Cornerstones of culture
An independent LGA commission on councils and culture has delivered its final report.
Social housing: ‘common’ failures on mould and damp
I gave evidence at the inquest into Awaab Ishak’s appalling and preventable death.
Fire safety failures
Help is available for councils trying to enforce safety work on high-rise buildings.
Record low turnout
Wigan’s Ashton ward has established an unenviable record, recording the lowest turnout in any council by-election: just 5.3 per cent.
Allotments for urban kids
Growing up in rural Suffolk, the abundance of the natural world was easy to take for granted. I was lucky enough to have a vegetable patch in my parents’ garden, and the chance to learn about biodiversity and sustainability was never far away.
Cost-of-living crisis ‘could increase fire risk’
Households looking for alternative and cheaper ways of lighting and heating their homes because of the cost-of-living crisis could be increasing the risk of fire, the LGA has warned.
‘120,000 children homeless over Christmas’
More than 4,500 primary school classes worth of homeless children spent Christmas in temporary accommodation, amid concerns of a national homelessness crisis.
£650m support for refugees
A new support package for refugees, announced in December, includes increased ‘thank you’ payments for longer-term hosts of Ukrainian arrivals and a £500 million fund for councils to acquire housing stock for those fleeing conflict.
Housebuilding targets ‘no longer compulsory’
Nationally set housebuilding targets will no longer be mandatory, following changes to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill currently before Parliament.