Responding to the Prime Minister’s plan to rebuild the UK
following the COVID-19 crisis, Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of
the Local Government Association, said:
“We are pleased the Government has pledged to invest in local
priorities such as building homes and infrastructure, boosting
connectivity and fixing roads.
“Local economies are different. Some require greater
connectivity; some need to transition to new industries and
others are short of affordable housing or adequate
infrastructure.
“Investment in infrastructure will be vital, but with local
control over how this funding is spent, councils can play a key
role in providing genuinely affordable homes, fixing the nation’s
roads, delivering high-speed broadband and high-quality mobile
connectivity, boosting local economies, and tackling
environmental challenges.
“Councils continue to face increased cost and demand pressures as
a result of the pandemic, while at the same time as seeing a
significant drop in income. Not only do councils need to be fully
funded to help our communities beat this virus now but also to
help support the nation as we look towards the next phase.
“Planning powers must also remain at a local level, to enable
councils to deliver resilient, prosperous places that meet the
needs of their communities. To fix the housing crisis, councils
should be given the powers and tools to resume their role as
major builders of affordable housing and deliver a programme of
100,000 social homes a year.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not just recover
from this crisis but to go further and address the stark
inequalities the virus has exposed, develop a green recovery,
address skills gaps and rebuild the economy so that it benefits
everyone. With the right funding and powers, councils can get
local economies started again and deliver a pipeline of long-term
investment that will revive the economy and deliver long-term
economic, social and environmental transformation.”
