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.
DCN: Government’s reorganisation plans risk ‘dysfunctionality’
13/03/2025 Local government reorganisation could ‘create larger versions of dysfunctionality’ and fail to bring about the public service reform required, report claims. |
Minister told districts funding level 'just not acceptable'
07/02/2025 Local government minister Jim McMahon has responded to claims district authorities will see little increase in their funding this year. |
Government has no evidence to support ‘mega councils’, DCN says
31/01/2025 Freedom of Information requests have exposed an ‘alarming’ lack of evidence to support the creation of mega councils, according to the District Councils’ Network (DCN). |
Districts warn against ‘mega councils’
24/01/2025 District councils are prepared to engage with local government reorganisation but warn against ‘rigidly insisting’ on a minimum population of 500,000. |
DCN proposes three reforms to deliver 100,000 affordable homes
20/01/2025 The District Councils’ Network (DCN) has published a study today, which proposes three reforms the organisation claims could provide 100,000 affordable homes. |
Rebels with a cause
16/01/2025 The Local Government Association (LGA) has been warned some members could quit over its stance on reorganisation as it faces an internal rebellion. |
Voters ‘set to be deprived of local democracy’
10/01/2025 The District Councils’ Network has warned that millions of voters will be ‘deprived of their local democracy’ due to plans to postpone some county council elections. |
Social care ‘likely to deteriorate’ during wait for review
03/01/2025 Councils have warned that the social care sector is ‘likely to deteriorate’ during the three-year wait for the findings of a new independent commission. |
Cuts warnings after finance settlement announced
19/12/2024 The bodies representing district and county councils have warned that services will be cut next year after the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement was published yesterday. |
DCN: Reorganisation risks ‘paralysing’ front line services
31/10/2024 Local government reorganisation poses a threat to front line services and represents the ‘opposite of devolution’, district council leaders have warned. |
Budget: Council chiefs call for ‘explicit clarity’ on NI increases
31/10/2024 Council leaders have welcomed the £1.3bn funding boost but called for clarity on protection from increases to employer National Insurance contributions. |
EXCLUSIVE: Government to launch full reorganisation
28/10/2024 Plans for full local government reorganisation could be mooted as soon as this week's Budget, The MJ understands. |
Councils call for full waste service costs under EPR
23/10/2024 Council bosses have urged the Government to ensure local authorities receive the full costs for delivering waste and recycling services under new packaging reforms. |
Autumn Budget: Inadequate council funding hits the Government too
22/10/2024 Jeremy Newmark, finance spokesperson for District Councils’ Network (DCN), argues that properly funded councils are essential to ministers hitting their goals. |
United call following homelessness surge
08/08/2024 The local government sector has united to call for urgent action following a surge in the number of homeless families. |
DCN calls for more powers to hit housing targets
08/08/2024 Councils need more powers and funding to address empty and stalled sites if ministers are to achieve their housing aims, the District Councils' Network (DCN) has said. |
Scrap council tax referendum limits, says DCN
03/07/2024 District councils should have the powers to increase council tax referendum limits to at least 10% as a first step to scrapping them, DCN says. |
Housing directors association being explored by LGA
25/06/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) is exploring the creation of an association of housing directors. |
Structures should be 'rationalised,' Hoare tells DCN
14/03/2024 Council funding should have been reformed by now and structures need to be ‘rationalised’ the local government minister told the DCN conference. |
Local government launches cultural services alliance
01/03/2024 Organisations representing local government have joined forces to form a new National Alliance for Cultural Services. |
Concern over waste reform costs
22/01/2024 Fears have been raised that more financial pressures could be heaped on councils as a result of waste reforms. |
Sector unites in plea to chancellor
22/11/2023 The local government sector in England has put out a call to Jeremy Hunt to ‘address the significant financial challenges faced by councils’. |
DCN writes to Hunt over temporary accommodation pressures
01/11/2023 Following a summit attended by 158 councils, the District Councils’ Network (DCN) has warned chancellor Jeremy Hunt about ‘unprecedented’ numbers of people turning to councils in the face of homelessness. |
Emergency summit held amid temporary accommodation warnings
31/10/2023 More than 150 councils this week attended an emergency summit as the cost of temporary accommodation to local authorities increases rapidly. |
Temporary accommodation costs mount to £1.74bn
27/10/2023 English councils spent £1.74bn on temporary accommodation last year, research has found as more than 100 local authorities signed up to an ‘emergency’ housing summit. |
