What does local government hope to get from the Spending Review?
From a a multi-year funding settlement to fixing the social care crisis, William Eichler explores what local government is hoping to hear on Wednesday.
Edinburgh tops list of ‘booming’ cities outside of London
19/10/2021 Edinburgh, Manchester and Leeds have topped the list of local authorities with the highest number of high-growth businesses outside of London. |
BT steps up small business support by gifting up to £7.5m of street advertising space
21/09/2021 BT is donating up to £7.5m of outdoor advertising space to small businesses, as part of its roll-out of new Street Hub 2.0 units. |
Council set to discuss £500,000 loan to support EV battery production
17/09/2021 Coventry City Council is to discuss a £500,000 loan to help the new UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) take on new business. |
Council to review development company
17/09/2021 Cambridgeshire CC has brought in external consultants to look into its development company. |
Guidance to help councils boost exports published
07/09/2021 Local authority leaders are urging councils to adopt internationalisation strategies that would help local businesses export their goods and services. |
Welsh Government looks at holiday home reforms
26/08/2021 Holiday home owners in Wales could be charged the full amount of business rates amid claims people are being priced out of their local area. |
UK’s first regional bank granted licence
26/08/2021 The UK’s first regional bank has been granted its banking licence and will open the doors of its first branch in Manchester later this year. |
‘Shameless’ COVID fraudsters targeted 41 councils
11/08/2021 The actions of two companies that attempted to defraud dozens of councils out of COVID grants have been labelled ‘despicable’. |
Councils approve more than 2,000 pavement licences in past year
04/08/2021 Councils approved requests from businesses for more than 17,000 extra outdoor seats in the past year, new research has discovered. |
Small businesses took on five times more debt during pandemic
16/07/2021 Independent businesses offer placemakers an opportunity to create a unique experience but need the support of central and local government, report says. |
Reed accuses government of dropping devolution
07/07/2021 Shadow communities secretary Steve Reed has accused the Government of dropping its commitment to devolution. |
Council prosecutes firm over traffic jams
23/06/2021 Thames Water has been prosecuted by a London borough after creating what the council said were unnecessary traffic jams three times in less than a fortnight. |
Councils urged to 'sharpen commercial edge'
15/06/2021 A new report has argued that allowing councils to sharpen their commercial edge will ‘unlock immense latent place potential’ and help ‘galvanise recovery’. |
Local government pension fund makes divestment threat
02/06/2021 Scotland’s largest local government pension fund will drop investments in fossil fuel firms that fail to act on the climate emergency. |
Building Back Better: a “sharp and clear focus” is required by all parties
25/05/2021 Bev Hurley outlines the three issues that need tackling in order to Build Back Better. |
Council criticised for handling of COVID-19 business support
18/05/2021 A north Yorkshire district council has defended itself after criticisms that there was a lack of transparency in the way it administered the discretionary grant scheme designed to help businesses impacted by COVID-19. |
Grenfell director dismissed while on sick leave, tribunal hears
20/04/2021 A council director who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after working on the Grenfell Tower response was dismissed while on sick leave, an employment tribunal has heard. |
No simple north-south divide, says report
19/04/2021 There is no simple north-south divide, a new report by Legal and General (L&G) has argued. |
Pre-paid card firms supplying councils acted ‘as a cartel’, regulator says
01/04/2021 Three out of five firms that issue councils with pre-paid cards have admitted to breaching competition rules and agreed to pay penalties totalling over £32m. |
Councils taking ‘too long’ to pay support grants to businesses
01/04/2021 The Government has written to the leaders of 314 councils in England urging them to pay out grants money to local businesses more quickly. |
Budget 2021: Sunak vows to do 'whatever it takes' to help businesses
03/03/2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has vowed to ‘do whatever it takes’ to support businesses as the country looks to a post-coronavirus future. |
Council chiefs welcome £4.6bn in lockdown grants to support businesses
05/01/2021 Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000 to support them during the lockdown, the chancellor has announced. |
Council chiefs call for funds to support businesses in Tier 4 areas
22/12/2020 Local authority leaders have urged the Government to meet all of the extra costs councils incur during the pandemic. |
Guide on the ‘significant role’ of community businesses launched
09/12/2020 A body representing thousands of town and parish councils has published a guide aimed at promoting the opportunities that community businesses can create locally. |
