County Councils Network


Local elections 2021: Counties buck the Tory trend 09/05/2021 County councils have bucked the trend of Conservative success in the local election on Thursday, with a mixed picture for the party.
Hancock unveils £7bn funding boost for NHS and social care 19/03/2021 The Government has announced an extra £341m for infection control measures and rapid testing in adult social care services.
Council road repairs cash down £400m next year 15/02/2021 County councils have said they will have ‘no choice’ but to cancel high priority highway maintenance works next year after the Government announced capital funding allocations down £398m on current levels.
Social care should remain delivered by councils, says new report 10/02/2021 Tens of thousands of people could live more independent lives if councils keep hold of social care under government plans to overhaul health services, a new report has insisted.
Call for ‘urgent clarity’ on elections 06/01/2021 Speculation over whether local elections will take place in May as scheduled has been labelled ‘unhelpful’ by councils.
Councils welcome announcement of third national lockdown 05/01/2021 Councils have urged residents to follow the guidelines for the third national lockdown in a bid to stop the continued spread of coronavirus.
Funding gap has 'devastating' impact on rural and remote bus services 10/12/2020 Rural and remote bus services saw journeys fall by 97 million last year due to a £348m funding gap, a new report has warned.
Councils warn about 'significant' overspends on children’s services 24/11/2020 The number of vulnerable young people referred to councils’ children’s services increased by 15% in the first three months after the first lockdown, figures have shown.
County councils warn of insolvency risk without frontline cuts 12/11/2020 Only a fifth of England's largest councils are confident they can deliver a balanced budget next year without dramatic reduction to services, a new survey has revealed.
Calls for collaboration to fill the ‘strategic planning void’ 21/10/2020 Closer collaboration between councils, health bodies and businesses could ‘reinvigorate strategic planning’ a new report has argued.
Reorganisation battle lines drawn over think-tank report 20/10/2020 The bitter war of words between counties and districts over reorganisation stepped up this week as battle lines were drawn around a new think-tank report.
Counties warn of test and trace ‘missed opportunity’ 16/10/2020 Calls for more support for local contact tracing have been redoubled after the national system’s success rate plummeted.
Counties warn childcare closures will hit remote areas the hardest 25/09/2020 One in ten childcare providers in England’s most remote areas are at risk of closure this winter, county councils have warned today.
Countywide unitaries ‘could save £3bn’ 27/08/2020 Replacing two-tier counties with one unitary authority could deliver almost £3bn savings over five years, according to research published by the County Councils Network (CCN) today.
Call to scrap two-tier local government system in rural areas 04/08/2020 The ‘confusing' two-tier model of local government should be abolished and replaced with single unitary councils, a report has argued today.
Over half of workforce in county areas 'at risk' due to pandemic 04/08/2020 Over half the workforce in England's county areas work in sectors ‘at risk’ due to the coronavirus crisis, research has warned today.
Counties warn oversight of social care must remain with councils 30/07/2020 County councils have warned against a ‘knee-jerk’ centralisation of the social care system in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis.
Councils call for clarity on income guarantee 17/07/2020 Council leaders have urged the Government to provide further details on the promised compensation for loss of income due to the pandemic.
Councils given £300m and key tracking role 22/05/2020 Councils in England will be handed £300m by the Government as they are given a key role in driving forward testing and tracing.
Councils call for £5bn 'income guarantee' 18/05/2020 England's largest councils are calling on the Government to provide a £5bn 'income guarantee to avoid them having to declare insolvency during the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson announces £600m for infection control in care homes 14/05/2020 Councils have welcomed the £600m extra funding for infection control within care homes.
Districts win in latest allocations 28/04/2020 Districts have won a significantly higher share of funding in the latest allocations of government cash to help councils cope with coronavirus.
Counties call for clarity on how coronavirus cash will be allocated 28/04/2020 County councils have called for clarity on how the latest round of emergency cash to deal with the coronavirus crisis will be split.
Rural counties see a spike in coronavirus cases 09/04/2020 The number of new coronavirus cases in rural areas has begun to catch up with England’s urban hotspots, the County Councils Network (CCN) has warned.<
