Reform UK councillors back down in row over airport loan
High Court ruling worth 'millions' to councils
Hundreds of millions could be forfeited to second home tax policy
£1.5m emergency boost to fight antisemitism after Golders Green attack
Local government spends £3.4bn with 39 ‘strategic suppliers’
Public procurement experts Tussell find that local government spending with the Government’s ‘strategic suppliers’ has remained flat for five years.
Kent CC bids for over £100m to fix two major road schemes
01/05/2026 Kent County Council has submitted bids to the Government's Structures Fund seeking more than £100m to address critical issues on two key roads in the county. |
COSLA urges next Scottish Government to reinvest in local economic development
23/04/2026 COSLA is calling for a fundamental reset in how councils are funded and empowered to drive economic growth, ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. |
MPs launch fiscal devolution inquiry
22/04/2026 The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Local Government has announced an inquiry into fiscal devolution in England. |
Woking-owned Thameswey debt exceeds £600m
21/04/2026 Woking BC's wholly owned company racked up debts of more than £600m, according to its latest accounts. |
Council tax enforcement rules to be overhauled
15/04/2026 The Government has announced changes to council tax administration in England, giving households more time to settle arrears. |
Councils given over £40m to support Renters Rights duties rollout
14/04/2026 An investment of £41m has been delivered to help councils tackle rogue landlords. |
Council threatens legal action over £20m roads funding row
13/04/2026 North Yorkshire Council has threatened to take legal action against York and North Yorkshire mayor David Skaith over a dispute about highways funding. |
Local museums share £4m accessibility fund
10/04/2026 Twenty-four local museums have received a share of £4m from the Government to improve visitor access and enhance their collections. |
APSE: Half of councils facing street cleansing cuts
07/04/2026 Half of local authorities expect their street cleansing budgets to shrink over the next year, according to a new national survey. |
Social housing fund boost to support innovative pilots
02/04/2026 Twenty schemes across England aimed at supporting social housing tenants are set to each receive a share of a £2m fund from the Government. |
Several councils to benefit from £155k local food grants
01/04/2026 A number of local authorities will each receive £155,000 to bolster local food procurement, Defra has announced. |
Trafford Council gets interest-free loan from combined authority
31/03/2026 Trafford Council is set to receive an interest-free loan from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to address a multi-million-pound budget gap. |
Regions facing grant cut as fiscal overhaul takes shape
30/03/2026 The Treasury’s Northern growth strategy shed light on the overhaul of funding, which will initially target places with the ‘potential to benefit’. |
Council considers application for £8m coastal monitoring programme funding
26/03/2026 North Yorkshire Council is seeking approval for a funding bid of almost £8m to continue the Northeast Coastal Monitoring Programme. |
Call for ‘lifeline’ to help households in cost-of-living crisis
26/03/2026 Crisis support has been delivered every 30 seconds by Citizens Advice this year, research has revealed. |
Warrington Council faces £110m loss, envoys warn
25/03/2026 Warrington Council is facing a net loss of nearly £110m due to its investment strategy and faces a ‘significantly challenging period’, ministerial envoys say. |
Welsh councils receive £50m capital funding boost
24/03/2026 All 22 Welsh local authorities are to receive a share of £50m in additional capital funding this financial year, the Welsh Government has announced. |
Wales Auditor General raises alarm over council account delays
24/03/2026 Auditor General for Wales has written to all local government bodies raising concerns about increasing delays in the auditing of statutory accounts. |
Council cuts raise concerns over arts access
23/03/2026 A new report has warned that significant reductions in local authority arts funding across the UK could limit public access to cultural activities. |
Pride in Place: £319m announced for high street regeneration
23/03/2026 The Government has announced a £319m package aimed at regenerating high streets and improving community spaces, as part of its Pride in Place strategy. |
LGA: Housing finances improving, but budget pressures threaten housebuilding
19/03/2026 The overall financial outlook for social housing is improving, but significant challenges remain, a Local Government Association (LGA) survey reveals. |
Higher council spending linked to stronger climate action, report finds
18/03/2026 New research from Climate Emergency UK has found that councils with greater spending power are more effective at delivering climate action. |
Croydon pledge after SEND overspend
17/03/2026 Croydon LBC has pledged to tackle a raft of problems highlighted in a review into its £16.7m overspend on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
Car park operator collapses putting nearly 700 jobs at risk
