How to Fix Local Roads: Sustainable Road Maintenance Solutions for Local Government
Explore expert insights on sustainable road maintenance and pothole repair, and learn how local government can fix the road network with proactive strategies.
Youth club closures led to more crime, report finds
12/11/2024 Youth club closures between 2010 and 2019 led to higher rates of crime and worse educational outcomes, a report has found. |
Reeves says 'no return to austerity'
23/09/2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has vowed ‘there will be no return to austerity' at the Labour Party Conference. |
Autumn Budget: Council chiefs warn against ‘disastrous’ cuts
13/09/2024 Council leaders have urged the Government not to make any further cuts in the Autumn Budget, warning that councils face ‘systemic financial failure’. |
Decades of ‘neglect’ have left children shorter and overweight
19/06/2024 Children in England are getting shorter, more obese and sicker because of poor diets, food insecurity and poverty, health experts warn. |
UNISON: More than two-thirds of council youth centres lost
14/06/2024 Funding cuts have led to the closure of more than two-thirds of council-run youth centres in England and Wales since 2010, according to a trade union. |
IFS: Funding increases have not reversed austerity
10/06/2024 Councils in England have outspent cash boosts in recent years, leaving core funding 18% lower per person than at the start of the 2010s, think-tank reveals. |
Reeves: No return to austerity
29/05/2024 Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said there will be no return to austerity under a Labour Government. |
Council debt up by £52bn since 2010
02/05/2024 Local government debt has increased by 78% since 2010 as councils attempted to make up for cuts to Government funding, new research has revealed. |
What really caused the council funding crisis?
30/04/2024 Max Mosley, NIESR, explores the origins of the local government funding crisis and warns the next government will have to act quickly to address it. |
Scottish Budget 'not good' for communities
28/02/2024 Next year’s Scottish Budget is ‘not good’ for communities, council leaders have said. |
Brum set to sell off £750m of assets
20/02/2024 Cash-strapped Birmingham City Council is set to sell off £750m of assets and cut spending on services by £300m in an effort to balance the books. |
Bradford warns of possible s114
15/12/2023 Bradford Council has warned that it will have to issue an s114 notice, effectively declaring bankruptcy, unless the Government provides ‘exceptional’ support. |
Can local government take much more?
27/11/2023 Dr Andrew Walker, head of Research, LGIU reflects on the Autumn Statement and asks: what might it take for the Government to pay attention to local authorities? |
Autumn Statement: Councils remain ‘chronically underfunded’
23/11/2023 Support for private renters, devolution, and planning departments is welcome but councils remain ‘chronically underfunded’, council chiefs tell Chancellor. |
Council U-turns on decision to close 39 facilities
04/10/2023 North Lanarkshire Council has reversed its plan to close 39 community facilities after Scotland’s First Minister blasted the decision as ‘short sighted’. |
Brum kicks off job cuts
27/09/2023 Birmingham City Council has started a wide-ranging programme of job cuts under emergency plans. |
Cash-strapped councils forced to sell £15bn of assets
21/09/2023 About 75,000 public assets worth £15bn have been sold by cash-strapped English councils since 2010, according to Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). |
Estimated £36bn needed to combat poverty
06/09/2023 The Government needs to find £36bn to combat poverty effectively, according to the cross-party Poverty Strategy Commission. |
Poor pandemic planning criticised
13/06/2023 Public health directors have criticised the Government’s Covid-19 preparedness – warning Whitehall must utilise council expertise to avoid repeat. |
Austerity left Britain ‘unprepared' for pandemic, TUC say
06/06/2023 Years of austerity left Britain 'hugely unprepared' for the COVID pandemic with tragic consequences, union leaders have claimed. |
Scottish councils ‘uniquely placed’ to assist reform
17/05/2023 Councils are well-placed to deliver the key aims of Scotland’s government – such as tackling child poverty and net zero – but need funding, experts warn. |
Austerity undermined local response to COVID-19, study finds
31/03/2023 The hollowing-out of local capability by a decade of cuts left local government struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study says. |
Over 50% of councils set to cut spending on services
07/03/2023 Half of councils are planning to cut spending on services, increase commercial investments or spend their reserves to make ends meet this year, poll reveals. |
Unions warn many school buildings ‘at risk of collapse’
16/02/2023 A 50% decline in spending on school buildings over the last decade has left many of them unfit for the future, seven education unions have warned. |
Eastleigh finance review to start
