Pothole Claims: What Councils Need to Know
Councils face growing pothole claims. Georgia Milton of DWF highlights how strong inspections and AI tools can help balance legal duties, budgets and safety.
Scottish Borders props up leisure services provider
22/08/2025 Scottish Borders Council has agreed to provide a £1m loan to its leisure services provider as it grapples with a budget shortfall. |
Dorset Council reveals lower homelessness rates
22/08/2025 Dorset Council’s temporary accommodation (TA) rates have dropped by over half following the launch of ‘successful prevention initiatives’. |
The Unfair Cost of ‘Fairer’ Funding for London
22/08/2025 Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea, warns that the Government’s fairer funding plans could force London councils into cutting services. |
Reform UK mayor accused of ‘breach of trust’
20/08/2025 One of Reform UK’s metro mayors has been accused of a ‘serious breach of trust’ after launching a new website promoting a ‘non-existent’ £1m community fund. |
Funding reforms ‘burden’ taxpayers, CCN warns
19/08/2025 Residents of county and rural regions will face ‘maximum council tax rises’ under the Government’s fair funding reforms, the County Councils Network (CCN) has warned. |
Over £300m Ukrainian refugee funding unspent
19/08/2025 More than £300m given to English councils to help house Ukrainian refugees still sits in council bank accounts, freedom of information (FOI) request reveals. |
Reform-controlled council cuts Pride funding
18/08/2025 The Reform UK leadership of Durham County Council has been accused of ‘promoting division’ after it cut funding for next year's Pride event. |
Councils bite back at food waste recycling rollout plan
14/08/2025 Councils will not be told how much money they will receive to roll out food waste recycling until months before the implementation date, Government admits. |
Nearly £10m digital inclusion fund announced
13/08/2025 Local authorities across the UK could benefit from £9.5m of digital inclusion funding, the Government has announced. |
Councils need more funding and powers to save bus services, MPs say
13/08/2025 More funding and powers should be given to local authorities to better protect and improve declining local bus services, MPs have said. |
EXCLUSIVE: MHCLG tells councils not to use public funds to win unitary argument
12/08/2025 Senior Whitehall mandarins have reminded councils not to use public funds to persuade residents to back their favoured reorganisation proposal. |
Social care services in Wales receive £30m boost
12/08/2025 Local authorities across Wales are set to receive a £30m funding boost from the Welsh Government to strengthen community-based social care services. |
Child protection reforms get £18m boost
08/08/2025 The Government has announced an £18m funding boost to support the roll out of early intervention child protection reforms to councils in England. |
IFS: Fair Funding reforms set to create big ‘winners’ and ‘losers’
07/08/2025 Inner London is set to be the biggest loser ‘by far’ from the Government’s proposed Fair Funding reforms, a the Institute for Fiscal Studies has calculated. |
Local youth services to receive £88m boost
06/08/2025 The Government has launched a youth service support package backed by an £88m investment. |
'Serious issues' over Fair Funding formula
01/08/2025 A key part of the proposed Fair Funding formula must be removed due to ‘serious issues', London Councils has demanded. |
Suffolk CC to launch self-driving vehicle study
29/07/2025 Suffolk County Council has received over £70,000 to fund a study of driverless shuttle services. |
Sunderland invests over £700,000 to support people with learning disabilities
25/07/2025 Sunderland City Council is to allocate £724,000 to help people with learning difficulties or autism carry out adaptions to their homes when they are discharged from hospital. |
Councils facing ‘skyrocketing’ service costs, says report
23/07/2025 Councils are expected to spend an estimated £139bn on the delivery of public services this year, says a report. |
PM says 'lots of housing' exists across councils
22/07/2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer has claimed there is ‘lots of housing’ that can be used to provide temporary accommodation across local authorities. |
Councils benefit from £15m boost for nature schemes
18/07/2025 Councils are to receive £15m funding to enrich green areas in towns and cities. |
Councils urged to boost scarce holiday childcare spaces
17/07/2025 Only 9% of councils have sufficient holiday childcare places for at least 75% of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in their area, a survey has revealed. |
LGOF: Will it work?
