Today the Queen opened a new Parliamentary session with her speech outlining the Prime Minister’s legislative agenda. As expected, it was largely dominated by plans for the UK’s departure from the EU but there were aspects of the Government’s new domestic plans with implications for local government.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the LGiU & CCLA Cllr Achievement Awards. This year’s shortlist demonstrates an excellent group of councillors who have worked hard within their council roles to improve their local community, be it by leading their authority, transforming council services or getting involved with local people.
The Expenditure Report for Budget 2020 sets out the Irish Government’s voted expenditure allocations and measures for 2020.
Reception baseline assessment starts in autumn 2020 although most primary schools are trialling it this year. It forms the baseline for primary school progress measures enabling such schools to be held to account for the seven years of primary education. It is controversial with some claiming that it is at odds with young children’s learning.
Across Europe there has been a rise in the number of people who feel excluded from mainstream political decision-making. With this in mind, we explore ‘direct democracy’ and question whether this could be a tool for local authorities to build more representative, trusted and cohesive models of governance.
This report, from the Social Metrics Commission, provides both a detailed overview of the extent and nature of poverty in the UK today and original analysis that shows how this has changed since the first year where the data for the Commission’s measurement framework is available.
LGiU ran a survey of chief executives of all UK local authorities, asking them about how their council is preparing for Brexit. The survey ran throughout September 2019, receiving 63 responses (15% of chief executives) covering councils in all regions and all tiers.
The House of Commons Transport Committee has recommended that the government ban parking on pavements in England. How realistic is this?
The health, public health and social care round-up summarises new policy, research and publications that are relevant to elected members and officers interested in health and social care.
Mid-September saw the political parties hold their now annual “autumn think-ins” ahead of the return of the Dáil on Tuesday 17th September. This briefing covers what happened at these think-ins and what each party has planned for the upcoming year.