Potholes: Treating the illness not just the symptom
With the publication of the ALARM survey, chair of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, David Giles, talks to LocalGov about investing in local roads.
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). |
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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. |
Council chiefs back call for funding creatives
04/03/2025 Local government leaders have backed a call to provide more financial support to smaller creative industries which can ‘drive local growth.’ |
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. |
£1.5bn announced for ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods
04/03/2025 Towns across the UK to benefit from a £1.5bn cash boost aimed at reviving high streets, improving local public services, and driving regeneration. |
Wealth fund backs social housing retrofit loans
03/03/2025 The National Wealth Fund (NWF) has announced plans to guarantee £250m of loans to housing associations to support the retrofitting of social housing. |
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 leader: Legally challenging grant axing worthwhile
03/03/2025 North Yorkshire Council's legal action against the Government over a £14m funding cut could cost more than £250,000. |
Report finds fall in provision of long-term care
28/02/2025 Councils provided long-term care to fewer people last year than they did a decade ago, according to a new report. |
London’s high streets get £21m regeneration boost
28/02/2025 London’s high streets are to benefit from £21m additional funding this year aimed at regenerating the capital’s high streets. |
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. |
New funding for local government to tackle digital exclusion
26/02/2025 The Government has announced that new funding will be available to help local and combined authorities to tackle digital exclusion. |
Extra £30m to combat homelessness
26/02/2025 An additional £30m in emergency funding has been allocated to councils in England to help prevent evictions and support rough sleepers. |
Hospices set to benefit from £100m boost
26/02/2025 Hospices across England are set to receive £25m of funding for facility upgrades and refurbishments, the Government has confirmed. |
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. |
Council pledges extra £1m to castle restoration
24/02/2025 Newark and Sherwood District Council has pledged £1m to support the restoration of a historic castle after costs escalate. |
£270m boost for museums and galleries branded ‘sticking plaster’
21/02/2025 The announcement of £270m for museums and galleries is welcome but still just a ‘sticking plaster’ to cover a lack of funding, council chiefs say. |
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). |
Lack of asylum funding snag for reorganisation
20/02/2025 Funding for asylum seeker support has emerged as a sticking point in Kent's reorganisation plans. |
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. |
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. |
Funding boost helps council avoid cuts
18/02/2025 Coventry City Council has dropped proposed cuts to charity-run adult services, street cleaning and council tax support due to an increase in funding. |
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. |
£300m active travel funding allocated
14/02/2025 The Government has confirmed £291m for active travel over the next two years as well as reforms to Active Travel England's (ATE) local funding model. |
Rayner announces £350m affordable housing boost
12/02/2025 An extra £350m will be invested to boost the number of affordable homes and more will be done to stop rogue landlords getting benefits, the deputy PM says. |
Spending Review chance to end ‘permacrisis’
11/02/2025 The Spending Review is a chance to end the ‘permacrisis’ that has left a growing number of local authorities on the brink of bankruptcy, London Councils says. |
Council funding gap 'unbridgeable'
11/02/2025 The Treasury has come under fire from peers for adding to councils' financial pressures with increased National Insurance contributions. |
Cash-strapped Croydon requests £136m boost
10/02/2025 Croydon Council has requested £136m exceptional financial support from the Government. |
Government increases Public Health Grant by 5.4%
07/02/2025 A £200m boost to public health services has been announced by the Government. |
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. |
Alcohol-related deaths prompt health funding call
06/02/2025 The number of alcohol-related deaths hit record levels in 2023, prompting council chiefs to call for certainty over funding for public health services. |
Flood defence funding boost ‘tip of the iceberg’
05/02/2025 Defra's decision to top up funding for flood defences by £250m raises spending in this area to record levels but is still just ‘tip of the iceberg’, MPs say. |
LGA: Council tax increases no substitute for fixing funding
04/02/2025 Council leaders have warned council tax increases place ‘more financial burden on households’ without fixing the long-term pressures facing local government. |
Trading standards cuts expose millions to danger