Counties warn against a blanket council tax deferral scheme 08/04/2020 County councils have warned that a blanket council tax deferral scheme could create significant financial problems for local government.
Counties voice concern over capacity of community pharmacies 07/04/2020 County councils have warned that local pharmacies could struggle to deliver medicine in rural and remote locations.
Counties warn about service closures during coronavirus 30/03/2020 Councils are being forced to close or reduce more services in order to divert resources to fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Council leaders warn Whitehall not to ‘forget the shires’ 05/03/2020 County council leaders have warned the Government not to ‘overlook’ the shires as it focuses on levelling up ‘red wall’ areas in the North and Midlands.
Councils face £19bn funding gap by 2025 21/02/2020 Councils will face a funding shortfall of £19.1bn over the next five years despite planning council tax increases, new research has shown.
County motorists 'poor relation' to major cities 13/01/2020 Shire county authorities are failing to receive a ‘fair share’ of funding for roads with London receiving three times higher investment, new analysis has found today.
County leaders call for an end to ‘city centric policy obsession’ 18/12/2019 Councils have urged the new Government to focus less on cities and to invest more in towns and deprived communities to help level up ‘left-behind’ areas.
Calls for 'genuine devolution' by incoming Government 18/11/2019 The chairman of the County Councils Network has called on any new government to implement 'genuine devolution'.
Core Cities' £28bn Shared Prosperity Fund warning 26/09/2019 The proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) must be worth at least £28bn over seven years if the UK is to deliver its devolved policy objectives, a leading sector body has warned.
Social care services to be decommissioned unless funding confirmed 30/08/2019 County leaders have warned councils will soon start to decommission services unless social care funding is confirmed by Whitehall.
County council chiefs urge PM to ‘level up’ funding across country 19/08/2019 More than 30 leaders of England’s county councils have called on the new Government to ‘level up’ investment in all parts of the country.
Drop ‘metro mayor’ devolution requirement, PM told 29/07/2019 County council leaders have called on Boris Johnson to ensure there is no mayoral requirement for a ‘full’ devolution deal.
Counties publish five-point plan for local government 26/07/2019 Councils need an emergency cash injection targeted at areas most in need, the County Councils Network (CCN) has said today.
Council chiefs warn SEN reforms will ‘break’ their budgets 19/07/2019 County council leaders have warned that reforms to expand special educational needs (SEN) services will ‘break’ their budgets.
Councils urged to celebrate historic counties 17/07/2019 New guidance to help local authorities celebrate historic counties and boost community pride has been launched by the Government.
County council chiefs warn of ‘fragile nature’ of care system 29/05/2019 Councils will need to spend £6.1bn per year more in 2025 on adult social care services compared to what they were spending a decade ago, figures reveal.
Corbyn launches attack on fair funding review 11/04/2019 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has entered the debate over the fair funding review, claiming it ‘will make poorer areas even poorer’.
Councils defend council tax hikes 27/03/2019 Councils have had ‘little choice’ but to raise council tax to protect local services, the Local Government Association has said, after the latest tax rises were revealed.
Counties urge Whitehall to ‘look again’ at social care funding formula 22/02/2019 County councils have voiced concerns over the Government’s proposed formula for funding adult social care saying they fear it fails to recognise the demand for services in shire areas.
Counties call for full baseline reset of business rates in 2020 22/02/2019 County councillors have called for a review of the business rates system including the tax paid by large retailers.
Counties hit by housing ‘affordability crisis’ 21/02/2019 County council leaders have warned that the ‘affordability crisis’ has hit shires as figures reveal that rural house prices are now 10 times higher than average annual earnings.
Council spending on cultural services slashed by £400m 28/01/2019 Council spending on cultural resources such as museums, libraries, and the arts has been reduced by almost £400m over the last eight years of austerity, new research has revealed.
Councils spending £75m more on transporting SEND pupils to school 20/11/2018 County councils spent £323.3m on transporting young people to school last year, figures have revealed.
Cost of caring for adults with learning disabilities could increase by almost £2bn by 2025 19/11/2018 A rise in the number of adults with severe learning disabilities will cost councils an extra £2bn by 2025, figures released today have revealed.
