Children’s services ‘ill-prepared’ for coronavirus
Local authority children’s services have been reduced to “crisis-driven fire-fighting” as a result of years of under-investment, children’s charities have warned.
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New money for cycling and walking
A £250 million emergency ‘active travel fund’ will help encourage cycling and walking through new infrastructure such as pop-up bike lanes, protected space for cyclists, wider pavements, safer junctions and cycle and bus-only roads.
Waste and recycling centres reopen
Queues formed at local waste and recycling centres as tips started reopening in May, two months after they closed at the start of the lockdown.
Act to help leisure providers
The LGA is warning that gyms and leisure providers face a crisis point, as many aren’t eligible for the Government’s support packages.
‘Reform RTB to get new homes built’
Desperately needed new social homes could go unbuilt unless the time that councils are given to spend money from Right to Buy sales is extended from three to five years, the LGA has warned.
Call for £1bn youth work guarantee
Employment experts have called for a £1 billion ‘youth guarantee’, and urgent investment in education and back-to-work support, as unemployment figures rocket following the coronavirus crisis.
Support for homeless
As first was going to press, councils were being asked by government to urgently support rough sleepers and vulnerable homeless people into accommodation – even as many councils were continuing to experience issues with placing homeless households in hotels and B&Bs.
SEND guidance issued after school closures
Children’s Minister Vicky Ford has written to councils and other partners, setting out the Government’s plans to ensure support can continue to be provided to children and young people with SEND following the closure of the UK’s schools.
£1.6bn care boost to free hospital beds
Patients who no longer need urgent hospital treatment will be helped to return home, making at least 30,000 beds available during the coronavirus outbreak, after councils received £1.6 billion in extra funding.
Budget unveiled
An extra £30 billion of public spending was announced in last month’s Budget – much of it aimed at local priorities including homes, roads, digital connectivity, flood resilience and devolution.