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"The measures announced today should allow councils to ensure that fewer claimants get into financial difficulty at the start of their claim."

"Councils recognise the tremendous role that culture and heritage plays in helping to create places where people want to live, work and visit. “While today’s announcement is helpful, further funding would genuinely make a difference in creating culture-led, place-based development in communities. "Local authorities, alongside Arts Council England, are this country’s biggest public sector investors in culture. "Despite significant reductions in central government funding, councils have adopted innovative ways of supporting and boosting culture and heritage. This includes setting up trusts to

“The LGA has long called for councils to be given greater freedom to borrow to build new homes and today’s Budget has taken a step towards that by lifting the housing borrowing cap for some councils. This is an important recognition of our argument about the vital role that councils must play to boost homes for local families in need and solve our housing crisis. “There are other measures in the Budget that will make a difference, especially more funding for Land Assembly, the Housing Infrastructure Fund and for SME builders. These are all measures councils have been making a case for. “Plan

“The announcement of the first new devolution deals in 20 months is encouraging and will benefit those living in the North of Tyne region and the West Midlands, but many more such deals are needed to reverse the growing sense of stalled progress and missed opportunities across much of the country. “Councils want their residents to be able to enjoy ‘devolution delight’ rather than suffer ‘devolution deadlock’. “The longer it takes to secure new devolution deals, the longer communities will have to wait to benefit from the opportunities currently available to areas where devolution has taken

“The LGA has long called for councils to be given greater freedom to borrow to build new homes and today’s Budget has taken a step towards that by lifting the housing borrowing cap for some councils."

Council employees have been offered a two-year pay increase from 1 April 2018. The majority of employees - those on salaries starting at £19,430 per annum - would receive an uplift of 2 per cent on 1 April 2018 and a further 2 per cent on 1 April 2019, with those on lower salaries receiving higher increases.

"Expectant mothers, and our children, of whatever age, need to be able to live in safe communities and that includes making sure the air they breathe is as free from pollution as possible."

“It’s heart-breaking to think of any child experiencing homelessness, especially at Christmas, which is why councils are focused on trying to prevent homelessness happening in the first place."

Council planning departments are set to miss out on an extra £70 million by the end of the financial year, ‘hampering’ their ability to process applications, if the Government does not urgently bring forward measures to increase planning fees, the LGA warns today.

“Fundamental changes to the way we fund adult social care are needed if we are to deliver a long-term sustainable system that works for everyone in society"