LGiU
LGiU report calls for a local government-led Building Back Better commission
A local government-led Building Back Better commission should be part of a new place settlement after the pandemic, a new report from the LGiU think-tank has urged.
Government warned of 'soaring summer of homelessness'
The Government will fail to fulfil its manifesto commitment of ending rough sleeping for good by 2024 without a cross-Whitehall strategy for reducing homelessness, it has been warned.
Local elections 2021: Look behind the big story
A closer look at the Super Thursday outcomes reveals a series of more complex stories, and suggests a centrally-driven levelling up agenda would be an error, says Jonathan Carr West.
Coming up for air – what councils need to think about
John Fowler looks at the range of ways in which councils can help children and young people recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Pandemic forces finance reform rethink
Whitehall plans for local government finance reform were thrown into doubt this week after civil servants indicated the pandemic would force them to rethink.
Unfinished business
The vision in Budget 2021 focused on a global, green, high tech economy, ‘but there was no sign of local government, local public services or local institutions of any sort’, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West.
Electoral workers should get the jab
Vaccination would vastly increase the safety and confidence of poll workers and reduce the likelihood of local elections becoming super-spreader events, argues Ingrid Koehler.
The problem with polls
Local government has finally learned that two years’ worth of elections will take place on ‘Super Thursday’ 6 May, with a ‘high bar’ for any delay. Martin Ford talks to the sector about the challenges ahead.
Will May be a missed chance?
The Prime Minister wants the elections to go ahead. But Dr Jonathan Carr-West says that whether a U-turn ‘has already happened or is still to come, we have missed an opportunity to make an early and clear decision’.
Elderly in new campaign of civil disobedience
Up to two million older people in the UK denied the social care support they need could refuse to pay their council tax in protest.
Looking ahead with hope
‘You would be mad not to feel some trepidation’ as we look ahead to 2021, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West. ‘But while we have so many amazing people doing such incredible things for their community, I think we can also feel some hope’.
Let’s talk about homes
Homes provide so much more than shelter, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West. He argues that a different sort of conversation is needed that isn’t just about planning or ‘how many houses you build’.
Where are the homes this winter?
COVID has shown we need even more affordable housing and further government initiatives to tackle rising levels of homelessness made worse by the pandemic’s economic impact, writes Robert Pollock.
Central government needs to stand back
Dr Jonathan Carr-West asks if anyone has any sense of a sustained strategic focus on tackling the pandemic from government, and he feels only local government can manage the alignment of social, environmental and economic recovery that we need.
Taxing questions on a flawed system
The Treasury announced a call for evidence on business rates. Martin Ford speaks to experts about the system’s flaws, and whether the Government can enact radical change in a time of coronavirus and Brexit.
Government relaxes recovery plan demand
The Government has scrapped its requirement for all councils with a cumulative dedicated schools grant (DSG) deficit of more than 1% to submit a recovery plan.
Trust in the public realm really matters
Trust in public institutions cannot be rebuilt if different levels of government are seeking to divert blame on to each other, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West.
Real imagination needed for a green reset
More ambitious progress on place-based approaches to reducing carbon emissions will need ‘a great deal of political will and resources’, according to a Penna/The MJ virtual seminar. Heather Jameson reports.
Redrawing our future after COVID
What we have learnt from coronavirus is that we need flexibility, adaptability and civic solidarity, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West - and in the next phases of the pandemic the need for relocalisation will become more urgent for at least three reasons.
PR strategist's hall of shame
Diary is inundated with press releases, speeches and blog posts on a regular basis.