Councils ‘held back’ on net zero
24/10/2023 The organisations that represent English councils have collaborated in a call for the Government to change its approach on delivering net zero. |
'Devolution hopes rest on combined authorities'
24/10/2023 Combined authorities represent the greatest hope for devolution in England, according to a new report based on interviews with 95 former ministers and Whitehall mandarins. |
DCN in cuts warning
24/10/2023 Cultural services, community support and parks and green spaces are all at risk of cuts without a boost to the local government finance settlement, respondents to a District Councils’ Network (DCN) survey have warned. |
Councils welcome waste reform flexibility but await details on costs
23/10/2023 Councils were relieved not to lose all local discretion in the Government’s waste collection reforms but have said questions remain, including over funding. |
Lords block plans to scrap nutrient neutrality rules
14/09/2023 The Government’s attempt to scrap nutrient neutrality rules has been defeated in the House of Lords. |
'Clarity' promised on waste reforms
12/09/2023 More certainty on the Government’s waste reform programme has been promised after mandarins were taken to task over delays. |
Gove to ease nutrient neutrality requirements
29/08/2023 Ministers have announced they will ease divisive development rules on water pollution blamed for low housebuilding rates in rural areas. |
DCN hits back against call for planning to shift to upper-tier
09/08/2023 The District Councils’ Network (DCN) has rejected a call by former local government secretary Greg Clark for planning to shift to upper-tier authorities. |
Districts need to be 'active partners' within ICS, says report
03/07/2023 District councils need to be ‘active partners’ within Integrated Care Systems (ICS), a report by The King’s Fund charity said today. |
Councils call for more radical thinking on short-term lets
20/06/2023 Whitehall proposals to regulate short-term holiday lets fail to deliver what is needed to tackle housing shortages and ministers should think ‘more radically,’ councils have said. |
Top five recycling councils all districts
27/03/2023 District councils are leading the way in recycling waste, new Government figures suggest. |
District councils ‘starved of cash’, local leaders warn
22/03/2023 District councils say they are being starved of cash while county authorities are being allowed to raise their bills, causing a ‘devastating’ impact. |
District chiefs welcome proposed planning fee boost
01/03/2023 District council leaders have welcomed a proposal that could see an increase in planning fees to help over-stretched local planning departments. |
Poll reveals ‘endorsement’ of scale of district councils
23/02/2023 District councils have a marginally higher approval rating than county councils, a new survey suggests. |
Districts' legal threat over devolution deal
17/01/2023 Four Norfolk districts have threatened to take legal action over the county’s handling of a devolution deal struck with Government. |
District concern in wake of finance settlement
20/12/2022 Concern over funding for districts has been voiced following the announcement of the provisional local government finance settlement for 2023-24. |
Districts push for council tax flexibility
12/12/2022 Districts are pushing the Government to allow them to increase council tax by more than 3% or £5 without a referendum. |
District warning over temporary accommodation shortage
02/11/2022 Four-fifths of district councils have warned of shortages of temporary accommodation to meet a rising tide of homelessness fuelled by the cost of living crisis, new research has found. |
Councils face £900m shortfall due to inflation
29/09/2022 District council leaders have warned that services that are essential for supporting residents through the cost-of-living crisis are threatened by inflation. |
Districts to lobby over inflation pressures
02/08/2022 A survey has been carried out by the District Councils’ Network (DCN) on the impact of inflation. |
EXCLUSIVE: Government 'risks battle' on moving districts' functions without consent
17/05/2022 Districts will push to change the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to ensure their functions cannot move to new combined county authorities (CCAs) without their consent, The MJ understands. |
Districts warn of rise in housing waiting lists as landlords sell properties
10/12/2021 More than three-quarters of district councils have reported an increase in landlords selling up properties or converting their properties into Airbnb’s. |
Districts call for government intervention over supported housing
03/09/2021 Three out of five district councils fear they do not have enough good quality supported housing for the next five years, a new survey has found. |
County areas chase devo dream
17/08/2021 County areas are lining up to strike one of the first tranche of devolution deals. |
Waste collection plans to cost £680m a year, councils warn
11/06/2021 Government plans to standardise kerbside waste collections will cost £680m a year, district councils have warned today. |
More than 100 leisure centres could go bust, DCN warns
