Council proposes random drug testing of staff
Treasury moves to ban six-figure ‘golden goodbyes’ in local government
Cheshire East’s most senior financial executive resigns
Councillor resigns amid anti-Semitism row
Understanding absenteeism and presenteeism in local government
Has local government found the cure for its absenteeism issues? Louise Chapman reports.
Police investigate after council workers lock a body in apartment
29/03/2019 A Scottish council has said it is supporting the police in their investigations after the body of Michael Stewart was locked into his apartment in Aberdeen. |
Senior director resigns amid speculation of suspension
27/03/2019 A senior director at Aberdeen City Council has resigned, the local authority has confirmed. |
Holyrood publishes guidance to help support young people with additional needs
27/03/2019 Councils in Scotland are being given extra help to improve its 'world-leading' education for young people with additional support needs. |
Local government employment at ‘record low’
20/03/2019 The number of people employed in the local government sector has plummeted to a ‘new record low’, data reveals. |
Scottish councils ‘lack diversity’, report reveals
11/03/2019 Women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented at the local level in Scotland and many face harassment, an equalities study has revealed. |
Deputy mayor suspended from Labour after abuse allegations
08/03/2019 The deputy lord mayor of Oxford City Council has been suspended from the local authority’s Labour Group due to an allegation of domestic abuse. |
Council accused of ‘negligence’ over Parsons Green bomber
08/03/2019 Surrey has been accused of ‘negligence’ by the foster parents of the Parsons Green bomber who claim the authority failed to warn them he had been radicalised. |
Council offers extra paid leave to staff who suffer from domestic abuse
08/03/2019 Staff at an east London council who suffer from domestic abuse are to be given 10 days paid leave to tackle the problem. |
Anti-litter firm ends council contract amid accusations of ‘aggressive tactics'
08/03/2019 An anti-litter firm has ended its contract with Wirral Council after accusations of 'underhand and aggressive tactics'. |
Scottish councils ‘delighted’ at new pay deal with unions
05/03/2019 Council workers have welcomed a new pay deal that is set to deliver cost of living increases over the next few years after a decade of stagnating wages. |
Birmingham refuse strike called off
04/03/2019 Unions called off a planned strike by refuse collectors in Birmingham today after the city council lost a bid to have the action declared illegal. |
Council officer fined nearly £700 for data breach
28/02/2019 A former council officer has been fined hundreds of pounds after he emailed confidential information to his partner to help her in a job interview. |
Birmingham to axe over 1,000 jobs due to ‘brutal’ Whitehall cuts
27/02/2019 Britain's biggest council says it is facing 'the most challenging period its history' after announcing a further round of huge cuts in its workforce. |
Teaching union rejects pay offer from councils
22/02/2019 The 9% pay increase offered to teachers in Scotland has been rejected by members of trade union EIS. |
Council apologises for evicting anti-abortion charity
20/02/2019 Lambeth Council have paid £5,000 in damages to an anti-abortion charity after evicting its volunteers and staff from an event in the London borough last year. |
Council staff should be better protected against sexual harassment
18/02/2019 Council staff should have better protection against unwelcome advances by people using public services, Unison has warned. |
Auditors call for Welsh councils to make scrutiny ‘fit for the future’
12/02/2019 Auditors in Wales have outlined the six steps that Welsh councils need to take in order to improve overview and scrutiny functions. |
Scottish council to cut 150 jobs
08/02/2019 Aberdeenshire Council is considering cutting up to 150 jobs over the next year in a bid to make savings. |
Union seeks injunction against Birmingham in long-running bin dispute
07/02/2019 Unite is taking high court legal action against Birmingham City Council for operating refuse vehicles without safety critical role. |
Half of councils failing to ensure care workers are paid travel time
30/01/2019 More than half of councils across England and Wales are failing to ensure homecare companies pay their staff for travel time, new research has revealed. |
County council pays out nearly £7m in redundancy packages
29/01/2019 Essex County Council has paid £8.6m on redundancies as part of its efforts to ‘streamline’ the local authority’s operations. |
Newcastle named best council for LGBT staff
21/01/2019 Newcastle City Council is the best local authority for LGBT staff inclusion, according to Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2018. |
Glasgow agrees equal pay deal to end long-running dispute
17/01/2019 Glasgow City Council has struck an agreement in principle to resolve historical claims for unequal pay. |
Early years workers ‘struggling financially'
17/01/2019 Childcare workers are struggling financially and many are forced to claim state benefits, an education think tank has found. |
Ashford BC offers £3,000 bursary to undergraduates
14/01/2019 A Kent council has approved the introduction of an undergraduate work placement and bursary scheme - the first of its kind amongst local authorities in the county. |
Outsourced council workers to have pensions protected
