Local Government Related Content

Recycling rates in England drop to a new low which could lead to the UK missing EU targets, according to new government figures The figures show that recycling rates in England are the lowest they have been for the first time since 2012. The news has prompted calls for a tax...

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid says £900 million will be made available for councils to pay for social care over the next two years Government was criticised when social care funding was not addressed – or even mentioned – in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement last month. The “unanimous and unequivocal” warning...

As part of the delivery of the UK’s first Go Ultra Low City, Milton Keynes’ EV charging infrastructure is undergoing significant expansion After being awarded £9 million as part of the government’s Go Ultra Low Cities programme in January 2016, the public charging network for electric vehicles (EVs) in Milton...

Small grassroots community groups including neighbourhood organisations, parishes and local voluntary groups are set to receive a funding boost The government has announced that small grassroots community groups including neighbourhood organisations, parishes and local voluntary groups will get a direct funding boost of £2.5 million through a new ‘Communities Fund’. The...

Profits produced from council parking operations in England have reached a record high in 2015-2016, according to the RAC Foundation In the 2015-2016 financial year, local authorities in England generated a massive £756 million profit from their on-and-off street council parking activities. Compared to 2014-15 figures of £693 million, that’s a...

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has today set out proposals to cut costs in the new Transport for London business plan, while also increasing capacity on the Tube network A new five year Transport for London business plan aims to cut waste, freeze fares until 2020, phase out diesel buses, and...

New figures from the European Cyclists’ Federation show that the EU cycling economy contributes €513bn each year across the 28 Member States Cycling creates economic benefits of €513 billion each year, according to the findings of a new ‘EU Cycling Economy’ report by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF). Across the...

The government announces new funding to tackle school improvement as Sir Michael Wilshaw says failure to address poor performance contributed to Brexit vote Education Secretary Justine Greening announced new resources this week aimed at increasing the number of good school places for children across the country. Additional funds are being...

When the bottom line is all-important, cloud technology can help local government with everything from disaster recovery to shared services Local government needs to meet local needs. Government leaders are now expected to find ways to adopt technological innovations to increase citizen and business satisfaction against a backdrop of reducing...

Rough sleeping in Oxford remains a major challenge in the city according to a  street count conducted by the City Council The street count was conducted at the beginning of this month with an estimated 33 people on the streets, down from 39 in 2015. However, the council and homeless organisations...

A West Midlands council could have to to pay £1.4 million in the next three years to support 15 child asylum seekers Walsall Council aims to take five child asylum seekers per year starting in 2017, which will put huge pressure on an already tight budget. Last month the council agreed...

Glasgow City Council have announced the UK’s most ambitious job creation target, with the aim of creating 50,000 new jobs over the next seven years As part of the ambitious plan, the council are also aiming to create 1,000 new businesses, 25,000 new homes and 1,000 Living Wage employers by...

A district council has appointed a community leisure partner to run three leisure sites in the area, as well as implementing a new outreach programme to its rural communities East Northamptonshire District Council has appointed leading not for profit leisure trust, Freedom Leisure to manage and develop the healthy and...

Oxfordshire County Council is to consider implementing a congestion charging system and workplace parking levy to fund local transport improvements

Anger and dismay were the reactions across the board at a lack of support for health and social care in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond today delivered his first Autumn Statement to the UK Parliament. Although he announced measures designed to increase productivity by investing in...

A new £1.5m housing development has been built on the site of a former carpark, providing 12 new affordable homes for Wrexham residents

A refreshed strategy to create 250,000 jobs by 2030 and boost the local economy has been launched this week in Greater Birmingham Greater Birmingham launched a fresh strategy to boost the regional economy by £29 billion and create 250,000 private sector jobs by 2030 earlier this week. The Greater Birmingham and...

Local authorities are increasingly having to target debtors’ homes as a way of recovering unpaid council tax, according to accountancy firm Moore Stephens Accountancy firm Moore Stephens says that 54% of local authorities are now using ‘charging orders’ to secure unpaid council tax against debtors’ properties – up from 38%...

Eight London councils have written to Home Secretary Amber Rudd to ask for additional support for unaccompanied refugee children arriving from France Refugee children need more support from government to ensure quality care is delivered. Eight London councils asked for more financial and casework support to ensure this, as more...

Ministers have dropped their flagship education policy Bill, which failed to gain the support of the sector Education policy suffered a blow after the government dropped the ‘Education for All’ Bill. This policy, announced in the Queen’s Speech, failed to gain support from the education sector and was dogged by...