The debate over legally requiring councils to provide staffed phone lines weighs accessibility for digitally excluded residents against the financial efficiency councils gain through automation. While councils face a severe £7 billion funding black hole that forces them to automate phone lines, national campaigns and regional coalitions are pushing for mandatory digital exclusion strategies toContinue reading “Digital Convenience Versus Digital Exclusion”
Tag Archives: Councils
Wasted London: Empty Flats, Full Waiting Lists
The “Wasted London” investigative series highlights a four-storey block of five one-bedroom flats on Herbert Street that has been left empty for years by a housing association despite a severe local housing shortage. The early-2000s block, owned by Riverside Housing Association, previously served as supported living accommodation before being left empty for years. Now derelict,Continue reading “Wasted London: Empty Flats, Full Waiting Lists”
Forced To Sell, Forbidden To Rebuild
The severe shortage of council housing is not a simple failure by local authorities, but rather the result of forty years of national Right to Buy legislation and central government funding restrictions that legally compelled councils to sell off over two million homes while blocking them from building replacements. The crisis exists because Margaret Thatcher’sContinue reading “Forced To Sell, Forbidden To Rebuild”
Long Grass, Short Tenancy
Reform says they’ll build 50,000 new social homes — but if your garden starts looking like Jumanji, they’ll evict you before you can say ‘strimmer’. Reform would evict social home tenants who don’t mow their lawns or take out their bins, the party’s chairman says — basically, keep the grass short or the tenancy’s shorter.Continue reading “Long Grass, Short Tenancy”
When The Council Shrugs, Families Pay The Fall
A preventable death is a failure of duty — a child lost because warnings went unanswered. Aalim Ahmed’s fall from a 15th‑floor kitchen window was a preventable tragedy — a child lost in seconds, after months of warnings that went unanswered. Sahra Osman told the coroner she had repeatedly warned Newham Council about unsafe windowsContinue reading “When The Council Shrugs, Families Pay The Fall”
Hop On… If You Can
Andy Burnham basically walked out this week and said, “Right, that’s it — disabled people can get on the bus whenever they fancy. Midnight? Dawn? After a kebab? Go on then, hop aboard.” It’s like he’s handed out 24/7 golden tickets, except instead of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, it’s the 86 to Piccadilly with aContinue reading “Hop On… If You Can”
Over 150 Takeaway Shops Have Received Government Licences
More than 150 kebab takeout shops across Britain have indeed been granted government licences to employ workers directly from overseas — specifically under the Skilled Worker visa sponsorship scheme. The most recent confirmed figure is 159 kebab shops, according to Home Office data reported in June 2026. These kebab shops now hold Skilled Worker sponsorContinue reading “Over 150 Takeaway Shops Have Received Government Licences”
Taking A Stroll Around Some UK Estates
So, as I stroll around the area where I live, I see homes that have been boarded up by the council, and nobody lives in them. I think to myself, ‘maybe they are doing them up for tenants,’ only to discover six months after that, they are still boarded up, and nobody lives in them.Continue reading “Taking A Stroll Around Some UK Estates”
Council Celebrates Blocking 867 Homes
On Wednesday morning, news broke that the planning inspectorate had rejected plans to convert the Aylesham centre — a tired 1980s shopping centre and car park on Rye Lane in Peckham — into a sprawling complex of 867 homes. Southwark’s announcement of their delight at the decision morphed into a fierce dispute, one that appearedContinue reading “Council Celebrates Blocking 867 Homes”
Pensioners Could Lose Free Tube Travel Perk
Pensioners could lose their free London Underground travel perk as costs for the freebie soar to £372 million. Freedom Passes reduce daily expenses for millions of people in the capital by enabling pensioners to utilise London’s whole transport system at no cost. The scheme has always included Underground and Overground travel, but London Councils – the bodyContinue reading “Pensioners Could Lose Free Tube Travel Perk”
