The full list of 39 places which have applied for city status as part of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition has been announced.
Winning city status can provide a boost to local communities and open up new opportunities for people who live there, as is the case with previous winners Perth and Preston where the local economies benefited from their improved national and global standing.

The government is providing an additional £60 million to local authorities to support the adult social care response to coronavirus.
Minister for Care Gillian Keegan said that the Adult Social Care – Omicron Support Fund is on top of the £388 million infection control and testing fund announced earlier in the year to prevent infections and provide testing in the care sector.

Rough sleepers are being helped to get their coronavirus vaccines and move into safe accommodation over the winter thanks to a £28 million boost.

Details have been published of how the £12.5 billion in Scottish Government funding for 2022/23 will be distributed to local authorities.
The settlement represents a total cash increase of £917.9 million or 7.9 per cent, which is the equivalent of a real terms rise of 5.1 per cent to support vital local government services. It includes a real terms increase in day-to-day revenue funding of 4.9 per cent, compared with the 2021/22 draft budget.

An additional £22.5 million in funding and an army of vaccine ambassadors have been deployed across the country to encourage vaccine uptake.

High streets and local business will be allowed to hold markets more often and put marquees up in pub and restaurant gardens without planning permission.

Tens of thousands of people will be protected from homelessness as a result of a £316 million government funding boost.

Care providers, residents and staff will all benefit from additional funding, totalling £1.4 billion, to support the social care sector.
Made available over three years to help increase the fee rates local authorities pay to care providers, further funding of more than £1 billion will also be available for local authorities in 2022/23 to fund social care. This will help councils respond effectively to rising demand and cost pressures.

Young people who are most at risk of serious violence will receive targeted support to keep them engaged in education and attending lessons.

Reliable internet connections are now available to more people than ever before, with more than eight million homes now able to get full-fibre broadband.