Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
Local Government Apprentice of the Year announced
24/05/2024 Sara Jenner-Akehurst from Cambridgeshire County Council has been named as the 2024 Local Government Apprentice of the Year. |
National Apprenticeship Week: The importance of a national skills strategy
05/02/2024 Nichola Hay MBE, director of Apprenticeship Strategy and Policy at BPP, discusses the importance of a national strategy with a regional approach. |
Social care career reforms ‘only scratch the surface’
10/01/2024 The Government today announced new measures to improve the career prospects of social care staff but concerns remain that this ‘may only scratch the surface’. |
London Councils eyes apprenticeship levy devolution
09/10/2023 London Councils has named securing devolution of the apprenticeship levy to its boroughs to fund skills and employment activity as a key short-term priority. |
County leaders call for ‘adult education revolution’
04/09/2023 County council leaders have urged the Government to ‘fast track’ devolution deals to help boost the number of people taking part in adult education. |
Plans for South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub unveiled
29/06/2023 South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has announced plans to create 300 apprenticeships in the region through a new Apprenticeship Hub. |
Thousands of apprentices quit due to ‘poor quality’ of scheme
28/11/2022 Thousands of people who have taken up apprenticeships to help them develop new skills have dropped out due to the poor quality of schemes, research reveals. |
Council chiefs welcome call for £1bn skills funding
22/09/2022 Council leaders have welcomed a call to move away from the top-down approach to skills, and to provide communities with the funding needed to boost employment. |
Liverpool City Region adopts new social value tool
14/04/2022 The Liverpool City Region has adopted a new social value tool to help tackle the city region’s social, economic and environmental challenges. |
Why are so many councils failing to spend their Apprenticeship Levy?
09/02/2022 With figures showing councils are yet to spend over £100m of the Apprenticeship Levy, why are so many reluctant to utilise this money? William Eichler investigates. |
£30m skills deal approved for South West Wales
26/10/2021 A £30m programme to provide thousands of people access to skills opportunities across South West Wales has been approved by the UK Government and Welsh Government. |
Council chiefs call for extension of apprenticeship incentive scheme
20/08/2021 Councils have called for financial incentives in place to help employers create apprenticeship programmes to be extended beyond the end of the furlough scheme. |
Government launches £7m flexible apprenticeship scheme
03/08/2021 Anyone looking to get experience and training to work in adult social care will now be able benefit from new flexible apprenticeships, the Government says. |
Coalition calls for reforms to ‘flawed’ apprenticeship levy
09/07/2021 The Government has been urged to make urgent reforms to the apprenticeship levy by a coalition by local government and major employers in London. |
Budget 2021: Furlough scheme extended until autumn
03/03/2021 The chancellor has extended the furlough scheme and announced further funding for apprenticeships in a bid to soften the impact of COVID-19 on jobs. |
BUDGET 2021: Sunak's lifeline for workers and business
03/03/2021 Rishi Sunak’s Budget is expected to provide a lifeline for workers as the furlough scheme is extended to September while the universal credit £20 uplift could also be prolonged for six months. |
Campaigners call for £10.6bn investment in ‘green apprenticeships’
02/03/2021 Environmental campaigners have called for the creation of 250,000 ‘green apprenticeships’ in areas such as renewable energy as part of the effort to address the twin crises of youth unemployment and climate change. |
Apprenticeship levy is 'flawed' says London Councils
02/12/2020 ’Flaws’ in the apprenticeship levy are stopping councils from making use of the funds, London Councils has warned today. |
|
Lincoln best council for employing apprenticeships, list reveals
22/10/2020 Seven councils have made the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2020 list. |
|
London boroughs meet digital apprentices target
28/08/2020 Councils in London have met their target of recruiting 100 digital apprentices by September 2020. |
|
London councils triple the number of apprenticeships created by boroughs
18/08/2020 Local authorities in London have this year increased the number of apprenticeships created directly by boroughs by 14%, according to new data released by London Councils. |
|
From a regional to a national approach: how the West Midlands is leading on apprenticeships
11/08/2020 Jose Lopes outlines a strategic approach to apprenticeships and how the West Midlands’ strong track record and methodology is the perfect vehicle with which to pioneer and boost apprenticeships on a national scale. |
|
Chancellor confirms £2bn jobs scheme for young people
08/07/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £2bn ‘kickstart scheme’ for jobs to prevent an entire generation of young people being ‘left behind’. |
|
Chancellor unveils his three-part plan for jobs
08/07/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the next phase of his plan to ‘protect, support and retain’ jobs in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. |
|
Council prepares to approve £306m investment strategy
20/01/2020 A multi-million pound investment strategy that will see the delivery of 2,000 new homes is set to be approved by Oldham Council. |
|
Reframing the apprenticeship levy deadline for spending
05/06/2019 Lizzy Grayson discusses how the apprenticeship levy has changed post-deadline for spending . |
|
Apprenticeship system ‘failing’ to make progress, MPs warn