13/05/2021 More than 100 leisure centres in England could go bust due to the coronavirus crisis, district councils have warned. |
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. |
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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. |
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Fragmented council funding risks to value for money, report warns
05/10/2020 The increasing fragmentation in council funding ‘undermines central government’s understanding of service delivery’ and ‘risks impeding value for money,’ a report has warned. |
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Councils warn about rise in PPE litter
28/09/2020 Nearly half of district councils have warned the littering of face masks and plastic gloves is becoming a growing problem in their area. |
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Councils warn of 'housebuilding fiasco'
15/09/2020 New government housing targets will lead to a north-south divide in England, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
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DCN: Bigger local government is ‘not better or cheaper’
01/09/2020 Proposals for county unitary councils would be 122 times larger than the average council in Germany, a new report by the District Councils’ Network (DCN) warns today. |
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Evictions ban extended
21/08/2020 The Government has extended the ban on evictions of renters for a further month following lobbying by councils. |
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Councils warn of ‘avalanche of evictions’
21/08/2020 The local government sector is braced for a deluge of homelessness following the end of the evictions ban. |
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Reforms to fast-track local plans
06/08/2020 Councils will face sanctions unless they draw-up local plans within 30 months under government proposals to overhaul the planning system. |
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Reorganisation will deter potential councillors, report warns
24/07/2020 Local government unitary reorganisation will slash the number of councillors and deter many from standing for election, a report for the District Councils’ Network (DCN) has warned. |
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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. |
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Councils call for leisure bail out
09/06/2020 District councils have called on the Government to bail out cash-strapped leisure centres as they face permanent closure because of lack of income due to the coronavirus shutdown. |
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District councils warn 500,000 at risk of homelessness
06/05/2020 Almost 500,000 households are at high risk of becoming homeless as a result of the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis, new analysis for the District Councils’ Network (DCN) has revealed. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Districts’ warning on coronavirus funds
22/04/2020 District councils need a ‘fair share’ of the government’s latest round of funding, or they face having to cut vital services, the District Councils’ Network (DCN) has warned. |
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District councils warn of ‘fly-tipping farm-aggedon'
13/01/2020 Councils have warned that fly-tippers are increasingly targeting rural areas after new figures show a surge in incidents where rubbish is being dumped on farm land. |
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Recognition for council pair in Queen's Birthday Honours
10/06/2019 The leader and former chief executive of a district council have both received awards in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. |
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New homelessness duties impacting half of district councils
02/11/2018 More than half of district councils have seen an increase in the number of people asking for help since the introduction of new homelessness legislation. |
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Councils call for extension on time limit for all Right to Buy receipts
09/10/2018 District councils have urged the Government to extend the time limit for spending Right to Buy receipts for both existing and future receipts. |
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Districts call for new homes bonus threshold to be scrapped
18/09/2018 The New Homes Bonus (NHB) baseline is punishing district councils for delivering more homes and should be scrapped, according to calls today. |
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Ministers to 'super charge' LEP performance
24/07/2018 Ministers have published plans to ‘super charge’ the performance and accountability of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) following a review. |
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Javid backs single unitary council in Buckinghamshire
12/03/2018 Local government secretary Sajid Javid has backed a single unitary council for Buckinghamshire. |
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Districts call for council tax limit increase
16/01/2018 Districts have called for the council tax cap to be increased so they can raise an extra £9m. |