Tier 3 communities in North and Midlands ‘stretched to breaking point’
30/11/2020 Tier 3 communities in the North and Midlands will be ‘stretched to breaking point’ once the grant aimed at supporting local business is cut at the end of the national lockdown, according to Labour. |
Hancock unveils England’s tier restrictions
26/11/2020 Only three areas in England - Cornwall, the Isle of Wight, and the Isle of Scilly - will be placed into the lowest level of local restrictions from next next. |
Leisure centre collapse warning
20/11/2020 Under-pressure leisure centres will go under without further rescue funding on top of the £100m already pledged by the Government, district councils have warned. |
Labour calls for creation of 400,000 green jobs
10/11/2020 Labour has called on the Government to ‘build it in Britain’ and to support the creation of 400,000 new jobs with a green economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. |
Public sector exit cap signed into law
15/10/2020 The £95,000 cap on public sector exit payments was signed into law last night and will come into force on November 4. |
Minister announces business ‘safety net’ for local lockdowns
10/09/2020 Businesses in England that are forced to shut because of local interventions will now be able to claim up to £1,500 per property every three weeks, ministers say. |
Sector surprise at COVID marshal scheme
09/09/2020 Local government has been blindsided by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that an army of COVID marshals will enforce tough new rules. |
More than ever, UK businesses require help to be innovative
09/09/2020 Jessica Antley explains why Worcestershire County Council has set up a new platform to drive crowd innovation across the county. |
Birmingham Council given new powers to close businesses
26/08/2020 Birmingham City Council has been given new enforcement powers to help keep the rate of COVID-19 infections reducing. |
Councils urge extension for grants support scheme
03/08/2020 Fresh calls have been made for councils to be allowed to dole out to businesses the £1.6bn unspent from the Government’s small firms grant funds. |
Leicester calls for permission to spend unallocated grant money
22/07/2020 Leicester City Council has asked for permission to use £10m of unallocated business grants to help struggling local businesses after its lockdown was extended. |
Councils yet to hand out £1.7bn of business grant money
09/07/2020 Councils are yet to distribute £1.7bn of funding given to them to support small businesses through the pandemic, new figures have revealed. |
Councils in local virus data call
03/07/2020 Councils have called for the Government to go further after it finally started to publish more coronavirus testing data. |
Government announces measures to prevent company evictions
19/06/2020 The Government has extended measures to prevent struggling companies from eviction over the summer until the end of September. |
Council to sell Bristol Energy
03/06/2020 Bristol City Council has given the go-ahead to put its loss-making energy company up for sale. |
Councils call for single supply system for PPE
22/05/2020 Councils have called for a single system for the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid local government employees being treated as ‘second class workers’. |
Councils warn leisure providers at 'crisis point'
05/05/2020 Leisure providers are at a ‘crisis point’ as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, English and Welsh councils have warned. |
CIPFA: 17 years to work through council housing waiting list
04/05/2020 It could take up to 17 years to re-house individuals and families on the waiting list for council housing, data analysis by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has revealed. |
Councils receive extra £617m funding to support small businesses
04/05/2020 Local authorities will receive a 5% uplift in funding to help support local small businesses. |
London boroughs call for urgent increase to rateable value threshold
29/04/2020 London Councils has called for the rateable value threshold to be increased to help more businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic. |
Councils need another £12.8bn to cope with coronavirus - LGA
27/04/2020 Councils may need up to another £12.8bn from the Government to get through the coronavirus crisis, the chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA) has suggested. |
Government league table plan causes fury
17/04/2020 Plans to publish a league table of how quickly councils are doling out grants to help businesses have been met with anger from local government. |
Thousands of firms receive financial help from councils
14/04/2020 Almost 100,000 small businesses across the country have already been paid a share of more than £1bn to help support them through the coronavirus crisis, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said. |
Care providers in law change call
01/04/2020 Care providers have pleaded with Prime Minister Boris Johnson to change the law to boost staff numbers in the sector during the COVID-19 outbreak. |
Gateshead to look at bring housing back in-house
