| In his statement last night Mr Gove made a point of insisting that the "challenging times" facing local authorities were "no excuse" for tragedies like those in Rochdale. But in nearby Manchester, local leaders believe they have been unfairly targeted by government austerity cuts. Labour-run Manchester city council claims that, had it only received the average cut to local government funding, it would have £77m a year more to spend on services. And at a scrutiny meeting city councillor Sam Wheeler said the scale of budget cuts faced by Manchester council over the last 12 years is now comparable to the value of footballing giants Manchester United, writes Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan. He said: "We talk about £400-and-odd-million a year. But it's the cumulative effect year-on-year which now, by my maths, with this one included, is somewhere north of £3bn." United are reportedly valued at £3.75bn by their American owners. Current rules mean local authorities must trigger a referendum to increase council tax by more than 2.99%, plus a 1% levy for social care. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is understood to be considering hiking that amount in tomorrow's autumn statement to ease pressures on social care, with inflation standing at more than 10%. But the Local Government Association says councils would need to increase council tax by a fifth over the next two years to plug the gap in Government funding. 
In the North East, there was bad news for motorists as the cost of driving through the Tyne Tunnel will jump by up to 50p in 2023. Councillors voted to increase the price of the toll for using the busy crossing, but decided to defer the hike from next February until May because of the major financial pressures already set to hit North East households this winter. But trips on the Tyne and Wear Metro will cost no more than £2 under a special offer early next year after transport chiefs approved plans to cap the price of journeys.
Protester cleared of traffic cone attack on Iain Duncan Smith  Sir Iain Duncan Smith leaving court earlier this week (Image: PA)
Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith was due at Windsor Castle today, where he'll get a knighthood for political and public service from the King. But earlier this week he was in Manchester, telling magistrates he feared for his wife and her friend when he had a traffic cone "slammed" on to his head as they were followed by protesters hurling abuse during the Conservative Party Conference in the city last year. Yesterday, a man was cleared of assaulting Sir Iain with a traffic cone, along with two other protesters who shouted "Tory scum" at the MP as they followed him through a city centre. Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring said the evidence that identified Elliot Bovill, 32, of no fixed address, as the person caught on CCTV putting the cone on the 68-year-old MP's head was "weak" and "tenuous", and dismissed the common assault charge against him saying there was no case to answer. He also acquitted co-defendants Radical Haslam, 29, of Douglas Street, Salford, and Ruth Wood, 51, of Oak Tree Avenue, Cambridge, of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The chief magistrate said the case against Mr Haslam and Ms Wood centred on the use of the phrase "Tory scum" by the pair. Though he said the phrase was "both insulting and pejorative", the behaviour was "reasonable" in the context of Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act – the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association.
In the Commons meanwhile Paul Howell, Conservative MP for Sedgefield in County Durham, was forced to apologise yesterday after he suggested a group of Labour MPs should "shut up". The remark came as he spoke against Labour's proposal that Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng should not take some of the severance pay for their time as chancellor and prime minister, due to the economic turmoil caused by the mini-budget. There were gasps from shadow communities secretary Lisa Nandy, shadow minister Sarah Owen and Liverpool Wavertree MP Paula Barker about the remark, before Mr Howell apologised. One of the opposition frontbench team could be heard to say: "What do you think?", with Mr Howell replying: "What do I think? I think it depends on the individual." As Labour continued to ask him questions while he made his speech, Mr Howell said: "You have chirped and talked – do you want to hear or do you want to shut up?"
North's rail chaos 'costs our economy £8m a week'  Delays at Manchester Victoria station (Image by Manchester Evening News staff)
Delayed and cancelled trains are now just a fact of life in the North. But a key transport committee heard yesterday that the regular disruption to passengers is costing the region's economy around £8m a week. The figures, for operators Northern and TransPennine Express only, do not cover Avanti West Coast, meaning the exact sum could be far greater, reports Paul Britton for the Manchester Evening News. And at a meeting of Transport for the North's (TfN) Rail North Committee, the Government was accused of not fully understanding the current level of disruption. A report claimed there's a 'tacit acceptance of poor performance in the North in a way which would not be tolerated in London and the South East'. David Hoggarth, strategic rail director of TfN, made the comments at a meeting where Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, delivered a withering attack on operators. The Labour mayor described rail performance in Greater Manchester as 'beyond appalling at times'. "People here have had year after year after year of this," he said. Another regional mayor also spoke of hearing about businesses not opening because staff cannot get to work on time, school children being left alone on dark station platforms and replacement buses failing to arrive.
Council staff quit as parking permit scheme branded 'a car crash' In York, council bosses have apologised for the way they introduced a digital parking permit scheme after residents branded it "a total nightmare". City of York Council scrapped paper permits for most people and moved to an online system in September last year in a bid to make the system more efficient, writes Local Democracy Reporter Joe Cooper. But calls to the council rocketed once the system was introduced, putting "enormous" pressure on staff – with some going on to quit as a result, according to a council report. Executive member for transport Andy D'Agorne said the first month of the roll-out was a "car crash" in terms of the strain it put on the council's call centre. Issues have included residents struggling to use the online system, particularly on mobile phones, difficulties registering addresses and only being able to renew a permit once the old one has expired.