03/02/2025 Millions of people are exposed to scams and dangerous products because of understaffed trading standards teams, a freedom of information request has revealed. |
Tax hikes agreed for just six councils
03/02/2025 Councils facing financial woes have been told to scale back council tax rises, just weeks before they put their new budgets in place. |
Children’s Services need support to deal with increasing complexity
03/02/2025 The Government must introduce long-term funding mechanisms for Children’s Services to address increasing complexity and rising demand, a new report says. |
Majority of county councils to hike up council tax
31/01/2025 Nine in ten county councils will have to raise council tax by the maximum permitted, the County Council Network (CCN) has warned. |
Andy Burnham adviser quits after report into £400k grant
30/01/2025 An adviser to Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has resigned following an investigation into a grant from Arts Council England (ACE). |
Council set to make £8.6m in savings
30/01/2025 Blackpool City Council is set to make £8.6m in savings but emphasises there will be no job losses at the current time. |
Bournemouth could borrow £57.5m to cover SEND deficit
30/01/2025 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has proposed borrowing £57.5m to tackle a funding gap for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision. |
New unitary seeks exceptional financial support
30/01/2025 A unitary council that is less than two years old is seeking exceptional financial support from Government. |
‘More work to do’, councillor responds to SEND petition
29/01/2025 Nottinghamshire County Council’s cabinet member for education and SEND, Cllr Ben Bradle, has acknowledged there is ‘more to do’ on SEND provision. |
DCN: Triple drainage board funding
29/01/2025 The District Councils' Network (DCN) has called on the Government to increase its funding to help local authorities struggling to pay drainage board levies. |
Three boroughs seek more than £120m financial support
28/01/2025 Three London boroughs have announced in the past week they are seeking exceptional financial support from the Government. |
‘No desire’ to address short-term homelessness system
24/01/2025 MPs examining the homelessness crisis have warned that there is seemingly ‘no desire to move away from an unsatisfactory short-term system’. |
Councillor threatens legal action over ‘Rayner's rural robbery’
23/01/2025 The deputy leader of North Yorkshire Council has accused the Government of ‘rural robbery’ over a reduction in funding and raised the spectre of legal action. |
Council commits £6.2m per year to long-term mental health funding
23/01/2025 Oxfordshire County Council has committed £6.2m each year for the next 10 years to a pooled budget for mental health services. |
Rough sleeping emergency fund boosted by £20m
20/01/2025 The Government today announced it was tripling the emergency funding available for rough sleepers this winter. |
Lancashire set to spend £14m on repairs at 61 schools
16/01/2025 Lancashire County Council has set out plans to spend a government grant on ‘urgent’ repairs at 61 schools. |
PAC: ‘Unviable’ SEND system pushing councils towards bankruptcy
15/01/2025 Almost half of all councils in England are in danger of effective bankruptcy within 15 months due in part to the ‘failing’ SEND system, MPs warn. |
Social care cannot wait for 2028 reform, report warns
14/01/2025 Social care is on the brink of collapse and cannot wait for Government reform in 2028, a report has warned. |
Special educational needs statutory override is 'abomination'
10/01/2025 Accountancy alone will not be enough to end the ‘abomination' of statutory overrides for special educational needs (SEN) budgets, a minister has said. |
Social care reform requires 'political courage'
09/01/2025 The Government's three-year timetable for reforming social care has been labelled ‘completely unnecessary' by Sir Andrew Dilnot. |
Schools face ‘death by a thousand cuts’, union says
08/01/2025 Headteachers have warned that schools and colleges will be forced to make cuts if costs continue to outstrip the growth in school funding. |
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. |
Local Welsh treasures receive £2m boost
24/12/2024 Over £2m will be awarded to seven local places in Wales including music venues and community and leisure centres. |
Starmer 'acutely aware' of SEND risk
23/12/2024 Starmer is ‘acutely aware' that demand and market failure across special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services are pushing councils to the brink. |
EXCLUSIVE: Public back council funding hike
23/12/2024 Two out of three people back calls to increase local government funding, a survey has found. |
GLA developer stuggles with £300m debt
23/12/2024 Auditors have warned a developer owned by the Greater London Authority (GLA) may require a rescue package. |
Quarter of extra pothole cash to be held back
20/12/2024 Ministers have confirmed an extra £500m for local road maintenance in England next year, but a quarter of the cash will be held back on the basis of an incentive process that has yet to be worked out. |
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. |
£2bn finance settlement boost announced
