A publication highlighting how councils are assisting their communities during the recession has been published by the IDeA and the Local Government Association. 'Global Slowdown, Local Solutions II, Councils helping people and businesses' contains case studies from councils across England, plus two from Europe, on practical steps councils are taking to support local people and businesses through the economic slowdown.
Case studies include Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council which, along with the Citizen's Advice Bureau, has set up offices in the county court to help people facing repossession; Sunderland City Council, where the business development, benefits and welfare rights staff joined a rapid response team led by the Regional Development Agency to tackle major job losses at Nissan; Essex County Council, which created a municipal bank to provide liquidity to small businesses; and Westminster City Council, which is adapting an Australian scheme to help small and medium-sized businesses take on apprentices.
