In September 2019, the Association for Public Service Excellence launched a Commission “to explore the core issues that will impact on local government in the coming decade”. The Commission’s final report, ‘Local by Default’, was published in July 2021 and its 28 recommendations are summarised in this swift read briefing.
Restarting school education following the lockdown while Covid-19 is still prevalent in the country was always going to be difficult. This briefing looks at attendance statistics, and government guidance as schools prepared for, and started, the 2021-22 school year.
In April 2021 the Prime Minister commissioned Sir Richard Bacon MP to “develop a plan for a major scaling up of self-commissioned homes”. The resulting Bacon Review argues that making more land available for people to build their own homes could deliver 40,000 extra homes every year.
Evidence is clear that the frequency and severity of extreme weather events have increased as a direct consequence of human-induced climate change. It is imperative that local authorities identify risks from the current and future impacts of climate change and put in place plans to increase resilience.
Next in the series of ‘Housing for All’ LGIU briefings, this briefing examines the most important planning and land use elements that will impact the ‘New Housing Plan for Ireland’.
This briefing examines the changing relationship between councils and housing associations since the 1988 Housing Act and proposes ways in which partnership arrangements can be strengthened in the future.
The Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan guides the strategic planning and investment for future thermal energy from waste facilities until 2041. The Plan aims to provide certainty of where waste to energy facilities will be located to maximise NSW’s waste management needs, employment opportunities, and waste innovation opportunities.
2020 saw the largest number of drug-related deaths in the UK since records began in the 1990s. Perhaps it is time that drug reform policy follows the examples from abroad by moving away from the criminal justice lens and instead addressing the topic as a public health issue.
An appeal to councils to house thousands of Afghan refugees is the big issue in this month’s housing and planning roundup. Other news includes homelessness, green energy, fire safety, complaints to the Housing Ombudsman and structural racism.
In February 2021, the Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland published its final report. This briefing sets out the key aspects of the consultation and highlights some of the potential implications for local government and other public services.