Do any Scousers have a spare room for superstar Will Ferrell?  Will Ferrell attending a special screening of Apple TV+'s Spirited, at the BFI Southbank Centre, London, yesterday.
Many hotels in and around Liverpool sold out within minutes of the city being awarded next year's Eurovision Song Contest, while others and AirBnB providers massively hiked their prices. But surely someone can find room for Hollywood comedy superstar Will Ferrell - who told the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 how his mother was dying to watch the music extravaganza on Merseyside? The lack of hotel availability left the star of 2020 film 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga', having to appeal to jokingly Scousers for a spare room. Zoe said: "If anyone is willing to put up Will Ferrell and his mum in Liverpool or the Liverpool area during Eurovision." Mr Ferrell said: "We need a clean, tidy room. We'll share a room - two bunk beds that's all we need. I know we're kidding but my mom would love that, she'd be thrilled." Liverpool Echo readers offered him spare rooms and sofas in their hundreds. Natalie Daulby said: "You can come and stay in mine. My kids would love it. Since elf is their favourite film. We will have a scream." The star caused hilarity on the same show as he channelled news anchor Ron Burgundy to read the travel news. Pronouncing the words 'Cheshire' and 'Knutsford' (or 'Nootsford') proved a little challenging, as CheshireLive reports.
New probe announced into crab deaths on Northern beaches  Thousands of dead and dying crustaceans washed ashore along Yorkshire and Teesside beaches last year
The saga of the mass die-off of crabs and lobsters on North Sea beaches has taken a new twist as the Government announced an independent panel was being set up to look at the cause of ecological disaster. Thousands of dead and dying crustaceans washed ashore along Yorkshire and Teesside beaches last year. There were distressing scenes of large numbers of dead and dying lobsters and crabs on beaches, while fishing crews warned that sparse catches were "catastrophic" for their livelihoods. An official investigation into the incident, led by the Environment Department (Defra), pointed the finger at an algal bloom as the likely cause. But research by academics, backed by the fishing industry, suggested the incident could have been caused by industrial pollutant pyridine, possibly from dredging in the mouth of the River Tees. There have been calls for a halt to dredging for the new Teesside freeport pending a full analysis of the situation. Read more of the background in this TeessideLive article by Jade McElwee. In a letter to the Commons Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee – which has been examining the issue – fisheries minister Mark Spencer said an independent group would be established to assess the evidence around the incident and consider all explanations. This would include the possible roles of algal blooms, dredging and pyridine. Defra chief scientific adviser, Professor Gideon Henderson, who has not previously been involved in considering this issue, would help establish the independent group. 
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Northern Stories  Monsters in the Mall with Trafford councillor Jane Slater
- A campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the double danger of Covid-19 and flu during this winter. Health chiefs across Greater Manchester are encouraging residents to get vaccinated against both illnesses which are potential killers. To illustrate the issue the viruses have been brought to life in the shape of two giant monster characters. The terrible two visited Stretford Mall in Trafford to let local residents know about the disruption the viruses can cause, how they can spoil people's plans in the run-up to the festive season and the health threat they pose. The campaign also directs people to where and how they can have their vaccinations, as well as other support.
- Rail operator Northern is looking to recruit up to 16 engineering apprentices to join the team responsible for maintaining and enhancing its fleet of trains. The apprentices will be based at one of five 'TrainCare Centres' across the North, including: Heaton in Newcastle, Botanic Gardens in Hull, Neville Hill in Leeds, Newton Heath in Manchester and Allerton in Liverpool. Whilst the vacancies are open to all, the operator is targeting its recruitment campaign at school and college-leavers (aged 16-22) with a minimum of five GCSEs including English, maths and science.
- Comedian Eddie Izzard has made it onto the shortlist to be Labour's candidate for Sheffield Central at the next General Election - but journalist Paul Mason has missed out. The safe seat is up for grabs after the constituency's current MP Paul Blomfield announced in February he would be standing down after more than a decade. Labour's longlist of six became four this week and those on the shortlist are Eddie Izzard, local councillors Abtisam Mohamed and Jayne Dunn, and Dr Rizwana Lala.
- Newcastle council is facing a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution after a six-year-old girl was killed by a falling tree at school. Ella Henderson suffered serious injuries at Gosforth Park First School in 2020, and died the following day. The HSE said Newcastle City Council will face a charge under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The first hearing will take place at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on January 10.
- Leading local figures from the worlds of business, academia, politics and charity are coming together in Sheffield for a half-day of lightning talks on how to respond to the climate crisis. Topics at the event on Friday, organised by the RSA think-tank, range from the importance of retrofitting design, how to adapt to climate change rather than merely prevent it and action research on a town-wide scale in Selby. Speakers include Richard Souter from Schools' Climate Education South Yorkshire and David Glew from Leeds Beckett University. Sign up for the event here.
- Specialist weevils from South America have been introduced to two sites in West Yorkshire to control an invasive non-native plant choking waterways. The floating pennywort weevils have been introduced on the Aire and Calder Navigation and one of the tributaries of the River Holme, in a collaboration involving Leeds city council. The bugs, which have evolved to only feed and develop on floating pennywort will target the plant where it is clogging up the waterways. Floating pennywort is native to Central and South America, and was brought to the UK in the 1980s as an ornamental pond plant, but escaped into natural habitats where it can grow up to 20cm a day.
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