‘Unanswered questions’ on SEND deficits – MPs
MPs have warned that the Government’s SEND reforms have left “unanswered questions” on home-to-school transport and council deficits.
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Ombudsman highlights planning enforcement delays
Complaints about planning enforcement are increasing and some councils are taking years to resolve cases, according to a new report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Funding increase for public health
Local authority allocations for the 2026/27 public health grant have been confirmed by the Government at £4.4 billion, a real-terms funding increase.
Adult social care ‘faces a reckoning’
The Government is to establish a national safeguarding board and accelerate dementia trials in response to some “simple asks” from Baroness Louise Casey, Chair of the Independent Commission into Adult Social Care.
Government to write off £5bn of SEND deficits
The Government has committed to resolving 90 per cent of councils’ historic deficits in respect of provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Fair pay agreement for social care ‘unworkable’
The Government’s proposed adult social care Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) will be unworkable without full, sustainable funding and meaningful local government involvement, the LGA has warned.
‘Integrated services support child development’ – LGA
New LGA-commissioned research has found that integrated local services are crucial to meeting the national ambition for 75 per cent of five-year-olds to reach a good level of development (GLD) by 2028.
Digital inclusion ‘needs national coordination’
Councils are working to improve digital inclusion, but progress is being hampered by funding challenges and a lack of national coordination, says LGA research.
Government gives go-ahead to rent convergence
Councils and other providers of social rent homes in England will be able to increase weekly rents on properties currently let at below the maximum that could be charged, if they were re-let to a new tenant.
£15bn Warm Homes Plan launched
The Government has launched its Warm Homes Plan, a £15 billion programme to upgrade up to five million homes, offering low- and zero-interest loans for solar panels, heat pumps and batteries.