‘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.
news
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.
Cash boost for SEND
The Government has announced £250 million for councils over the next two years, to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Packaging manufacturers to pay recycling costs
Manufacturers are to pick up the costs of paying for recycling packaging under the Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy.
New building regulations in response to Grenfell
The Government has set out how it will implement the recommendations of the Hackitt review of building regulations and fire safety, published following the Grenfell Tower fire.
LGA calls for more funding
The provisional local government finance settlement includes some additional resources for councils but fails to address the £3.1 billion funding gap they face in 2019/20.
Affordable homes lost in office conversions
Communities have potentially missed out on more than 10,500 desperately needed affordable homes in the past three years as a result of government rules allowing developers to bypass the planning system, LGA analysis shows.
Local government honours
The leader of the LGA’s Labour Group and the former Conservative leader of Trafford Council were among the local government recipients of New Year Honours.
‘180 rotten teeth ops a day’
There were more than 45,000 hospital operations to remove teeth in teenagers and children last year – equating to 180 a day, according to recent LGA analysis of NHS Digital figures.