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“Extra money for councils next year, including compensation for employer national insurance contributions increases, will help meet some of the cost and demand pressures they face but still falls short of what is desperately needed to cover them all."

"Councils' Trading Standards teams work hard to provide effective inspections and ensure that products on sale to the public are safe for consumption."

“We are pleased Ofsted has acted on our calls for a much greater focus on inclusion, and on whether a setting is playing a meaningful role in supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities."

“Any instance of violence against women and girls is shocking, saddening, and unacceptable. It is good that the majority of commitments made in the previous government’s VAWG Strategy and Domestic Abuse Plan have been met, but there is still much progress needed in tackling the issue."

“Government investment in our places and people is therefore key to supporting long term sustainable, inclusive economic growth which brings increased prosperity to every part of the country.”

“This survey paints a deeply concerning picture of the challenges faced by families with babies and young children. Rising levels of need and complexity, coupled with a decline in the health visiting workforce, are leaving many without the critical early support that can transform lives.

“Homelessness is one of the biggest and most urgent pressures facing local government. As more and more people turn to their council for support and councils have little choice but to resort to costly temporary accommodation, local authorities are spending less on funding homelessness prevention. "

The Government must go further with its reforms of Right to Buy (RTB) to give local authorities more flexibility and control over how the scheme operates locally amid rising demand to buy homes through the scheme since Autumn Budget discount changes, the Local Government Association says today.  With more than 123,000 households in temporary accommodation and more than 1.33 million households on a social housing waiting list, we are facing a chronic shortage of social housing. It has become increasingly impossible for local authorities to replace homes as quickly as they are being sold under

"We remain clear that local government reorganisation should be a matter for councils and local areas to decide."

“Extra funding for councils next year will help councils meet some - but not all - of the pressures they face in adult and children’s social care, homelessness prevention and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities."