Audit, Inspection and Safety

£2m fund opens for farmers affected by flooding

06.01.20: Following the heavy floods back in November a £2 million fund to support farmers who suffered uninsurable damage to their property has opened today (6 Jan) for applications. Last year the government confirmed that it would extend its...

£4m funding to crack down on criminal landlords

03.01.20: Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP has announced today (3 Jan) that over 100 councils across England have been presented with a share of over £4 million to crack down on criminal landlords and letting agents. Despite the majority of...

New evidence supports need for noise pollution policy

20.11.19: More than 100 different species’ survival is being threatened as a result of noise pollution, according to researchers from Queen’s University Belfast. Amphibians, arthropods, birds, fish, mammals, molluscs and reptiles have sho...

Birmingham City Council secure order against street cruising for an additional three years

30.10.19: The order which was first secured in 2016 by Birmingham City Council is now valid until September 1st 2022 meaning street cruising is banned for a further three years. The definition of street cruising is a congregation of drivers of 2 or m...

Outdoor workers at risk of air pollution according to new research

23.10.19: British Safety Council has responded to research from King’s College London which illustrates a direct link between air pollution and health emergencies. They are now calling for more work needed on the effects of exposure on outdoor...

NSPCC: Working together to improve the support available for children who have been sexually abused

08.10.19: Hayley Clark, the acting head of development and impact at the NSPCC, talks about the significant gap in support services for children who have been sexually abused and the Home Office’s new framework for commissioners. The complex an...

Tower Hamlets' children’s services achieves ‘remarkable turnaround’ in Ofsted review

23.07.19: Tower Hamlets Council’s children’s service has jumped two grades and achieved a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted after inspectors found a “transformed culture” and “remarkable progress.” In 2017, the...

Brokenshire reveals new measures to stamp out ‘poor doors’ segregation

23.07.19: The government has pledged to ban “poor doors” to help end the segregation of social housing residents in mixed-housing developments in future builds. Communities secretary James Brokenshire announced the measures to “tack...

County council approves £153m link road amid climate change protests

16.07.19: Norwich county councillors have formally approved a new link road for the Norwich bypass, despite the environmental group Extinction Rebellion staging protests on the steps of the County Hall. The council’s cabinet committee backed a...

Extra £28m announced to alleviate pressures on councils through Controlling Migration Fund

15.07.19: Councils across England are set to receive a further £28m to help ease pressures on local services following increased migration, from alleviating rough sleeping and community integration to targeting rogue landlords. The funding boos...

Councils welcome government review of guidance for youth services

11.07.19: A review of the statutory guidance for council-provided youth services has been launched by the government. Civil society minister Mims Davies made the announcement, stating that the review will “focus on the positive role local autho...

New guidance for academy trusts to ‘crack down on excessive executive pay’

09.07.19: New guidance for setting executive pay has been published by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), suggesting trusts must be prepared to cut pay in cases of poor management. The new guidance sets out key factors that should be use...

Amey to pay Birmingham City Council £300m to exit 25-year highways maintenance contract

08.07.19: Outsourcing giant Amey has struck a deal with Birmingham City Council to pay the authority £300m to escape its troubled road maintenance deal which was worth £2.7bn. The deal will see Amey pay the city council £215m to cut...

Next phase of competition to predict cyber threats launched with £850k funding

04.07.19: The second phase of the Predictive Cyber Analytics competition has been launched by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) in order to help develop a deployable solution to predict and counter future cyber threats. This competition is...

Northamptonshire CC delivers ‘remarkable’ multi-million underspend

04.07.19: Northamptonshire County Council has delivered a balanced budget for 2018-19 with a “remarkable” underspend of £4.5m, a £34.6m improvement compared to July 2018. Last year the cash-strapped council was twice forced to...