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Councillors ask to keep details private following abuse
Local councillors have called on the Government to allow them to keep their addresses and phone numbers private after revealing that 88 per cent had experienced abuse. In a report published today ahead of a session at its annual conference, entitled Debate Not Hate, the LGA said seven in 10 councillors had received abuse in the past 12 months, and one in 10 reported experiencing it on a regular basis. The LGA said some had been targeted because of their gender, race or sexuality, while some were suffering depression and anxiety due to safety fears, and feeling unable to go out unaccompanied. LGA Chairman Cllr James Jamieson said: “Councillors are as much a part of the community as those they represent and should not be subjected to abuse because of their position.” The LGA is also calling for social media companies to provide better and faster routes for councillors to report abuse and misinformation online.
Telegraph: Councillors ask to keep details private after MP murders
Rise in number of special needs children in need of council support
The number of children in England approaching councils for special educational needs and disabilities support (SEND) has increased by almost a quarter in a year, latest data analysed by the LGA reveals. Ahead of Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi’s address to its annual conference today, the LGA says emergency action is needed now to help meet the rising demand. Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, was interviewed live on BBC News and said: “We will continue to lobby and approach government until we get the funding and the right reforms in the system for our children and young people. We have to work with parents and we have to build back the trust of parents, so that they can trust the system to ensure that their children get the support that they not just need, but actually deserve.” Cllr Bramble’s comments were also reported on LBC, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 news bulletins.
Cllr Bramble on BBC News
Sewage dumping ‘scandal’ means councils must be able to fine water companies, say Lib Dems
Local authorities should be given the power to fine water companies dumping enormous amounts of sewage into England’s rivers and lakes, the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said. In a speech to the LGA Annual Conference, Sir Ed said his party was calling on the Government to ban sewage discharges in swimming spots and introduce a tax on water companies, which made £2.8 billion in operating profits last year, with the funds accrued being used to "clean up" rivers. Sir Ed Davey and Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy’s speeches to conference were also previewed on Times Radio.
Independent: Sewage dumping ‘scandal’ means councils must be able to fine water companies, say Lib Dems
Levelling up fund deadline postponed
The Government’s flagship £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund has been delayed, with the online portal for applications remaining inaccessible more than a month after it was scheduled to go live. Local authorities bidding for the second round of the fund were supposed to have been able to lodge their applications from May 31 ahead of a deadline for submissions of noon on July 6. The LGA said the competitive bidding process was creating “uncertainty” and using up “vital” council resources. An LGA spokesperson said: “Any delay to the distribution of vital funds will inevitably have an impact on what can they deliver.”
FT: Deadline for applications to UK’s flagship levelling-up fund postponed (£)
Pavement parking
Drivers could be faced with a £70 fine for parking on the pavement or mounting a kerb. In April the LGA called for all councils to be able to adopt similar rules as in London, where motorists are forbidden from parking on urban roads with their car’s wheels resting on footways, grass verges or land between carriageways.
Sun: Is it illegal to park my car on the pavement and can I be fined?
More than £130m in public money handed to housing providers shamed by regulator
More than £132 million in taxpayers’ money for housing the country’s most vulnerable people has been handed to providers which have been named and shamed by the regulator, following a Freedom of Investigation request covering 95 of more than 300 English local authorities. The Independent and openDemocracy has found that huge sums in housing benefit for “exempt accommodation” have been given to organisations since 2018, despite judgments or notices from the Regulator of Social Housing.
Independent: More than £130m in public money handed to housing providers named and shamed by regulator
Census suggests green belt used unnecessarily for housing, say campaigners
Green belt land may have built on for housing unnecessarily, say campaigners, after the 2021 census suggested population growth in many areas has been overestimated and in some cases by tens of thousands of people. The census also revealed other estimates were far too low, by up to 16 per cent, meaning local politicians now face pressure to allocate more land for homes than previously anticipated.
Guardian: Census suggests green belt used unnecessarily for housing, say campaigners
Covid cases surge towards 300,000 a day
Cases of COVID-19 in the UK have passed 275,000 a day and could reach 300,000 early next week, scientists say. Daily symptomatic infections have risen by 150 per cent this month, rising from 114,030 on 1 June to 285,507 on Monday, according to the latest figures from the ZOE Covid study app.
iNews: Covid cases surge towards 300,000 a day, prompting warnings over threat of autumn wave
Food import tariffs will be cut to ease cost of living squeeze
Imported food will be made cheaper to ease the cost of living crisis, Boris Johnson has promised, which could see price cuts of about 10 per cent for oranges, bananas, olives, rice and other products that Britain does not produce domestically. The plan would stop taxing foreign food which will not undercut UK farmers, with the Prime Minster saying Britain had “food tariffs we don’t need” and launching a review into cutting import taxes to lower prices for consumers.
Times: Food import tariffs will be cut to ease cost of living squeeze (£)
Quarter of GP posts vacant within a decade in England, study warns
The shortage of GPs in England is set to become worse, with more than one in four posts predicted to be vacant within a decade, an analysis suggests. The Health Foundation study said the current 4,200 shortfall could rise to more than 10,000 by 2030/31.
BBC Online: Quarter of GP posts vacant within a decade in England, study warns
Weight rules for patients cause stall in knee replacements
The number of knee replacement operations carried out has fallen in regions of England with restrictions on surgery for overweight patients, with people in more deprived areas worst affected, researchers have found. Patients needing surgery but unable to lose weight are being denied surgery that could ease pain and increase mobility, the team from the University of Bristol said, with health campaigners warning this risked exacerbating health inequalities.
Guardian: Knee replacements stall in regions of England with weight rules for patients
Pound heads for biggest six-month drop since 2016
The pound is heading for its biggest six-month drop against the US dollar since 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum. Sterling had fallen 0.46 per cent to $1.2127 by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, its lowest level since 16 June, when the Bank of England raised its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 per cent.
Sky News Online: Pound heads for biggest six-month drop since 2016
Royal Mail managers vote to strike
Royal Mail managers have voted to strike over what Unite the union says are plans to cut 542 frontline delivery managers' jobs, as well as implement a redeployment programme with worse terms and conditions. Unite members backed the industrial action by 86 per cent, with about 2,400 managers at more than 1,000 delivery offices involved in the dispute, but the strike dates have not yet been confirmed.
Sky News Online: Royal Mail managers vote to strike as Britain's summer of disruption set to get worse
Thursday's national newspaper front pages
Tuesday 28 – Thursday 30 June 2022 | Harrogate
Join us in Harrogate for the biggest event in the local government calendar, where we’ll be discussing the latest issues affecting local government.
Wednesday 13 July 2022, 2.00pm - 3.30pm
Hear more about the LGA’s Work Local: Unlocking talent to level up proposals, which recommend how Whitehall can enable local government to lead efforts to join up jobs and skills support for residents and businesses and help level up communities, and practical steps local authorities are taking on the ground.
Thursday 21 July 2022, 10.30am – 12.00pm
This webinar will provide a timely update on school teachers’ pay 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 and school support staff covered by the NJC Green Book as we anticipate the Government’s decision on the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) recommendations i.e. teacher pay uplifts will have been announced along with the publication of the STRB report and draft School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD).
Wednesday 7 September 2022, 10.00am - 4.00pm
There is significant and complex change across health and social care. Health and Wellbeing Board Chairs and elected members with roles in the new Integrated Care System will explore the leadership challenges presented in this development session.
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