07/02/2023 The Government has commissioned a review of Eastleigh BC’s finances to start this week after concerns over its debt levels. |
Welsh councils need to encourage resilience, auditors say
24/01/2023 Local authorities in Wales must do more to encourage and grow community resilience against a backdrop of cuts, auditors have said. |
Austerity 2.0: digital public services in tough times
19/01/2023 Ainga Pillai, CEO of Zaizi, looks at how councils can improve digital public services when money is tight. |
Cash-strapped council seeks to sell number plate to popstar
19/01/2023 East Renfrewshire Council hopes to sell a rare number plate to the global pop superstar Harry Styles in an attempt to reduce its £30m budget gap. |
Derby museums warn of ‘devastating’ cuts
09/01/2023 Museums in Derby have warned that planned cuts by the city council could have a ‘devastating effect’ on their services. |
Scottish council chiefs issue SOS call
05/12/2022 Local authority leaders in Scotland today launched a campaign ahead of the Scottish budget calling on Holyrood to Save our Services. |
Domestic abuse survivors face ‘postcode lottery’
29/11/2022 Survivors of domestic abuse face a ‘postcode lottery’ when it comes to accessing support services across England and Wales, a new study has revealed. |
One third of surveyed single parents skipping meals
25/11/2022 Single parents are being forced to skip meals because of the cost of living crisis, new research reveals. |
Council leader warns of cuts to close £22m budget gap
22/11/2022 Herefordshire Council leader yesterday wrote to the PM warning the local authority will have to make ‘difficult decisions’ to close a £22m budget gap. |
Council chiefs warn of impending cuts
11/11/2022 Council chiefs warn ‘everything on the table’ when it comes to cuts as poll reveals only one in five county councils are confident of balancing their budgets. |
Devon council leader warns of ‘deep cuts’
02/11/2022 Devon County Council’s leader has warned the council will have to make ‘deep cuts’ to the county’s local services unless the Government provides more help. |
London councils face £700m funding gap
01/11/2022 Councils in London will be forced to find £700m of savings unless the Government boosts funding for local services in the capital, cross-party group says. |
Chancellor warned local services ‘on a cliff-edge’
01/11/2022 Local authority leaders have urged the PM ahead of the upcoming autumn statement to ensure that councils have the funding necessary to protect services. |
Councils face £3bn funding gap
31/10/2022 Local authorities could be forced to cut essential services as they face a collective funding gap of over £3bn, Unison warns. |
Council chiefs warn against ‘devastating’ cuts
27/10/2022 Further cuts to local government funding will mean that councils will only be able to offer the ‘bare minimum’ of local services, county council leaders warn. |
Public health budget slashed by a quarter, charity reveals
26/10/2022 A charity has warned against cuts to public health as an analysis reveals that austerity under Conservative governments has hit the poorest the hardest. |
Councils warn of £2.5bn ‘threat’ to services
04/10/2022 Two thirds of surveyed councils said they either faced a ‘threat’ to or ‘extreme pressure’ on key service delivery over the next financial year, poll reveals. |
Council warns of 20% cuts to cope with financial crisis
30/06/2022 Oxford City Council has said that they are facing ‘tough choices’ over the coming months due to the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. |
Local government austerity linked to poor health
24/06/2022 Local authority cuts have been a significant driver of poor health outcomes at the local level, according to new research. |
England’s poorest areas hit hardest by austerity
03/05/2022 Residents living in England’s most deprived areas were hit hardest by the largest local authority spending cuts during a decade of austerity, think tank says. |
Councils need radical thinking at a time of crisis
14/04/2022 Professor Richard Murphy says councils need to cooperate to tackle the crises faced by communities, and he puts forward four ways of addressing social need. |
DLUHC 'almost wilfully blind' to state of local government finances warn MPs
31/01/2022 A ‘chronic’ lack of funding for council services amid soaring demand means many communities face a ‘long slog’ out of the COVID-19 pandemic, MPs warned today. |
Human rights group warns of ‘uninhabitable’ temporary accommodation
18/01/2022 Children in London growing up in ‘uninhabitable’ temporary accommodation due to Government-imposed austerity and the housing crisis, human rights group warns. |
Mind the gap between levelling up ‘rhetoric and reality’, think tank warns
17/01/2022 Central Government policies have undermined the ‘levelling up’ agenda and left the UK more regionally divided than ever, a new study says. |
Commission calls for funding re-set for local government
20/07/2021 Local government needs a ‘funding floor’, set at an agreed percentage of national income, a report on the future of the sector has said. |
Leeds council proposes nearly 200 job cuts
