| It was a packed afternoon for Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove yesterday, who took questions in the Commons before moving onto a two-hour grilling by MPs on his departmental select committee. The senior Tory suggested yesterday that reforms to the "unpopular" council tax will be unveiled in the new year, as he conceded local government finance must be made "simpler and clearer". Mr Gove insisted it is fair to allow local authorities to hike council tax by 5% without referendums after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the increase to help plug the holes in their finances. But he told the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee that council tax was the "second most unpopular tax for a variety of reasons". "There is much more we can do in order to reform local government finance to make it simpler and clearer, to have fewer streams, a greater degree of local discretion, fewer pots for which people bid. And that will improve the situation," Mr Gove added. Sheffield MP and Labour chair of the select committee Clive Betts warned in the Commons yesterday that some councils could face the prospect of "going bankrupt next year" amid extra inflation costs. Mr Betts said the autumn statement contained "no mention of any extra money for local government whatsoever". Later that day, council bosses in Newcastle were challenged by hecklers at a meeting where plans to slash the city council's spending by £23m next year were being discussed. 
During his afternoon Commons grilling, Mr Gove was still able to keep an eye on the score in England's World Cup game and slipped in a slightly cryptic reference to Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, who came off the bench to score against Iran. In their exchanges, shadow levelling-up secretary Lisa Nandy claimed Mr Gove's department was the "biggest loser" in the autumn statement, and his pleas for more funding for councils had been "ignored by the Chancellor". The Labour Wigan MP said: "Only a third of the levelling up funds have been allocated and after wasting our time with the short lived investment zones, the second round is months behind schedule. "So can we bring some sense to this madness. End the Hunger Games style competition and allow all our communities not just his favourites to decide how their own money is spent?" In response, Mr Gove described Lisa Nandy as the "Marcus Rashford of the Labour Party, the person coming on at the last minute may actually change the fortunes of the team for the better". He added: "I wish (her) good luck in all future penalty shootouts, if it is Hunger Games they're talking about then it's the Labour Party leadership which is closer to that than any other contest in this House." Ms Nandy responded: "I'm more than happy to be compared to Marcus Rashford, feeding our kids when their Government lets them go starving hungry."
Stop giving money to 'professional' traffic light beggars, says police chief  A homeless man begs at the traffic lights on Trinity Way in Manchester (Image: Manchester Evening News)
It's a balance many police forces find tricky to strike - should people begging on the streets be getting help and support or have enforcement action taken against them? And in Greater Manchester, a senior officer says giving money to 'professional beggars' in the region, including those begging at traffic lights, makes it harder for police to help, as Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan writes. Superintendent Ian Jones, who is responsible for the city centre, has asked the public to donate to homelessness charities instead of giving beggars money. It comes after the Manchester Evening News reported on an apparent rise in people begging at traffic lights, particularly on the city centre inner ring road. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Supt Jones said some are not genuinely homeless. He said the police do not want to criminalise beggars, but sometimes need to arrest them if they are not willing to engage with the support offered. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said Greater Manchester Police have not always got the balance between enforcement and support right, but things are better now. He said: "The approach we take is not to criminalise first off, which some people might think is done." They were speaking about Greater Manchester's whole-system approach to reducing and preventing homelessness and rough sleeping, as well as the challenges posed by the cost of living crisis this winter.
Demolitions 'more than just Fred Dibnah and wrecking balls'  The Thompsons of Prudhoe team outside Redcar Blast Furnace (Image: Dave Charnley Photography)
Redcar's former steelworks has dominated the Teesside skyline since the 1970s. Built in 1979, its blast furnace stands 365ft tall and was ranked the second largest of its kind in Europe. And ahead of its demolition tomorrow morning, the team behind the complex demolition of Redcar Blast Furnace are making final preparations before the historic razing of the steel behemoth to make way for new green industry. Get all the details in this piece by Eden Lewis of TeessideLive. Thompsons of Prudhoe have worked closely on the 365ft Redcar site, removing all hazardous materials and preparing the structure for demolition between 9am and 1pm. Sections have been brought down piece by piece over recent months, with the remainder of the huge blast furnace being the last to be deconstructed. Mike Stoddart, project manager at Thompsons, explained how demolitions are much more than just 'Fred Dibnah [a TV steeplejack who became a celebrity for his technique of chimney felling] and wrecking balls', and the task of dismantling the blast furnace being one of the team's most challenging projects yet. The proposed demolition comes after attempts by campaigners to save the structure failed. Protestors argued that the facility should be retained on the Teesworks industrial site due to its industrial heritage. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: "The Redcar Blast Furnace has marked our skyline for decades – and it will be an emotional day when it comes down. But, from the ashes of the past, we are building a green future at Teesworks."
