Manchester City Council has just scooped the title of ‘Council of the Year’ for 2022 at a prestigious awards show.
The Council took the coveted title for its “ambition, innovation, and civic leadership” at the annual LGC (Local Government Chronicle) Awards last night, as was particularly praised for the support it gave city throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its “refreshed focus” on putting people at the heart of everything it does.
LGC Awards judges said they were impressed by “the united approach of staff, partners and residents”, and the way the Council works with partner organisations and residents to “shape services and projects” and “get results”.
“The Council is a generous partner that has transformed services with outcomes which buck the national trend,” the judges added.
It was also a year which saw the city’s children’s services rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted, which put them among the best in the North West – a huge turnaround from when they had been classed as ‘inadequate’ in 2014.
The Council’s ongoing Our Year campaign, which works to create activities and opportunities for young people post-pandemic, was also praised highly by the judges.
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The judges also commended the Council for its health and care integration across the city, putting it ahead of the national agenda on integrated care systems, and its ambitious plans to oversee the creation of 10,000 social and affordable homes over the next 10 years.
LGC Awards judges also commended the Council for its response to the climate crisis too.
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Manchester City Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig and Chief Executive Joanne Roney OBE with the award / Credit: Bev Craig (via Twitter)
“We know that Manchester is a fantastic place and it’s a great honour to receive this accolade from our peers in local government recognising the councils leadership,” said Cllr Bev Craig.
“While it is really pleasing to be recognised in this way the real reward is making a positive difference and we remain fixed on our goal of becoming a top flight world city that’s inclusive, sustainable and more equal – a city which puts its people at its heart.”
Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
“A full flight schedule is expected to operate [today] but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights,” it added.
Passengers were then thanked for their ‘patience and understanding’ over the past 24 hours.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Emily Sergeant -
21st July 2022 
