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.
Peers pass fire and hire exemption
23/07/2025 Councils with financial problems that are placed under government intervention may be exempt from a ban on sacking and then rehiring employees. |
New social housing criteria to support vulnerable groups
20/06/2025 A change in housing rules is set to improve access to social housing for care leavers under 25 and domestic abuse survivors. |
LGA backs flexible work policies for local authorities
06/06/2025 The Government’s remote attendance announcement is a ‘positive step’ that gives councils greater power, says the LGA. |
Farage declares the two-child benefit cap must end
28/05/2025 Nigel Farage has announced his intentions to abandon the two-child benefit cap, resulting in over £3bn of new spending. |
Biodiversity Net Gain ‘failing to deliver’
06/02/2025 A lack of ambition on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) has left the scheme failing to deliver, according to new research. |
Westminster seeks to ban estate agent boards
07/01/2025 Westminster City Council is seeking to crack down on ‘outdated and unsightly’ estate agent boards outside properties across the borough. |
CCN backs reorganisation
19/12/2024 The chair of the County Councils' Network (CCN), Tim Oliver, has backed radical Government plans to abolish dozens of local authorities by 2027. |
Mandatory housebuilding targets confirmed
12/12/2024 English councils must deliver on an ‘ambitious’ combined target of 370,000 new homes a year, the Government has confirmed. |
Call for clarity on new food waste rules
05/12/2024 English councils still lack clarity on food waste regulations that come into force in just four months’ time, research has found. |
Councils raise concerns over early prisoner release
18/09/2024 Local authorities in some of the most deprived areas have raised concerns about the Government's freeing of hundreds of inmates early. |
NextGov: Devolutionary road
24/06/2024 Jonathan Werran, the chief executive of think-tank Localis, discusses what the next government should do to extend devolution. |
Sir Keir: We need to review voter ID rules
19/06/2024 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has suggested his party would review the policy of mandatory voter ID if elected to govern. |
Inquiry call over asylum hotel use
17/06/2024 A charity has called for a statutory independent inquiry into the use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children. |
Greens to push for council tax revaluation
14/06/2024 Elected Greens will push for a re-evaluation of council tax bands to ‘reflect big changes in value’ since the 1990s, the party has pledged in its manifesto. |
Lib Dem bid to fix care and end council funding crisis
10/06/2024 The Lib Dems have pledged multi-year settlements and a cross-party solution for social care to help end councils’ current funding crisis in their manifesto today. |
LGA pushes ahead with model parental leave policy
06/06/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has agreed to develop a model policy on parental leave for councillors. |
Re-elected Burnham calls for Right to Buy suspension powers
07/05/2024 Greater Manchester’s re-elected mayor has called for powers to suspend Right to Buy on new homes under plans to build 10,000 houses across the region. |
Councils cut back housebuilding plans
03/05/2024 New research has found that 15 local authorities have recently cut the number of homes they intend to build over the next decade by at least 10%. |
Fresh call for Right to Buy restrictions
23/04/2024 Housing experts today called for fresh restrictions on the controversial Right to Buy policy – including a ban on applying it to new builds. |
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. |
Limited exemptions for empty homes powers
11/03/2024 Councils will face only a limited number of exemptions from new powers allowing them to levy higher taxes on empty homes, ministers have confirmed. |
Right to Buy lobbying fails as temporary boost ended
08/03/2024 The Treasury has confirmed councils will no longer keep 100% of Right to Buy (RTB) receipts after the current financial year despite lobbying by the sector. |
Home Office 'chaos' leaves thousands of illegal arrivals in 'perma-backlog'
27/02/2024 The Government’s struggling asylum policy has heaped significant demand on cities’ housing services, experts have warned. |
Government timetable could push councils to issue section 114s
16/02/2024 Government’s timeline for implementing changes to tackle risky borrowing by some councils could end up pushing councils into S114 territory, treasurers warn. |
Wales could drive agenda on council tax, report argues
12/02/2024 Wales could have a chance to deal with unfairness in the council tax system and drive the agenda for other nations and regions to follow, says think-tank. |
Officer warning over street votes
06/02/2024 Council officers have issued a scathing response to plans for street-level planning votes – dismissing the idea as a costly ‘proliferation of polls’. |
Health boost for Housing First residents, research finds
01/02/2024 Housing First – under which homeless people are guaranteed a home while they access support – reduces demand on health and social care services, study finds. |
Local plan review process ‘ineffective’
18/01/2024 Reform is urgently required to improve the local plan review process and increase the number of up-to-date plans, according to new research. |
