News

More than eight in 10 councils in England responsible for children’s social care overspent in the year to 2019/20. This comes despite councils increasing their budgets by £535 million that year and by £1.1 billion in the past two years.

New One Public Estate and MHCLG funding aims to create 19,000 jobs and 17,000 new homes.

“His appointment is a positive sign of MHCLG’s determination to be powerful advocate for local government across central government.”

“Councils want to build on this success to ensure local communities benefit more from national schemes."

“It is positive that rough sleeping has fallen. This is testament to the efforts of councils, working with government and partners, in getting people sleeping rough off the streets during the pandemic, and into safe and suitable accommodation."

“The forthcoming Spending Review should properly resource all early years settings so that councils and providers can support the Government’s ambition to reduce the attainment gap and ensure that every child has the best start in life.”

“The £125 million announced in the Spending Review for local authorities to implement the new statutory duty is good, but this funding is only for the 2021/22 financial year and councils would benefit from longer-term funding to allow for better planning and greater consistency for vital support services."

“Social care deserves parity of esteem with the NHS and as this report reiterates, action is urgently needed for the care workforce including on pay, conditions, professionalisation, skills and training."

“By working in partnership with government, councils can continue to shape their local areas to help achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.”

Cllr David Fothergill responds to the Government’s decision to make vaccination a condition of deployment for anyone working in a CQC-registered care home in England for residents requiring nursing or personal care.