Council Report on Poverty 'No Cover Up'

The leader of Kent County Council (KCC) has defended his decision to rewrite a report that links poverty in the county with benefit changes. Paul Carter said the KCC report, released in November, was published without his knowledge and he was unhappy with some of its conclusions. "We are not trying to cover up anything," said Conservative Mr Carter. "The officer that wrote it was a junior officer and didn't draw in my view appropriate conclusions from the evidence." The first report said increases in homelessness, a rise in people in temporary accommodation, increased use of food banks and rising crime in some areas could be linked to the government's welfare changes. The new one states other factors including the state of the economy, the cost of living and housing issues, are also to blame. Read more on the BBC website.

Conservatives 'Suppressing Garden Cities Report'

The Conservatives have been accused of suppressing a report which recommends building two new garden cities to combat the housing shortage. Liberal Democrat president Tim Farron said his coalition partners feared alienating voters in southern England ahead of the general election. Mr Farron said he believed the report identified two potential sites - in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The Conservatives denied any delay and said plans would be outlined for 2015. Read more on the BBC website.