Local councils and health authorities that together spend a total of 58 billion pounds a year have signed up to a more sustainable approach to buying goods and services and to the way they run their premises. They have responded to a report from the independent Sustainable Procurement Task Force, which is aiming to see Britain take the lead in Europe on sustainable procurement by 2009.

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An action plan has been launched in Wales to strengthen the links between the Assembly Government and the third sector as well as increasing support for voluntary and community bodies. “The Third Dimension – A Strategic Action Plan for the Voluntary Sector Scheme” looks at how the sector can work with the Welsh Government to create stronger communities and improve services as well as having an opportunity to shape policy.

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This report from the New Local Government Network think tank calls for the Government to step back from national road pricing approaches and instead allow local authorities greater power over local transport provision. The report argues that councils should lead approaches to reduce congestion and consider locality-based charging if merited by local circumstances.

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