Sadiq Khan commits to delivering council homes

4 January 2024
Sadiq Khan commits to delivering council homes
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has committed to delivering the council homes that London needs.
The announcement comes as new government statistics show that an average of 89 council homes a week have been started in the capital between May 2016 and the end of the last financial year.
The figures also show that last year, local authorities in London started building twice as many council homes than the rest of the country combined, with nearly 11,000 new council homes started in 2022/23.
The Mayor has urged the government not to give up on council housing.
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Zero emission vehicle mandate becomes law

3 January 2024
Zero emission vehicle mandate becomes law
The zero emission vehicle mandate (ZEV), the government’s route to all new cars and vans being zero emission by 2035, is now law.
The zero emission vehicle mandate sets out the percentage of new zero emission cars and vans manufacturers will be required to produce each year up to 2030. Eighty per cent of new cars and 70 per cent of new vans sold in Great Britain will now need to be zero emission by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035.
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Free disposal of DIY waste at recycling centres

3 January 2024
Free disposal of DIY waste at recycling centres
From the beginning of the year, households no longer have to pay to dispose of small-scale DIY waste at council recycling centres.
It is hoped the change will boost recycling and make it easier for people to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner.
The fees previously charged by around one-third of local authorities to dispose of DIY waste have been abolished by the government.
Now, all councils in England will treat DIY waste the same as other household waste when it meets certain conditions, such as not exceeding 2x 50L rubble bags.
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Council tax reduction scheme saves households £3.5 billion in Scotland

2 January 2024
Council tax reduction scheme saves households £3.5 billion in Scotland
According to the latest figures, the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme in Scotland has saved households more than £3.5 billion in council tax since it was introduced a decade ago.
The latest figures published by the Scottish Government show 460,860 recipients received CTR in October 2023, meaning one-in-five households were benefiting from the scheme.
People on low incomes are eligible for CTR if they live in Scotland. Those who receive CTR save on average £800 a year and become eligible for up to 35% off their water and waste charges.
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Reforms to improve electrical reuse and recycling

2 January 2024
Reforms to improve electrical reuse and recycling
The Government has announced reforms intended to make it easer for people and businesses to reuse and recycle their old electrical goods.
Statistics have shown that an estimated 155,000 tonnes of smaller household electricals such as cables, toasters, kettles and power tools are wrongly thrown in the bin each year and UK homes are thought to hoard a further 527 million unwanted electrical items containing valuable materials such as gold, silver and platinum.
On top of this, 500 tonnes of Christmas lights are discarded every year in the UK.
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Levelling up funding protects 70 pubs, theatres and museums

22 December 2023
Levelling up funding protects 70 pubs, theatres and museums
£25 million of funding has been announced to rescue museums, pubs, parks and cinemas across the country.
Successful bidders will receive a share of the Community Ownership Fund.
More than 70 buildings across the UK are to receive funding.
For the first time, £2 million will be granted to individual projects.
Just over £2 million will go to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre to enable it to buy a neighbouring 1800s building and turn it into an adjoining venue.
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Money generated from government property sales

22 December 2023
Money generated from government property sales
New figures have revealed. That £1.1 billion has been generated over the last year, through a drive to make more efficient use of Government land and buildings.
£1.1 billion of property sales have been achieved in the past year, meaning more than two thirds of the three-year target has been delivered in the first twelve months.
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Welsh councils to get increase in funding

21 December 2023
Welsh councils to get increase in funding
The Welsh Government has announced a 3.1 per cent increase in local government funding.
Core revenue funding for local government will increase by 3.1% on a like-for-like basis, compared to the current year, with no local authority receiving less than a 2 per cent increase.
Schools, social services and social care, refuse and recycling collections and other key services provided by local authorities will be backed with £5.7 billion in Welsh Government Revenue Support Grant and non-domestic rates.
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Funding announced for London road repairs

21 December 2023
Funding announced for London road repairs
The Department for Transport has announced £235 million to upgrade and repair roads across London.
The funding is redirected from HS2 to resurface roads across the capital over the next 11 years.
Allocations for each London borough and Transport for London have been confirmed, meaning authorities can start spending immediately.
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