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Victims of abuse, assault and hate crime are being offered protection such as special sanctuary rooms in their own homes to escape from their attackers.

Councils across the country continuously look into ways of helping sufferers of domestic abuse, which on average, leads to two deaths per week.  Safeguarding both adults and children is just one of the many topics debated at this week’s national adults and children conference in Harrogate.

Kids gone to university? Recently retired? If your nest is feeling a little empty, Gloucestershire County Council is asking why not think about fostering a child or young person?

Chris and Zoe Dunn from the Forest of Dean did just that. Chris and Zoe have four birth children and they decided to foster when their third son went off to university. They currently look after two young people.

The Audit Commission has published a detailed guide to how councils can manage their assets better. It is based on the experience of six case study councils that are using their land and property assets in innovative and creative ways to maximise their value to the public.

The guide follows the recent Audit Commission study Room for Improvement which found that councils in England could make much better use of their £250 billion worth of land and property. As Room for Improvement showed, local authorities and other local public bodies, could take a more rigorous and strategic view of their property portfolios.

A national-standard skate park for Norwich is one of the projects to be funded by the agreement between Norwich City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) which will see £8 million invested in the city.

The park, which will be built to the city council’s specifications, is planned for an area near the community centre and sports ground in Eaton Park. It will cover approximately 1,000 square metres and cost approximately £300,000.