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.
Another week, another U-turn – this time, the botched A-level results saga. And a government that claims to be ‘levelling up’ has proved once again that this is just one more empty slogan to add to the pile.
‘Re-thinking local’ provides the framework for councils to take their destinies in their own hands and deliver locally focused recoveries.
The constancy of change in local government, more often than not resulting from central government policy, shapes councillors’ experiences.
New powers have been announced for councils to close specific premises, cancel events and close public spaces, to help tackle coronavirus outbreaks.
Learning from the coronavirus crisis and supporting a sustainable recovery were among the themes discussed at the LGA’s virtual Innovation Zone.
The Government’s funding package for councils offers some positive measures and recognises the pressures they are facing, but more is needed.
Cyber criminals will continue to attack councils and the vital public services they deliver.
The LGA has launched a new Remote Peer Support Offer to help councils with their vital work during the pandemic.
When a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization on 11 March, I was fresh out of university and only five months into my role at St Albans City & District Council.