Poverty and inequality are financial challenges for local authorities and threaten the cohesion of their communities.
There is a growing divide in economic fortunes and political values between the UK’s cities and towns. This report from Hope Not Hate focuses on the resilience of towns to social changes brought by immigration and diversity. Social and economic challenges can make places more susceptible to toxic political narratives.
On September 1 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Scottish Government’s new Programme for Government (PfG) 2020-2021. This briefing will summarise the key points of this announcement and highlight the parts most relevant to local government and public services.
Patrick Jowett explores how Sweden, Finland and Denmark have successfully worked to take a gender mainstreaming approach to policymaking and the transformative nature of these strategies at a national and local level.
Low visibility of women’s experiences in the male-dominated field of planning can shape our environments to fit male norms, but it doesn’t have to be this way. LGIU’s Kat McManus writes on the benefits of applying a gender lens to planning and explores how Vienna became a role model for their application of this approach.
Alice Buszard reflects on the ideas raised at LGIU’s first-ever local government book club meeting, where participants discussed “Invisible Women” by Caroline Criado Perez and considered how the information set out in the book could shape local government policymaking.
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) is currently exhibiting the Housing Diversity SEPP – Explanation of Intended Effect. This briefing outlines the recent changes made to the Seniors SEPP, the proposed changes to the three housing-related SEPPs and the three new housing types.
Dr Ligia Teixeira, CEO of the Centre for Homelessness Impact, fills us in on their newly launched What Works Community: Local Government initiative, which is recruiting local authorities to join it and focus on evidence-led methods of ending and preventing homelessness.
The DHSC methodology for recording Covid-related deaths was recently changed. We examine this here, and also provide updates on ONS analysis of Covid-related deaths by geography, ethnicity, and occupation in England and Wales. Also dealt with is an ONS comparison of mortality across 29 European countries up to 30 June.
In advance of LGIU’s inaugural book club meeting on 27 August, Kim Fellows weighs in on Invisible Women: Exposing data bias in a world designed for men, and the exclusion of women in designing the environments around us – from PPE not fitting women’s bodies to Alexa not recognising female voices.
Ingrid Koehler and Jennifer Glover present our latest episode of LGIU Fortnightly, this week covering food security and access during the pandemic. We hear from Naomi Phillips of British Red Cross about their new report looking into the UK’s emergency response to food insecurity during the Covid-19 crisis, as well as Jane Corbett, Assistant Mayor…