Call for tougher rules on gambling
Tougher regulation of the gambling industry is needed to help protect communities and vulnerable people from gambling-related harm, according to the LGA and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.
news
Home schooling register confirmed
The Government has announced it will introduce a register for children not in school, following years of lobbying by the LGA.
Public health services at risk amid funding uncertainty
Continuing uncertainty around councils’ public health funding risks exacerbating a growing crisis of demand for support services, including for drug and alcohol treatment, the LGA has warned.
Developers ‘must pay’ cladding bills
Developers have been warned by the Government that they must pay to fix the cladding crisis.
Staff shortages forcing councils to reduce care
More than half of councils in England had to reduce the level of care and support they provided to vulnerable residents in January, because of growing numbers of social care staff on sick leave or isolating because of the Omicron variant.
Covid restrictions lifted as Omicron peak passes
Face coverings and Covid passes are no longer legally required in England, after the relaxation of Plan B rules came into effect in late January.
Bill ‘needs safeguards for young carers’
Barnardo’s has warned that the Government’s Health and Care Bill may mean more sick and disabled adults are discharged from hospital into the sole care of children.
Private tenants face rise in homelessness
More than 4,000 households living in the private sector were threatened with homelessness between July and September last year – an increase of almost 60 per cent from the same quarter the previous year.
Tax loophole on second homes closed
Owners of second homes who abuse a tax loophole by claiming their often-empty properties are holiday lets will be forced to pay, under tough new measures announced by the Government
‘Slow pace’ on superfast broadband rollout
A report by the cross-party Public Accounts Committee has criticised the slow pace of the Government’s ‘Project Gigabit’, designed to accelerate the speed of the superfast gigabit broadband rollout across the country.