Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) has revealed that the majority of council officials are overwhelmingly concerned about their ability to hold local elections in May with 69 per cent suggesting an autumn timetable is more achievable.
The survey of 353 chief executives (who are often returning officers), democratic services officers and council leaders is the most comprehensive survey of council officials across England on the 2021 Local Elections. It found that their greatest concerns were around preparing for May elections that would only later be postponed, their ability to recruit and train electoral workers and their ability to prepare under current conditions.
As the government continues to push for the May elections to go ahead as planned, respondents felt the most helpful thing they could do to make the elections free, fair and safe would be to delay them to a firm later date, provide additional ring fenced funding and support postal voting.
Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGIU, said: “Local government is committed to democracy, but the overwhelming view from councils is that it is no longer possible to hold safe and open elections in May. The logistical challenges are formidable and there’s a real risk that we effectively disenfranchise millions of people who do not feel safe going to the polls.
“The worst scenario of all would be for the government to push ahead only to have to make a U-turn late in the day when councils will already have spent a fortune in money and time preparing. Better to take a bold decision now to delay the elections and use the additional time to ensure they can be run safely. Such measures should include the vaccination of poll workers and an expansion of postal voting. Public confidence in elections is an essential foundation of our democracy; once lost it takes years to rebuild. That risk is not worth taking.”
Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
Adare SEC works with over 100 authorities across the UK, trusted with the production of critical, highly secure communications such as revenues and benefits and electoral documentation, along with the volume of essential everyday communications that flow between local authorities and citizens. Adare SEC also works with the NHS to manage critical appointment letters and other highly sensitive communications.
Hybrid mail for local government and NHS
Returning to the NAEC Stoneleigh in Warwickshire from 24-26 June, Road Transport Expo (RTX) is back with its winning ‘All about the truck’ formula.
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The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) announced a momentous milestone as it marks 100,000 enrolments for its industry-leading Virtual Training Suite.
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Prior to the general election, the Institute of Economic Development (IED), which represents economic development and regeneration practitioners working for local and regional communities, asked members the question: what is your single biggest ask of the incoming government to support economic development? Tom Stannard explains.