Mayor announces first clean, green bus routes

8 August 2016
Mayor announces first clean, green bus routes
Sadiq Khan has confirmed plans for the first of a series of ‘Low Emission Bus Zones’ as part of his plans to clean up the capital’s toxic air.

Liverpool Council signs skin cancer pledge

8 August 2016
Liverpool Council signs skin cancer pledge
Liverpool City Council and Cancer Research UK have combined efforts to increase awareness of skin cancer and ensure the disease is firmly on the local authority’s health agenda.

GB trading standards spend falls

8 August 2016
GB trading standards spend falls
The total trading standards spend in Britain has drastically plummeted, undermining the ability of councils to undertake complex prosecutions.
That is the finding of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), which has discovered that total spend has dropped from £213 million to £124 million, equating to just £1.99 per person, per year.
The CTSI report also shows staffing has fallen by 53 per cent since 2009, leaving the CTSI to claim that the government is failing to adequately protect consumers and honest businesses.

Young in care lacking mentor support

8 August 2016
Young in care lacking mentor support
Children’s charity Barnardo’s has claimed that too many young people in care are missing out on the support from independent mentors.
The 1989 Children's Act ensures that councils appoint volunteers to ‘visit, befriend and advise’ children in care if it is in their best interests. However, research carried out by the charity has shown that only three per cent of looked-after children were matched with a mentor.

Council owned company venture deal close

8 August 2016
Council owned company venture deal close
West Devon Borough Council is close to transferring all services into a company which would have the ability to trade its services.

LGA defends high pay rates for public health roles

5 August 2016
LGA defends high pay rates for public health roles
The Local Government Association (LGA) has defended highly paid public health roles, after a study by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) claimed 105 public health employees working in local government earned over £100,000 in remuneration last year.

Local authorities must issue free contraception, NICE says

5 August 2016
Local authorities must issue free contraception, NICE says
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has urged councils to increase the number of free condoms they offer to young people, gay men and those most at risk of catching sexually transmitted infections (STI).

Minimum download speed must be law enforced, councils urge

5 August 2016
Minimum download speed must be law enforced, councils urge
The Local Government Association (LGA) has called on the government to make the national minimum standard of broadband speed a law, after Whitehall pledged to give citizens the legal right to access a minimum download speed of 10Mbps by 2020.

Nottingham Council calls for ban on EDL march

5 August 2016
Nottingham Council calls for ban on EDL march
Nottingham City Council is considering a proposal to ban a march by the English Defence League (EDL), following concerns the march could pose risks to ‘children and families in the city centre’.