Building Healthier Communities: The Case for Investing in Public Health
Explore how targeted, community-based public health strategies can improve lives, reduce NHS pressure, and deliver cost savings for local authorities.
Councils to agree targets to boost school readiness
04/07/2025 Education Secretary Bridget Philipson is set to announce the Government’s aims to help close the ‘disadvantage gap’ in schools. |
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-minister gets role on strategic authority improvement board
30/06/2025 Former Tory minister Dame Amanda Milling is expected to be appointed to a new board tasked with helping ‘reset' troubled Tees Valley combined authority. |
Minister suggests commissioners needed for Croydon
13/06/2025 Minister Jim McMahon has suggested escalating Croydon LBC’s statutory intervention to a commissioner-led model to ensure it can ‘achieve sustained change at the pace needed’. |
Liverpool CC praised for ‘substantial’ progress
08/04/2025 Liverpool City Council has further to go on its improvement journey but has ‘made significant and substantial’ progress, according to an improvement board. |
Woking recovery hindered by capacity issues
10/03/2025 Capacity issues are hindering the financial recovery of Woking BC, commissioners have warned. |
Peer warning over councillor financial understanding
04/02/2025 Not all 39 councillors at a Nottinghamshire council are fully getting to grips with the financial challenges for the local authority, peer review has warned. |
Counties delay peer challenges
06/11/2024 English county councils appear to be putting off inviting peer challenges from the Local Government Association (LGA) ahead of next year's elections. |
Labour plan to reduce delayed discharges
20/06/2024 Labour is reportedly planning to buy thousands of beds in care homes in an effort to reduce the problem of delayed discharges in hospitals. |
LGA to review new assurance resource
20/05/2024 An improvement and assurance framework will be reviewed by Local Government Association (LGA) members ahead of publication as a new resource for the sector. |
SEND improvement notice for Wirral Council
15/05/2024 Wirral Council has been issued with an improvement notice due to ‘poor progress’ across the special educational needs and disability (SEND) sector. |
Council to announce chief after capacity criticism
15/04/2024 East Devon DC is hoping to announce its new chief executive early next month after peers said senior level capacity was currently ‘limited’. |
Auditors concerned by slow transformation
27/03/2024 Scotland’s Accounts Commission is ‘extremely concerned’ by slow transformation at Moray Council, which faces a £31m deficit despite years of warnings. |
Officer-councillor tensions affecting outcomes, review finds
20/03/2024 Tensions between Teignbridge DC’s executive and senior leadership team are ‘inhibiting progress and damaging the council’s reputation,’ review warns. |
Four-day week council decision 'disappointing and arrogant'
14/03/2024 South Cambridgeshire DC’s decision to continue with its four-day week is ‘disappointing and arrogant,’ local government minister Simon Hoare has said. |
Two-year Sandwell intervention to end
07/03/2024 Local government minister Simon Hoare has today confirmed that Whitehall’s two-year intervention at Sandwell Council will end. |
'Culture of mistrust' found at Newham
04/03/2024 Newham LBC’s chief executive has vowed to tackle the ‘culture of mistrust’ among politicians and officers laid bare by a critical peer review. |
Bradford issued Best Value Notice
01/03/2024 The Government has issued a Best Value Notice to City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council over concerns about its financial resilience and children’s services. |
LGA 'strengthens' peer challenge but still won't name and shame resistant councils
01/03/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched its ‘strengthened’ corporate peer challenge (CPC) to help neutralise the threat from Oflog. |
Birmingham 'worse' than commissioners feared
22/02/2024 The situation in Birmingham City Council is worse than commissioners expected, a report to the secretary of state has claimed. |
LGA moves towards performance support role
14/02/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) is to take a more proactive role as it seeks to do more to prevent Whitehall intervention in councils, The MJ understands. |
Statutory recommendations lifted at Sandwell
08/02/2024 Auditors have lifted the three statutory recommendations in place at Sandwell MBC. |
Dudley's sustainability 'in jeopardy'
11/12/2023 Dudley MBC has set up an improvement board following stark warnings over its finances and governance. |
LGA seeks views on improvement framework
28/11/2023 The LGA has called on those working in or with local government to provide feedback on how the improvement and assurance framework can be improved. |
Councils hit by improvement notices
20/11/2023 Oldham MBC and Oxfordshire CC have received improvement notices for their services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
