Countryside campaigners are today publishing a paper that they hope will be the springboard for a debate on the future of the countryside. The Campaign to Protect Rural England has also set up an online forum and wants to involve a wide range of people, including local authority planners in reaching a view on a number of key issues.
CPRE President, the author Bill Bryson, said the forum was being launched because the widest possible debate was needed. 

New figures from the Local Government Association show that two thirds of schools in England have adopted its standard school year. The LGA has estimated that that up to nine million families could save more than five hundred pounds a year in childcare costs if all schools followed the same pattern. 

Charging for local services makes a significant contribution to council finances. In 2006/07 councils received around 8 per cent of their total income from charges and this is about half as much as they raised in council tax. This report from the Audit Commission looks at ways that councils can maximise the benefits of local public service charges.