Council’s net debt rises by £233m
Government announces ‘fairer funding’ reforms
Reform UK-led council to undertake ‘efficiency review’
Reform councils try to get ahead of DOGE reviews
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.
Spending Review: Reeves pledges to put sector on 'sustainable footing'
11/06/2025 Health, defence and schools were the winners in the spending review, but the government claimed it would put local government back on ‘a sustainable footing'. |
Council’s pension scheme could provide over 200 homes
10/06/2025 The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea intends to invest millions from its £2bn pension fund to support vulnerable residents. |
London Councils: SEND funding ‘sums don’t add up’
05/06/2025 Sixteen of London’s 33 local authorities are at risk of bankruptcy due to SEND funding pressures, London Councils warns. |
Fears for council funding as ‘unprotected’ departments face cuts
02/06/2025 Council leaders have told the Chancellor they ‘desperately need’ more funding in the Spending Review as financial experts warn ‘unprotected’ government departments could face cuts. |
Investment targets to be set for LGPS megafunds
30/05/2025 The Government is to press ahead with proposals to consolidate Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds. |
Scottish councils face £647m budget shortfall
23/05/2025 Local authorities in Scotland must transform the way they deliver services to close a budget shortfall of £647m, spending watchdog says. |
Union launches Fair Funding campaign to save council jobs
19/05/2025 Unite has launched a campaign calling for an overhaul of how local authorities are funded to prevent further bankruptcies and job and public service cuts. |
Council plans further Exceptional Financial Support bid
15/05/2025 Windsor & Maidenhead BC will need to agree a package of Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) with the Government for next year, it has announced. |
West Midlands councils benefit from £12m pothole boost
13/05/2025 Six local authorities in the West Midlands are due to receive £12m of funding to help resurface roads and repair up to 132,000 potholes. |
Local government leads way on SME procurement spend
13/05/2025 Councils are bucking the trend with spending on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), figures from the British Chambers of Commerce have revealed. |
Burnham calls for Northern spending boost
13/05/2025 Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has called on the Chancellor to increase spending outside of London to counter support for Reform UK. |
Nottingham still 'dependent upon EFS'
12/05/2025 Nottingham City Council remains dependent on exceptional financial support (EFS) but has laid the groundwork for becoming sustainable, commissioners say. |
Snail breeding racket leaves holes in council’s finances
12/05/2025 Westminster City Council has unearthed a snail breeding racket which has been operating secret snail farms in empty office spaces. |
Ministerial envoys to be sent to Warrington
09/05/2025 A team of ministerial envoys are to be sent to Warrington BC amid doubts over the council's ‘willingness and capacity' to tackle financial challenges. |
McMahon: End to 'shaming' preventing bankruptcies
07/05/2025 An end to ‘public shaming' of councils has helped stem the tide of section 114s, local government minister Jim McMahon has claimed. |
US trade deal needed in ‘weeks, not months’, Mayor says
07/05/2025 The Government must secure a trade deal with President Trump in ‘weeks, not months’ to avoid damage to the West Midlands economy, Mayor says. |
Councils raise £360m from parking permits
07/05/2025 Local authorities across the UK raised £360m from residential parking permits over the last five years, new research reveals. |
Liverpool tourism tax gets the green light
28/04/2025 Hoteliers in Liverpool have backed plans to introduce a £2 overnight visitor charge. |
Newcastle chief defends Saudi investment
22/04/2025 Newcastle City Council’s chief executive has reportedly defended the authority seeking investment from Saudi Arabia following criticism of engagement with the controversial regime. |
Council rejects Farage bankruptcy claim
14/04/2025 Lancashire County Council has hit back at claims by Nigel Farage that it is on the brink of bankruptcy. |
Mayors' integrated settlements published
09/04/2025 Final details of integrated settlements for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands have been confirmed for 2025-26. |
Call for action on economic inequalities
07/04/2025 The Government has been urged to back mayors and shift spending priorities to tackle regional inequality by an influential think-tank. |
Government to set out SEND deficit plans
04/04/2025 The Government is to set out how it will tackle the £6bn special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficit crisis later this year. |
Spring Statement: Chancellor banks on house building adding £6.8bn to economy
26/03/2025 The Spring Statement has highlighted the benefit of housebuilding for improving public finances and focused on defence investment for regional growth. |
