Coronavirus
Councils fear homelessness ‘tidal wave’
Local authorities are braced for a surge in the number of homeless people as protections put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic are allowed to lapse.
Transforming the jobs outlook for young people in Essex
Nicole Wood outlines how Essex CC has committed to creating 1000 new entry level jobs for young people, of all abilities, within 12 months, using an ambitious three pronged approach.
It's time to focus virus 'contain' funding on families and streets
We need to recalibrate and resource the Contain Outbreak Management Fund activity on preparing for a series of hyper-local responses that directly focus on families and streets, says Cllr John Fuller.
Unison call for election safety measures
The Government needs to implement strict measures in May’s local elections to keep staff safe, trade union Unison urged today.
How can we make recruitment more truly inclusive?
Tracy Walters looks at ways recruiters can recognise and address unconscious bias, engage with a diverse range of talents and tap into a bigger pool of candidates.
Employers branded a 'disgrace' over pay delay
Council employers have been branded a ‘disgrace’ after they said they would not respond to a union pay claim until after the May 6 elections.
Whatever happened to Devo 3.0?
Devolution is here to stay ‘no matter if the Government’s preferred phrase is now place and if they want to talk in terms of levelling up not rebalancing’, says Steve Barwick of DevoConnect.
Stoke-on-Trent is the litmus test for levelling up
Connectivity, growth and productivity are the three words at the heart of the priorities running through the new city prospectus for Stoke-on-Trent, says Cllr Abi Brown.
Public health commissioning move 'illogical'
A suggestion from the body representing NHS trusts that the commissioning of key public health services should be removed from local government is ‘illogical,’ councils have said.
Councils to receive £400m to tackle COVID-19
The Government has announced funding of £400m for English councils to support COVID-19 test, trace and contain activity.
Conservative call to ring-fence budget for councils
A new Barnett-type formula should be introduced that would legally mandate the Scottish Government to deliver a ring-fenced percentage of its budget to councils, Conservatives have argued.
Post pandemic public purse propositions
Mike Bennett and Tim Byles outline a holistic and strategic approach on post pandemic public spending in order to navigate the dangers ahead.
Town recovery the tailored way
The pandemic has made delivering strong, more inclusive and resilient towns crucial, argues Katie Hickman. Here, she outlines the two key elements that will ensure the success of the £3.6bn Towns Fund programme.
Tackling the big four vaccine challenges
Tackling inequity in vaccination uptake depends on resolving what Jim McManus calls the big four challenges – and councils’ role is crucial.
Public health chiefs call for more data on jab take-up
Councils still lack the detailed data they need on COVID vaccination take-up to tackle inequities and reduce transmission, public health experts said this week.
Easing the cash flow
Martin Ford looks at the reaction to the first set of capitalisation directions given to councils struggling under the financial weight of COVID.
A crucial step for Luton’s recovery
Luton BC’s capitalisation direction will allow the council to temporarily borrow money to fund services until its commercial revenue recovers, says Cllr Hazel Simmons.
Our chance is now on climate change
The penalty for not using our new pandemic mindset doesn’t bear thinking about, says Gill Kneller. 'With climate change, there won’t be another chance. Our chance is now', she adds.
A confirmation of local government’s true resilience
Heather Jameson ponders what the latest CIPFA resilience index tells us about the state of local government finances. It contains 'a curious mix of highly informative and utterly irrelevant information'.
Index reveals funding woes
Most councils allowed to use capital cash to prop up their finances faced problems before the impact of the pandemic hit, new figures have revealed.