30/03/2020 Gateshead MBC is to formally consult on proposals to bring its housing services back in-house. |
Union and council end dispute amid coronavirus crisis
24/03/2020 Trade union Unite has said its dispute with Veolia over holiday pay for refuse staff working at Tower Hamlets LBC has been resolved. |
Councils to enforce business closures during Covid-19
23/03/2020 Local authorities will be responsible for ensuring businesses and other venues are closed to safeguard public health. |
Flybe collapse hits council-owned airports
05/03/2020 The airline entered administration this morning, leading to the grounding of all flights. |
IfG: Extend outsourcing reforms to councils
04/03/2020 Government reforms of outsourcing to avoid another Carillion collapse must be extended to local government where commercial skills lag behind Whitehall, a report from the Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank has said. |
Software glitch means some people wrongly told they can vote
11/12/2019 Councils have been urgently checking their electoral registers after being told to install a last-minute software release. |
Council to buy back estates from developer
19/11/2019 Hammersmith and Fulham LBC is to take back ownership of two housing estates 12 years after they were sold off by a previous administration. |
Council offers £10,000 package to attract foreign companies
14/11/2019 Torbay Council in Devon is offering foreign-owned companies up to £10,000 to relocate all or part of their operations to the region. |
Oxford and Reading top city performance list
11/11/2019 Cities have largely recovered economically from the 2007/08 financial crisis but must now focus on housing affordability and health-related issues, according to PwC and Demos. |
British Steel rescue deal agreed ‘in principle’
11/11/2019 A rescue deal for the manufacturer British Steel looks set to go ahead as China's Jingye Group agrees in principle to purchase the struggling business for £70m. |
Councils need billions more in funding, research finds
10/11/2019 Councils will need billions of extra pounds worth of funding in the next parliament, if they are to meet the rising cost of adult social care, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated. |
London businesses support devolving housing powers to councils
31/10/2019 Businesses in London have urged Whitehall to give local authorities more power to deliver infrastructure and housing in their communities. |
Small businesses call for ‘radical’ business rates reform
21/10/2019 Representatives of small businesses have written to the chancellor calling on him to introduce business rates reform to help struggling firms. |
Thomas Cook collapse could cost councils £12m a year
24/09/2019 The collapse of Thomas Cook could see councils lose around £12m a year in business rates, new estimates have suggested. |
Market to close after trading for nearly 800 years
18/09/2019 Rochdale’s outdoor market and indoor food hall are to close next month because they are ‘no longer financially viable’, according to the local council. |
Maidstone’s growth accelerator
18/09/2019 William Eichler discovers how Maidstone BC managed to improve business survival rates and promote new start-ups through the creation of the Business Terrace. |
Councils consider launch of new regional community bank
13/09/2019 Liverpool City Council is working with Wirral and Preston councils to help drive forward a plan to create an ‘ethical, council-led’ regional community bank. |
New rules to increase housing deal transparency
02/09/2019 Councils will be legally required to publish deals with housing developers after new rules were introduced. |
£450m flagship regeneration project scrapped
28/08/2019 Southampton City Council has terminated an agreement for a multi-million pound regeneration project. |
Labour announce plans to ‘revive’ high street
19/08/2019 A Labour Government would give councils the power to reopen abandoned shops to ‘revive Britain’s struggling high streets’, it was announced over the weekend. |
Deal to secure British Steel nearly ‘over the line'
16/08/2019 A deal is close to being finalised that could see the struggling steel manufacturer British Steel brought out of insolvency. |
Sheffield CC drops £1bn China deal
10/07/2019 Sheffield City Council is hoping to maintain business links with a Chinese construction firm despite a £1bn deal being dropped. |
Minister announces £100,000 to boost town centres
02/07/2019 High Streets Minister Jake Berry has announced the latest round of funding to make shopping centres more attractive to business. |
EXCLUSIVE: Victory on variation
26/06/2019 The Treasury’s view of children’s services has been dealt a further blow after research linked 70% of spend variation to factors outside councils’ control. |
Kier to cut 1,200 jobs and ditch housing division
17/06/2019 Kier Group is to cut around 1,200 jobs and make savings of £55m over the next two years, amid a planned sell-off of many of its commercial interests. |
Government pays £15m to councils after business rate 'error'
03/06/2019 The Government may have to pay out up to £15m to councils after it made yet another error in its business rate pilot administration. |