16/07/2025 Dr Jonathan Carr-West, LGIU, discusses the Local Government Outcomes Framework (LGOF), the latest instalment in the history of local government accountability. |
Government deploys ‘innovation squads’ in £100m pilot
16/07/2025 Ten communities across England are set to be visited by ‘innovation squads’ as part of a £100m pilot to improve local services. |
Councils face pressure to cut back on prevention spending
15/07/2025 Overstretched budgets mean that care leaders have been forced to reduce spending on prevention by more than 10% this year, a new ADASS survey has revealed. |
Councils secure funding for EV charging scheme
14/07/2025 Local authorities are to benefit from a £25m scheme to enable cheaper electric vehicle (EV) charging for those without off-street parking. |
Mayor of London announces £600k high street boost
14/07/2025 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a £600,000 investment to revitalise local high streets in the capital. |
Rollout of £500m fund to support young people
14/07/2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to announce the launch of the Better Futures Fund, a £500m initiative to help reduce youth poverty. |
Councils must support care-experienced young people, says report
11/07/2025 More funding is required to improve early intervention services for children’s social care, says Education Committee. |
Notting Hill Carnival receives vital funding boost
10/07/2025 Councils have delivered almost £1m of extra funding to enable Notting Hill Carnival to take place as planned this year. |
Councils set to benefit from ‘bespoke’ housebuilding support
08/07/2025 A vanguard of 10 councils has been selected to co-design the new Council Housebuilding Support Service (CHoSS). |
Family Hubs to open in every council area
07/07/2025 The Government has announced a plan to open 1,000 Sure Start-inspired Family Hubs by 2028 to help deliver support to parents in every council area in England. |
LGA: Councils have £276bn of untapped potential
04/07/2025 Government support overcoming place-specific barriers to growth could help local authorities unleash £276bn of untapped economic potential, research suggests. |
Rayner: Over £1.5bn of funding pots to be merged
03/07/2025 Over £1.5bn worth of capital funding pots are to be merged to help free councils from ‘needless bureaucracy’, according to deputy PM Angela Rayner. |
NAO: Council capacity issues undermining bus services
27/06/2025 Financial pressures on councils have meant that local bus services have continued to decline despite Government intervention, new report by the NAO has found. |
Call for proactive social care to support pensioners
27/06/2025 Researchers have recommended proactive social care to support pensioners’ ‘right[s] to live and age well’. |
Councillor warns of ‘tidal wave’ of SEND demand
24/06/2025 West Sussex County Council has warned it is facing a ‘tidal wave of demand’ for services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
School buildings to get £3bn maintenance boost
20/06/2025 Investment in the maintenance of school buildings is set to rise to almost £3bn per year as part of the Government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy. |
Government announces ‘fairer funding’ reforms
20/06/2025 Local government funding will be overhauled to support left behind places, while competitive bidding for funding will be scrapped, Government announced. |
Notting Hill Carnival’s future in question
19/06/2025 The current levels of local government support are not enough to address safety concerns with the Notting Hill Carnival, leaked letter from organiser warns. |
Council confirms funding for school repairs and SEND services
16/06/2025 Kirklees Council has approved a £5.4m investment into local schools, funding repair projects and facilities for pupils with complex needs. |
Funding unlocked for 100,000 new local EV chargepoints
13/06/2025 Government has confirmed a funding boost to support the installation of 100,000 new local electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints. |
Dudley town centres could receive major makeovers
12/06/2025 Dudley council chiefs will next week discuss multi-million-pound improvement proposals for town centre regeneration projects. |
Spending Review: Council leaders warn of tax rises and cuts
12/06/2025 Local authorities will be forced to increase council tax and make further cuts despite ‘positive’ funding commitments in Spending Review, council chiefs say. |
Spending Review: Deprived communities get local growth funding
11/06/2025 Deprived communities set to benefit from local growth funding, reveals Chancellor Reeves. |
Council chiefs demand funding to boost children’s play facilities
10/06/2025 The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for ‘long-term, consistent funding’ to help councils implement the national play strategy. |