22/05/2019 Local government leaders have backed sharp criticism by MPs of the current apprenticeship system. |
|
The future of social work: creating pathways through apprenticeships
25/03/2019 Joanna Rawles explains how the new Social Worker Degree Apprenticeship will help councils attract and retain social workers. |
|
Reform Apprenticeship Levy ahead of Brexit, CBI says
09/10/2018 Business leaders have urged the Government to reform the Apprenticeship Levy in order to help solve some of the economy’s challenges ahead of Brexit. |
|
Business leaders call for Apprenticeship Levy ‘overhaul’
19/07/2018 London’s business leaders have called for a ‘radical overhaul’ of the Apprenticeship Levy and warned changes need to be made to skills provision. |
|
Taking a new approach to apprenticeships
18/07/2018 Cornwall Council explains how it has re-evaluated its approach to apprenticeships, setting an ambitious target of 500 by 2021. |
|
South East councils call for powers to tackle skills shortage
17/07/2018 Councils have called for more powers to help address the skills shortage as report shows nearly all jobs will soon be closed to people without qualifications. |
|
Whitehall announces £1,000 apprenticeship bursary for care leavers
18/05/2018 Care leavers who choose to start an apprenticeship are to receive a £1,000 bursary to help the transition into the workplace, the Government announced yesterday. |
|
Apprenticeship system should be ‘fully devolved’, council chiefs say
02/03/2018 The Apprenticeship Levy needs to see ‘significant changes’, council chiefs warn as the number of people starting apprenticeships drops dramatically. |
|
Councils call for improvement to Apprenticeship Levy
11/01/2018 Councils should be allowed to spend the money returned from the Apprenticeship Levy beyond the two-year deadline, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). |
|
London councils call for ‘better use’ of apprenticeship levy
23/08/2017 London authorities have called on Whitehall to allow employers to transfer more than the planned 10% of their apprenticeship levy funding to supply chains. |
|
Adult training company described as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted
15/08/2017 The UK’s largest provider of adult training and apprenticeships has been described as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, sparking speculation about the company’s future. |
|
Government’s apprenticeship policies ‘blunt instruments’, MPs say
31/03/2017 Whitehall’s flagship apprenticeship policies will not fill the growing skills gap which is set to widen post-Brexit, MPs say. |
|
Apprenticeship target could be ‘damaging’ to public sector
01/02/2017 The Government has been urged to scrap its new apprenticeship target for the public sector, after new analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found it would not deliver value for money. |
|
Apprenticeship targets ‘unrealistic’ for London’s boroughs
23/01/2017 The Government’s ‘unrealistic’ apprenticeship targets would see London boroughs being pressured to increase their creation of apprenticeships by more than 570%, councillors warn. |
|
Local authorities to hire ‘thousands’ of new apprentices
20/01/2017 The local government sector will be required to hire ‘thousands’ of apprentices as part of Whitehall’s commitment to deliver three million apprenticeships by 2020. |
|
LGA: Apprenticeship Levy ‘discriminates’ against council schools
06/01/2017 Small council-maintained schools should be treated the same as small academies and faith schools and be exempt from the Apprenticeship Levy, say council chiefs. |
|
Apprenticeship target could undermine programme's credibility warns think tank
11/11/2016 Huge amounts of money will be spent on sub-standard apprenticeships unless new quality standards are imposed, a leading think-tank has warned. |
|
Whitehall’s apprenticeship target ‘unrealistic’, London boroughs say
12/09/2016 London boroughs would have to increase their creation of apprenticeships by more than 570% to meet ‘unrealistic’ Government targets, boroughs warn. |
|
Apprenticeships not going to young people, study reveals
17/08/2016 The Government’s new apprenticeship system is not doing enough to alleviate youth unemployment, report finds. |
|
North East no longer a ‘low skilled’ region, think tank says
05/08/2016 The North East’s reputation as a low skilled region is ‘outdated’, but councils need to do more to increase skill levels in certain areas, new report reveals. |
|
Apprenticeship targets ‘unrealistic’ and damaging to vulnerable individuals
05/07/2016 Vulnerable groups are at risk from the Government’s public sector apprenticeship target, according to London Councils. |
|
Number of young apprentices has ‘flat-lined since 2010’, commission reveals
21/03/2016 The Government’s drive on apprenticeships is failing to deliver for young people, according to commission. |
|
Apprenticeship plans will cost councils millions, LGA warns
15/03/2016 Whitehall's push to increase the amount of apprenticeships will cost councils hundreds of millions of pounds, putting extra pressure on already squeezed budgets, town hall leaders say. |
|
Councils could face £600m bill to meet apprenticeships target
18/02/2016 Local authorities are being left in the dark on how they will be able to meet the government’s new apprenticeships target. |
|
Minister hails success of Coastal Communities Fund
24/08/2015 The number of jobs, apprenticeships and training places in Britian's seaside resorts has passed the 10,000 milestone thanks to a special fund, according to coastal communities minister Mark Francois. |
|
Reserve 20,000 apprenticeships for care leavers, says charity
18/08/2015 A leading children’s charity has called on the Government to set aside 20,000 apprenticeships for care leavers. |
|
Councils issue skills crisis warning
17/08/2015 Councils have warned that a growing skills crisis in the construction industry could undermine government plans to build more affordable homes. |
