Cllr Nick Forbes told the Treasury
Select Committee that the lack of infrastructure investment was one of the
principle obstacles to greater housebuilding. Cllr Forbes said: “You can’t just
simply build new homes without thinking about access to them, transport
arrangements, healthcare, education, all of the issues that support the
development of new communities.” Cllr Forbes also said that local authorities
should be allowed to borrow freely to invest in housing.(£)
Plans to expand three primary schools in Wolverhampton have been approved by the
City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet.
South Shields is set to receive a new Metro Station, bus interchange and
rail training centre as part of multi-million pound plans to boost the town’s
transport infrastructure.
One of Gedling’s
most well-known and well-used play parks is to have a £124,000
refurbishment.
Croydon has seen a 21 per cent drop in the number of recorded fly-tips across the borough over
a six-month period this year compared with last year.
Work is to get
underway on the building of a new community hub at a County Durham village.
A key mile-stone
in the creation of new homes in Lambeth as part of the Your New Town
Hall project has been reached.
Work is
progressing at a pace on the restoration of Bradford’s Grade II* listed St George’s
Hall.
Cllr
Alice Perry’s Labour
NEC Report – November 2017.
The Association of Labour Councillors (ALC) and LGA
Labour Group Local Government Conference will take place on Friday and Saturday
2/3 February 2018.
This event is an
opportunity for Labour’s local government family to meet and discuss a range of
issues relevant to local government and Labour. In addition to keynote speakers
and plenary sessions, there will be a series of policy and campaigning
workshops. Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn MP is confirmed to speak along with many other
members of Labour’s front bench team.
The details are:
Friday 2 February 2018, 19.30 – 22.30 Drinks reception and dinner
Saturday 3 February 2018, 09.00 – 17.00 Local Government Conference
The conference will be held at East Midlands Conference
Centre, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RJ. To book your place please visit
our website. Please note we are only
able to take online bookings with a debit or credit card. Reserve your place now
Accommodation We are pleased to have a number of rooms on hold at the
Orchard Hotel, adjacent to the conference venue on a first come first served
basis. To book please call the hotel’s
reservations team on 0115 876 0900 and quote LGA 2/218. Single occupancy is £95 + VAT, double
occupancy is £105 + VAT, bed and breakfast.
These are the same prices as two years ago. Please note this is a
non-refundable, non-transferable rate. Rooms not booked by 4 December 2017 will
be released, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Newly elected Councillors If you are a newly elected councillor, (i.e. elected for
the first time in May 2017 or since in a by-election) you are entitled to a
free conference pass. You should have received an email from the ALC explaining
how to book your place. If you have any queries please email councillors@labour.org.uk for further
information. If you intend to come to the dinner you will need to buy a ticket
for that.
Construction starts on permanent home for Cardiff's newest high school.
Labour has launched a major initiative to work with people and businesses in
our seaside towns on a plan to revive jobs, industry and local economies
Sir Keir Starmer MP, has called on the Government to make funding for women’s refuges
mandatory, after the Government put in place plans to remove refuges and other short-term
supported housing from the welfare system.
A review by the Competition and Markets Authority shows
that care homes have been applying
unfair charges and over-the-top fees for self-funders.
Mental health patients are having to wait for up to two years
for treatment in parts of England.
Just 199 government-funded social rented homes have
been built in the last six months, according to data on affordable housing
by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
Theresa May faces
new crisis after mass walkout over social mobility policy.
Poverty hits more children and pensioners, says charity.
LGA responds to government’s Green Paper on
children’s mental health
LGA responds to Care Quality Commission
report on residential detox clinics
LGA reaction to the Competition and Markets
Authority care homes market study
The
Local Government Association is holding a peer training event on Tuesday 23 January 2018 in London for elected member peers such as health and wellbeing board chairs and public health & adult
social care portfolio holders interested in being part of a peer challenge team
helping system leaders with locally driven improvement.
A team of peers are invited by a system to spend up to three days ‘holding
up the mirror’ to the opportunities and challenges that the system is
facing. They talk to a range of people
and highlight things that could be improved.
Peers champion change and recognise the achievements of places they are
invited into, spending three days on-site undertaking interviews, focus groups and visits. Before they leave
the peer team delivers a constructive but challenging feedback session to local
leaders and stakeholders.
The peer challenge approach is well established within local government as a proven
improvement process.
The system wide
care & health peer challenge is
funded by the Department of Health through the LGA’s Care & Health
Improvement Programme.
For further
information please contact kay.burkett@local.gov.uk or phone 07909 534126. To
register your place on the training day, please contact kate.biddlecombe@local.gov.uk.
Plans by Northamptonshire County Council to close
more than half of its public libraries have been criticised by readers and
authors. Up to 28 of the county’s 36 libraries could be closed.
Lancashire County Council has scuppered plans
for a devolution deal for Lancashire after withdrawing support – with
business leaders criticising the decision as a ‘missed opportunity’.
By-election results from 30 November 2017
Torridge DC, Torrington LD 701 [60.2%;
+60.2%] Ind 180 [15.5%; +15.5%] Con 159 [13.6%; -6.0%] Grn 76 [6.5%; -15.9%] UKIP 49 [4.2%; -16.8%] Lab 0 [[0.0%; -12.4%]] Ind 0 [[0.0%; -24.6%]] Lib Dem gain from UKIP
Tandridge DC, Westway LD 483 [53.5%; +17.5%] Con 239 [26.5%; -2.5%] Lab 118 [13.1%; -2.8%] UKIP 62 [6.9%; -12.2%] Lib Dem hold
Gosport BC, Bridgemary North Ward LD 644 [58.0%; +58.0%] Lab 255 [23.0%; -49.0%] Con 213 [19.1%; -8.9%] Lib Dem gain from Labour
Maidstone BC, North LD 719 [51.4%; +8.4%] Con 364 [26.0%; +2.1%] Lab 270 [19.3%; +6.1%] Grn 47 [3.4%; -0.1%] UKIP 0 [[0.0%; -16.8%]] Lib Dem gain from Conservative
By-elections taking
place on 7 December 2017
North Devon DC, Newport Enfield LB, Enfield
Highway
|