The LGA's media office provides the national voice of local government in England and Wales on the major issues of the day for national, regional and local press.
“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
“We look forward to seeing more details on these proposals, but it’s essential that any new responsibilities on transport that councils take on are fully funded, and that they are given whatever resources they need to put the appropriate infrastructure in place.”
“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
Lord Porter, Chairman of the Local Government Association, responded to the Chancellor's Budget announcement that councils will receive £2 billion extra funding for social care over the next three years.
"There are two million veterans across the country and councils provide a range of services that help them and their families, including housing, money advice, employment support and health and wellbeing services."
"This funding demonstrates that the Government have heard our calls for greater recognition of the vital role that libraries play in helping businesses to innovate and grow."
"Urgent clarity is needed on how the Government’s fundamental review of business rates will impact on reforms to allow local government to keep more of business rates income collected locally from next year."