Unfair council funding is holding back social mobility in counties, MPs warn 31/10/2018 Social mobility in rural English counties is being held back by an outdated and unfair method of funding councils, according to a new report.
Council cuts to reach £1bn warn counties 20/09/2018 English county council spending and cuts to frontline services will amount to £1bn in the next financial year, research has found.
Councils overspend £800m on care services 23/08/2018 Councils in England have overspent £816m on children's care services in 2017/18, according to official figures.
Union blasts Somerset CC for ‘financial incompetence’ 10/08/2018 A union has accused Somerset County Council of ‘financial incompetence’ after the authority proposed staff take two days of unpaid leave.
Basic ‘core offer’ of local services could become norm, county councillors warn 09/08/2018 County councils are warning the basic ‘core offer’ of local services could become the norm unless the Government provides councils with additional resources.
Un-costed care cap would be ‘catastrophic’, county council chiefs warn 27/07/2018 The introduction of an un-costed cap on social care would have ‘catastrophic’ consequences for local services, county council leaders have warned.
Counties call for pre-spending review cash injection 27/06/2018 Nearly one in five county council leaders are ‘not confident’ they can deliver a balanced budget nest year without extra funding, a new survey has revealed.
Call for counties to have greater role in planning 20/06/2018 County councils should have a larger role in planning to help meet the housing crisis, according to the findings of two reports published today.
Free school transport schemes at risk in county areas 24/05/2018 County councils have warned they are struggling to fund free school transport schemes as it costs ten times more in county areas than neighbouring cities.
Counties call for urgent action to tackle overspends on special education 14/05/2018 County councils have warned they are in the ‘unsustainable’ position of having to shift schools money towards supporting children with special educational needs to meet statutory duties.
Rural counties suffer from low broadband speeds 06/04/2018 A new study has revealed that over two-thirds of England’s counties have lower than average broadband speeds.
Javid backs single unitary council in Buckinghamshire 12/03/2018 Local government secretary Sajid Javid has backed a single unitary council for Buckinghamshire.
Reorganisation in counties must be based on evidence 28/02/2018 Reorganisation may be part of the future of local government in two–tier counties, but it will only deliver long-term sustainability if it is built around evidence, not short-term fixes, argues James Maker.
Counties call for strategic planning reforms to tackle rising house prices 16/02/2018 County councils have called for strategic planning reforms after figures showed house prices in England’s counties rose at triple the rate of London last year.
Where next for Northants? 15/02/2018 Simon Edwards looks at where next for Northamptonshire CC after it became the first authority in two decades to issue a S114 notice.
Javid finds extra £166m in final settlement 06/02/2018 Local government secretary Sajid Javid has found an additional £166m to ease spending pressures in social care and rural areas in the final 2018/19 settlement.
Most counties to increase council tax by extra 1% 25/01/2018 County council leaders have warned that the government's decision to allow them to raise council tax by 1% will only offset a tenth of the amount already being cut from their budgets.
Boom in elderly population stretching counties to 'breaking point' 17/01/2018 An 'unprecedented' rise in the number of elderly people in rural county areas is pushing counties to breaking point, council leaders warn.
Industrial Strategy snubs councils 27/11/2017 Business secretary Greg Clark has snubbed councils and empowered local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) in the Government’s long-awaited Industrial Strategy.
‘Non-mayoral combined authorities’ a possibility, Javid says 21/11/2017 Sajid Javid has raised the possibility of ‘non-mayoral combined authorities’ in rural areas as part of a new devolution framework.
Counties warn funding for public services is ‘outdated and unfair’ 20/11/2017 County councils are receiving almost 50% less funding for public services per person compared to their neighbours in England’s largest cities, research has revealed today.

Building a public EV charging network

Cecilia Routledge looks at the seven key things that local authorities need to consider when installing EV chargepoints.

The key role local authorities play in the mental health of young migrants and refugees

Amy Spiller explains how accessing mental health support through their local authorities can have a transformative effect on young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds.

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