20/11/2020 Leeds City Council has warned that it might have to cut 199 full time posts in order to save £17.6m as it deal with the impact of the pandemic and austerity. |
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Think tank calls for new health and social care tax
11/11/2020 A new health and social care tax raising £17bn should be the centrepiece of sweeping tax increases to raise £40bn a year, according to a new report from think-tank the Resolution Foundation. |
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Luton forced into unavoidable cuts
17/06/2020 Luton BC’s boss has said the council has done all it can but has no other choice than to cut 365 jobs and frontline services. |
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Youth service funding cut by 70% over decade
20/01/2020 A whole generation of young people have been ‘robbed’ of youth centres due to cuts, a union has warned. |
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Campaigners call for more support for council-owned farms
16/12/2019 Campaigners have called on the new Government to stop the sale of council-owned county farms and to ‘give them a new purpose’. |
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Decade of austerity sees dramatic drop in library spending
06/12/2019 Ten years of cuts to public services has seen a nearly 30% drop in library spending, new research has revealed. |
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Party commitments on council funding ‘starkly’ different, think tank says
03/12/2019 Money allocated to local government in the Conservative manifesto would not be enough to meet rising costs over the next parliament, think tank says. |
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Think tank calls for ‘devolution parliament’
20/11/2019 Think tank calls for the delivery of a ‘devolution parliament’ in order to address the economic, environmental and democratic challenges facing the UK. |
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Shropshire Council warns of £6m overspend
20/11/2019 Shropshire Council has announced a spending freeze until the end of the year after warning that it faced a multi-million pound overspend. |
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Half of local government workers worry about redundancy as a result of cuts
14/11/2019 Around 50% of local government workers worry that they could be made redundant by technological innovation or Government cuts, a survey has revealed. |
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Caerphilly council agrees 7% council tax hike
14/11/2019 A county council in Wales has agreed a package of savings proposals which include a council tax increase of nearly 7%. |
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Food bank use ‘shoots up’ by a quarter in one year
14/11/2019 The number of people using food banks has shot up by nearly a quarter in the last year, according to one of the main providers. |
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Supporting evidence-based policymaking
17/10/2019 Andrew Carter explains how new guidance will help councils decide what services should be prioritised in the wake of swinging cuts. |
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Treasury 'wasting money' in funding of local government
17/09/2019 The Treasury is wasting money in its funding of local government and needs to have a more place-based focus, according to a report from the respected Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank. |
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Welsh ministers call for ‘end of austerity’
30/08/2019 Local government leaders across Wales have joined with ministers to call for an end to austerity. |
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£5.2bn council funding gap is 'underestimate', says LGA
22/08/2019 The Local Government Association (LGA) will argue the sector faces a £5.2bn funding gap in 2020/21 despite believing figure is an underestimate. |
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Local government cuts forcing children to grow up in poverty, Labour say
15/07/2019 Millions of children are growing up in poverty because of Whitehall cuts to council funding, Labour says after research reveals extent of childhood poverty. |
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Next PM has ‘100 days’ to save local government
15/07/2019 A think tank has called on the next Prime Minister to announce a one year emergency local government finance settlement during their first 100 days in office. |
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UC payment delays should be no more than a week, MPs say
11/07/2019 Two independent MPs have called for Universal Credit payments to begin within a week of registering for the benefit. |
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Austerity creating ‘crisis of childhood’, charity warns
09/07/2019 Funding cuts mean support has been diverted away from early help services into protecting children at immediate risk of harm, council leaders have warned. |
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Think tank calls for creation of ‘investment state’
