A new report has concluded that the Department for Education does not fully understand what is driving demand for children’s social care.
The National Audit Office (NAO), which is critical of both the Department for Education and local authorities themselves, also claims that the government does not know why there is such wide variation between local authorities in their children’s social care activity and costs, as it has not yet done the work to tie together available sources of information.

MPs have warned over a succession of high-profile academy failures that have been costly to the taxpayer and damaging to children’s education.

The first cross-government suicide prevention plan has been published, with a focus on how social media can identify those at risk of suicide.

Leeds City Council has been given more than £29 million in funding from the government to implement a Clean Air Charging Zone in the city.
It is hoped that the Clean Air Charging Zone, which is set to go live from the 6 January 2020, will reduce air pollution in Leeds by encouraging businesses to transition to cleaner, less polluting vehicles that are not subject to charges for driving within the zone boundary.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has pledged to improve the city-region’s bus network, including free bus travel for 16 to 18-year olds.

Oxfordshire County Council’s Smart City initiative is developing plans for new technology to identify crumbling road surfaces more quickly.

New analysis of cloud adoption across councils, public bodies, universities and emergency services reveals slow progress and hurdles to climb.
The report by Eduserv and Socitm raises concerns that progress in the public sector still faces some serious challenges, six years on from the 2013 launch of the government’s Cloud First strategy.

The government has published its draft Domestic Abuse Bill to help support victims and their families and pursuing offenders.
With domestic abuse issues currently costing the country £66 billion a year, the new legislation will introduce the first ever statutory government definition of domestic abuse to specifically include economic abuse and controlling and manipulative non-physical abuse. This will enable everyone, including victims themselves, to understand what constitutes abuse and will encourage more victims to come forward.

Newcastle City Council has been named as the highest-placed local authority on the Stonewall Top 100 index.

Living in micro-homes could enhance choice for young professionals in the capital and help tackle London's housing crisis.