Seven sites will receive a share of over £5.5 million pot to research how nature can be used to improve mental health and well-being.

The Local Government Association has announced funding for seven councils which will help them to improve local and regional connectivity.
The LGA’s sector-led improvement offer provides robust peer challenges and support to help councils improve performance, become more efficient and effective and share good practice. As part of that offer, the LGA’s Digital Connectivity Programme will provide funding for seven councils to better meet the needs of their residents, improve productivity, support local businesses and support their local places.

The Health Foundation is calling on the government to make permanent its temporary increase to Universal Credit of £20 per week.

Labour has outlined how the next Labour government will spread power out of Westminster and to the British people.

The Department for Education has published school funding allocations going to every local authority in England.
Marking the second of a three-year cumulative £14 billion funding boost, the government says that every pupil in England will benefit from a funding boost. The allocations to local authorities, based on the most up to date numbers of pupils in each school, mean that the majority of local authorities will see increases of more than three per cent in the funding allocated per pupil.

Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced new measures to address the serious failures at Nottingham City Council.
An Improvement and Assurance Board, made up of experts in governance and finance, appointed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, will be set up to help the council deliver a non-statutory review’s recommendations on governance and company ownership.

West Yorkshire is closer to becoming a Mayoral Combined Authority as the Order for its multi-million-pound devolution deal was laid in Parliament.
Subject to parliamentary approval, the region’s first ever Mayoral elections will go ahead on 6 May 2021, with the newly elected Mayor and Mayoral Combined Authority given control over an annual £38 million investment fund as well as new powers over transport, education and housing and planning.