Digital Transformation, AI and Local Government: The Case for Workforce Upskilling
The new LocalGov and Multiverse report explores how workforce upskilling is driving smarter, more efficient, and inclusive local government transformation.
Trust, Place and the Power of Fast Insight: Why confidence in councils varies across the UK
13/01/2026 Research by Commonplace reveals the drivers of trust and shows how councils can move from insight to action faster through clear communication and engagement. |
'Trust' key to cyber attack recovery
16/12/2025 The leader of one of the London boroughs hit by a cyber attack has stressed the importance of transparency with the public as recovery continues. |
EXCLUSIVE: Councils to push against statistics rowback
16/12/2025 Councils are preparing to push back after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed it was looking to slim down its sub-national statistics portfolio. |
Epping Forest DC approves Google data centre outline plans
15/12/2025 Epping Forest District Council has backed outline planning applications for a Google data centre that could reportedly generate nearly 800 jobs. |
Council welcomes green data centre plans
30/10/2025 Hertsmere Borough Council has backed plans for an 85-acre data centre in Hertfordshire. |
Kent reassurance after staff DOGE concerns
22/08/2025 Reform-run Kent CC (KCC) has reassured employees that any decisions to share data with the party’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be ‘lawful, reasonable and proportionate’. |
Rayner faces legal challenge over AI data centre on green belt
21/08/2025 Legal action has been launched challenging Angela Rayner’s decision to approve a major data centre on green belt land. |
Devolution Revolution: Solving the Data Deficit
19/08/2025 Jonathan Marwood, Partner at Hartnell Taylor Cook, explains why robust real estate data is essential for devolution, housing delivery, and regeneration. |
Council hit with concerns about AI data centre proposals
29/07/2025 A council has received objections to development plans for an AI data centre due to concerns about water supply. |
Asylum minister admits information sharing 'no longer fit for purpose'
08/07/2025 A Home Office minister has pledged to be more open with councils after agreeing the department's communication was ‘no longer fit for purpose'. |
Birmingham CC approves equalities motion
19/06/2025 Birmingham City Council has committed to improving inclusive data collection practices. |
Hollinrake warning over DOGE request
13/06/2025 Requests for data by Reform UK’s DOGE unit are a ‘cyber-security disaster waiting to happen’, shadow levelling up secretary Kevin Hollinrake has warned information commissioner John Edwards. |
Study reveals local government gender gap
15/05/2025 A new UK-wide study has revealed vast regional disparities in gender-based outcomes relating to economic success and growth. |
Council power outage ‘once in a lifetime event’
18/03/2025 A power outage that has affected Nottingham City Council’s core IT systems and phonelines since last Thursday was caused by a ‘once in a lifetime event.’ |
Government insists counties hand over reorganisation data
17/03/2025 The Government has insisted district councils should be given access to data by counties to build robust cases for their unitary reorganisation plans. |
Council green lights multi-billion-pound data centre
06/03/2025 Plans for a multi-billion-pound data centre are a step closer to being realised after the local authority granted the proposals planning permission. |
Sector calls for data and evidence to drive fair funding
19/02/2025 The Government should use the best available evidence and most up-to-date data to calculate local authority funding allocations, sector groups have said. |
Council signs off on Europe’s biggest AI data centre
27/01/2025 Hertsmere Borough Council has granted outline planning permission for a £3.75bn data centre which promises to deliver thousands of new jobs. |
Poor information sharing causing delays in ASB cases
20/11/2024 Eight in 10 councils report that information sharing agreements between agencies cause delays when it comes to taking action against anti-social behaviour. |
Data map reveals ‘stark disparities’ in children’s mental health
07/11/2024 Local government policymakers have been urged to take immediate action after a data map revealed ‘stark disparities’ in children’s mental health across UK. |
EXCLUSIVE: Watchdog looking to add metrics despite pause
09/10/2024 Oflog is pushing ahead with work to expand its data gathering despite ministers pausing its early warning conversations, The MJ understands. |
Councils racking up data storage debt
17/09/2024 Costs incurred by local authorities to store hard copies of documents is potentially costing the taxpayer millions of pounds each year, FOI requests reveal. |
Greater data sharing call after Reeves restricts winter fuel payments
10/09/2024 A group of 14 local authorities has written to Cabinet ministers to call for greater data sharing from central government to increase pension credit claims. |
Pension funds told to report annually on pooling progress
