Local authorities are being urged to take a leading role in dealing with the threat of flooding. Sir Michael Pitt, who is currently carrying out a review of the lessons that can be learned from last summer’s floods, wants councils to see his forthcoming report as “an opportunity to step into the leadership vacuum at the local level.”

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Relying on technology and the free market will not deliver higher rates of recycling, according to a study which shows that in a democratic society it is almost always necessary to control the market to ensure good environmental outcomes. The study, presented by Tim Cooper to the Economic History Society, argues that historical experience shows government and wider society have a role to play.

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This report from Communities and Local Government describes the result from a pilot project to find out how evidence and research data can be better used in neighbourhood renewal. The project provided technical assistance to local strategic partnerships and neighbourhood renewal partnerships to improve planning, evaluation and decision-making.

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