigger fines needed on fake fags’
Millions of cheap, illegal cigarettes are flooding the market, with criminals selling them on Facebook and rogue traders using sophisticated secret places to store them, the LGA has warned.
Delayed transfers
Delays in discharging hospital patients attributable to social care not being in place continue to fall, according to the latest statistics.
Call for more social housing
Housing charity Shelter has called for a 20-year programme to build 3.1 million more social homes and a stronger voice for tenants.
Local government funding
There were some additional resources for hard-pressed councils in the provisional finance settlement, but they still face a £3.1 billion funding gap in 2019/20.