Children’s social care budgets ‘buckling’
Years of funding reductions have left council budgets “buckling” under soaring costs for children’s social care, a group of five leading children’s charities has warned.
The Editorial Team
Voter ID ‘stopped some people voting’
The Electoral Commission has called for the Government to ensure future elections are as accessible as possible in a new report on voter ID arrangements.
Pothole repair funding ‘down more in UK’
A devolved, long-term plan for local road repairs is needed to get investment back up to the levels of other leading countries, the LGA has said.
COVID-19 booster programme to start sooner
The Government has announced that the COVID-19 winter booster programme will be moved forward because of concerns around a new variant, BA.2.86.
New homes standards ‘could cost £18m’
Research by the LGA has found councils in England could face an extra £18 million to deal with new housing standards.
‘Disappointing’ decision to delay recycling reforms
New rules to ensure producers pay for the cost of recycling their packaging have been deferred from October 2024 to 2025, the Government announced over the summer.
Sports strategy to get extra 3.5m people active
An additional 3.5 million adults and children will be encouraged to improve their health and get more active following the launch of a new government initiative.
Council-maintained schools outperform academies
Schools that stay with their council have continued to outperform those that converted to academies, research commissioned by the LGA has revealed.
Driving devolution
The LGA supports existing combined authorities as well as councils working on new devolution deals.