Government Business | Business information for local and central government

Funding for local police forces to tackle anti-social behaviour

The Home Office has announced £66 million to fund hundreds of thousands of hours of patrols to tackle violence and anti-social across England and Wales.
Every police force is set to receive at least £1 million and areas with high levels of anti-social behaviour will be targeted.
It is hoped that the funding will enable each force to deploy uniformed patrols for up to 20,000 hours in “hotspot” areas each year in an attempt to drive down crime and boost public confidence in their local force.

Calls to extend Household Support Fund

London local authorities' most senior finance officers urge Jeremy Hunt to extend the Household Support Fund.

New guidance from DfE on school spaces

The Department for Education (DfE) has released new "sufficiency framework" for trusts, local authorities and schools with the aim of ensuring there are enough school spaces.

Political parties urged to raise school food funding

School meal industry body, LACA, is calling on political parties to include increased funding for school lunches in their manifesto ahead of the general election this year.

A Manifesto for Stronger Places

In creating our Manifesto for Stronger Places, ADEPT has stepped into new territory, because we all know our local places deserve better, but we need policy as well as investment to make a difference, explains Hannah Bartram, chief executive officer, ADEPT.

Local Government

Using AI efficiently

In July, it was announced that digital gurus from the public sector will be working with government departments as part of plans to turbocharge the technological skills of civil servants.

Technology

Push for councils to use brownfield land for homes

Building homes on brownfield land is due to increase under a major shake-up to planning rules to boost housebuilding while protecting the Green Belt.

Housing developments now required to deliver nature boost

England has become the first country in the world to make Biodiversity Net Gain a legal requirement. This means that all new major housing developments will be required to deliver at least a 10% benefit for nature.
Biodiversity Net Gain has been introduced through the Environment Act and is intended to help deliver a commitment to halt species decline by 2030.

New homes to be built under Affordable Housing Scheme

20,000 new homes will be built across the country under the Affordable Homes Scheme

Councils call for powers to ban pavement parking

The Local Government Association has published a report calling for powers to ban pavement parking across England.
The report comes more than three years after a government consultation to ban pavement parking ended.
At the moment, pavement parking is only banned in London, where councils have the power to exempt certain roads. The consultation considered extending this ban to all councils in the rest of England. The consultation ended over three years ago, but no announcement has yet been made.