Remote council meetings to be abandoned

Local authority meetings will have to be face-to-face from 7 May, under new guidance from the MHCLG.

For the most part, the government is being very cautious in its roadmap out of lockdown. Although outdoor sports facilities are now open, entertainment, tourist and non-essential retail all remain closed until at least 12 April. Meetings of groups of more than six is unlikely before 17 May, and even then it is expected to remain capped at six indoors and no more than 30 outdoors.

Can 2021 be the year of Net Zero progress?

In the last few weeks, the eye catching announcements have been numerous - Brexit trade talks ongoing; more than 70 per cent of the country set to be Tier 3 restrictions; and community testing rolled out to Tier 2.

Lockdowns show lack of empathy for the north

It has been two weeks since more than four million people in the North of England awoke to news that new restrictions had been imposed upon them overnight, following spikes in coronavirus cases.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s 10pm brainwave tweet to announce lockdowns was rightly met with widespread derision.

As we go to print, Oldham has become the latest region on the brink of local lockdown after the town’s seven-day infection rate overtook the ones in Blackburn with Darwen and Leicester.

CORONAVIRUS
Indoor Humidity Levels - Why public sector buildings need to have humidity level that means that viruses cannot spread

ROAD MAINTENANCE
Tackling The Pothold Backlog - Will recent government investment help to reliev the road maintenance backlog and level up the country?

FIRE SAFETY
Post-Grenfell: Changes Needed - Several reports have heavily criticised the London Fire Bridage in recent weeks. But what does it mean for fire safety law moving forward?

CLIMATE
The Climate and Our Councils - How can local authorities increase what they are doing to tacle the climate emergency?