18/12/2024 Councils in England will receive a share of £2bn additional funding next year under the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement announced on Wednesday. |
Councils get £1bn to tackle homelessness
18/12/2024 Local authorities in England will receive the ‘largest ever’ cash injection into homelessness services next year, the Government has announced today. |
Cornwall Council proposes job cuts ahead of Christmas
17/12/2024 More than 100 employees at Cornwall Council could be made redundant in the run up to Christmas because of ‘chronic underfunding’ by the central government, a trade union has said. |
English councils slash culture spending by 50%
17/12/2024 Spending on culture, heritage and libraries by English councils has been cut by more than half over the last 15 years, according to new research. |
Care sector faces ‘most difficult’ months in years
16/12/2024 Organisations working in social care have warned that without new funding the coming months will be ‘the most difficult we’ve seen in recent years.’ |
4.3% boost for Welsh councils
12/12/2024 Councils will receive £6.1bn from the Welsh Government to spend on delivering key services, increasing core revenue funding by 4.3% next year, ministers have announced. |
State will operate 'more like a start-up'
10/12/2024 The launch of a £100m fund to pioneer public sector reform and deliver the Government's Plan for Change will see the state operate ‘more like a start-up', a minister has pledged. |
Newcastle to auto-enrol pupils for free school meals
10/12/2024 Eligible families in Newcastle will be automatically signed up to receive free school meals, the city council has announced. |
Early years gets £2bn boost
10/12/2024 The early years sector is set to receive a £2bn funding boost next year as the final phase of the mass expansion of free childcare is delivered. |
Devon proposes £21,000 charge for school exclusions
09/12/2024 Devon County Council has put forward plans to charge schools £21,000 for every child they exclude. |
Lack of clarity on reform ‘risks misleading councils’
09/12/2024 A leading financial think-tank has warned that the Government risks ‘misleading’ local authorities if it does not provide more clarity on its plans to reform funding. |
No more safety valve agreements, DfE says
04/12/2024 The Government will not enter any more safety valve agreements with councils that are in deficit on their high needs education budgets. |
Council proposes 15% council tax hike
04/12/2024 North Somerset Council has proposed a 15% rise in council tax and has asked residents if they would donate £1,000. |
DfT takes Network North £8.3bn off the table
02/12/2024 Department for Transport officials have made clear that councils can no longer count on the previous Government’s pledge of an extra £8.3bn for highways. |
Council chiefs in Scotland call for £872m in capital funding
02/12/2024 Local authority leaders in Scotland have called on the Scottish Government to provide councils with £872m in capital funding in 2025/26. |
Funding settlement to target deprivation
28/11/2024 The Government has confirmed it will target council funding more towards areas ‘that need it most' through an increased focus on deprivation. |
Councils 'hamstrung' on net zero
27/11/2024 Councils striving to make their operations net zero by 2030 are being ‘hamstrung by a lack of long-term funding certainty and limited powers', expert warns. |
Scottish councils face ‘catastrophic’ funding issues
27/11/2024 Seven in 10 local authorities in Scotland have warned they will be unable to pass a balanced budget within the next five years without widespread reform. |
Council calls for SEND tribunals to consider safety valve arrangements
27/11/2024 Norfolk CC has called for tribunals handling special educational needs and disabilities appeals to consider if councils are receiving extra financial support. |
Cambs in bid to rescue £49m funding deal
26/11/2024 Cambridgeshire County Council has drawn up a new special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) strategy after failing to meet the terms of a funding agreement with the Government. |
Council ‘being slowly bankrupted’ by social care charges
26/11/2024 Labour MP Jonathan Brash has told the Commons that Hartlepool Borough Council is ‘being slowly bankrupted’ by private children's social care providers. |
Home-to-school transport costs hit £2.3bn
21/11/2024 County council chiefs have called for a ‘system-wide approach’ to tackling escalating home-to-school transport costs. |
Woking's debt hits £2.1bn
21/11/2024 Woking BC's commissioners have revealed its ‘spiral of debt' has reached £2.1bn and further intervention is needed. |
Call for ‘courage’ to fix council finances
21/11/2024 A think-tank has urged the Government to show ‘political courage’ in reforming the local government finance system in next spring’s comprehensive spending review. |
Whitby town hall renovation to get £126k boost
19/11/2024 North Yorkshire councillors are set to green light £126,000 to address a budget shortfall for the renovation of Whitby's Old Town Hall. |
Haigh: Bus services to get £1bn boost
18/11/2024 Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has announced nearly £1bn in funding for bus services across the UK. |
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.