Flood barrier five times bigger than London's considered for Humber  The Thames Barrier in London; Hull's would have to be 5 times larger (Image: GETTY IMAGES)
There are currently more than half a million people at risk of flooding in the Humber region, with around 500 kilometres of flood defence infrastructure to protect them. But as Angus Young writes for HullLive, Environment Agency chiefs are seriously considering a giant barrier across the Humber aimed at reducing flood risk from rising sea levels which would be five times larger than the existing one on the Thames. The option of building a huge structure spanning the estuary is the most ambitious of a range of potential future scenarios being mapped out around flood risk management issues over the next 100 years. Recommendations will be published soon in a major new strategy report called Humber 2100+. Helen Todd, the agency's strategic manager for the River Humber, confirmed that constructing a barrier was still being reviewed. She added: "It is being considered as a very long-term solution. "We need to be bold and we need to think differently about how we manage flood risk and that includes thinking about things that, at the current time, might seem a bit futuristic but it's important that they are considered."
No guarantee 'desperately-needed' new school will ever be built  Lakeside Academy, in Littleborough, was one of 22 new free schools across the country to be given the green light in 2019.
Back in 2019, then-Education secretary Damian Hinds said the approval of 22 new free schools would ensure that "young people – often in the most disadvantaged areas of the country – can benefit from a great free school opening in their area". But there was fury in Rochdale this week as it emerged that one of the 22, Lakeside Academy, in the town of Littleborough, may never be built after all despite being "desperately needed", writes Local Democracy Reporter Nick Statham. Rochdale council bosses were delighted that the 750-place school – to be run by Star Academies – was seemingly signed off, saying it would reassure worried families and strengthen education in the borough. But earlier this month the DfE said that the school – to be built at Littleborough Playing Fields – had been paused and would not open before 2025. Now it has confirmed there is no guarantee the school will ever open. Local councillor Tom Besford said there was a gap of more than 300 places in local schools in the next five years. He added: "Littleborough desperately needs a new school. We are already sending hundreds of children outside of the area for their secondary school education." Free schools are funded by central government and have a range of freedoms including the freedom to teach in an innovative way. The DfE said Rochdale had "provided assurances they are able to manage the need for places for 2023/24". 
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Northern Stories  Brian Martin sent an expletive-laden racist message to Gareth Southgate (pictured) (Image: 2021 Getty Images)
- A North Yorkshire man who objected to the England football team taking the knee sent an expletive-laden racist message to manager Gareth Southgate, a court heard. Brian Martin, 36, sent an email to Southgate immediately after the England team had lost 1-0 to Hungary in the Nations League in Budapest, on June 4, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Martin, from Selby, was found guilty of one count of sending by public communication network an offensive or indecent message, at York Magistrates' Court yesterday.
- The shortlist to be the next leader of the Liverpool Labour group has been confirmed. A total of three sitting councillors will contest a week-long process to succeed Mayor Joanne Anderson as the leader of the group currently in control of the local authority and guide them into next May's all out elections. After at least five candidates put their names forward, it has now been confirmed that Cllrs Liam Robinson, Ruth Bennett and Liz Parsons have been shortlisted to feature on the final ballot.
- A Lancashire local authority was forced to seek backdated permission from itself after dry rot attacked a heritage listed building it owned. The wood destroying fungus attacked vacant former Burnley Council offices in the town centre weakening its structure. On Thursday the borough's development control committee gave retrospective listed buildings consent for the emergency work.
- A new book titled 'Guardian of the Dales' has been published telling the story of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and how the National Park itself has changed over its 68-year history. Featuring vintage photography, maps and news articles from the archives, it's described as "a unique and engaging insight" into the work of the National Park Authority. Author Nigel Watson said: "I hope it pays a suitable tribute to the founders of the National Park movement and the pioneers of the Authority and their successors here in the Dales."
- The mum of a disabled Lancashire woman who died aged 52 is hoping for justice when she takes her daughter's case to the Supreme Court this week. Jackie Maguire died at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in 2017 after falling ill days earlier in the care home where she had lived since 1993. In 2018 an inquest only considered 'how' Jackie died and not in 'what circumstances', something that her mother Muriel has fought against in the years since.
- Leeds City Council is proposing a series of major developments to the western part of the city, which aim to bring in new businesses and jobs, as well as improving public spaces. Plans include 3,000 new homes, two new city parks, and improvements to public areas and walkways, The Yorkshire Post reports. The Leeds Innovation Arc scheme hopes to attract new businesses into the city by creating 1,000,000 sq ft of new floor space, and repurposing 1,000,000 sq foot of heritage buildings. It also aims to bring together some of the city's major centres for research including universities and hospitals.
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