Brum commissioners warn council will need further help to agree lawful budget
09/11/2023 Commissioners at Birmingham City Council have warned it will struggle to agree a lawful budget next year without further help. |
Home upgrades drop off in north east
17/10/2023 The number of government-funded projects to upgrade cold and draughty homes in north east England has significantly reduced, according to climate change charity Ashden. |
Croydon improvement panel details exit strategy
17/10/2023 Croydon LBC’s Government-appointed improvement panel has outlined a timetable for withdrawing from the authority amid ‘strong progress’ in fixing its finances. |
Southampton launches improvement board
03/10/2023 Southampton City Council has formed its own voluntary improvement board as it battles budgetary pressures. |
Liverpool looks to significantly improve services
22/09/2023 Liverpool City Council has set out a four-year plan to significantly improve the quality of services in the face of ‘complex’ issues. |
Brum braced for Government intervention
12/09/2023 Birmingham City Council is braced for a wide-ranging Government intervention to help rescue the authority’s bleak finances, and improve political and officer leadership. |
Birmingham issues section 114 notice
05/09/2023 The UK’s biggest local authority, Birmingham City Council, has issued a section 114 notice in the face of crippling financial problems. |
Scandal-hit firm reports losses
14/08/2023 A firm at the centre of a residential care abuse scandal has reported operating losses of £5.8m for the year to June 2022. |
Peterborough City Council issued with improvement notice
04/08/2023 Peterborough City Council has been issued with an improvement notice following an Ofsted report that raised concerns about the council's children’s services. |
EXCLUSIVE: LGA stance on corporate peer challenges starts to shift
31/07/2023 Elements of the LGA are privately moving towards accepting that corporate peer challenges should be put on a statutory footing, The MJ understands. |
Hastings' financial controls 'not fully developed'
31/07/2023 Senior Hastings BC councillors will be urged next week to ‘bring in and embed more stringent financial controls and accountability to urgently reduce spending’. |
Liverpool CC praised for complaints handling improvements
27/07/2023 Liverpool City Council has been praised for the improvements it has made in the way it handles complaints. |
Warning Birmingham equal pay bill could rise further
26/07/2023 Birmingham City Council’s mammoth equal pay bill could rise further if it fails to meet a tight deadline to fix the issue. |
Councils look to end children's services partnership
21/07/2023 The strategic partnership for children’s services between Hampshire CC and Isle of Wight Council could end after a decade of work between the two. |
Council urged to address low reserves
12/06/2023 Senior managers at Eastbourne BC must address the council’s low levels of reserves given current cost pressures within sector, an LGA-led review has warned. |
New leader for Brum after Labour ousts Ward
22/05/2023 The national Labour Party has selected Cllr John Cotton as the new leader of Birmingham City Council Labour group after its intervention last week. |
Rowley orders Birmingham finance review over chaotic IT contract
25/04/2023 A Government-imposed governance review of Birmingham City Council has been expanded after massive failures in its accounts IT system emerged. |
Peers' warning over supported housing reforms
24/04/2023 Ministers must avoid forcing high-quality supported housing providers from the market in their rush to tackle rogue landlords, peers have warned. |
Kent receives improvement notice for SEND failings
06/04/2023 An improvement notice has been issued to Kent CC after it failed to turn around its special educational needs and disability (SEND) services. |
Questions over Slough's 'viability'
16/03/2023 The Government has said there are question marks over the ‘viability’ of Slough Council as a unitary as it announced plans for it and Thurrock and Croydon. |
Commisioners praise progress at Liverpool
09/03/2023 Troubled Liverpool City Council is making progress, its commissioners have ruled, but there are still risks. |
LGA to beef up council oversight amid Oflog fears
07/03/2023 The Local Government Association (LGA) today revealed plans to beef up its oversight of councils in an effort to stave off Government interference. |
New SEND plan fails on ‘fundamental’ issues, council chiefs say
02/03/2023 New plan to support children with special educational needs and disabilities fails to address ‘fundamental cost and demand issues’, council chiefs say. |
Peer review calls for statutory officers to meet more
21/02/2023 Stockport MBC statutory officers should meet more regularly, a peer review team has advised the council. |
Commissioner warns children's services could be removed from Sefton
07/02/2023 A Government-appointed commissioner has warned Sefton Council’s children’s services are still in ‘severe difficulties’ and could be removed from local control. |
'Progress falls short' at Nottingham
