A pioneering kitchen waste collection system being run by Preston City Council is attracting interest from Sweden and Ireland as well as from authorities around the country. The council is a beacon authority for waste and recycling and has been running the scheme for two years.
The trial is sponsored by the Lancashire Environmental Fund, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Lancashire County Council as well as the City. 

 
Britain is applying for financial help from Europe to help meet the costs of recovery from this summer’s floods. The Government has submitted an application to the European Commission for support from the European Union Solidarity Fund. A provisional assessment of the damage, based on work with local authorities and other agencies, puts it at four billion Euros. The threshold for an application to the fund is three billion. 

This Paper from the New Local Government Network argues that Primary Care Trusts have failed to achieve local freedom and decision-making power in health, neither have they improved the health of the community. Because they receive budgets directly from the Department for Health, the ultimately financial and organisational responsibility lies with the Health Secretary.