The forecasts from the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (Icon) show crime rates and unemployment will rise until the next election in England's 613 most deprived neighbourhoods, despite the government's promises to invest in local communities. The report's authors warn the extra money ministers have pumped in is not enough to counteract longer-term trends such as the increase in antisocial behaviour and the problems facing the retail and hospitality sectors.
The government committed 7.3bn in November's Budget to fix roads over the next four years. The DFT rated 154 local highway authorities as red, amber or green based on road conditions and how well they were using government funds. The vast majority were rated as amber, meaning they were patching up roads and had preventative measures in place but there was still room for improvement.
It's hard to think of two more fundamental social needs than a) not being forced to relieve yourself on the street and b) not having other people relieve themselves on the street yet the public toilet is an ignored and vanishing public amenity. The British Toilet Association reports that 40% of public toilets have closed since 2000 Victorian facilities in particular attract developers, not least because their dignified buildings endure: solidly built, centrally located and still embedded in the daily flow of the city.
While the number of children in the care system in England has fallen from its all-time high of 83,750 in 2023, the latest figure of 81,770 in March last year is still 17.7% higher than a decade ago. A recently announced raft of reforms, including free prescriptions for care leavers, will not solve all of the problems. The dire financial position of many councils, and depleted state of local services, have a particularly damaging impact on the lives of those who rely most on the state.
The gap means the council is considering raising council tax by almost 5%, while looking for extra income and spending cuts elsewhere. Council leader Dominic Twomey said the council's situation was incredibly difficult. He pinned the blame on 14 years of austerity and a lack of funding for local government. The council launched a public consultation on its spending yesterday (Wednesday 10th) as it begins work to set next year's budget.
Deprived towns and cities in the Midlands and the north of England are the big winners in a shake-up of local authority funding that will redirect cash from affluent rural areas to urban councils hit hardest by austerity. Ministers said the changes put in place a fairer system that recognised the extra needs and weaker council tax-raising powers of councils in so-called left behind areas. It guarantees them real-terms funding increases for the next three years.
One national park is staying open through the government shutdown - Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park, located in the Appalachian Mountains between North Carolina and Tennessee, will be fully staffed through the period, NPR reported. The outlet reported that seven local governments in the area were paying the park's 275 full time employees to keep the park operating during the shutdown. Local governments have raised nearly $2 million to keep the park running, per NPR.
In an expensive city like Austin, it's a tough time to raise property taxes - especially on top of rising gas bills and a county tax hike to fund disaster relief for the July floods. Yet that is what the City is asking the voters to approve this November in order to help make up for the state's inaction in the face of the federal government's millions in cuts to grants that fund city services.
