Almost 40 per cent of battery-powered smoke alarms failed to activate in residential fires in England in the past year – a level that has remained virtually unchanged in nearly a decade, according to LGA analysis of official figures.
The 1,000-page phase one report into the Grenfell Tower fire has concluded that fewer people would have died in the 2017 fire if the London Fire Brigade had taken certain actions earlier.
Referrals by English councils of potential child victims of modern slavery have soared by 800 per cent in five years, the LGA has warned.
The LGA is warning people to avoid toxic skin lightening creams that increase the risk of cancer, after recent seizures of dangerous products by councils.
Debt enquiries have hit a record high, with 12,652 people a week seeking help for problem debt across the UK – the equivalent of one person every 48 seconds.