Briefings and responses

Councils are committed to working in partnership to create better places by using public sector assets more efficiently, creating service and financial benefits for partners, as well as releasing land for housing and other development to deliver wider social, environmental and economic outcomes for local communities.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill covers a wide range of community safety issues and seeks to introduce measures which aim to have an impact on victims of crime, those who perpetrate crimes, and wider community safety.

The equal participation of women and men in local politics, as our elected councillors and as our leaders, is an important condition for effective democracy and good governance.

The LGA supports in principle the ambition to transform public procurement.  However much of what is being proposed within the Green Paper is more around the legal process for procurement without sufficient discussion on how the Government believes we will meet the stated objectives  “to speed up and simplify our procurement processes, place value for money at their heart, and unleash opportuni

The Bill introduces important measures which will help to raise awareness of domestic abuse and will go some way to providing additional support to domestic abuse victims

On 3 March 2021, the Government published guidance for care home providers on limiting staff movement between care settings in all but exceptional circumstances to help reduce the spread of infection.

Our Budget 2021 On-the-Day briefing summarises the key announcements for councils and provides an initial LGA view

Councils have a crucial role in local communications, planning and support to deliver mass vaccination effectively – particularly for those groups with low trust in national institutions and / or low take up of the vaccine.

While the Government’s £1.57 billion support package for the arts and culture sector was welcome, the sector is still facing significant financial difficulties. Councils face significant additional cost pressures as a result of COVID-19 and this will directly impact council’s ability to fund discretionary services in the culture sector, at a time when the sector is in urgent need of investment.

The reform of Public Health England (PHE), the new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and forthcoming legislation on the statutory basis of integrated care systems (ICSs) means we are facing significant organisational change. The long-standing problem of health inequalities and regional inequality has become ever clearer during 2020/21, and the pandemic’s repercussions will exacerbate for some time.