CCN: Two-thirds of council budgets spent on care
18/03/2024 Council chiefs have called for an ‘honest discussion’ about services as new research reveals local authorities spend two-thirds of their budgets on care. |
Adult social care receives £20m boost
15/03/2024 The struggling adult social care system is set to benefit from a £20m boost, the Government announced today. |
Adult social care requests hit record high
13/03/2024 The number of new requests for adult social care support have hit an unprecedented two million, a health and social care charity has revealed. |
The elephant in the budget
12/03/2024 The budget provided support to strengthen growth, but bolder action is required to tackle finances, says Amanda Kelly, local government lead at PA Consulting. |
Combined authority set to approve £45m transport scheme
12/03/2024 A multi-million-pound transport scheme is set to transform the centres of Harrogate, Selby and Skipton. |
Budget: West Midlands to get £15m culture funding boost
06/03/2024 West Midlands Combined Authority is to get a £15m boost in funding for culture, heritage and investment projects in the region, the chancellor has announced. |
Budget: Household Support Fund extended
06/03/2024 A scheme aimed at supporting the most vulnerable households will be extended for another six months, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced in the Budget. |
Brum members approve £300m of cuts
06/03/2024 Councillors at Birmingham City Council have signed off on £300m of cuts over two years and dramatic council tax increases. |
Basic efficiency savings all ‘long gone’, Chancellor told
05/03/2024 No more 'basic efficiencies' left to make, leaders tell Chancellor in response to reports he will call for consultants and diversity schemes to be cut. |
Chancellor needs to show compassion to most vulnerable
05/03/2024 Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, leader, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, urges the Chancellor to renew the Household Support Fund. |
Councils in crisis: time to stop the cycle of decline
04/03/2024 Claire Ward, partner and local government sector specialist at Anthony Collins, discusses the state of local government finances ahead of the Spring Budget. |
Less than 20% of levelling up projects completed
04/03/2024 Fewer than a fifth of projects backed by the Government's £3.6bn Towns Fund were on track to be completed by the end of February, FOI requests have revealed. |
Council funding crisis ‘existential’
01/03/2024 Local government’s funding crisis threatens to derail ambitions to level up the north of England, it has been claimed. |
More areas get level four devolution powers
01/03/2024 West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the Liverpool city region will all receive level four devolved powers, local government secretary Michael Gove has announced. |
Majority of northern councils face ‘financial failure’ within five years
01/03/2024 More than half of councils in the north of England are at risk of ‘financial failure’ within the next five years, analysis has found. |
Councils set for £2.5bn in exceptional financial support
29/02/2024 The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has agreed to grant 19 local authorities ‘in principle’ capitalisation directions worth almost £2.5bn. |
£220m boost for homelessness services
28/02/2024 The Government has announced £220m for councils to prevent families from becoming homeless and provide support for people sleeping rough. |
Eastbourne BC to vote on declaring housing emergency
28/02/2024 Eastbourne BC, the local authority behind a recent Westminster summit on the temporary-accommodation crisis, will today vote on declaring a housing emergency. |
Twenty-four mental health hubs announced
28/02/2024 Twenty-four early support hubs are set to be rolled out in local communities across the country to provide mental health support for young people. |
Councils should be given more flexibility over fund, says LGA
27/02/2024 Councils should be given more flexibility over funding, a senior councillor has said in the aftermath of reallocated funding from HS2. |
Durham secures £6m to tackle homelessness
27/02/2024 Durham County Council has successfully secured over £6m in funding to tackle homelessness. |
£4.7bn local transport cash to support 'smaller cities and towns'
26/02/2024 Local authorities in the North and Midlands have been given a capital boost under a £4.7bn Local Transport Fund, and have a year to prepare plans. |
Stoke-on-Trent warns services may be ‘stripped to the bone’
26/02/2024 Stoke-on-Trent City Council has warned its budget plans rest on a bid to secure an extra £42.2m in Government funding. |
EXCLUSIVE: Councils offered second chance to claim housing cash
22/02/2024 Civil servants have issued a last-minute invitation for councils to claim cash from a fund that has suffered from poor take up by local authorities. |
Council chiefs call for review of Ukrainian refugee scheme
19/02/2024 Council leaders have called for an urgent review of funding for Ukrainian refugees as 9,000 have reported as homeless and more need longer-term support. |