02/02/2023 Nottingham City Council has been too slow in turning around its finances, according to the team charged with overseeing its recovery. |
Gove scales up Thurrock intervention
24/01/2023 Michael Gove has effectively ordered a full intervention of Thurrock Council amid fresh concerns over the authority’s governance, scrutiny and operating model. |
Section 114 notice issued for Thurrock
20/12/2022 Thurrock Council’s interim director of finance, Jonathan Wilson, has issued a section 114 notice as the authority faces a £470m in-year funding gap. |
Thurrock to switch borrowing to PWLB
05/10/2022 Thurrock BC will reduce its ‘over-reliance’ on borrowing from other councils by taking out £836m of loans from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). |
'Major system failure' hits council
29/09/2022 Hertsmere BC’s online services and phone services have been hit by a ‘major system failure’. |
Nottingham escapes commissioners threat
02/09/2022 Ministers have held back from appointing commissioners at Nottingham City Council, instead deciding to strengthen the powers of its improvement and assurance board. |
Council apologises for child sexual exploitation
13/07/2022 Telford & Wrekin Council has apologised ‘wholeheartedly’ after an inquiry concluded more than 1,000 children were sexually exploited over at least 30 years. |
Commissioners to oversee strategic decisions at Nottingham
23/06/2022 Commissioners are to oversee strategic decisions at Nottingham City Council amid fears of ‘further serious issues’ on the scale that led to a section 114. |
Warning over second s114 at troubled council
08/06/2022 Conservative-run Northumberland Council may be hit by a second section 114, a senior officer has admitted. |
Liverpool reform programme ‘at risk’
04/05/2022 Levelling up secretary Michael Gove has agreed to let commissioners at Liverpool City Council delay their latest report amid their warnings that plans to turn the council around are in the balance. |
Nottingham expected to bring housing back under direct control after probes
27/04/2022 Nottingham City Council is expected to bring its housing back under direct control after two independent probes found ‘underlying issues around governance and finance’. |
Slough given conditions for £300m bailout
08/03/2022 Slough Council will only be considered for a £307m Government bailout to cover its deficits if it proves it can turn itself around financially, the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has warned. |
Trust for children's services at Star Hobson council
25/01/2022 Bradford Council’s children’s services will be transferred to a not-for-profit trust following the tragic death of Star Hobson. |
Oxfordshire councils look to scrap partnership
18/01/2022 Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council have announced they are looking to end their formal partnership. |
Shortcomings revealed in second child murder case
14/12/2021 A second court case in a month has revealed serious shortcomings in how local agencies responded to allegations of abuse shortly before a child’s murder. |
Commissioners sent in to struggling Slough
01/12/2021 The Government has sent commissioners in to struggling Slough BC in a bid to turn round its failing finances. |
Commissioners to monitor Slough improvement plan
26/10/2021 Mismanagement and a dysfunctional culture contributed to Slough Council’s financial meltdown, two Government-ordered reviews have concluded. |
Ombudsman: Care system failing to deliver
28/09/2021 Funding problems rather than individual errors explain a ‘relentless rise’ in the proportion of social care complaints upheld by the local government ombudsman, the watchdog has said. |
Commissioners appointed at Liverpool City Council
10/06/2021 Surrey CC’s chief executive Joanna Killian will be part of the team of independent commissioners who will oversee improvements at Liverpool City Council, local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced today. |
Liverpool puts forward improvement plan
12/05/2021 Liverpool City Council has drafted an improvement plan and letter in response to the Caller report, which called for an intervention in the city. |
Jenrick steps in at 'dysfunctional' Liverpool
24/03/2021 Commissioners will be sent in to Liverpool City Council after an independent inquiry found serious mismanagement and a dysfunctional culture, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has told Parliament. |
New measures to tackle ‘serious failures’ at Nottingham City Council
18/12/2020 An expert panel to help Nottingham City Council improve its ‘appalling financial and management issues’ has been set up by the Government. |
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Ombudsman makes 12% more service improvement recommendations
28/07/2020 Increasing systemic problems identified in residents’ complaints has led to the Local Government Ombudsman making more wider service improvement recommendations to councils than ever before. |
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Council peer reviews go virtual
09/07/2020 Peer support for councils is going virtual to help them deal with recovery and renewal as they emerge from the coronavirus lockdown. |
