Category Archives: Local government

North of England leaders vow to oppose lockdown without financial support

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Politicians say businesses and residents will need economic lifeline if further restrictions are imposed

Ministers are facing open revolt from leaders in northern England over fresh coronavirus restrictions due to be announced within days, as mayors, MPs, and council leaders, vowed they would fiercely oppose any new measures without substantial financial support.

Pubs, bars, and restaurants across Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and parts of the north-east of England could be forced to close next week in an effort to slow the soaring infection rate.

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How prepared is Boris Johnson for a winter resurgence of coronavirus?

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The prime minister says he is hoping for the best but planning for the worst. We look at key areas of concern

Boris Johnson’s approach to a winter wave of Covid-19 is to hope for the best but plan for the worst, he said on Friday. The worst-case scenario was spelled out earlier in the week by the Academy of Medical Sciences: as many as 120,000 hospital patients dead. Avoiding that will depend on the state of preparations in many areas.

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Thousands of high-risk offenders in UK ‘freed into homelessness’

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Report warns of reoffending risk as 3,713 ex-prisoners in England lack safe housing

Thousands of high-risk convicted criminals, including those classed as violent and sexual offenders, were being released from prison in England into homelessness, increasing the likelihood of their reoffending, inspectors warned.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) said in a report that it was “particularly disturbed” to find that at least 3,713 people supervised by the National Probation Service, which is responsible for high-risk offenders, had left prison and become homeless from 2018 to 2019.

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UK coronavirus live: Scotland to relax 2m rule but lockdown-easing paused in some towns after outbreaks

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Scotland’s distancing rule to be relaxed for some sectors; lockdown-easing paused in some Scottish towns; getting English schools back to normal critical, Williamson says

A “partial reopening” of the tourism sector in Wales is to take place over the next few weeks as long as rates of coronavirus continue to fall, the Welsh government has announced.

The Labour-led government has asked visitors to enjoy their time in the country – but to respect local communities.

Tourism is a vital part of the Welsh economy at a national, regional and local level. I’d like to thank all our industry partners for working with us to carefully reopen the visitor economy.

A successful, safe and phased return will give businesses, communities and visitors confidence to continue with the recovery of the visitor economy.

NHS England has recorded a further 35 coronavirus hospital deaths in England. The full figures are here.

For comparison, here are the equivalent daily figures announced by NHS England over the past fortnight.

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Failings in Leicester are doomed to be repeated | Letters

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Readers respond to the reimposition of lockdown in the city after a surge in Covid-19 cases

Living and working in Leicester city centre we find ourselves in a new social experiment (Leicester forced into local lockdown to combat surge in Covid-19 cases, 30 June). We were all surprised to learn from Matt Hancock of an increased infection rate in a daily briefing on 19 June. Since then we’ve been the focus of speculation, and now of action. Our store opened two weeks ago, a Monday morning that saw two-hour queues snaking around the city-centre streets. Shops including ours are now closed again, and bars and barbers have put their reopening plans on ice. The community overall has patiently respected a sensible and cautious return of safe behaviours.

But there is a problem: Leicester has huge poverty and inequalities. Living and working conditions are extremely challenging for many families trying to do their best and follow guidance. Government financial support has not reached many as they fall through the gaps. National health messages just have not reached many BAME communities. All of this was only made worse by our own elected mayor breaking lockdown rules, and admitting he didn’t understand them, which only enhanced the Cummings effect. Did Leicester ever stand a chance? I think not.
James Hempsall
Director, Hempsall’s, Leicester

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Councils ask for UK to lift bars on emergency help for migrants

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Call to suspend ‘NRPF’ hostile environment measure that stops some people accessing public funds

Local authorities have called on the government to suspend the controversial “no recourse to public funds” immigration status for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, to prevent thousands from falling into destitution and homelessness.

High numbers of people who have this status attached to their visas have been approaching councils for emergency assistance during the pandemic. Many are struggling to survive during the exceptional circumstances of lockdown, with no safety net, according to the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales.

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No-deal Brexit ‘would overwhelm local emergency teams’

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Leaked report warns local disaster planning already exhausted by coronavirus crisis

Preparing for the impact of a no-deal Brexit later this year would overwhelm local emergency response teams exhausted by the Covid-19 pandemic, a leaked Whitehall report has warned.

A review by a committee set up to review the response to coronavirus said failing to seek an extension to Brexit negotiations threatened to “compound Covid-19 with a second UK societal-wide, economic and social, chronic threat”.

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Police watchdog to announce decision on Johnson-Arcuri inquiry

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IOPC to reveal on Thursday whether PM will face criminal investigation into relationship

Boris Johnson will find out on Thursday if he faces a criminal investigation into his relationship with an American businesswoman while he was mayor of London.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is to reveal its long-delayed decision on whether to investigate him for possible criminal misconduct over his friendship with Jennifer Arcuri.

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Why the UK is finding it so hard to reach 100,000 Covid-19 tests a day

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A slow start, a top-down approach and long-term cuts to local services meant target was always going to be ambitious

On 2 April, the day he emerged from quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19, Matt Hancock stood at the Downing Street podium for the daily coronavirus press conference and made an announcement that was greeted in some quarters by a sharp intake of breath.

“I’m now setting the goal of 100,000 tests per day by the end of this month. That is the goal and I’m determined we’ll get there,” said the health secretary, who had tested positive around a week earlier.