Two thirds of councils expect to miss waste reform deadline
15/02/2024 Councils have urged Government to reconsider its ‘unrealistic’ waste reform deadline after research found authorities face shortfalls to fund the changes. |
Khan pledges £15m for domestic abuse services
14/02/2024 Projects that support survivors of domestic abuse in the capital will receive an extra £15m, the major of London has announced. |
Scottish council chiefs call for £45m uplift guarantee
12/02/2024 Leaders in Scotland have called for a guarantee the £45m Barnett consequentials from a £600m increase to the English finance settlement will be passed on. |
Drug-related deaths up by 80%
09/02/2024 Financial uncertainty is undermining local efforts to battle drug addiction, council chiefs warn as report finds drug-related deaths are up 80% over a decade. |
Nearly 120 RAAC-affected school buildings to be rebuilt
09/02/2024 Nearly 120 school buildings containing dangerous concrete will be rebuilt or refurbished, the Government has confirmed. |
Welsh government announces £25m for councils
07/02/2024 The Welsh government has announced an additional £25m to support cash-strapped local authorities in 2024-25. |
Medway requests emergency £14.6m loan
06/02/2024 Medway Council has asked the Government for an emergency loan of £14.6m to help the struggling local authority avoid effective bankruptcy. |
Dover issues s114 warning over funding withdrawal
05/02/2024 A council could be at risk of issuing a section 114 notice if it is left to shoulder the costs of port biosecurity checks. |
Gove sheds light on productivity plans
05/02/2024 Michael Gove has released further details of the Government's productivity plans, including a clampdown on consultants and diversity schemes. |
Household Support Fund doubt leaving councils ‘in limbo’
05/02/2024 Councils have urged the Government to commit to extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) at a time of ‘record demand’. |
£90m announced from shaved-back youth fund
02/02/2024 A further £90m in grant funding will be allocated to youth services from a scaled-back fund worth ‘over £300m’. |
Hants seeks to avoid cost risk on £125m scheme
02/02/2024 Hampshire County Council is facing a funding gap on the A326 North Waterside Improvements scheme, if cost increases go beyond a current estimate of £125m. |
Council to consider levelling up fund judicial review
30/01/2024 Durham County Council will consider seeking a judicial review into how the Government allocated levelling up funding after the authority spent £1.2m on failed bids. |
Council leaders demand right to set tax levels
26/01/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have renewed their fight to set their own council taxes – despite the pledge of a freeze by first minister Humza Yousaf. |
Havering warns of S114 after ‘minuscule’ funding boost
26/01/2024 Havering Council will be forced to declare effective bankruptcy ‘by the end of February’ if the Government fails to provide more funding, leader warns. |
Council leaders cautiously welcome £600m boost
24/01/2024 Council leaders have welcomed the announcement of a £500m boost to social care budgets but caution they still face ‘difficult decisions’. |
Councils set to receive £500m boost
24/01/2024 The Government is expected to announce an extra £500m in funding as part of the 2024-25 local government finance settlement. |
Homelessness costs could spell ‘end of local government’
24/01/2024 The increasing cost of homelessness could lead to more councils declaring effective bankruptcy and the ‘end of local government’, council leaders warn. |
Report calls for more devolution to boost creative industries
23/01/2024 The further devolution of powers and funding connected to culture will help tackle economic stagnation and will boost to local communities, study finds. |
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. |
Underfunding of planning teams barrier to growth
22/01/2024 Nine out of 10 SME home builders have warned that underfunded local authority planning departments are hindering the construction of new housing. |
Conservative MPs call for emergency funding for councils
22/01/2024 MPs representing county areas have called on the Government to provide emergency funding to cash-strapped councils to prevent further cuts to local services. |
Middlesbrough council leaders vote to apply for £15m bailout
18/01/2024 Council leaders at Middlesbrough Council have voted unanimously to apply for a £15m bailout from the Government to avoid effective bankruptcy. |
Cash-strapped councils struggling to reunite families
17/01/2024 Children in care are unable to reunite with their families due to the financial pressures local authorities are currently facing, survey of councils reveals. |
MPs criticise ‘glacial’ progress of levelling up projects
16/01/2024 Mandarins from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities faced the Public Accounts Committee. |
Care providers closing due to ‘perilous’ environment
16/01/2024 Social care services are facing a situation that is ‘more perilous than ever’ with 43% of providers closing services or handing back contracts, study reveals. |
