Communications
Combined authority 'spending reserves like it's going out of fashion'
Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s chief executive has expressed doubts about whether his region would be able to cope with a second wave of coronavirus infections.
PR strategist's hall of shame
Diary is inundated with press releases, speeches and blog posts on a regular basis.
Care home plans deadline unrealistic, say councils
Councils have warned that tomorrow’s deadline for producing care home support plans is ‘unrealistic’.
‘No heroes and generals; no Government saviour’
Jo Miller feels New Zealand’s citizen-focused approach to the coronavirus response highlights that we are all in this together, 'working as a collective to adapt and protect one another'.
Why localism is needed for behaviour change
Councils can be key – as can local community groups and charities – in setting social norms that people will want to follow, says Dan Corry.
Councils resist government's changed 'stay alert' message
Areas with higher coronavirus rates have urged residents to stay at home amid fears the Government’s change of message to ‘stay alert’ was confusing.
There is an opportunity to dump the centralist approach
Tackling the coronavirus crisis has been held back by a ‘central government know best’ approach, says Heather Jameson.
Twitter or bitter?
Senior local government officer Donna Ball says that during the pandemic she has had to block aggressive Twitter users – but despite this she argues for the benefits of staying connected.
Solving the biggest challenge of our times
Liz Watts explains how she and South Cambridgeshire DC have responded rapidly to the COVID-19 crisis – ensuring staff can continue to do their ‘best- ever work’.
We have an opportunity to re-boot and take stock
Local authorities have by necessity become far more introspective than ever before as they've been forced to consider their own survival, says Gill Kneller.
11 steps to ensuring outstanding internal comms
The importance to councils of outstanding internal communications cannot be underestimated during the COVID-19 crisis and there are 11 steps that will help provide that excellence, says Richard Stokoe.
Councils given power to hold meetings remotely
Local authorities will be allowed to hold public meetings remotely by video or telephone under new powers introduced today.
COVID-19: Add value, not noise
During this crisis, people are looking to local leaders for answers and visibility, says Andrew St Ledger – and he outlines five key communications lessons that focus on ‘getting the basics right’.
A nine-point guide to COVID-19 crisis communications
Communications has often been seen as a luxury, says Richard Stokoe – but this time it is ‘at the centre of quashing the spread of COVID-19, protecting the health and social care sector and saving lives’.
5 recommendations for managing a different type of crisis
Jon Ainger offers five recommendations for public sector leaders who are able to take a moment to look at what happens after this initial period of crisis.
McManus to speak on coronavirus planning
The vice president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, Jim McManus, is to address chief executive delegates about planning for coronavirus at The MJ Future Forum later this month.
As ever, councils do better than Whitehall when it comes to expectations of fair treatment
Only a third of the British expect central Government to treat them fairly, while a half expect their local council to do so, according to the latest Ipsos MORI global study looking at perceptions of public services, says Ben Page.
Boston urged to ‘shout loudly’
The council has been told it should be proud of its achievements following a corporate peer challenge by the Local Government Association.
Council leader resigns after being 'kept in the dark'
Torridge DC has elected a new leader after a stinging resignation statement from its outgoing top councillor.
Name change is for asbest
This week Diary has donned its foreign correspondent hat to bring you news from Canadian shores.