17/05/2024 Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds should report annually on progress against pooling and private equity investments, fresh guidance has said. |
Councils pay £1m in data breach compensation
03/05/2024 More than £1m has been paid out by 39 councils in compensation for data breaches in the past three years. |
Dashboard compares healthy life expectancy across councils
10/04/2024 A data tool to compare healthy life expectancy across all councils in England has been launched by The Health Foundation. |
Oflog should consolidate financial results monthly, say accountants
11/03/2024 The Office for Local Government (Oflog) should consolidate the financial results and position of local authorities on a monthly basis, accountants say. |
Council bosses back data use to improve care
07/12/2023 An increased use of data in children’s social care could improve outcomes and deliver much-needed savings, the County Councils Network (CCN) has said. |
Home Office admits 'more we can and need to do'
30/11/2023 More needs to be done to share data and improve communications with councils, Home Office mandarins have admitted. |
LGA responds to councillor’s ceasefire email
21/11/2023 The LGA has spoken out after a councillor threatened to name locally elected members who did not sign up to support a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza. |
EXCLUSIVE: Oflog pushes ahead with early warning system
16/11/2023 Senior Oflog officials are pressing ahead with their plans to create an early warning system for councils in trouble despite continuing LGA resistance. |
Data Automation & AI Conference for Local Authorities
02/11/2023 A free Local Authority conference being hosted by Data Analytics specialists, Destin Solutions, later this month promises to shine the spotlight on how ground-breaking data optimisation and artificial intelligence solutions represent the future of Council revenue generation and minimising loss. |
EXCLUSIVE: Council warning over asylum communication
03/10/2023 ‘Limited’ Home Office communication over asylum – including poor data sharing - continues to stymie efforts to resolve accommodation problems, councils warn. |
Concern over Bristol schools’ app use to monitor children
22/09/2023 Campaign groups have accused Bristol schools who use an app to monitor pupils and their families of ‘intrusive monitoring’. |
Millions missing from electoral register
18/09/2023 An overhaul of data sharing with council elections teams is required, a report by the Electoral Commission has concluded. |
Early intervention drive amid social housing repossessions
25/08/2023 Councils with some of the highest relative rates of social landlord repossessions have described their early intervention efforts after new data was published. |
Cyber-attack hit Electoral Commission
08/08/2023 Information held by the Electoral Commission was accessed by 'hostile actors,' the watchdog has revealed. |
How to support your local businesses more effectively to safeguard their future
29/06/2023 Destin Solutions has worked with one local authority to help them get to grips with their local business landscape through the smarter use of data. |
Hancock: Whitehall oversight of care was terrible
27/06/2023 Whitehall oversight of adult social care before Covid-19 was ‘terrible’ and officials had no understanding of whether councils could cope, Matt Hancock admits. |
Reducing carbon emissions with data
09/06/2023 Subu Kamal, TRL Software, looks at how councils can work collectively to reduce carbon emissions with data. |
Call for Government to share more data with councils
06/06/2023 Councils are struggling to reach households hit by the cost of living crisis due to the Government’s failure to share its data with local authorities. |
'Devastating implications' warning over data threat
30/05/2023 A Government threat to suspend council access to DWP data will have ‘devastating implications’ if Whitehall follows through, an expert has warned. |
Councils urged to improve knowledge and information management
24/05/2023 Knowledge and information problems have led to vulnerabilities being missed and financial detriment for residents seeking housing help, says Ombudsman. |
Calls for supported housing improvements
09/05/2023 MPs and Whitehall’s spending watchdog have demanded improved regulation and data on supported housing amid evidence the system is blighted by rogue landlords. |
Cyber attack led to data breach
21/04/2023 Capita has admitted data was stolen during a Cyber attack that disrupted council services. |
No extra social care funding for struggling councils
13/03/2023 A minister said councils would receive further support if they were found to be in need of improvement under new Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessments. |
Why this is the year councils look to business intelligence
10/03/2023 Mark Cobb, CEO, Cantium Business Solutions argues that business intelligence can help local authorities transform service delivery. |
Local government must look to new technology approaches in 2023
09/12/2022 In the face of unprecedented budgetary and security pressures, local government needs to look for new ways to implement and manage solutions. Richard Hartill reports. |
How can better use of data benefit public services?
