Focus on public services will help boost struggling communities

Measures show chancellor is trying to turn the page on the austerity disaster

Christina McAnea leans against a railing in UNISON centre, wearing a red patterned jacket

Opinion: Help make the case for better local government funding

We are encouraging as many members as possible to contact their MPs, because the country can’t be fixed with underfunded local government

Council finance boost must be the start of a long-term investment plan

Fair funding is the way to deliver future stability

Funding shortfall of £4bn leaves councils on a precipice

New UNISON figures show dire state of finances

Closure of more than a thousand youth centres could have lasting impact on society

Teenagers left isolated and without advice or safe spaces

Councils face ‘existential crisis’ without proper investment from next government

Local authorities need sustained funding if services and jobs are to be saved

Council bailout cash not even a short-term fix, says UNISON 

Councils need proper and sustained funding, not panicked quick fixes to keep the wolf from the door in an election year

Councils face ‘dire’ cash crisis totalling more than £3.5bn

Huge funding gaps mean job and service cuts are inevitable

Sleepwalking into a special educational needs crisis

Chronic underfunding, overworked staff and simply not enough schools – inadequate SEND provision is leaving ‘vulnerable children by the wayside’

Behind the headlines, Magazine on the Magazine site.

Councils in tourist hotspots overwhelmed with litter problems

Ministers must fund councils properly to keep places clean and safe