The £37,000 SEND Problem
10/06/2025 Natalie Kenneison, COO at Imosphere, argues that the real SEND funding crisis isn’t just about budgets - it’s about the systems behind the decisions. |
Council chiefs call for boost to occupational therapist workforce
09/06/2025 Council leaders have called on the Government to invest in occupational therapists (OTs) to improve health, care, and prevention strategy outcomes. |
SEND system in urgent need of reform, says LGA
09/06/2025 A new report by the Local Government Association (LGA) has called for urgent reform of SEND services. |
Vital bus services plummet in rural areas
09/06/2025 Rural bus services have decreased by 18% since 2019 due to insufficient transport funding in county and rural areas, new research reveals. |
‘Urgent’ call for sustainable homecare funding
06/06/2025 New research reveals local authorities are ‘consistently failing to fund homecare’, with 27% of contracts falling below minimum wage. |
EXCLUSIVE: Ministry admits disabled grant delay
05/06/2025 Councils will not receive their 2025-26 Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding until late June, admits Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. |
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. |
Government announces allocation of £7.6m reorganisation fund
04/06/2025 The Government has revealed how much of the £7.6m grant to support the cost of local government reorganisation each region will receive. |
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. |
Hillingdon considers asylum seeker funding legal action
30/05/2025 Hillingdon Council is considering legal action against the Government after the Home Office refused to provide extra funding to house asylum seekers. |
Councils faced with ‘astronomical’ children’s homes costs
29/05/2025 The number of children’s home placements costing over £500,000 annually has dramatically increased over the last five years, council chiefs warn. |
Highway Maintenance Budgets: The Long View
23/05/2025 Mark Stevens, ADEPT, talks about local authority highway maintenance budgets, looking at how they have been impacted over the years by funding cuts. |
Councils call for support to roll out AI in pothole war
23/05/2025 The use of AI and a preventative approach to road maintenance can help local authorities detect potholes earlier and reduce the repairs backlog, LGA says. |
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. |
Care coalition calls for significant social care funding in Spending Review
22/05/2025 A coalition of stakeholders has called for significant investment in social care in the Spending Review on 11 June. |
Short-term funding threatens household support scheme
21/05/2025 The effectiveness of the Household Support Fund has been undermined by ‘chaotic and declining’ funding, according to a think tank. |
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. |
London boroughs face £264m council housing cuts
15/05/2025 London boroughs will need to reduce spending on social housing by £264m over three years to avoid the collapse of their council housing finances, report warns. |
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. |
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. |
Trading standards teams struggle due to inadequate funding
07/05/2025 Nineteen local authorities failed to carry out standard inspections of businesses last year due to a lack of funding and resources, according to new research. |
MPs warn of the cost of inaction on social care reform
06/05/2025 MPs have urged the Government to measure the cost of inaction on social care and warned that failing to do so would mean reforms are ‘doomed to failure’. |
Councils struggling to cover animal welfare costs
30/04/2025 Local authority efforts to enforce animal welfare legislation are undermined by cost restraints, according to a report by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI). |
Urgent need for teacher training amidst schools crisis
29/04/2025 The Government should provide £260m to fund a new 'national entitlement' to teacher training to help raise school standards, think tank says. |
Charity criticises 40% adoption funding cut
16/04/2025 Adoption experts have criticized the Government’s decision to cut funding for therapy for adopted children in England. |
Local transport in Wales gets £110m boost
11/04/2025 The Welsh Government has announced an investment of £110m to boost local transport. |
Early intervention spending down 40%
08/04/2025 Spending on early intervention children's services has plummeted by more than 40% since the onset of austerity, research has found. |
Council urged to take 'more strategic approach' to transformation