LGA poised to shift position on Right to Buy
06/12/2023 Smith Square is poised to amend its position on Right to Buy, The MJ has learned. |
Economic pessimism a ‘damning indictment’ of levelling up
20/11/2023 Half of people think Conservative policies would have a negative impact on their local economy over the next five years, a think-tank has found. |
Councils brace as Supreme Court outlaws Rwanda asylum plan
15/11/2023 The Supreme Court has ruled the UK’s controversial proposal to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful – a decision likely to impact local government. |
Local government plays a vital role in the work of House of Lords committees
08/11/2023 Baroness Kate Parminter, chair of the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee, argues that the local government voice is crucial for committees to understand how government policy is impacting communities. |
Council bankruptcies underline the need for good governance
06/11/2023 Penny Rinta-Suksi, partner at law firm Blake Morgan, argues that innovative policies that aim to enable efficient service delivery must be built on the foundations of good governance. |
Labour regeneration plans will fail 'without radical action'
31/10/2023 An incoming Labour government’s regeneration plans will fail without radical action to devolve financial decision-making, researchers have warned. |
Councils 'vital' to social prescribing success
09/10/2023 Children’s charity Barnardo’s has said local authorities are ‘vital’ to the success of social prescribing as it called for a national strategy. |
Screeching U-turn on waste proposals
21/09/2023 The Government has claimed it is scrapping its ‘top-down approach’ on recycling while still ensuring ‘all homes in England recycle the same materials’. |
Local government funding system has 'broken down'
15/08/2023 The funding system for local government has ‘broken down’ and what councils currently receive from Whitehall and council tax barely reflects need, a think-tank has warned. |
'Flawed' climate change advice putting pension funds at risk
27/07/2023 Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds are being put at risk by ‘flawed’ advice on the financial impact of climate change, according to a new study. |
Hancock: Whitehall oversight of care was terrible
27/06/2023 Whitehall oversight of adult social care before Covid-19 was ‘terrible’ and officials had no understanding of whether councils could cope, Matt Hancock admits. |
Progress on devolution 'too slow' - LGA vice-president
16/06/2023 A Local Government Association vice-president has expressed ‘serious concerns about the Government’s increasing desire to centralise local service delivery across England out of Whitehall’. |
Poor pandemic planning criticised
13/06/2023 Public health directors have criticised the Government’s Covid-19 preparedness – warning Whitehall must utilise council expertise to avoid repeat. |
Councils 'not ready' for Met's mental health withdrawal
30/05/2023 Councils are not ready for the consequences of the Metropolitan Police Services’ decision to withdraw from non-emergency mental health callouts, experts warn. |
'Devastating implications' warning over data threat
30/05/2023 A Government threat to suspend council access to DWP data will have ‘devastating implications’ if Whitehall follows through, an expert has warned. |
Council estate demolition should be 'last resort'
26/05/2023 Demolition of council estates should be the ‘last resort’ for local authorities while ‘meaningful’ residents’ ballots must become compulsory, academics say. |
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. |
Labour pledges to revitalise high streets
12/04/2023 Labour will today promote its plan to revitalise ailing high streets through a £700m fund to help small businesses with soaring energy bills. |
Pension changes could ease recruitment pressure
21/03/2023 Changes to the pension rules could ease the pressure on senior recruitment in local government, sector figures have suggested. |
Budget 2023: Hunt to boost mayors' financial autonomy
15/03/2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced the Government will ‘boost mayors’ financial autonomy’ in his Budget. |
Betts demands answers after Treasury clampdown on DLUHC spending
14/03/2023 A senior MP has written to ministers raising concerns about the Treasury’s oversight of Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities capital spending. |
Councils should become primary provider of childcare, survey finds
06/03/2023 Councils should become the primary provider of state-subsidised childcare designed to get parents back to work and boost productivity, a new survey has found. |
Levelling up director appointed amid recruitment uncertainty
17/02/2023 The Government is still ‘reviewing the recruitment process for levelling up directors’ despite appointing an ex-Number 10 official to a role with same title. |
Treasury tightens grip over DLUHC spending
08/02/2023 New capital projects by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) will now have to be approved by the Treasury. |
Anti-social behaviour should be top priority, says report
07/02/2023 Tackling anti-social behaviour must become a central tenet of levelling up if the agenda is to succeed, a think-tank has warned. |
Labour outlines huge devolution push
05/12/2022 Labour proposes removing ‘dead hand of centralisation’ by devolving to local government wide-ranging powers over employment, growth, transport and education. |
