A child-centred recovery
Local safety nets and early help services need to be properly funded to avoid children and their families falling into crisis
Covid-19
Lack of clarity on tier system
Many in local government welcomed the announcement of the new tier system a few weeks ago, hoping that it would bring simplicity and clarity to councils, residents and businesses subject to restrictions.
Three-tier system ‘as clear as mud’
We saw the Prime Minister announce in October the new three-tier system, under which every area of the country will be classified as ‘medium’, ‘high’ or ‘very high’ risk during the continuing COVID-19 crisis.
Working together as Independents
As local lockdowns continue to be put in place, including the whole of Wales, we have again asked the Government to ensure local leaders are at the forefront of decision-making – something ministers have agreed and need to uphold.
Testing, tiers and firebreaks
It has been another busy and challenging month for all the councillors and officers responding to the rise in COVID-19 infections across the country, and those involved in negotiations with the Government regarding local and regional restrictions and wider general support for councils.
Test and trace needs to be local
Local councils should be given the funding, real-time data and personnel to help reach all those who have been in contact with people testing positive for coronavirus, the LGA says.
More localisation of Test and Trace
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.
Will warnings on council finances go unheeded?
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.
Empowering local communities
‘Re-thinking local’ provides the framework for councils to take their destinies in their own hands and deliver locally focused recoveries.
Councillors: bringing order to chaos
The constancy of change in local government, more often than not resulting from central government policy, shapes councillors’ experiences.