This briefing looks back on some less-scrutinised aspects of the May 2019 local election results. The impact of the election results for political governance at local authority and Municipal District levels is briefly considered.
Up to £2.5 billion is to be spent on modern, efficient prisons which will include the creation of 10,000 additional prison places. However, is all of this funding new? We also consider here local authorities’ responsibilities to prisoners under the Care Act.
The UK2070 Commission has published its first report into spatial inequalities in the UK. Regional disparities affect everyone, whether they live in a prosperous or struggling area, but are not inevitable. With the right policy interventions and institutional reforms the trends can be reversed.
As the effects of climate change become better recognised, more attention is being focused towards the issue of food impacts on climate change. This briefing will make recommendations on the ways in which local governments can address issues of health and climate change through diet.
The UK government plans to improve mobile coverage in the countryside include proposals to “simplify planning rules” which some say will lead to the English countryside “being dotted with gigantic phone masts as high as Nelson’s Column” – but is this true?
September’s housing and planning round-up includes government announcements, latest statistics, major reports and ongoing consultations. This month’s ‘big issue’ is shared ownership, looking at proposals to allow households in England to buy a property in smaller increments.
In this briefing we draw on the international experiences with Open Streets across the globe to ask what Open Streets can do in towns and cities, and how.
Devolution is 20 years old. The anniversary has prompted debate amongst politicians, the media and commentators about the state of devolution. Has devolution increased the quality of democracy, boosted the economy, improved public services and led to a clear constitutional settlement that works for the UK as a whole?
The final briefing in our series on the recent Spending Round looks at local government announcements, comparing the SR with the recommendations from the MHCLG Select Committee’s report on local government funding. The additional funding is welcome but does the SR mean an end to austerity or just a pause?
In the last two months there have been three reports on the state of childhood in the UK. This briefing focuses mainly on the Action for Children report which shows the widening gap between children growing up in vulnerable circumstances and those growing up in greater affluence. Policy recommendations are made.