SEND transport costs soar
New analysis published by the LGA has found spending by councils on home-to-school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is predicted to reach nearly £2 billion this year (2025/26).
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Support service for council housebuilding launched
A new initiative to help councils scale up housebuilding in their areas was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister at the LGA’s annual conference in early July.
New ‘outcomes framework’ for councils
A ‘Local Government Outcomes Framework’ and new initiatives to tackle bureaucracy were among the announcements in Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s speech to the LGA’s annual conference.
‘Record’ overspend on social care
Councils in England have recorded their highest social care overspend in a decade – £774 million as of last March.
‘Short-term funding jeopardising VAWG targets’
Efforts to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) are being undermined by fragmented and short-term funding, according to a report from the Commons’ Home Affairs Committee.
Summer childcare costs up 4%
Summer holiday clubs to cover Britain’s six-week school break now cost parents an average of £1,076 per child, according to new figures from the children’s charity Coram.
Neighbourhood health at centre of NHS plan
The crucial role of councils in delivering the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England must be recognised, the LGA has said.
Election registration reforms announced
People who abuse election candidates and campaigners will face tougher sentences, and candidates’ addresses will not be published, in reforms set out in a government elections strategy paper.
Family support hubs for all council areas
One-stop shops for services for babies and young children and their families are to be established in every local authority in England.
Children leaving care for homelessness – MPs
An “alarming” number of children are leaving the care system and becoming homeless, and not in employment or in education, because children’s social care services are overstretched in the face of rising need.