News UK December 2009

* 10 communities to benefit from a £10million fund as part of the Low Carbon Communities Challenge, 21 December Department of Energy and Climate Change, 21 December 2009 The communities are Muswell Hill in Haringey, Blacon in Chester, Huddersfield - The Hillhouse community of Huddersfield in Kirklees, Berwick upon Tweed in Northumberland, Totnes in Devon, Reepham in Norfolk, West Oxford, Lammas Low Impact Initiatives Ltd, Pembrokeshire, Wales, The Meadows Partnership, Nottingham and Chale Green in the Isle of Wight. topic
* Government to publish "Civic Health" report from next year. The report will "collate in one place a wealth of national, regional and local data" so that active citizens and community groups will be able to see how their area compares to others on issues such as feelings of empowerment, levels of volunteering, and perceptions of community cohesion. 21 December Communities and Local Government, 21 December 2009 topic 
*Smart and integrated ticketing to be introduced in the 9 largest urban areas in England outside London - Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Tyne and Wear, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire, Nottingham, Leicester and Bristol. 15 December Department for Transport, 15 December 2009 topic
*Oneplace website launched. The site is intended to "enable citizens to check for themselves how well councils and their partners are delivering the services that matter most to them." 9 December Communities and Local Government, 9 December 2009 topic
*Local government to be encouraged to release local public data and establish an open-platform Local Data Exchange. 7 December Communities and Local Government, 7 December 2009 topic
*Private Members’ Bill to call on the Government for support, so Sustainable Communities Act not a one-off event, 4 Dec Ekklesia, 4 Dec 2009 
*All homes will have smart meters from their supplier by end of 2020, 02 December Department of Energy and Climate Change, 02 December 2009 topic
*For the first time councils will be expected to respond to petitions and tell residents what action is going to be taken to address their concerns, 2 December Communities and Local Government, 2 December 2009 A survey by the LGA found that only 28 per cent of councils guarantee an automatic response to petitions. topic
*Proposals for second wave of eco towns, 1 December Communities and Local Government, 1 December 2009
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