Members
Local authority housing in England: a look at government statistics
Two recent reports reveal an interesting picture of council housing in England and the wider housing market at the start of 2019. The details are summarised here.
Ireland
Briefings
Members
All together now: how are we doing with Participation Requests?
Participation Requests came into effect in April 2017, and 31 had been reported by local authorities in Scotland up to the end of December 2018. This briefing assesses the participation requests received to date and considers the learning to emerge from early adopters.
Scotland
Members
Tackling disadvantage in the early years – Commons Education Committee
The report finds that despite the government’s efforts to improve early years education, there is lack of direction in the approach. Reform of the 30 hours free childcare offer is sought to help disadvantaged children as part of a strategy to join up early years services and build on the success of children’s centres and…
England & Wales
Members
Brexit – Local government funding and information network announced
As Theresa May prepares to head back to Brussels for the latest round of crunch talks on the Irish backstop and the political declaration, local authorities have been warned to step up their no deal preparations.
England & Wales, Scotland
Members
Reflections on housing policy challenges
Ensuring availability and affordability of housing, to rent or buy, and market stability, poses major policy challenges for 2019 and beyond, with no easy answers and few risk-free options. This briefing covers the past, present and future of the current housing crisis and what we can do.
Ireland
Members
Swift Read: An overview of how local government in Scotland is funded
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) have recently published a very helpful briefing paper on local government finance. This swift read provides an overview of the SPICe briefing, but also draws on other recent publications to illustrate the extent to which the system delivers different funding outcomes for different areas.
Scotland
Members
LGiU & MJ State of Local Government Finance Survey 2019
The LGiU & MJ State of Local Government Finance Survey 2019 gives a snapshot of the key pressures facing councils and the impact of ongoing financial uncertainty on their communities, through the views of senior councillors and officers. The survey questions covered topics including income sources, confidence, service level spending and public trust.
England & Wales, Scotland
Members
DfE: Schools causing concern: November 2018
The DfE has done a major update of its Schools Causing Concern guidance – ‘statutory’ guidance for local authorities; local authorities in England must have regard to it in exercising their functions. This is part of our School Report briefing series, reporting on education in England.
England & Wales, Scotland
Members
Swift read: Rough sleeping
Officially there are 4,677 people sleeping rough in England – marginally fewer than a year ago but still close to three times as many as in 2010. We set out here the latest statistics.
England & Wales
Members
The Fair Funding Review – One Year On
Progress has been made since the initial consultation - there is a recognisable structure of the funding formula, but there is still a lot do before the system is ready to be introduced for 2020-21, and concerns have been expressed about what is included in assessing relative needs.
Scotland