Media & Campaigns

Latest releases

• Councils helping to crush lavish lifestyles of criminals

  Councils are using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act to help ensure those benefiting from crime pay back what they owe to society.

  Added on: 29 July 2010

• Consumers face a lottery buying lean mince beef - LG Regulation

  Consumers face a lottery when it comes to buying minced beef with a low fat content, a councils trading standards and environmental health survey has found. Misleading product descriptions and inaccurate labelling information are some of the concerning trends identified in a nationwide study co-ordinated by Local Government Regulation, part of the Local Government Group.

  Added on: 26 July 2010

• LGA response to policing consultation paper

  Responding to the Home Office’s consultation paper “Policing in the 21st Century” published today, Cllr Richard Kemp, Vice Chair of the Local Government Association, said: “People quite rightly want a say on what is being done to combat crime and disorder issues affecting their every day lives. The current situation cannot continue. Shifting police accountability to the public and away from Whitehall is something that local government has long been campaigning for."

  Added on: 26 July 2010

• Councils stocking up on salt for winter during the heat of summer

  Responding to the publication of the independent ‘Winter Resilience Review’, commissioned by the Government to examine the impact of the last two winters on the country’s transport systems, Cllr David Sparks, Vice Chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "During the summer most people enjoy the luxury of being able to forget about ice and snow, but local government can’t do that."

  Added on: 26 July 2010

• LGA argues for colleges to have a single funding body, after a further shake-up

  Responding to new arrangements announced for the funding and management of post-16 education, Cllr Shireen Ritchie, Chair of the Children and Young People’s Board at the LGA, said: "There will be disappointment that this reorganisation of post-16 education follows so swiftly from a previous one, and the latest leaves just as many funding streams and middlemen in place."

  Added on: 22 July 2010

• LGA response to Keep Britain Tidy figures

  In response to figures from Keep Britain Tidy that show councils in England spend £858 million a year cleaning litter from the streets, Cllr Gary Porter, Chairman of the LGA Environment Board, said: “At a time when council budgets are being increasingly stretched it is outrageous that they are having to spend more than three-quarters of a billion pounds cleaning up after people who can’t be bothered to put their rubbish in the bin."

  Added on: 19 July 2010

• Councils most cost effective solution to local police accountability

  Putting councils at the heart of holding the police to account locally is not only the most cost effective solution - it also ensures the public get a fair hearing.

  Added on: 15 July 2010

• School building cancellations leave a £200 million bill for councils

  Councils have spent more than £200 million doing the legally required preparation and paperwork for school rebuilding projects which have now been cancelled, new figures revealed today.

  Added on: 21 July 2010

• Unsung heroes crowned council workers of the year

  The winners of the Council Worker of the Year Awards 2010 have been revealed as the nation celebrates its unsung heroes.

  Added on: 9 July 2010

• Local Government Group saves £18m by outsourcing

  The Local Government Group is on course to save £18.2 million by the end of a 10-year outsourcing contract.

  Added on: 9 July 2010

• Merton Council worker named winner of Local Government Challenge

  Rachel Allen, Business Improvement Officer at the London Borough of Merton has been crowned the winner of the first ever Local Government Challenge

  Added on: 15 July 2010

• Less than eight years of landfill space left, warn council leaders

  Britain will run out of landfill space in less than eight years unless recycling rates are boosted and the amount of rubbish dumped in the ground is reduced, council leaders have warned.

  Added on: 8 July 2010

• Councils could lead revolution in cheap, green energy - LGA

  Responding to the Government’s announcement that councils will be able to sell renewable energy to the National Grid, Cllr Gary Porter, Chairman of the LGA’s Environment Board, said that the announcement was a victory for councils who want to transform the way we provide cheap and green power for millions of people.

  Added on: 7 July 2010

• More local influence will free schools from acres of small print

  Schools have faced new rules or guidelines every other school day over the past decade, according to new research. The LGA’s report, “Local freedom or central control?”, proposes a series of principles to explain why the education system cannot be run from the centre.

  Added on: 7 July 2010

• Public sector reform could save £100 billion say council leaders

  Radical proposals for the largest devolution of power for generations could release savings of up to £100 billion over five years, councils will say today. A fundamental programme to strip out bureaucracy and red tape, and hand power over spending to local people, could produce major saving and minimise the effects on frontline services, according to new proposals by the Local Government Association.

  Added on: 9 July 2010

• Taxpayers believe councillors should decide on cuts, poll reveals

  Taxpayers want councillors to make decisions about reductions in local public spending, a new survey published today has revealed.

  Added on: 5 July 2010