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IfG: Extend outsourcing reforms to councils
04/03/2020 Government reforms of outsourcing to avoid another Carillion collapse must be extended to local government where commercial skills lag behind Whitehall, a report from the Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank has said. |
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Councils welcome education improvements in Wales
04/12/2019 Council leaders in Wales have welcomed improvements to all areas of the country’s education system. |
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Northants reorganisation stalled amid election
08/11/2019 Plans to reorganise cash-strapped Northamptonshire County Council have stalled amid the general election. |
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Councils save £100m through sector-led improvements
20/08/2019 Councils have saved more than £100m in the past year by using the Local Government Association’s sector-led improvement (SLI) offer. |
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Call for leader to quit after 'repeated failures'
05/06/2019 Shadow local government secretary Andrew Gwynne has called for Northamptonshire CC leader, Matt Golby, to quit after ‘repeated failures’ in the council’s children’s services. |
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'Slow progress' two years after inadequate judgement
24/05/2019 Gloucestershire CC is making ‘slow progress’ in improving its services for its children and young people two years after it was judged inadequate, Ofsted has found. |
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Delay to Northamptonshire reorganisation welcomed
14/05/2019 Council leaders have welcomed the year-long delay to plans to create two new unitaries in Northamptonshire. |
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Brokenshire moves to boost local government accountability
09/05/2019 Brokenshire moves to impose fresh conditions on ‘top slice’ cash |
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Brum improvement team issues final damning judgement and walks away
02/04/2019 Birmingham City Council’s intervention team has issued a final, damning report on the crisis-hit council and walked away – despite admitting its job is not complete. |
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Council makes 'significant progress' after standards issues
01/03/2019 Sandwell MBC has made ‘significant progress’ following an independent review last year. |
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LGA faces financial headache
25/01/2019 Smith Square has acknowledged the financial challenges it faces as it freezes subscriptions while grappling with declining Government grants and a pension scheme deficit. |
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Whitehall demands in-year cuts to improvement programme
19/09/2018 The sector’s ability to respond to crises such as a care provider failure could be hit after Whitehall demanded cuts to a key improvement programme, senior councillors have been warned. |
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LEPs told to improve ahead of EU funding changes
06/09/2018 Fresh concerns have emerged about local enterprise partnerships (LEP) as the Government considers whether to use them to funnel UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) cash. |
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Brokenshire considering new devolution models
10/07/2018 James Brokenshire is considering new models of devolution as he seeks to extend further powers to local areas, the communities secretary has insisted. |
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Northampton unitary plan falls
15/05/2018 The tight timeframe for reorganising local government across Northamptonshire claimed its first victim this week despite ministers’ decision to extend the consultation period. |
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Brokenshire announces Northamptonshire commissioners
09/05/2018 New local government secretary James Brokenshire has today announced the two commissioners appointed to help rescue troubled Northamptonshire CC. |
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Northants to have improvement board
02/05/2018 Northamptonshire CC will establish an improvement board that will work closely with government commissioners to improve the county’s finances and governance ahead of reorganisation. |
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Essex to take lead over Barnet’s ‘inadequate’ children’s services
26/01/2018 Essex County Council has been appointed Barnet’s improvement partner after the latter’s children’s services were rated ‘inadequate’ by inspectors. |
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Inspectors sent in to probe Northamptonshire Council's finances
09/01/2018 Local government secretary Sajid Javid has ordered a best value inspection of Conservative-led Northamptonshire CC amid continuing concerns over its financial management and corporate governance. |
