Follow the money
Every council requires money to finance the resources it needs to provide local public services. So, every councillor should take an interest in the way their council is funded and the financial decisions the council takes.
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Cladding concerns
With almost 1.3 million households affected by dangerous cladding and the exorbitant costs of fixing it, the cladding crisis is one of the key issues facing flat owners today.
Under the spotlight – scrutinising COVID-19
Setting up a scrutiny process in the middle of a pandemic might seem a crazy thing to do.
Chairing remote meetings
While many of the principles of running good face-to-face council meetings apply to remote meetings, chairing in a virtual world does present some additional challenges.
New challenges for scrutiny
Action on climate change is urgent, and the stakes are high – but the size and scale of the task can make local action feel like a Herculean challenge.
Local government and integrated care
For those councillors in local government who scrutinise the NHS, it seems to have become an expectation that as one great change ends in our local health services, another begins.
Councillors: bringing order to chaos
The constancy of change in local government, more often than not resulting from central government policy, shapes councillors’ experiences.
Rebuilding mentally healthier communities
Mental ill health costs thousands of lives and more than £105 billion every year – an average of £700 million per upper-tier council area in England alone.
Always in lockdown
Being confined to our homes during the COVID-19 pandemic has been very difficult for all of us. We are bored, worried, and want to return to our normal life quickly. Hopefully, after a few more weeks, we will be able to do so.
Support for local leadership
The scale of the challenge that councils are currently facing requires strong, responsive and resilient leadership.