Together with a number of Labour councillors in Birmingham, I wrote to the Prime Minister in June, urging him to rethink plans for a new government commission on racial inequalities in response to issues highlighted by the Black Lives Matter protests and, instead, to act now on the detailed findings of previous reviews.
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.
Low and declining turnout is a long-running feature of local elections in the UK. Indeed, the gap in turnout with parliamentary elections is one of the largest among liberal democracies.
With the prospect of local government reorganisation and an overhaul of the planning system alongside responsibility for local outbreak management, the public sector can be forgiven for thinking it has a lot on its plate.
The NHS Test and Trace system in England will cut 6,000 staff by the end of August, with the remaining contact tracers working alongside councils’ public health teams to reach more infected people and their contacts in communities, the Government has announced.
The LGA has reiterated the need for new homes to be delivered through a planning system “with public participation at its heart”, after the Government announced proposals to reform the way the country builds.
The LGA has called for councils to be given tougher licensing powers to close down pubs and other licensed premises that are not following COVID-19 safety guidelines.
The LGA’s sector-led improvement offer has helped support improvements to local leadership of children’s services in England.
Public Health England (PHE) is being replaced by a new body, the National Institute for Health Protection, which will be focused on preparing for external threats such as pandemics.
Councils across the country are backing the creative
industries to help drive economic recovery in local
areas, despite significant funding pressures.