Householders whose homes face a particular risk of flooding may be able to benefit from new funds announced by Defra. It has set out a plan to make at least five million pounds available to people whose houses are at a high risk but which are not protected by traditional community level defences.
The money for eligible home owners in England is in addition to any help already provided by local authorities or the insurance industry. 

Thirty-six schemes have been shortlisted for a possible share of a 200 million pound transport infrastructure fund for new housing developments. The money is being made available to support local councils in ensuring developments of new homes include steps to improve access to jobs.
The shortlisted schemes are all in areas where local authorities are
committed to building more homes and keen to deliver improved transport to support the growth of communities. 

Councils will get more help to tackle bad car parking under proposals which have been put out for consultation. The parking framework, introduced by the Department for Transport earlier this year gave councils in England the power to issue Penalty Charge Notices to motorists parking at dropped kerbs or who double park, now the Department wants to make the power more effective. 

New figures show that food retailers have stopped the growth of packaging used in Britain in spite of an increase in sales. Statistics from the Waste and Resources Action Programme - Wrap shows that the retailers put the same amount of grocery packaging on
the market in 2007 as they did the year before.
The news will be welcomed by local authorities which have been campaigning for action to ensure the level of packaging is reduced. 

For the third year running, Manchester has been named as the country’s leading authority when it comes to parks and open spaces. Twenty seven of its parks and green spaces have been placed on a list of the best in England and Wales.
The city council collected its Green Flag Awards at an event in Liverpool. The award scheme, which is managed by the Civic Trust, sets national standards for parks and public green spaces. 

More money is being made available to improve planning services in Wales. It will include some funding for a small number of bursaries for future planners. The announcement comes just days after a committee of Westminster MPs said shortages of staff and of skills
meant planning authorities might struggle to meet Government targets on regeneration and building new homes. 

Fire and Rescue Authorities across the country are being invited to bid for a share of 130 million pounds being made available for Private Finance Initiative schemes. The PFI credits are intended to be used for long-term projects such as new fire stations or updating vehicle fleets. 

A charity has raised fears that plans to scrap Incapacity Benefit and Income Support will lead to “serious anxiety” for carers. Carers UK is concerned about the measures set out in the ‘No one written off: reforming the welfare state to reward responsibility’ Green Paper in spite of Government claims that no carers will be worse off under the proposals. 

The charity, the Disabled Living Foundation, has been named as one of the bodies chosen to try out a scheme designed to ensure good quality information is available across the health and social care sectors. Forty organisations have been selected from more than 120 applications to pilot the information accreditation scheme for the Department of Health.
The scheme will act as a quality mark so that both professionals and the public will know that the information they are using is reliable. 

A committee of MPs is warning that there is real risk that Government targets for house-building and regeneration will not be met because the local government planning system cannot cope. A report released today by the Communities and Local Government
Select Committee finds council planners will be unable to manage the volume or variety of tasks that are required between now and 2020.