A report from a national charity says three out of four people are not happy with the system of direct payments that allows disabled and older people to arrange and buy their own support services instead of getting them from their local council. The survey by the deaf blind charity Sense found many people’s personalised budgets did not cover the costs of appropriate care. 

Less than two per cent of the items that householders are putting out for collection by councils for recycling has to be rejected, according to new figures. The Local Government Association says the statistics are a tribute to the pride people take in recycling but it has warned that even more needs to be done to reduce dependency on landfill for waste disposal. 

This report from the Audit Commission looks at partnerships lasting 10 or 15 years designed to deliver services such as council tax collection, IT and property management, back office services or specialist services such as highways or building and design services.
More than half of all councils are already engaged in, or seriously considering, some form of service partnership. Councils with strategic partnerships often gain capital investment and meet or surpass their performance targets.