Notts council seeks ‘exceptional financial support’
16/01/2024 Nottingham City Council has joined the list of local authorities who have requested ‘exceptional financial support’ from the Government. |
Combined authority approves £600,000 for athletics championship
15/01/2024 The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has approved an extra £600,000 to go towards the cost of hosting the 2026 European Athletics Championships (EAC). |
New £1.5m package to support school leaders launched
15/01/2024 The Government has announced a new £1.5m package to help support the mental health and wellbeing of school and college leaders. |
Thurrock avoids 10% council tax hike
12/01/2024 Cash-strapped Thurrock Council has pledged residents will not face a 10% council tax rise – but still needs to confirm how much extra they must pay. |
Councils lobby for extra support ahead of final finance settlement
12/01/2024 Councils have begun 2024 by urgently lobbying Whitehall over extra financial support amid widespread concern the provisional finance settlement falls far short of what’s needed. |
2024: an epochal year of change and transition
12/01/2024 Jonathan Werran, chief executive, Localis looks at what is coming down the tracks for local government in the year ahead. |
DWP fails to commit to continuing Household Support Fund
08/01/2024 The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has failed to commit to making the Household Support Fund (HSF) available to councils in 2024-25. |
Fears over digital switchover costs
08/01/2024 Councils face multi-million pound bills as a result of the digital switchover of the telephone system. |
Council finances ‘worsened’ since finance settlement
08/01/2024 The financial position of local authorities in urban areas has ‘worsened’ since the finance settlement last month, warns local government campaign group. |
Government launches Storm Henk flood fund
08/01/2024 Local authority areas that have been hit by flooding in the wake of Storm Henk are now able to apply for financial support. |
Somerset Council warns of ‘heart-breaking’ cuts
08/01/2024 Public toilets, theatres, and leisure services in Somerset are set to be hit by cuts as the unitary authority attempts to bridge a £100m budget gap. |
Suffolk council potentially facing ‘hundreds of job losses’
05/01/2024 Plans to save Suffolk County Council £11m by restructuring its workforce could result in ‘hundreds of job losses’, Unison has warned. |
Two thirds of Housing Infrastructure Fund left unspent
05/01/2024 Two-thirds of the £4.2bn Housing Infrastructure Fund remains unspent more than six years after its launch, despite the housing shortage, according to reports. |
Nottingham commissioners would 'undermine senior officers'
04/01/2024 Nottingham City Council has urged the Government not to send in commissioners to oversee the running of the authority. |
Welsh minister backs tax reforms
03/01/2024 One of the candidates to become first minister of Wales has backed reform of council tax. |
Scottish budget ‘missed opportunity’ for reform
03/01/2024 The Scottish budget is a ‘missed opportunity’ for delivering on public service reform, local authority leaders in Scotland have told Holyrood. |
Support programme for libraries launched
03/01/2024 A charity representing public libraries has launched a support programme for council library services facing spending cuts. |
'A lot to be done' to improve councils' governance
02/01/2024 There is ‘a lot to be done’ to improve management in failing local authorities, the sector watchdog’s chair has said. |
Council tax freeze to cost £156m
02/01/2024 Scottish councils face a real terms cut of up to £156m next year as a result of the council tax freeze, new research has found. |
Dismay as HS2 funds rerouted to fix potholes in London
21/12/2023 The Government’s decision to redirect HS2 funding to fix potholes in London under the Network North plan has been strongly criticised by Northern leaders. |
London boroughs’ share of HS2 pothole fund confirmed
20/12/2023 Allocations for a £235m funding pot aimed at fixing London’s pothole-strewn roads have been confirmed by the Government. |
Fund to go to town centre 'champions'
19/12/2023 New guidance for the government’s £1.1bn ‘long term plan for towns’ has confirmed the boards in charge of spending the cash should be led by a local independent chair who will act as a ‘champion’ for the town. |
Nottingham holds public event to discuss cuts
18/12/2023 Nottingham City Council has announced it will be holding a public event this week to give residents more details on its financial difficulties. |
Council funding to increase 6.5%
18/12/2023 Local authorities are set to see their funding increase by 6.5% as the Government attempts to prevent more councils from declaring effective bankruptcy. |
Bradford warns of possible s114
15/12/2023 Bradford Council has warned that it will have to issue an s114 notice, effectively declaring bankruptcy, unless the Government provides ‘exceptional’ support. |
Urban councils warn of S114 ‘surge’
