Dirty gold: the fly-tipping gangs costing councils millions – and how you can help: Shutterstock/Alamy If you venture out to the countryside, the chances are you’ve probably seen piles of rubbish, anything from fridges to frying pans, rubble to refuse sacks dumped at the side of the road or in laybys. Waste crime is serious, …
Legal tools exist to protect South Africa’s city ecosystems: it’s up to councils to use them: Litter after recent looting in Durban, South Africa. The city recently introduced a scheme that looks to protect biodiversity and associated ecosystems. Shutterstock The world is experiencing an environmental crisis coupled with rapid urbanisation. This affects city ecosystems, which …
UK local councils failing people who can’t afford a funeral, says new report: Tuomas Kallio/Shutterstock The average cost of a funeral has been steadily rising in the UK for nearly two decades and now amounts to £4,184. In 2017, prompted by concerns about the lack of transparency around funeral costs, the UK government tasked its …
Proposed law would give minister the power to block councils from removing disputed statues: In the midst of an unprecedented peacetime national emergency, the UK government is using valuable parliamentary time proposing a change in the law so that anyone seeking to remove or alter a statue, monument or plaque must first seek planning permission. …
Will the UK’s sharia councils struggle to meet the challenge of Covid divorces?: Shutterstock Sharia councils across the UK could be facing a potentially significant rise in their workload as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and many don’t have the resources to cope. The predicted rise in divorce rates and reported increase in cases …
New census reveals extent of lack of ethnic minority representatives in local councils: A new census, the first of its kind, of all local councils in the UK reveals significant under-representation of ethnic minorities, with some councils having fewer ethnic minority councillors than would be expected given their highly diverse local populations. An institutional disadvantage …
South Africa in the news: Parks Tau urges councils to keep up fight against e-tolls: South Africa’s Brad Binder climbed through the field to claim the Moto3 world title at the Aragon Grand Prix on Sunday. Wayde Van Niekerk has a world record and an Olympic gold medal‚ and now Western Cape Premier Helen Zille …