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.
CCN: Planning legislation would ‘dilute’ local oversight
11/03/2025 Legislation aimed at speeding up planning decisions would ‘dilute’ the role of councillors on planning committees, warns the County Council Network (CCN). |
MPs to scrutinise local government finance
11/12/2024 A parliamentary committee is set to consider whether the local government finance system in England is fit for purpose. |
MPs launch inquiry into cost of failing to fix social care
04/11/2024 MPs have launched an inquiry looking into the costs of failing to fix the struggling adult social care system. |
Select committee member loses Labour whip as police investigate
28/10/2024 A Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee member has lost the Labour whip after a video emerged appearing to show him punching a man. |
Mayor accused of pushing for unlawful planning committee change
04/03/2024 Mayor Ben Houchen and Simon Clarke MP have been accused of trying to pressure Redcar and Cleveland's planning committee to act unlawfully. |
Poorer households should not be chased for council tax debt, MPs say
01/12/2023 The Government should ensure local authorities are not ‘aggressively’ chasing council tax debt from those who can least afford it, MPs have said. |
MPs warn local services on ‘knife edge’
28/11/2023 MPs have warned that key local services are on a ‘knife edge’ due to the poor financial health of councils in England. |
MPs launch inquiry into controversial watchdog
24/11/2023 An inquiry looking at the remit of the controversial Office for Local Government (Oflog) was launched by MPs today. |
MPs slam ‘beyond unacceptable’ condition of schools
20/11/2023 Thousands of children are learning in potentially unsafe buildings, with MPs ‘extremely concerned’ about the Department for Education’s understanding of the risks, a new report says. |
Questions over plans to manage voter ID
13/11/2023 The chair of the levelling up, housing and communities (LUHC) committee has written to the LUHC department with concerns about managing voter ID in future elections. |
Government urged to push through ‘no fault’ evictions ban
09/11/2023 The chair of the levelling up, housing and communities (LUHC) committee has urged the Government to commit to a timetable for abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. |
Local government plays a vital role in the work of House of Lords committees
08/11/2023 Baroness Kate Parminter, chair of the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee, argues that the local government voice is crucial for committees to understand how government policy is impacting communities. |
DLUHC ‘repeat offender’ when it comes to late responses to MPs
19/09/2023 MPs have criticised the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for what they describe as its ‘poor performance’ in the timeliness of responses. |
MPs launch electric vehicle (EV) inquiry
09/08/2023 An inquiry into electric vehicles (EVs) has today been launched to help the Government better understand how the UK will reach net zero. |
Inquiry on housing for people with disabilities launched
25/07/2023 MPs have launched an inquiry into how far the planning system is helping to deliver homes that are suitable for disabled people. |
Levelling up will fail without long-term funding
26/05/2023 The Government’s levelling up policy will fail without long-term funding for councils, MPs have warned. |
Short-term lets registration scheme must be optional
22/05/2023 Lord Moylan, chair of the House of Lords Built Environment Committee, argues that the short-term lets registration scheme should be optional. |
Racism plays key role in maternity death rates, MPs say
18/04/2023 ‘Shocking’ racism has played a key role in creating higher death rates for black women and those from poorer areas in childbirth, according to MPs. |
Bristol City Council to be run by committees
05/04/2023 Bristol council is set to be run by seven policy committees after the May elections following a referendum which decided to abolish the directly elected mayor. |
Levelling up committee launches local audit inquiry
03/03/2023 An inquiry into financial audit in local authorities has been launched to ensure councils are financially sustainable and remain accountable to residents. |
Council rejects China's ‘super embassy’ plans
02/12/2022 Tower Hamlets Council's strategic planning committee has voted to reject the Chinese government's plans for a ‘super embassy’. |
Borough opts for a return to committees
18/10/2022 West Lancashire BC is the latest council to plump for a return of the committee system. |
Councils urged to face up to poor Ofsted ratings
08/07/2022 MPs have called for councils to ensure all looked-after children are receiving full-time education in a school registered with the Department for Education. |
Bristol votes to abolish elected mayor
06/05/2022 Bristol voters have decided to abolish the city’s directly elected mayor following a referendum. |
Demand for mental health treatment pushing NHS to ‘breaking point’
09/12/2021 MPs have called for urgent action to prevent mental health services slipping backwards as a result of the pandemic and the scale of unmet need prior to it. |
Wirral council introduces new committee system
30/09/2020 Wirral Council has approved plans to move to a committee system of local government. |
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Resignations at Sheffield Council in support of referendum
28/08/2019 Two Sheffield City Council cabinet members, including the deputy leader, and four cabinet assistants have resigned in support of radically overhauling the way the council does business. |
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Council switches to committee rule to make authority more ‘democratic’
30/05/2017 Councillors in Basildon have switched to a committee system rather than a leader and cabinet, in attempt to make the authority more democratic and effective. |