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Local elections and London mayoral race postponed for a year

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Elections delayed after officials said coronavirus crisis would affect campaigning and voting

Local elections and the London mayoral election have been postponed for a year to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. The government made the decision to push back the 7 May elections after the Electoral Commission said the health crisis would have an impact on campaigning and voting.

“We will bring forward legislation to postpone local, mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections until May next year,” a government spokesman said.

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A budget for social infrastructure | Letters

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Eighteen signatories call for spending rules to be shaken up to benefit care services and marginalised groups. Plus Jeremy Beecham says local government is in dire need of a funding injection

We welcome the government’s commitment to level up disadvantaged areas of the UK in this week’s budget. We also welcome suggestions that the chancellor is considering including spending on social infrastructure such as health, education or care as a form of infrastructure investment.

Most of the time when we think of infrastructure we think of physical infrastructure like roads, railways and hospital buildings, but a broader definition of it would include social infrastructure like NHS salaries, training, personal assistants for those with disabilities and childcare workers. The government has promised to spend in these areas, but is restricted by its own rules about what it can and can’t borrow money for. It can borrow to invest but not to “just spend”.

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Anti-slavery tsar calls for councils to take on child trafficking cases

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Expert calls for Home Office to lose powers but councils say they are struggling to cope

The UK’s independent anti-slavery commissioner has called for decision-making on child trafficking cases to be taken away from the Home Office.

Sara Thornton told the Independent that local authorities should take over the powers because they are better placed to provide subsequent support for the child.

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Johnson hails ‘incredible time’ for region as he visits Northern Ireland

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PM welcomes restoration of power sharing as he and Varadkar meet first and deputy ministers

Boris Johnson has predicted “an incredible time” for Northern Ireland now that the region has a functioning power-sharing government again.

Prior to a trip to Belfast, the prime minister welcomed the historic deal that restored the cross-community coalition at Stormont.

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Hogmanay fury as Edinburgh residents told to apply for access to own homes

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Local people must ask Underbelly if they want more than six passes to their houses

Edinburgh residents have vented their anger at having to apply to a private company for access to their own homes during this year’s Hogmanay celebrations amid growing concern that the council’s hunger to attract tourism is reducing the Scottish capital to a “theme park”.

People living in some parts of the city centre will also face potential restrictions on the number of guests they can invite if they wish to have parties of their own on New Year’s Eve, when the entertainment giant Underbelly will be running an event expected to attract more than 70,000 people.

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Welsh bill would allow 16- and 17-year olds to vote in local elections

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Planned changes would be biggest shakeup to country’s electoral system for 50 years

A bill is being introduced that would give the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds in many elections in Wales and empower local authorities to decide which voting system they use.

The Labour-led Welsh government said the planned changes would be the biggest in the Welsh electoral system since the voting age was reduced to 18 in the UK half a century ago. They come as a bill to reduce the voting age to 16 for Welsh assembly elections nears the end of its journey through the Senedd.

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Hummus firm in salmonella scare was fined for egg contamination

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Zorba fined £93,000 in Wales for supplying egg-free branded tzatziki dip containing egg

The food company at the centre of a hummus salmonella scare received a substantial fine less than a month ago for food standard offences involving another dip, it has emerged.

Zorba Delicacies, which has been forced to extend a recall of 80 types of hummus products supplied to various supermarkets, was found to have supplied an egg-free branded tzatziki dip which contained egg protein.

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Revealed: Jennifer Arcuri got visa from scheme run by former Johnson official

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Exclusive: Whistleblower tells of links between Paola Cuneo, PM and US businesswoman

A Whitehall official who ran the scheme that granted Jennifer Arcuri a coveted entrepreneur visa had worked for Boris Johnson when he was mayor, the Guardian has learned.

The US businesswoman, who is at the centre of a conflict of interest row over her friendship with the prime minister, beat nearly 2,000 applicants to gain one of 200 sought-after tier 1 entrepreneur visas on the government’s Sirius programme after Johnson helped promote her firm, Innotech, by giving keynote speeches at her events.

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We must stop Brexit in any form, councillors tell Jeremy Corbyn

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Grassroots leaders call for a decisive stance to stay in EU and deliver a radical new manifesto

Jeremy Corbyn has come under growing internal pressure to commit Labour to a unequivocal policy of remaining in the European Union as more than 100 councillors issued a joint warning to the party’s ruling body that any form of Brexit would threaten jobs, public services, workers’ rights and the environment.

In a letter to the national executive committee (NEC), which meets this week, the Labour councillors, including several leaders of county and borough councils, called on the party “to campaign unambiguously and energetically for a public vote on Brexit and to endorse a ‘remain and transform’ position in all circumstances”.

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Homeless children put up in shipping containers, report says

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Children’s commissioner for England condemns ‘scandal’ of family homelessness

Thousands of homeless children are growing up in cheaply converted shipping containers and cramped rooms in former office blocks, putting their health and wellbeing at serious risk, according to the children’s commissioner for England.

Anne Longfield said it was scandal that at least 210,000 young people in homeless families in England were put up by councils in temporary housing and bed and breakfasts or forced to “sofa surf” with friends, often for long periods.

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Public health duty on violent crime in England needs more cash, UK bodies warn

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Individual liability removed but duty requires police, councils and NHS to work together to tackle violence

A new legal duty on public health bodies in England to tackle serious violence, including knife crime, must be backed by cash if it is to be effective, organisations have warned.

The public health duty, requiring bodies to share data, intelligence and knowledge, will be announced by the government this week, following the conclusion of an eight-week consultation.

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