Recommended reading for Lib Dem councillors and local campaigners from the last seven days:
There’s been a range of good bits of news for Liberal Democrats in both national and local government.
Firstly, the government has proposed that local councils should be able to keep the business rates generated from their area whilst also promising that no councils will lose out financially. A good bit of localising taxation that we support:
The Independent has also covered ‘community budgets’ as another part of our pledge to help local areas operate services more successfully:
The Government has also announced that all new burdens on local government (PDF) must be properly assessed to ensure they are fully funded by the relevant government department. More details from the Department of Communities and Local Government:
Finally, there is the announcement that the coalition government has created more apprenticeships in its first year than expected:
In other news, the Boundary Commission for England has produced its booklet explaining how it will conduct the review of parliamentary constituency boundaries (PDF).
Plus, Alex Feakes explains on Lib Dem Voice why LEA governors are under threat.
In other local government news:
The BBC reports how many Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors oppose the cuts in housing benefits.
Could council libraries do better at providing internet access?
Controversially, Wyre Council in Lancashire has scrapped Local Area Forums due to poor attendance and focused instead on existing community organisations.
In Scotland, a bursary scheme has been created for the children of armed forces personnel killed in action.
And in Wales, £6million has been shared between various organisations to help them run more efficiently whilst providing good public services:
In other news, the Evening Standard has news on a report that shows how few younger people understand how university tuition funding works but on a more positive note it’s worth reading this from MoneySavingExpert that explains the merits of the new system and how it works.