27/09/2022 Keren Pakes, general manager, The Bright Initiative by Bright Data, looks at the role of data in driving public service efficiency. |
Protecting councils from phishing attacks
13/09/2022 With 10,000 cyberattacks hitting UK councils every day, AJ Thompson, CCO at Northdoor plc, argues more needs to be done to protect public data. |
Geospatial data guidance for councils published
04/08/2022 New guidance has been published to help public sector organisations such as councils make more effective cases for investing in location data. |
Citizen 4.0 - The future of local public services
27/07/2022 Matt Culpin explains how local authorities can use big data to predict demand for public services. |
Early intervention cuts trigger crisis interventions
18/07/2022 Councils, young people and families are trapped in a ‘vicious cycle’ due to the halving of investment in early intervention over the last decade, the largest children’s charities have warned. |
How councils can reduce their digital carbon footprint
18/07/2022 Simon Wissink outlines how local authorities can align their digital sustainability credentials with existing physical sustainability philosophy. |
Gove says new body will 'shine light' on sector failures and successes
28/06/2022 Michael Gove has reaffirmed his plans to ‘shine a light’ on both the failures and successes of councils with a new Office for Local Government. |
With risk comes reward
27/04/2022 In a post-pandemic world, will local authorities be more willing to embrace future risk and accept the existence of unknown threats? Christopher Walker reports. |
Going digital: putting the public first in public services
19/04/2022 Nigel Blair explores the challenge of embracing digitalisation whilst keeping local authorities’ customer centric. |
Conscious digital transformation in local government
12/04/2022 Russell MacDonald explores the challenges affecting local government and their impact on transformation, cloud adoption and ultimately the experience of the citizens they support. |
'The citizen experience hub'
15/03/2022 Gary Bennett explores how personalisation can change local government contact centres. |
How blockchain-inspired tech can spark societal change for the better
01/03/2022 David Coleman explains how distributed ledger technology can improve how societies operate. |
Getting to grips with HBAAI
22/02/2022 Steven Rybaruk explains how intelligent case selection can lighten the load for councils. |
Is 2022 finally the year of the CIO?
11/02/2022 Max Jones details why he thinks 2022 will finally be the year of the CIO – and recommends five steps CIOs can take to make this prediction come true. |
Councils to receive funding boost to improve cyber defences
25/01/2022 Local authorities will receive £37.8m to boost their cyber resilience, the Government has announced today. |
Moving beyond digital service delivery in local government
11/01/2022 Ved Sen outlines how councils can harness data to improve lives. |
Why councils need to embrace data driven communication and automation
04/01/2022 Tom Shrive calls on councils to embrace new workflow and automation technology to save money and improve customer satisfaction. |
Data and social care: how do we break down the barriers?
19/11/2021 Mark Robinson, chief innovation officer at Imosphere, considers how data can be utilised to support social care providers, service users and commissioners. |
Why we must embrace ‘messy’ public data to hit net zero
09/11/2021 Or Lenchner explains how councils can harness 'messy' public data to help achieve net zero. |
Social prescribing held back by data infrastructure, report finds
02/11/2021 A lack of available data and solid data infrastructure is preventing social prescribing from reaching its full potential, a report has warned. |
Local councils spent £21.2bn on adult social care in 20-21
21/10/2021 Local councils spent £21.2bn on adult social care in 20-21, according to statistics published today by NHS Digital. |
Think tank awards nearly £3m to improve family social policy
14/10/2021 The Nuffield Foundation has awarded £2.8m to support an innovative collaboration between local authorities and universities to learn more about how data is used in child and family social policy. |
Many councils ‘not compliant’ with data protection law
30/09/2021 Only 12% of UK councils are compliant with GDPR when it comes to Article 5 principles relating to processing of personal data, a freedom of information request has revealed. |
Why security should be top priority for the £2bn data procurement framework
29/09/2021 The local government's acknowledgement of the importance of data should be tempered with caution about data security and regulation adherence argues AJ Thompson. |
10 councils receive funding for data sharing projects
03/09/2021 Vulnerable children and families will receive better support after a new fund was set up to improve how data is shared between local partners. |
How can open data compliment community development?