10/01/2019 Local government staff who have had their roles outsourced will receive increased pensions protections under new proposals published today. |
Redundancy of Bournemouth council boss to cost £475,000
09/01/2019 The redundancy of Bournemouth Borough Council’s managing director will cost the council around £475,000 as part of the merger of Dorset’s councils. |
Hinds announces £45m to train children’s social workers
08/01/2019 The education secretary today announced the Government would fund the training of an extra 900 children’s social workers. |
New Homes England board member appointed
20/12/2018 Communities secretary James Brokenshire yesterday appointed a new member to the Homes England board. |
Anderson quits Northern Powerhouse Partnership in frustration
10/12/2018 Former chancellor George Osborne has voiced sympathy with Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson’s decision to quit the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. |
Shortage of social care workers to reach 290,000 by 2030, says report
06/12/2018 NHS figures show that in the last two years two million hospital beds were unnecessarily occupied because of a shortage of social care to support patients ready to be discharged, according to management consultants. |
Over 28,000 council jobs cut in Wales
27/11/2018 More than 28,000 local authority jobs have been lost in Wales as a result of Whitehall spending cuts, a union has revealed. |
Five million workers benefit from National Living Wage
27/11/2018 Up to five million workers benefited from the National Living Wage (NLW) this year, according to a new pay analysis. |
Council reduces workforce by 138 to balance budget
26/11/2018 Over 130 Bath and North East Somerset Council workers have been made redundant at a cost to the council of £4.75m. |
Council scraps plans to force staff to take unpaid leave
19/11/2018 Somerset County Council has backed down over a plan force staff to take two days unpaid leave over Christmas. |
City council to cut 100 jobs to balance budget
12/11/2018 Newcastle City Council has announced the job loses as part of a series of measures to save £60m over the next three years. |
Shropshire Council staff told to work from home ‘one day a month’
09/11/2018 Staff at Shropshire Council have been told they must work from home one day a month as the authority struggles to get a grip on its finances. |
Council pay offer rejected as union moves towards strike action
09/11/2018 The 3% pay offer for council workers in Scotland has been rejected by members of Unison Scotland. |
Council signs £65m deal with Capita
08/11/2018 Westminster City Council has renewed its contract with Capita in a deal worth around £65m over a decade. |
Councillors of the year revealed
07/11/2018 Cllr Roger Lawrence of the City of Wolverhampton Council has been named leader of the year in the 2018 Councillor Achievement Awards. |
County invites staff to apply for voluntary redundancy
05/11/2018 Worcestershire County Council has has invited staff to apply for voluntary redundancy scheme in the midst of a crisis in spending on care. |
Greenwich council staff receive payouts after holiday pay ‘miscalculation’
01/11/2018 Around 5,000 women in schools and nurseries across Greenwich have received payouts from the council following a five year legal battle over holiday pay. |
Social workers face ‘chronically poor’ working conditions
30/10/2018 Almost half of carers responding to a poll report they want to leave their jobs due to ‘chronically poor’ working conditions. |
Council pension fund forum calls for Ryanair chair to step down
29/10/2018 An association of council pension funds has called for the replacement of Ryanair’s chair and has urged Michael O’Leary to set out his succession plans. |
Glasgow and unions agree meetings to resolve dispute
26/10/2018 Talks following the two-day strike by more than 8,000 women in Glasgow this week were described as positive and constructive by both sides. |
Council workers borrowing money to cope with low pay
25/10/2018 Council staff are being forced to rely on credit cards, pawn possessions and borrow money from friends and family due to low pay, a new survey has revealed. |
Glasgow CC offers ‘olive branch’ in equal pay row
25/10/2018 Talks were taking place today in a bid to settle the equal pay row that led to a two-day strike by more than 8,000 women in Glasgow this week. |
Equal pay strike closes council facilities and hundreds of schools
24/10/2018 Unions were today claiming the strike by 8,000 women staff in Glasgow over equal pay was solid and council facilities had shut down as other workers refused to cross picket lines. |
Breaking: Council affected by secondary strike action
23/10/2018 The strike by 8,000 women staff in Glasgow over equal pay appeared to be escalating on day one as more workers downed tools to show their support. |
Council strike over equal pay goes ahead
23/10/2018 One of the biggest strikes in the UK over equal pay went ahead this morning as thousands of women walked out in the dispute with Glasgow City Council. |
The March issue of Local Government News explores alternative funding channels that are available to councils beyond the Public Works Loan Board, what hurdles merging councils face in coming together, and how local government is handling GDPR.
This issue also has a special highways and street lighting section exploring how councils can use lighting to embark on their smart city journey and using IoT technology to weather the storm.
