LGiU Policy Briefings
Find a briefing:
LGiU briefings are available for all elected members and officers in LGiU member authorities. Check if your authority are members of the LGiU. Briefings can also be downloaded at a cost to non-members.
A Holistic Approach to Valuing our Culture
May 21, 2013
A Holistic Approach to Valuing our Culture asks: “How can a transparent decision be made…to invest in culture rather than health or education?” DCMS should:
- adopt a holistic approach to valuing our culture which combines economic and non-economic methods
- make available a full set of tools to help funding applicants use both economic and non-economic valuing methods, drawing on the ongoing £2 million Arts and Humanities Research Council Cultural Value Project; non-economic methods are essential for smaller community scale initiatives.
workshops.
Neighbourhood planning: rural frontrunners (research and case studies)
May 21, 2013
* The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a case-study based report of the early learning from ten rural neighbourhood planning processes.
* The report suggests a number of tips for neighbourhood planning processes that are relevant whatever the spatial setting.
* It includes a number of messages for local government, especially regarding the capacity for members and officers to help facilitate processes and generally to be a ‘force for good’.
* The report will be of interest to members and officers, particularly in district councils, who are working alongside neighbourhood planning processes.
LGiU weekly policy summary – 17th May
May 17, 2013
This briefing includes:
- news from the LGiU team
- a review of recently published briefings
- local government news this week
- upcoming LGiU events
- an update on LGiU membership
On Your Radar May 2013
May 17, 2013
On Your Radar provides regular updates on information from central government and other key organisations; looks back over the last period, ahead at what could be hitting the headlines and comments on issues relevant to local government that will be influencing the political landscape over the coming months.
Ofsted inspection of LA arrangements for supporting school improvement – framework
May 16, 2013
Ofsted has published the new framework for the inspection of local authority arrangements for supporting school improvement, which will come into force in 1 June 2013. This function of LAs has not been inspected since 2004-05, but this will undoubtedly be another high profile type of inspection with significant implications for LAs
The Care Bill
May 16, 2013
The Care Bill builds on the draft Care and Support Bill published last year. All the major elements of the draft bill remain – wellbeing, prevention, carers’ rights, choice and personalisation. Most of the changes from the draft bill are around the detail, but nevertheless will involve some reconsideration by local authorities. Changes include:
• greater emphasis on promoting prevention
• more focus on supporting people who are not eligible for state-funded support
• details about implementing the cap on care costs
• new responsibilities for local authorities and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on provider failures
• a new power for safeguarding adults boards but no powers of entry for social workers.
The Care Bill will be subject to detailed scrutiny as it passes through the Lords over the summer. Overall, this legislation will require a massive change for local authorities with adult social care responsibilities, all at a time of major budget pressure. Documents relating to the Care Bill can be accessed through the Care Bill page of the Department of Health website.
Individual Electoral Representation: An Update
May 14, 2013
The introduction of Individual Electoral Registration has begun, and the first steps are being taken to ensure the scheme is in place by the end of 2014, with some important landmarks this summer.
This briefing provides a snapshot of the current position, and revises the outline of what can be expected over the next 2-3 years given in an LGiU briefing in August 2012 (which can be found through the accompanying link).
It will be of interest to all elected members, and officers with corporate community and electoral responsibilities.
Public Health England – priorities for 2013/14
May 13, 2013
This policy briefing summarises and comments on a number of documents from Public Health England (PHE) describing its work for the coming year, including:
• Our priorities for 2013/14
• PHE Marketing strategy
• PHE directorate priorities.
These documents have major implications for how PHE will work with local authorities and will be of interest to all councils with a role in public health.
LGiU weekly policy summary – 10th May
May 10, 2013
This briefing includes:
- news from the LGiU team
- a review of recently published briefings
- local government news this week
- upcoming LGiU events
What works in enabling school improvement? The role of the middle tier
May 10, 2013
Against a background of increased school autonomy, the NFER has published (April 2013) What works in enabling school improvement? The role of the middle tier by Helen Aston, Claire Easton, David Sims, Robert Smith, Fiona Walker, David Crossley, and Jonathan Crossley-Holland (the author of this briefing). This publication describes ‘what works’ in enabling school-led system improvement and the emerging role of ‘middle tier’ bodies: ‘middle tier’ bodies are defined as the diverse range of bodies that operate between schools and central government to support school-led improvement. This includes, among others, local authorities, school clusters, academy chains, Teaching School Alliances, education trusts and partnerships.
