Welfare
Pressure rises on Gove to build social housing
Pressure was this week mounting on new housing secretary Michael Gove to ramp up the building of social homes amid predictions of growing homelessness.
District hopes of controlling £500m fund dashed
District hopes to be put in control of handing out the new £500m household support fund have been dashed after a ‘bizarre’ government decision.
Chancellor faces tough call on on care, pensions and welfare
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will need to make a series of tough choices this autumn, the Resolution Foundation think-tank has said.
The value of putting local welfare cash provision first
Gareth Evans looks at the evidence around cash first approaches to local welfare provision and asks if it delivers better outcomes for beneficiaries and greater ‘bang for scarce council bucks’.
Keep up COVID funding to end homelessness, says Kerslake
Ending homelessness is possible, but the Government needs to keep up funding or face a post-pandemic surge, an independent commission concluded.
London's 'triple whammy' risks homelessness crisis
London Councils has warned there is a ‘triple whammy’ of impending risks that threaten to push homelessness to record levels this summer.
Pre-paid card firms supplying councils acted ‘as a cartel,’ regulator says
Three out of five firms that issue councils with pre-paid cards have admitted breaching competition rules and agreed to pay penalties totalling more than £32m.
Winning on social housing in Hull
The combination of austerity and welfare reform led Hull City Council to rethink its support for its social housing tenants. The end result has been an award winning service. The MJ reports.
Helping families through the tough times
Local welfare assistance schemes are crucial to delivering the Government’s package of winter support to families with children during the pandemic, says Toby North. Some councils, who previously did not have one in place, have set them up, he adds.
Councils to feed children during half-term
Local authorities have been told to fund free meals to schoolchildren during half-term week next month, prompting an outcry from the sector.
Counties will continue to deliver
Director of the County Councils Network Simon Edwards says the next few months will be 'no easier for our communities, but local government has already proven the importance of locally led, rather than centrally imposed, solutions'.
'Wide-ranging' government care review 'very imminent'
Children’s minister Vicky Ford has promised that the long-awaited review into the care system is ‘very imminent’ and will be ‘wide ranging’.
A radical case for change to employment support
Let local areas – not the Department for Work and Pensions – provide better support for people facing barriers to work, argues Pawda Tjoa
£63m hardship fund was not meant to pay for free school meals
The £63m ‘hardship fund’ ministers claim should be enough for councils to help hungry schoolkids was not designed to pay for free school meals.
Joint call for increased funding to help rough sleepers
A host of health and homelessness organisations have implored the Government to take ‘bold action’ and help councils bring rough sleepers off the streets this winter.
Why councils should support the expansion of Fair for You
As part of their plans to reshape financial support for residents, councils should enter into formal partnerships with Fair for You, says Damon Gibbons.
Staring into the jobs abyss
With the furlough scheme due to finish at the end of next month, can local government support COVID-hit local economies and residents left without work? Ann McGauran talks to sector experts.
ADCS president calls for welfare overhaul
The impact of the pandemic on children’s futures must not be underestimated, the president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has said.
District warning after £63m handed to counties
Help for families struggling to put food on the table will be delayed due to ‘needless extra red tape in distributing funding,’ district councils have warned after ministers handed counties control of a £63m fund to support the most vulnerable families.
Johnson to launch £63m local welfare assistance fund
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the creation of a £63m local welfare assistance fund to support the most vulnerable families.
