Labour leader says Tories have become ‘political wing of flat-earth society’James Cleverly, the home secretary, is considering further tightening the law around demonstrations, including a requirement for protesters to increase the amount of notice they give police before large demonstrations, Aletha Adu reports.Two thirds of councils in England say they will have to cut services to residents this year, despite the government providing them with an extra £600m in January, the Local Government Association has said.Two-thirds (67 per cent) of respondents anticipated making cost savings in at least one neighbourhood service, despite the additional funding: more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of social care councils reported this, as well as three in five district councils (59 per cent). [Neighbourhood services means things like “waste services, road and pavement repairs, sport and leisure services, parks and green spaces, library services, museums, galleries, and theatres”, the LGA says.]Of the respondent social care councils, three-quarters (75 per cent) reported that even with this funding, cost savings would be needed in their adult social care budget, and almost seven in 10 (69 per cent) reported that savings would be needed in their children’s social care budget.Extra government funding will help councils this year, but acute funding pressures remain and are forcing many councils to make stark choices about what popular services to cut.This will not go unnoticed by our local communities. It means less potholes filled, more streetlights dimmed or turned off, and fewer library or leisure services. Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/feb/28/home-office-mps-rishi-sunak-conservatives-keir-starmer-labour-pmqs-uk-politics-live
Author : Andrew Sparrow
Publish date : 2024-02-28 12:14:50
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PMQs live: Keir Starmer accuses Rishi Sunak’s Tory party of promoting conspiracy theories
