Three reports: a council leader spent £7,000 of taxpayers money on a leadership course in the US; Kent County Council spent £100,000 on bottled water for its staff last year; and taxpayers have had to cover a six figure bill after one council pressed ahead with two inquires - despite being told they would lose.

To comment on this topic click here.

Voters have told the Government that making Britain's streets safer must be his number 1 priority. It was the overwhelming issue for 82 percent of those quizzed in a YouGov poll. The poll comes on the eve of a new plan that will establish agreements between city halls and their residents to map out tough targets for priority issues.

To comment on this topic click here.

Theme parks, museums and other leading holiday attractions are serving up child meals loaded with sugar, salt and fat, a survey has found. Local government group LACORS ran the largest ever survey of meals at 220 British leisure facilities. It said not one of the 397 meals tested fully met guidelines from the School Food Trust. The chairman of LACORS, Geoffrey Theobald, is quoted as saying: "There are no easy answers but unless action is taken by producers, marketing and advertising companies, and the outlets that sell this food, Britain will continue its slide towards the unwanted title of fat capital of the world."

To comment on this topic click here.

Norfolk County Council has admitted spending £82,000 on private detectives to track down overdue library books. The council said it was a last resort and that it has helped to get back hundreds of books.

To comment on this topic click here.

A comprehensive study of health trusts, councils and police forces by the LGA has found that the new licensing laws have had no impact on reducing alcohol-related violence. Sir Simon Milton, Chairman of the LGA, is quoted: "It seems we have a deep-rooted social and cultural problem in the way we view alcohol. It will take years of action across the board."



To comment on this topic click here.

NHS hospitals will be eligible for bonuses worth billions of pounds if they can demonstrate top quality clinical performance, the government said yesterday after a year-long review of the health service in England by the surgeon-minister Lord Darzi. He also pledged to bring an end to the 'postcode lottery' of drug treatments and effectively ended catchment areas and closed lists for GPs. For the first time ever, a right to choice in health care will be enshrined under the new NHS Constitution.

To comment on this topic click here.

An innovative project by councils to reduce salt intake among at-risk groups by reducing the number of holes in chip-shop salt-shakers from 17 to five has been criticised as a waste of taxpayers' money. A spokesperson for LACORS, which backs the scheme, is quoted: "Heart disease costs taxpayers £7billion a year so to say that projects such as this are a waste of money is mind-boggling."


To comment on this topic click here.

Twins have been enrolled in different primary schools in Medway after their application forms were considered separately. A council spokesman said: "The circumstances are extremely rare" and that giving both children a place at the school "would have denied another child with a right to a place."

To comment on this topic click here.

A school caretaker who injured himself falling off a stepladder won a compensation case against his local council after insisting they had not taught him how to use it. He made a claim for £50,000 against Hampshire County Council - the compensation amount will now be assessed.

To comment on this topic click here.

The Prime Minister yesterday announced £100bn will be spent on renewable energy over the next 12 years in a bid to win the war against climate change. At the heart of the scheme will be 7,000 new wind turbines, both on- and off-shore, as well as measures to encourage households to install solar panels, wind turbines and loft insulation to make homes greener.


To comment on this topic click here.

Almost 40,000 school caterers, refuse collectors and social workers from union Unite will join 600,000 colleagues from Unison in a two-day walkout on July 16 and 17.

To comment on this topic click here.

News Archive