03/07/2019 A think tank has called for an end to austerity and the creation of an ‘investment state’ to help boost economic growth. |
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Crisis-hit Northants delivers balanced budget with £4.5m underspend
03/07/2019 Northamptonshire County Council yesterday announced it had delivered a balanced budget for this financial year with an underspend of £4.5m. |
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Spending Review should put aside £3bn for children's services say MPs
30/04/2019 The Government needs to release at least £3bn of non-ring-fenced funding to local authorities to save children’s services from the ‘crisis’ they are in, MPs have said. |
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Poll reveals ‘rising tide’ of pupil poverty
15/03/2019 A shocking new survey of headteachers has revealed that schools have become an ‘unofficial fourth emergency service’ for poor and vulnerable children. |
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Austerity is gutting services ‘vital’ to women’s lives, report reveals
07/03/2019 Austerity has hit women the hardest with funding for women’s refuges, social care and youth and children’s services slashed, a new report has found. |
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Spending Review ‘make or break’ for cash-strapped councils
11/02/2019 Local government leaders have warned the Chancellor that the upcoming Spending Review will ‘make or break’ over-stretched council services. |
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Nearly £1bn cut from Scottish authorities in past eight years
05/02/2019 Funding cuts are finally beginning to take their toll as Scottish councils can no longer protect services, according to report published today. |
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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. |
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Council's 'core offer' still leaves £33m deficit
05/11/2018 East Sussex CC’s chief executive Becky Shaw has laid out a ‘core offer’ that could risk the council’s ‘ability to meet statutory guidance and deadlines’. |
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EXCLUSIVE: Chiefs warning to May if austerity not lifted
17/10/2018 More councils face scaling back services to a minimum statutory offer if May reneges on her promise of ‘better times ahead,’ chief executives have warned. |
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Whitehall must spend £19bn annually to end austerity
16/10/2018 Theresa May’s promise to bring an ‘end to austerity’ is incompatible with the chancellor’s aim of balancing the books by the mid-2020s, financial experts say. |
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English councils undergoing harshest spending cuts
09/10/2018 English councils have been hit twice as hard by spending cuts compared to their Scottish and Welsh counterparts, according to a study published today. |
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Unison calls for windfall tax on PFI corporations
19/02/2018 Trade union Unison has backed a Labour MP’s call for a windfall tax on private companies delivering public services. |
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The end of the local government finance conundrum?
09/01/2018 Mark Whitehead examines why Thurrock Council is focusing on 'financial autonomy' in the wake of austerity. |
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Council funding cuts restricting access to contraception
03/11/2017 One in three local authorities have reduced or plan to reduce the number of sites delivering contraceptive services in the last two years, FoI request reveals. |
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Council staff told to take mandatory unpaid leave
02/11/2017 Northamptonshire County Council has told its staff they must take a day’s mandatory unpaid leave as part of an effort to save £2m a month. |
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Council to axe 420 jobs to close budget gap
24/10/2017 Swindon council may have to axe over 400 jobs as it comes under pressure to close a £30m budget gap. |
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Don’t ‘abandon’ austerity, free market think tank says
13/07/2017 ‘Abandoning austerity is no solution’, says free-market policy think tank amid calls to lift the public sector pay cap. |
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Council ‘divide’ across UK
18/10/2016 Local authorities across the UK are increasingly divided into the ‘haves and the have nots’, according to a new report. |
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Whitehall should use Brexit vote to end ‘failed austerity’, union leader urges
13/09/2016 The Government should use Brexit as an opportunity to ‘throw off the shackles of spending cuts’, UNISON general secretary says. |
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Give local authorities the wherewithal to drive recovery
25/07/2016 Brakes have been applied to the austerity drive. Tiffany Cloynes, head of public services at Geldards LLP, considers what this means for local government. |
