On Friday (2 July) the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a 'comprehensive new funding package for councils to help address coronavirus pressures and cover lost income during the pandemic', with an additional £500 million of funding in England.

Responding to the announcement, London Councils Chair Cllr Peter John said the funding was "another short-term stopgap solution rather than the comprehensive package that was promised."

"It does not reflect the tough financial realities facing London local government", he said, "Where the funding gap is already £360 million since March and is expected to rise to £1.4 billion over the whole year."

“To keep vital local services running, it is clear that we need to continue our work with government to ensure they fully recognise the scale of the financial challenges London boroughs and councils across the country are grappling with."

Ahead of the expected statement from chancellor Rishi Sunak later today, London Councils is supporting calls for a major boost to affordable housing in the capital.

Together with sector leaders on City Hall’s Covid-19 Housing Delivery Taskforce, London Councils Executive Member for Housing and Planning Cllr Darren Rodwell said: “Emergency funding in affordable house building in the capital would bring a major boost to the economy and help address the homelessness crisis, which is worse in London than anywhere else in the country.”

“London boroughs have long called for more powers and resources to address the chronic shortage of affordable housing. In the face of the massive economic challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, this is a crucial opportunity for the government to work with us in protecting construction jobs, increasing housebuilding capacity, and delivering the affordable homes that Londoners need."

London Councils last week hosted an online panel discussion on London boroughs' work with partners across the capital to accelerate the green recovery. With presentations from a wide range of contributors, including: Cllr Claire Holland, Chair of London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee; Jordan Cummins, Senior Associate Director & Head of London Policy, Confederation of British Industry;

Afsheen Rashid, Co-Founder Director and CEO, Repowering; and Kas Mohammed, VP Digital Energy, Schneider Electric.

Around 200 people joined the live online session. If you missed it, you can watch a recorded version here.

The London Ventures programme is holding a series of virtual workshops to share borough experiences and best practice in tackling knife-related violence in London. The workshops will explore the possibilities and benefits of using innovative technology, such as data analytics, intelligent automation and virtual reality in creating innovation solutions to reducing knife-related violence, hearing from technology experts across the sector.

The workshops will build on the co-working event hosted by London Ventures on 4 June, chaired by Director of the Violence Reduction Unit, Lib Peck.

If your borough would like to get involved or find out more contact: [email protected]

On the 7th July 2005, 52 people from 18 different nationalities died in London in a series of terrorist attacks that targeted commuters travelling to work in the morning rush hour.

Westminster Council Leader Cllr Rachael Robathan yesterday laid a wreath at the 7/7 Memorial in Hyde Park to mark the anniversary on behalf of London Councils and the City of London.

With Covid-19 restrictions making a fully attended memorial service more difficult this year, a number of bereaved family members and survivors came together to produce a short film that you can watch here.