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“The Accelerated Planning Green Paper needs to include allowing councils to be able to set their own planning fees, with taxpayers currently having to subsidise the costs of planning applications by around £200 million a year."

The latest shared services map from the Local Government Association (LGA), published today, shows that there are now 626 individual shared service arrangements across the country resulting in £1.34 billion of efficiency savings.

“This important annual report is further compelling evidence of the irrefutable crisis in adult social care funding which cannot be ignored and rightly highlights the efforts of councils in continuing to do all they can to help people live the lives they want to lead."

LGA Housing spokesman, Cllr Martin Tett, responds to a report by the Public Accounts Committee warning that the Government’s housebuilding target is in “jeopardy”.

“These trailblazer councils have been chosen to help develop, deliver, review and expand their innovative plans to tackle this epidemic at a local level, which can then be shared with their peers more widely."

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responds to a report by the Commons Health and Social Care Committee on legislative proposals for the NHS Long-Term Plan.

Every suicide that takes place is a tragedy and it’s everybody’s business to work together to tackle this tragic loss of life and support all of those affected by it.

Cllr Ian Stephens, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Fire Services Management Committee, responds to the second tranche of a national report on fire and rescue services by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

To achieve true parity of care between mental and physical health, we need a root and branch overhaul of mental health services, which focuses on prevention and early intervention, particularly for children and young people.

“While it is good that councils will receive initial one-year funding to deliver the scheme at the same level, this needs to be followed through with long-term funding in the Spending Review."