14/12/2023 Local authority leaders have warned the PM that the new year could see a ‘surge’ of effective bankruptcies unless there is a last-minute intervention. |
£80m to regenerate brownfield sites now available
12/12/2023 Up to £80m is now available for local authorities across England to deliver thousands of new homes on brownfield sites. |
Live Labs Centre of Excellence open for business
08/12/2023 An £8.5m Government-funded research project into building and maintaining roads with low-carbon and recycled materials now open for submissions. |
Gov announces £70m charge point pilot
06/12/2023 The Government has launched a £70m pilot scheme to boost the rollout of ultra-rapid electric vehicle charge points in motorway service areas. |
Leeds councillors to discuss axing 750 employees
06/12/2023 Senior councillors in Leeds are set to discuss plans to reduce staffing levels by 750 by the end of the 2024/25 financial year. |
One in five councils report bankruptcy fears
06/12/2023 A poll of council leaders and chief executives has revealed that one in five think it likely that their chief finance officer will need to issue a Section 114. |
Gove announces funding settlement
05/12/2023 Michael Gove has announced the local government finance policy statement, ensuring councils will receive a 3% minimum funding increase before council tax. |
Autistic adults without care entitlement face 'breakdown'
05/12/2023 More than 11,000 autistic adults in England are not receiving the care they are legally entitled to, a group of autism charities has found. |
Brighton’s finances in ‘perilous position’
04/12/2023 Brighton & Hove City Council’s finances are in an ‘extremely perilous position’, the local authority’s leader has warned. |
COSLA ramps up Budget lobbying
04/12/2023 Well-funded councils are the key to unlocking the potential within Scotland’s communities, town hall leaders have claimed ahead of the country’s budget. |
The importance of targeted investment in communities
04/12/2023 Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Sport England, discusses how targeted investment is helping people to get active, and how the strategy can be replicated locally. |
Government axes Brum's £2.7bn PFI deal in shock 'betrayal'
01/12/2023 Birmingham City Council's leader has accused the Government of 'betrayal' by axing the authority's £2.7bn highways Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, in a move that could lose the authority more than £500m of roads investment. |
NCASC: Social care 'doing a good job' getting investment
01/12/2023 Those working in adult social care are ‘already doing a very good job at getting investment and commitments to reform’, government minister Helen Whately says. |
£450k to kick-start library transformation
30/11/2023 A Manchester library has been awarded £453,964 to transform its Grade II Listed building and preserve its historic collections. |
LGA lays bare ‘astronomical’ care costs
29/11/2023 There has been a 1,000% rise over five years in the number of children’s social care placements that cost councils £10,000 or more a week, the Local Government Association (LGA) has found. |
‘Worst October in history’ for pothole breakdowns
27/11/2023 October this year was the worst on record for pothole-related breakdowns, according to the AA Pothole Index. |
How the Autumn Statement failed children’s services
24/11/2023 Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton, chair of Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA), looks at what the Autumn Statement meant for children’s services. |
Autumn Statement: East of England ‘bottom of pile’ for funding
23/11/2023 The East of England has received the smallest share of funding in round three of the Levelling Up Fund, according to local authority leaders from the region. |
Autumn Statement: Lancashire devolution ‘amazing news for county’
23/11/2023 The Lancashire devolution announcement in the Autumn Statement is ‘amazing news for county’, local authority leaders in the region have said. |
Autumn Statement: West Midlands investment zone confirmed
23/11/2023 An investment zone is set to be established in the West Midlands focusing on three sites in Warwickshire, Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, Chancellor confirms. |
Autumn Statement: Councils remain ‘chronically underfunded’
23/11/2023 Support for private renters, devolution, and planning departments is welcome but councils remain ‘chronically underfunded’, council chiefs tell Chancellor. |
Autumn Statement: Level 4 devolution unveiled
22/11/2023 More powers will be offered to areas with a level 3 devolution deal, the Government has announced as part of the Autumn Statement. |
Autumn Statement: Councils to be able to recover planning costs
22/11/2023 Councils will be able to recover the costs of business planning applications in return for being required to meet faster timelines, Chancellor says. |
Councils failing to fix potholes could face funding cuts
22/11/2023 Local authorities who fail to hit road resurfacing targets could see their funding withheld from a national pothole fund. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.