Devolution – driving local growth
Financial turbulence is as damaging to local government as it is to businesses, and rising costs and inflation are eating away at both council and household budgets.
Time for a period of political stability
This is my last first column of 2022, and it is fair to say that in terms of both domestic and international events it has been an extremely busy and turbulent year.
Twelve years of economic failure
Just 55 days after the disastrous mini-budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement, which confirmed that working people will pay the price of Tory incompetence.
Voter ID will stop people voting
The UK Government has announced a multimillion-pound plan that would stop people from voting in elections unless they can show photo identification (ID).
Mitigating the Truss mini-budget
The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement has attempted to mitigate the disastrous Liz Truss Budget, adding £8.5 billion to health, social care and schools’ budgets in 2024/25, but leaving other departments to absorb the impact of higher inflation.
Cost pressures threaten local services
Councils will have no choice but to implement significant cuts to services unless the Government provides extra funding to meet demand and cost pressures, the LGA has warned.
On a cliff edge
Councils need financial certainty to maintain public services and help deliver growth
Speeding up the electric transition
The UK’s transition to electric mobility is not showing signs of slowing down
Families ‘missing out’ on free food
The LGA has set out a five-point plan to improve the Government’s Healthy Start voucher scheme and increase take-up, as new analysis reveals that nearly 150,000 eligible families are currently missing out on them.
Councils call for £13bn for adult social care
The LGA has called on the Government to find £13 billion for adult social care, amid warnings that one in five care workers are living in poverty.