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Your weekly update of London local government issues

22 Sep 2021

Spending Review

Ahead of the government's 2021 Spending Review (SR21), due to be announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 27 October, London Councils has produced a summary of London local government's key priorities for SR21, which are

Priority 1: A new deal for young people
Priority 2: Supporting a green recovery
Priority 3: Unlock housing and growth through infrastructure
Priority 4: Global London
Priority 5: Strong local public services

( [link removed] )You can read the two page summary document in full here ( [link removed] ) [pdf]

The summary has been shared with key stakeholders ahead of the detailed submission to the Treasury (the deadline for submissions is 30 September).

New tube stations open

London added two new tube stations to the Northern Line this week with the opening of Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms. 

Major construction on the 3km Northern Line extension between Kennington and Battersea Power Station, via Nine Elms, began in 2015. The Northern Line Extension is the first major Tube extension this century and is supporting around 25,000 new jobs and more than 20,000 new homes.

Wandsworth Leader and Co-chair of the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership, ( [link removed] )Ravi Govindia CBE ( [link removed] ) and Lambeth Leader and Deputy Chair of London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee Claire Holland ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] ) were both on the first tube train to use the stations on Monday.

MHCLG to become DLUHC

Following last week's cabinet reshuffle, the government this week said that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will become the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The new name is one of a number of changes at the department. New Secretary of State Michael Gove's remit has been extended to include responsibility for United Kingdom governance and elections. Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has been appointed as the new Head of a Levelling Up Taskforce. Kemi Badenoch MP has been appointed as new Minister of State in the Department and  Neil O’Brien MP has been appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.

Ministers of State the Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP and Lord Greenhalgh, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Eddie Hughes MP were all reappointed to the department.

Conference events

London Councils hosted an online event as part of the ( [link removed] )Liberal Democrats conference ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] ) on Monday that focused on re-thinking the high street and how can local councils protect our town centres.

Sutton Leader Cllr Ruth Dombey OBE, who chaired the event, said: “It was a great session and so useful to hear from different perspectives about the importance of our high streets, and how we can continue to develop and protect them in the future.”

London Councils will be hosting events at the upcoming Labour and Conservative Party Conferences.

Our event at the ( [link removed] )Labour conference ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] ) (Brighton) on 27 September will be chaired by Camden Council Leader Cllr Georgia Gould and will be titled: ‘London and the ‘Levelling Up’ Agenda’.

Our event at the ( [link removed] )Conservative conference ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] ) (Manchester) will take place on 5 October when Kensington and Chelsea Council Leader Cllr Elizabeth Campbell will be joined by Professor Tony Travers and Minister for London, Paul Scully. The event will be titled: ‘Levelling up London: The key to the UK’s recovery?’

By-election 

A by-election took place in the Hobbayne ward in Ealing last week (16 September). The by-election was won by Labour candidate Claire Tighe. ( [link removed] )You can read the result in full here. ( [link removed] )

Apprenticeship winners

The first two winners of this year's London Borough Apprenticeship awards have been revealed.

On Monday, ( [link removed] )Sydney Frankland (City of Westminster) was named winner in the Best Contribution by a New Apprentice category. On Tuesday, ( [link removed] )Robert Watts ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] ) (also City of Westminster) took top spot in the Best Progression by an Apprentice category.

Follow London Councils on ( [link removed] )Twitter ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] ) and ( [link removed] )Instagram ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] ) for daily updates as the rest of this year's winners are revealed.

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Vaccination facts

Vaccinations have been offered in pregnancy for many years.

( [link removed] )Find out more about the Covid vaccine and pregnancy in this video from Dr Viki Male, a reproductive immunologist at Imperial College London ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] )

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) latest information and advice

Please check these websites for the most up-to-date and accurate infomation regarding coronavirus advice:

Covid-19: Guidance and support ( [link removed] )

Guidance for employees, employers and businesses ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] )

The official UK government website for data and insights on coronavirus: Daily summary ( [link removed] )

and remember to follow us for all the breaking news...

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Comments or queries? Email the editor ( [email protected]?subject=Key%20Issues%3A )

visit londoncouncils.gov.uk ( [link removed] )

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London Councils fights for the best deal for our boroughs, develops policy and lobbies government on the issues
that matter for London. We also run pan-London services like Freedom Pass and Taxicard.
59½ Southwark Street, London SE1 0AL | [email protected] ( [email protected] )

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