London Councils has welcomed the government's local government finance policy statement, in particular the steps being taken to reform the “fundamentally broken” funding system, including supporting services focused on prevention and moves to give more recognition to the impact of deprivation on local service pressures.

Responding to the statement last week, London Councils Chair, Cllr Claire Holland said: “We have long called for simpler, fairer, and more predictable funding – and this policy statement takes us in the right direction. The extreme deprivation we sadly see in the capital is a significant factor in the pressures facing Londoners’ local services, and current funding arrangements do not adequately address this. It’s vital that housing costs are taken into account as part of the government’s new focus on targeting deprivation.

“After fourteen years of structural underfunding, fast-rising demand for services, and spiralling costs, we have been left in an extremely precarious position. London boroughs are in a grim financial situation and will still face a significant funding shortfall next year.

“We need to see borough finances put on a more stable footing so that we can continue to deliver services, put prevention at the heart of our work, and help drive inclusive growth in our communities. We look forward to working with the government on this crucial agenda in the run up to next year’s spending review and beyond.”

A year on from London boroughs' decision to provide further support to the Climate Programme at London Councils to scale up delivery, the Climate Unit has published a 12 Month Impact Report outlining activity from the first year of the initial two-year funding period.

The report highlights that boroughs’ core investment has unlocked over £1.6 million co-investment and external funding into climate action.

You can read a summary of the first year of activity, profiling a wide variety of data, research, events, tools and policy we’ve built together to make progress on our collective climate goals here.

All of London’s local authorities have been involved in this work, alongside 104 external organisations.

London Councils has welcomed the launch of the government’s Remediation Acceleration Plan, setting out measures for faster fixing of buildings in England with unsafe cladding.

Responding to the announcement on Monday, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing & Regeneration, Cllr Grace Williams said:  “Like the government, we want to see faster action in removing unsafe cladding and ensuring that all residents are safe – and feel safe – in their homes.

“This is a particular concern in London, where we have 67% of all the UK’s high-rise residential buildings. Although good progress has been made in removing unsafe cladding from council-owned blocks and taking action against the owners of private buildings, there remain immense challenges and much more work to do.

“Boroughs’ lack of resources are a critical factor holding back the enforcement and remediation we all want to see. We welcome the government’s commitment to investing in enforcement and look forward to seeing more details on this.”

London Councils has welcomed the Get Britain Working white paper, published by the government last week

London Councils' Executive Member for Planning and Skills, Cllr Peter Mason, said: “We welcome the Government’s ambitions for improving the employment and skills system, which is vital for unlocking the potential of businesses and residents in the capital and boosting economic growth.

“Boroughs have a track-record of success in this area - our sub-regional partnerships have delivered the Work and Health Programme, helping thousands of Londoners with health conditions find employment. Greater devolution of employment and skills services, combined with long-term funding, will allow us to go even further.

"We are committed to delivering the four trailblazers in London and look forward to working with the government and Mayor of London to shape these reforms.”

A number of by-elections took place in London boroughs last week (Thursday 28 November).

In Barking and Dagenham, a by-election for two vacancies in the Village ward was won by Julia Williams (Lab) and Ajanta Deb-Roy (Lab). Full result here. In the borough's Northbury ward, the by-election was won by Val Masson (Lab). Full result here.

In Enfield's Jubilee ward, the by-election was won by Ian Barnes (Lab). Full result here.

In Islington's Junction ward, the by-election was won by James Potts (Lab). Full result here.