VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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’. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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%. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
£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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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’. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