17/03/2026 National Car Parks (NCP), one of the UK’s largest parking operators, has entered administration following financial pressures, putting 682 jobs at risk. |
Call for integrating council tax support into universal credit
10/03/2026 Council tax support for working-age households could be integrated into Universal Credit to simplify the system and incentivise work, says think tank. |
Report highlights £5.3bn in unspent developer funds held by councils
10/03/2026 MPs are set to be alerted to £5.3bn in unspent developer contributions currently held in local authority bank accounts, says Urban Mobility Partnership. |
Council agrees £3k+ spend on new mayoral chains
10/03/2026 Harrogate Town Council is to spend over £3,500 on a new set of mayoral chains. |
Havering urges Government to scrap loan interest
05/03/2026 Havering LBC is lobbying the Government to scrap the interest payments on its loans. |
Alarm sounded over Shetland Islands Council's £134m budget black hole
04/03/2026 Shetland Islands Council faces urgent pressure to address a projected £134.3m budget gap by 2029/30, auditors have warned. |
Council spends £220k sending council tax bills first class
04/03/2026 Somerset Council has spent an extra £220k sending out council tax bills by first class post after the Government delayed confirming the financial settlement. |
Councils face £4bn temporary accommodation black hole, LGA warns
04/03/2026 The gap between what councils pay for temporary accommodation and what the Government reimburses them could balloon to nearly £4bn by 2029/30, LGA warns. |
Spring Statement: OBR paints gloomy picture of council finances
03/03/2026 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has painted a gloomy picture for the future of local government finances. |
£150,000 boost for public libraries in National Year of Reading
03/03/2026 The Government has announced a funding boost of up to £150,000 to support public libraries as part of the National Year of Reading 2026. |
Councils face ‘capacity crisis’ of unspent developer funds
02/03/2026 Roughly £9bn in unspent developer contributions is being held by councils, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has found. |
Four in 10 of England’s councils to require bail outs
02/03/2026 Nearly 40% of English councils are likely or very likely to require exceptional financial support (EFS) within five years, according to the LGIU. |
Minister raises ‘significant concerns’ over Somerset Council finances
26/02/2026 Minister Alison McGovern has raised ‘significant concerns’ about Somerset Council’s financial position in a letter responding to its request for support. |
No agreement reached on Birmingham budget
26/02/2026 Members of Birmingham City Council have failed to reach agreement at the authority’s annual budget meeting. |
Exceptional Financial Support increases
24/02/2026 Some 37 local authorities will be issued with £1.9bn in exceptional financial support (EFS), allowing them to use capital funding to cover day-to-day costs. |
CIPFA warning over profit capping reforms
23/02/2026 Financial oversight and profit capping reforms to the children's residential care market may fail to reduce costs for local authorities, CIPFA has warned. |
Government unveils £4bn SEND package
23/02/2026 The Government has announced a £4bn investment to expand specialist support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
CCN: SEND transport costs could hit £3.4bn
18/02/2026 Councils have warned that the Government’s Schools White Paper must address spiralling special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) transport costs. |
Treasury control over transport is stalling regional growth, IPPR warns
18/02/2026 Centralised Treasury control over transport spending is constraining regional growth, according to new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research. |
Finance settlement raises ‘serious concerns’ for rural areas
17/02/2026 The body championing rural services warns the Government’s final local government finance settlement raises ‘serious concerns’ for rural communities. |
Call for sustainable funding to support SEND spending
12/02/2026 Council spending on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has surged by more than £5bn in real terms over six years. |
Scottish councils struggle to close budget gaps
10/02/2026 Councils in Scotland are struggling to balance their books following the announcement of the Budget. |
Councils' unaudited accounts remain 'a cautionary tale', NAO chief will say
10/02/2026 Backlogs of unaudited accounts mean English local government ‘remains a cautionary tale', the head of the public spending watchdog will say today. |
Compensation for business rates funding flaw
09/02/2026 Councils affected by controversial changes to funding will be compensated, ministers have announced. |
Reform UK budget defeated
09/02/2026 A budget proposing a 3.89% council tax increase by Warwickshire CC's minority Reform UK administration has been defeated by rival parties. |
Worcestershire CC issues bankruptcy warning
09/02/2026 Reform UK-run Worcestershire CC could be forced to declare effective bankruptcy if the Government does not provide it with extra support, leader warns. |
Scottish council leaders raise Local Growth Fund concerns
06/02/2026 Council leaders in Scotland have voiced strong concerns over the UK Government’s approach to the new Local Growth Fund. |
