Local Democracy Week, starting next week, will see Cheshire East open its doors to those who want to speak with its civic leaders. In particular young people will be encouraged to attend, a focus partly motivated by a disappointing Ipsos MORI poll which revealed that just 1 percent of 11 to 16-year-olds consider politicians to be the people most worthy of respect outside of their families. The same proportion chose their dog.

MPs have highlighted a discrepancy whereby the 50 percent discount that is provided to service personnel on their second homes throughout the rest of the UK is granted only discretionarily in Wales. Noting that many Welsh councils elect not to offer a discount to military families, Assembly local government minister Dr Brian Gibbons said he planned to make it obligatory.

The estimated cost of repairing council houses affected by the recent floods in Moray, in which a month’s average rainfall fell in just 12 hours, has increased from £750,000 to £900,000. Jill Stewart, the local authority’s chief housing officer, sympathised that: “Some people have been affected on three occasions over the past 12 years. There are 16 households who wish to move out of flood areas and they should be given priority on the transfer lists.”

Newly released figures have revealed that from the financial year 2007/8 to 2008/9 the number of managers in Buckinghamshire County Council earning over £50,000 increased by approximately a fifth. Meanwhile it’s chief executive, Chris Williams, received a salary of at least £210,000 last year. Commentators note that these sums, allocated by the ruling Conservative council, do not tally with George Osborne’s plans to squeeze senior pay.