They include Aberdeen, Barnsley, Belfast, Birmingham,
Bradford, Brighton & Hove, Carlisle, Chester, Chichester, Chorley
Council, City of Bath, Cornwall, County Durham, Derby, Derry City,
Gloucester & Cheltenham, Hull, Ipswich & Haven Gateway, Leicester
City, Manchester, Norwich, Oxford, Pennine Lancashire, Reading, Sheffield,
‘The Countryside’, Urban South Hampshire and
Wakefield.
One other city has put its name forward but would prefer
not to be named at this stage.
The winning place, to be announced next spring, will host big ticket
national cultural events, as well as putting on a year-long programme of
their own.
On 9 September Housing Minister John Healey gave
the green light for work to begin building over two thousand new council
homes that will help create over five thousand jobs in the construction
industry.
Despite the recession this is the biggest council house
building programme for almost two decades. Forty seven councils, covering
every region of the country, will receive a share of £127million
Government funding to help build these
homes.
A series of press, online and billboard advertisements will highlight
the measures the Government has put in place at every stage for
homeowners to avoid repossession. Over 300,000 people have received
help and advice in paying their mortgage since April 2008.
200th academy opens a year early
Ministers celebrated the opening of the 200th new academy with visits
around the country highlighting the more than 400 new and refurbished
schools that opened this year.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls also announced moves to
open up the flagship Academies programme to new sponsors by scrapping
the £2 million sponsorship
fee.
Ed Balls said, “We’ve swept away
the historic legacy of under-funded and under-resourced schools thanks
to our sustained, record capital investment programme over the last
decade.
“A world-class education system needs
world-class facilities – that’s exactly what we are
delivering. This is the largest sustained capital investment in schools
for decades – giving parents, teachers and pupils outstanding
classroom, music and sports facilities; transforming their aspirations;
and driving up
standards.”
Total
Place launches website
The Total Place initiative seeks to identify and
avoid overlap and duplication between organisations – delivering
a step change in both service improvement and efficiency at the local
level, as well as across
Whitehall.
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150 employers pledge 85,000 opportunities for
young people
The Prime Minister, Work and Pensions Secretary
Yvette Cooper and top employers signed up to Backing Young Britain met
250 young people at a Youth Summit at Birmingham City Football
Club Wednesday, 2 September.
Strengthening
Local Democracy
This consultation explores whether local government has
the powers it needs to meet today's challenges, as part of the Government's
drive to renew Britain's democracy and build trust in the political system
at all levels.
New £15 million fund to help voluntary
organisations through recession
The Targeted Support Fund, worth £15million in total,
provides grants between £10,000 and £40,000 to the
organisations helping those most at risk of increased deprivation
due to the economic downturn. The fund helps them provide support
to their communities through a range of recession focused services
relating to information and guidance, health and wellbeing, and
employment.