Khan launches £100m SME investment fund
31/05/2019 The mayor of London yesterday launched the largest ever fund for small and medium enterprises, which includes £14m to support the transition to a circular economy. |
Companies House reforms to make detection of criminal behaviour ‘easier’
30/05/2019 The Government has launched a consultation on proposals it says will bring about the ‘biggest changes’ to Companies House in nearly two centuries. |
Yorkshire purchasing authority signs deal with Amazon
29/05/2019 The YPO has signed a deal with Amazon Business to supply goods and services to public sector bodies including local authorities. |
Coming to terms with late payments
02/05/2019 Neil Washington explains how the public sector can strengthen SMEs by ensuring their contractors operate fair payment terms. |
Think tank calls for ‘new relationship’ between employers and communities
24/04/2019 A new relationship is needed between major employers and their local communities, according to a new report. |
Sheffield City Council promotes trade with Beijing
17/04/2019 Nine businesses from Sheffield have traveled to China as part of the local authority’s efforts to strengthen trade with Beijing. |
Council property firm records losses
10/04/2019 The property company run by Barking & Dagenham LBC has reported losses of almost £4m in its first year of operation. |
Review finds lack of due diligence over council's commercial workspace project
21/03/2019 King’s Lynn & West Norfolk BC should ‘build on the lessons learned’ from the construction of a state-of-the-art commercial workspace, the council’s chief executive has said. |
Local authority business provision ‘lacks transparency’, MSPs say
20/02/2019 Scottish MSPs have criticised a local authority provision that helps businesses grow for lacking ‘transparency, accountability and alignment’. |
Call for tourism tax review
05/02/2019 An inquiry into cultural investment in cities has called for a UK-wide review of the benefits of a tourism tax. |
Whitehall makes £50,000 available for high streets
25/01/2019 Communities across the country can bid for up to £50,000 to help make local areas more attractive for business, the high streets minister has announced. |
Whitehall 'leadership' needed to help councils cope with financial pressures
15/01/2019 The Government must improve oversight and transparency over local authorities to ensure their financial sustainability, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. |
‘Tougher penalties’ needed to protect small businesses against late payment
15/01/2019 Small businesses have called for ‘tougher penalties’ for large companies that pay their suppliers late to protect them from another Carillion-style collapse. |
Care Management Group sold for £200m
11/12/2018 A care provider has been sold in a multi-million pound deal, with another company expected to be flogged in the coming months. |
Rise in number of listed buildings occupied by businesses
06/12/2018 A growing number of businesses are basing themselves in historic buildings to convey a positive image, according to heritage experts. |
Council opens country's first dedicated business Growth Hub
22/11/2018 Tewkesbury Borough Council is claiming a first for a new 'growth hub' where local business people can work, meet and get access to important resources. |
Mears agrees £35m deal to purchase housing arm of Mitie
20/11/2018 Mears Group has agreed to buy the social housing maintenance arm of Mitie Property Services in a deal worth up to £35m. |
Council hits back at 'illegitimate' loan claim
31/10/2018 Newham LBC has denied claims that decisions to enter into controversial high-interest loans were illegitimate. |
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. |
Workspace: Sky-high rents and dwindling supply
25/09/2018 Cllr Asima Shaikh explains how councils can make a meaningful difference to fledgling businesses and create decent, secure jobs. |
Wolverhampton launches ‘retail revival’ partnership with eBay
24/09/2018 The City of Wolverhampton has launched a 12-month partnership with eBay to help small retailers start up or expand their online presence. |
Whitehall demands in-year cuts to improvement programme
19/09/2018 The sector’s ability to respond to crises such as a care provider failure could be hit after Whitehall demanded cuts to a key improvement programme, senior councillors have been warned. |
‘No deal’ Brexit will lead to labour shortages, study reveals
22/08/2018 A 'no deal' Brexit will lead to labour shortages in the South East of England unless the Government extends freedom of movement, leading think tank warns. |
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. |
Majority of councils ‘in breach’ of payment practice rules
17/07/2018 Almost nine out of 10 local authorities are currently in breach of the rules governing payment practices, according to freedom of information data. |
MPs call for 'credible, long-term plan' for social care
09/05/2018 MPs today called on ministers to outline a ‘credible, long-term plan’ to reverse the perception of English social care as a ‘source of national shame’. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