24/08/2021 Nathan Coyle outlines the mechanisms and tools to help councils to take citizen engagement on the issue seriously |
Smart data can support local authorities in the rollout of electric vehicle charge points
15/07/2021 Predictive analytics based on real-time data is crucial to enabling local governments to meet their climate targets, argues Geoff McGrath. |
Social housing shortage blamed for rising bed and breakfast use
02/07/2021 Rising numbers of people who are homeless are being placed in bed and breakfasts due to a severe shortage of social housing, council leaders have warned. |
Report calls for better data on children’s well-being
01/07/2021 This most vulnerable children are often missing from existing data making it difficult to deliver effective child policies, a new report has warned. |
Embracing the opportunity of alternative data
02/06/2021 Or Lenchner? examines how the National Data Strategy (NDS) could have a transformative impact on decision-making and policy development across local government. |
Data sharing 'crucial' to how councils managed pandemic, study reveals
27/05/2021 Data sharing was critical to how Scottish councils responded to the COVID-19 crisis, academics have revealed. |
Cyber security in a post-pandemic world
18/05/2021 Mark Scott outlines how councils can build a secure cyber strategy and secure data for the long term. |
New £26m fund to help councils migrate to Local Land Charges Register
10/05/2021 The Treasury has created a new £26m fund to help councils migrate their local land charges service to HM Land Registry. |
Taking asset management from ‘worst first’ to data driven
19/04/2021 Constrained local authority budgets and the skills gap are making highways asset management a major challenge. Steve Batchelor says advancements in risk-based artificial intelligence could be the key to saving time, money and lives. |
Data transparency in local government: Where next after the pandemic?
29/03/2021 With the vaccine rollout and light at the end of the COVID tunnel, can local authorities revert their data strategies to pre-pandemic days? |
A third of councils experienced unplanned IT outages in past year
25/03/2021 Nearly a third (32%) of councils experienced unplanned IT outages in the past year, according to new research. |
Getting the data right: seamless data migration for councils
24/03/2021 Tony Armitage outlines the most important elements for councils to consider when undertaking a data migration. |
How better data management can help put councils back in the black
12/03/2021 An-Chan Phung presents seven fundamental areas where local authorities are using better data management to drive savings and efficiencies. |
Why data must unite UK Infrastructure Bank and Levelling Up Fund
08/03/2021 Dr Nicola M Headlam explains why a data-led approach is absolutely vital for local government to avoid spending billions on white elephants. |
London councils awarded £150,000 for digital projects
17/02/2021 Two local authority digital projects in London aimed at making smarter use of data have been awarded £75,000 each. |
Council chiefs call for ‘secure’ access to data to help COVID-19 response
10/02/2021 Local authority leaders have emphasised the importance of ensuring councils have ‘regular, secure’ access to data to support their response to COVID-19. |
Councils need funding to maintain data innovations, says report
04/02/2021 Local government needs increased investment to ensure recent data-driven innovations are maintained, a new report has argued. |
Lack of data affecting decision on local energy projects, councils warn
26/01/2021 The majority of councils are struggling to access the data they need to make informed decisions around local energy projects, a new survey has revealed. |
Government urged to adopt UPRN for residential properties
21/01/2021 The Government has been urged to adopt the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) across the housing market to reduce fraud and protect tenants from rogue landlords. |
How local government can increase the ROI of their data investments
12/01/2021 Adam Mayer explains what local councils can do to drive better outcomes from their data. |
Criminals publish stolen council data online
07/01/2021 Data stolen from Hackney Council in a cyber attack last October has been published online by the criminals responsible. |
Data sharing framework launched to encourage use of London car clubs
17/12/2020 A new data sharing framework between London boroughs and car club operators has been launched to help accelerate the use of car clubs in the capital. |
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'Data desert' on vulnerable children and county lines, report warns
03/12/2020 Local authorities and police forces are failing to identify the number of vulnerable children being exploited by criminal gangs, a new report has warned. |
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How local authorities can unlock the potential of data
23/11/2020 Dan Thompson explores how local authorities can tap into the value of the data at their fingertips. |
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Research shows just over a tenth of councils have fully digitalised all citizen records
16/11/2020 Only 11% of local authorities have fully digitalised all of their citizen records, new research has revealed. |
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Think-tank issues warning on Brexit readiness
03/11/2020 Local authorities and the devolved nations risk being overwhelmed by Brexit as they are trying to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, a think tank has claimed. |
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Launch of £4m data project to transform Covid-19 research
28/10/2020 A multi-million pound research project will give scientists better access to data to help develop potential therapies and treatment for COVID-19. |
