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Councils are still facing a Covid-driven funding gap of nearly £2.3bn in 2020-21, the Local Government Association has warned, despite recent additional
The education secretary today announced more support to facilitate remote learning for children who do not have the necessary facilities at home, following mounting pressure from leaders and educators.
Gavin Williamson is facing calls to resign following a series of fiascos. These include millions of households lacking laptops and appropriate broadband access for all their children who need it despite a law change in October requiring schools to provide remote learning to children unable to attend school because of Covid.
On 20 December, the Department for Education promised that more than one million remote learning devices would reach schools, colleges and councils but admitted that just over half that amount - 560,000 devices - had been delivered to schools and councils in 2020 “amidst unprecedented global demand”.
The government’s decision to update its housing numbers algorithm so building is more heavily skewed towards urban areas has been cautiously welcomed by councils in the South East of England for easing pressure off their greenfield sites, but Labour council leaders in England’s biggest cities have warned that uplifting their targets is a “party political exercise” that will “reinforce nimbyism in the home counties”.
Under changes to the algorithm announced yesterday, the 20 highest populated authorities will have a 35% uplift applied to their previous housing targets. Outside of London, all but two – Stoke-on-Trent and Derby city councils – are under Labour control (see list below).
The Department for Education was relying on “out of date figures” on London boroughs’ Covid infection rates when it made the decision to overrule Islington and Greenwich LBC s attempts to close their local schools, the leader of one of the councils has told LGC.
Both Islington and Greenwich had earlier this week announced plans to close their local schools and move to online learning for the remainder of the term, in reaction to what Islington leader Richard Watts (Lab) described to LGC as an “exponential” rise in infections. The borough’s own latest data on cases per 100,000 reveals a 34% rise in the week to Monday, rising to 84% today.