08/04/2025 A watchdog has urged Argyll and Bute Council to take a more ‘strategic approach' to transforming services to help close a £29m funding gap. |
Care leaders call for NIC bridging fund
04/04/2025 Care leaders have called for the creation of a ‘bridging’ fund to mitigate the impact of the rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs). |
London’s boroughs call for ‘seat at the table’ in devo settlement
03/04/2025 London’s councils have called for joint decision-making arrangements between the mayor and the capital’s boroughs as part of a new devolution settlement. |
EXCLUSIVE: Sector bodies decline to join legal challenge
03/04/2025 County Councils Network and Rural Services Network will not financially support legal action over axing of the £100m rural services grant, The MJ understands. |
Temporary accommodation crisis ‘utterly shameful’, MPs say
03/04/2025 Council chiefs have urged the Government to increase the temporary accommodation subsidy as MPs warn homeless children are living in ‘appalling conditions’. |
One-year £28m 'capacity and capability' grant allocated
01/04/2025 The Department for Transport has announced allocations from a one-year grant of around £28m to enable local transport authorities to build 'capacity'. |
Flood defences get £2.65bn boost
31/03/2025 The Government has announced an investment of £2.65bn over two years to improve flood protection in local areas. |
Croydon woman breaks back after care funding cut
28/03/2025 A woman in Croydon sustained a serious back injury using an NHS bed turning aid after the local authority cut funding for her night-time care. |
Schools for pupils with SEND short by 8k places
28/03/2025 Department for Education figures have revealed that the shortage of places in special schools for secondary pupils in England worsened by 25% in 2023/24. |
Trading standards services get £10m boost
26/03/2025 The Government has announced an investment of £10m to help improve trading standards services across England. |
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. |
Affordable housing gets £2bn funding boost
25/03/2025 The Government has announced £2bn in funding aimed at delivering up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes. |
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. |
Great British Energy announces £10m for metro mayors
24/03/2025 Metro mayors are set to benefit from a £10m funding boost from Great British Energy aimed at supporting the delivery of new clean energy projects. |
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. |
PM tells councils to ‘get on with the job’ of fixing potholes
24/03/2025 Councils will be required to publish progress reports on what they are doing to tackle potholes if they are to access £1.6bn of highway maintenance funding. |
British Library’s £1.1bn expansion finds a backer
20/03/2025 The British Library’s £1.1bn expansion plans have received a significant boost after securing the backing of Japanese developer Mitsui Fudosan. |
School absences up two-thirds since before pandemic
18/03/2025 Absences and suspensions from school are two-thirds higher than before the pandemic, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). |
Potholes: Treating the illness not just the symptom
17/03/2025 With the publication of the ALARM survey, chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, David Giles, talks to LocalGov about investing in local roads. |
ALARM: Pothole repairs backlog hits £17bn
17/03/2025 Council chiefs have repeated their call for long-term funding for road maintenance as the ALARM survey reveals the pothole repairs backlog has reached £17bn. |
Think tanks calls for doubling of mayoral capacity fund
14/03/2025 A think tank has urged the Government to commit to doubling the mayoral capacity fund to help strengthen capacity and accountability in combined authorities. |
Childcare providers warn of cuts to funded places
13/03/2025 Nurseries, preschools and childminders face a ‘perfect storm of challenges’ amid the expansion of the Government's funded childcare scheme, survey reveals. |
Prevention services 'at risk'
12/03/2025 Prevention services are ‘at risk' because of rising social care spending, a local government leader has warned. |
Council approves £2.5m Rose sculptures
06/03/2025 Barnsley Council has approved £2.5m of funding for three Yorkshire Rose sculptures in the town centre. |
DfT throws Norfolk – and Shropshire – a lifeline
05/03/2025 The Department for Transport (DfT) has said it will not ask Norfolk County Council to return £33m funding towards its shelved £274m link road. |
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. |
Zurich calls for more cash to improve local road safety
04/03/2025 A major council insurer has called for increased funding for local authority road maintenance and more flexibility when spending it. |
