Breaking down England's fiscal devolution plans
David Phillips of the IFS tells LocalGov why England's regional finance reforms are modest by global comparison and what ministers still need to get right.
The return of the lido: Investing in community, health and heritage
26/08/2026 Andrew Clark, Head of Sports and Aquatics at GLL, reflects on GLL’s work with local authorities and community groups in maintaining public lidos. |
Learning from 1972: Getting property right this time
24/08/2026 As LGA gathers pace, David Parrett, Director at Cadaema, warns that failure to plan for council property portfolios could see history repeat itself. |
Devolution's clean air dividend
17/08/2026 Jane Burston of Clean Air Fund argues that tackling air pollution is one of the clearest ways for local leaders to prove devolution can transform lives. |
Controlling Talent Retention: The levers every manager can pull
07/08/2026 In the first instalment of People & Practice, PPMA President Sandra Farquharson sets out five practical levers every manager can pull to help recruitment. |
How resident feedback reshaped EV charging in Blackburn with Darwen
04/08/2026 Blackburn with Darwen Council worked with ACO to redesign cross-pavement EV charging infrastructure to help residents cut charging costs by up to 90%. |
Beyond the Language of Crisis: Fixing social care's workforce problem
29/07/2026 LocalGov talks to ADASS President Phil Holmes about the social care workforce crisis and what the PM's reform plans need to deliver. |
Why perception matters as much as pounds and pence
27/07/2026 How councils perceive vulnerability, not just financial position, shapes whether they fall into a cycle of short-term cuts or build longer-term resilience. |
Parks: Councils' secret weapon, not an easy cut
27/07/2026 Green Flag Award scheme manager Paul Todd tells LocalGov why councils weighing cuts to green spaces are missing the bigger picture. |
Why a national £2 bus fare cap could accelerate bus franchising
23/07/2026 Frank Suttie, Commercial Director at Freeths, examines how PM Andy Burnham's planned £2 national bus fare cap could strengthen the case for bus franchising. |
Why councils should not wait for Westminster to fix social care
22/07/2026 More funding from a new PM won't fix adult social care. Councils need to rethink how they commission care, says Alice Semark, Senior Researcher, Re:State. |
Andy Burnham, make devolution mean devolution!
20/07/2026 As Andy Burnham enters No. 10, Colin Copus argues he should pause local government reorganisation and ask whether Whitehall's shake-up is devolution at all. |
Getting LGR Ready: Fleet lessons from Westmorland and Furness
14/07/2026 Austin Shields, Senior Manager – Fleet Services at Westmorland and Furness Council, shares what he learnt from local government reorganisation in his area. |
The National Year of Reading: Creating New Pathways into Reading
10/07/2026 Rebecca Gediking, Library Services Director for GLL, explains how partnerships between libraries and leisure are creating new pathways into reading. |
Stronger local government starts with fair pay
09/07/2026 UNISON's head of local government on why devolution means nothing without fair pay for council and school staff |
Standards Without Teeth: Why local government's code of conduct is failing
06/07/2026 As the LGA conference kicks off, Kath O'Dwyer, Solace, explains why the standards regime is failing and what a fit-for-purpose system should look like. |
Local government can't deliver without investing in skills
06/07/2026 Local authorities can't deliver the ambitious programmes communities need without properly valuing the people who run them, writes Tessa Neal of APM. |
Devolution and putting place first
29/06/2026 The real lesson of Andy Burnham's Makerfield success, argues Dr Jonathan Carr-West, is that place – not personality – is the key to Britain's future. |
Turning the page on prison libraries
25/06/2026 Emma-Louise McLellan looks at the important – and often life-changing – work GLL has helped facilitiate within prison libraries. |
Fiscal Devolution – has stuff just got real?
25/06/2026 As Andy Burnham prepares to enter Downing Street, Localis' Jonathan Werran asks whether his premiership will unlock tax-raising powers for local government. |
Half a century in the chamber
24/06/2026 Cllr Dr James Walsh was elected to Arun District Council in 1975. Here he tells LocalGov what he's learned about trust, transformation and keeping it local. |