Somerset could be in need of exceptional financial support
25/03/2025 Somerset Council has been found to have 45 ‘key risks' that mean it may need exceptional financial support from the Government. |
Government green lights Plymouth financial support
25/03/2025 The Government has green lighted Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) worth £72m for Plymouth City Council following a review of its finances. |
Council chiefs warn Chancellor of ‘devastating’ financial pressures
24/03/2025 Nearly three quarters of local authorities in England have warned it will be very or fairly difficult to set a balanced budget this financial year. |
SEND deficits ‘ticking’ clock, CCN warns
20/03/2025 Council leaders have warned ‘unmanageable’ special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficits risk bankrupting half of England’s largest councils. |
Overstretched finances threaten 1.5m housebuilding target
20/03/2025 The pressure on social housing finances at the local level could undermine the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million houses this parliament, LGA warns. |
'Devil in the details' of welfare reform plans, says SIGOMA
19/03/2025 The ‘devil will be in the details' of the Government's proposed reforms to welfare, says SIGOMA leader. |
Spring Statement: No more cash for councils
19/03/2025 The Spring Statement will give a flavour of the financial pressures councils will face after the Spending Review, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says. |
Woking recovery hindered by capacity issues
10/03/2025 Capacity issues are hindering the financial recovery of Woking BC, commissioners have warned. |
CCN: Splitting up social care could cost £500m a year
07/03/2025 The annual cost of splitting up social care services into multiple smaller councils could exceed half a billion pounds, says County Councils' Network (CCN). |
Council chiefs call for £452m for free bus passes
05/03/2025 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to plug the nearly half a billion pound shortfall caused by the funding of free bus passes. |
Shortfall worsens after allocation changes
04/03/2025 Councils are facing an additional £76m shortfall in their temporary accommodation budgets following changes to the allocation of £440m homelessness grant. |
Woking approves ‘business as usual’ budget
04/03/2025 Cash-strapped Woking Borough Council has signed off on a budget aimed at ensuring the council ‘operates within its financial means.’ |
Councils welcome ‘gamechanger’ regeneration funding
03/03/2025 Oldham Council and Rochdale Borough Council have been granted £20m each to support a range of regeneration schemes. |
Council bailouts could ‘create longer-term risk’, warns NAO
27/02/2025 The spending watchdog has called for a ‘whole-system’ approach to fixing local government finance and warned that bailouts could ‘create longer-term risk.’ |
Call to scrap ringfence in homelessness funding
27/02/2025 The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged the Government to scrap a new ringfence within the homelessness prevention grant. |
Parking charges driving people away from high street
25/02/2025 Almost two thirds of drivers are put off visiting their local high street due to parking charges, a new survey has revealed. |
Funding floor for Welsh councils
24/02/2025 Councils in Wales are to see an average funding increase of 4.3%, following the announcement of the Welsh Government's Budget. |
IT woes to cost Birmingham City Council more than £90m
21/02/2025 The failed implementation of Birmingham City Council’s new IT system could cost the taxpayer £90m more than was originally budgeted, auditors have revealed. |
Councils granted £1.5bn in Exceptional Financial Support
20/02/2025 Thirty cash-strapped local authorities have been granted more than £1.5bn in Exceptional Financial Support (EFS). |
Councillor barred from budget vote over unpaid tax
20/02/2025 A borough councillor in Lancashire owes almost £4,000 in council tax, making him unable to vote on the authority’s budget. |
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. |
Hollinrake: Leaders to blame for s114 notices
19/02/2025 Conservative local government spokesperson Kevin Hollinrake has said council leaders are primarily responsible for their authorities having to issue section 114 notices. |
End of statutory override could leave half of councils insolvent
19/02/2025 More than half of unitary and upper tier councils could be unable to balance their books when the statutory override for special needs spending expires, a survey has found. |
Rules change proposed to boost social housing supply
18/02/2025 Changes to financial rules that could unlock funds for council investment in social housing are to be put before ministers. |
'Significant weaknesses' at Cumberland and Dorset
17/02/2025 Cumberland and Dorset councils have both being found to have ‘significant weaknesses' by auditors Grant Thornton. |
Labour awards half of Tories’ ‘unfunded’ culture cash
17/02/2025 Ministers have announced today that £50m will be awarded to a string of culture projects – about half the level of funding promised by the Tories. |