Think-tank urges litter and fly-tipping crackdown
07/11/2022 Councils should be required to use outsourced firms if they fail to enforce litter and fly-tipping laws, a think-tank has suggested. |
Devolution not enough to fix governance, say MPs
31/10/2022 Governance in England is not fit for purpose and devolution plans are not enough to fix the problems, MPs have claimed. |
Employers warn against local pay deals
19/07/2022 Councils have been warned against undermining the ‘fundamental integrity’ of national talks by agreeing local deals as pressure grows on pay. |
Government urged to scale up levelling up
18/07/2022 The Government is focusing on the right issues as part of its levelling up agenda but needs to dramatically scale up investment and effort, according to the Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank. |
'Agile working policies' prompt council move
13/07/2022 A post-pandemic office move expected to save a council more than £2m over the next 10 years has been given the green light. |
Minister delays self-funding care reforms
07/07/2022 Residential care self-funders will not be able to ask their council to arrange care for them at the lower local authority rate until April 2025, minister Gillian Keegan has announced. |
North-South self-funding split revealed
07/07/2022 The South East has the highest proportion of self-funders in community care services and the North East the lowest, according to the Office for National Statistics. |
Radical changes needed in children's social care, review urges
23/05/2022 Ministers face a ‘pivotal’ moment in children’s social care, with radical changes needed to stop tens of thousands more youngsters entering the system, an independent review has warned. |
UK comes under pressure to adopt rights charter
26/04/2022 Local leaders will continue to be ‘heavily constrained’ until the UK follows through on its promise to guarantee the rights of local government in law, a sector expert has warned. |
Levelling up plans will fail, IfG report claims
31/03/2022 The Government’s plans for levelling up will not cut regional inequality, a report from the influential Institute for Government (IfG) has claimed. |
Councillors complain of lack of powers
07/03/2022 More than two out of three (68%) councillors in England feel they lack sufficient powers to represent the needs of their communities, a survey today by the Electoral Reform Society campaign group has found. |
Powers warning ahead of new deals
07/12/2021 A new report today warns areas reluctant to accept directly-elected leaders in the next wave of devolution deals may be offered ‘fewer powers and flexibilities’. |
LGA warning over soaring care costs
23/11/2021 Soaring adult and children’s care costs mean councils could ‘soon fail to support everyone they need to,’ town halls have warned. |
Gove warned of climate change floods risk
22/11/2021 Local government secretary Michael Gove was today urged to align UK housing policy with climate change. |
Leaders lay out plans for 'just transition' to net-zero
08/11/2021 Council and combined authority leaders have detailed plans for a ‘just transition’ to net-zero as new research revealed nine million people could be hit economically. |
Think-tank makes call for wellbeing budgets
18/10/2021 The Government should introduce ‘wellbeing budgets’ that look beyond gross domestic product (GDP) to reduce regional health inequalities, a think-tank has urged. |
County areas chase devo dream
17/08/2021 County areas are lining up to strike one of the first tranche of devolution deals. |
Government threatens borrowing cap return
29/07/2021 The Government has threatened to apply statutory borrowing caps on councils that continue to expose themselves to excessive risk. |
Johnson: Bring your devolution plans to me
15/07/2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for local leaders to take their devolution plans to him in a keynote speech from the West Midlands this morning. |
Reed accuses government of dropping devolution
07/07/2021 Shadow communities secretary Steve Reed has accused the Government of dropping its commitment to devolution. |
Queen's Speech: Controversial voter ID plans roll forward
11/05/2021 Voter ID is expected to be introduced by May 2023 after the Government pledged to introduce legislation to ‘ensure the integrity of elections’. |
Devolution White Paper to be replaced by levelling up proposals
04/05/2021 A levelling up White Paper will replace the long-awaited policy document on devolution and local recovery. |
Homelessness charity calls for Home Office rules to be scrapped
21/04/2021 Home Office rules ‘undermine’ efforts to end rough sleeping and should be ‘scrapped immediately,’ a charity has said. |
Councils to be given five years to spend Right to Buy receipts
22/03/2021 Councils will be given five years to spend receipts from Right to Buy sales as part of an overhaul of the key housing policy, local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced. |
Think tank's launches levelling up Big Bang theory
15/02/2021 The Government should launch a Northern Big Bang to ‘unleash a torrent of investment into the Northern economy’ says a report from a Conservative think-tank. |
Crisis call for return of Everyone In
04/11/2020 The chief executive of homelessness charity Crisis has called for ring-fenced funding for councils to provide COVID-safe accommodation for anyone at risk of rough sleeping. |
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Planning proposals will 'disempower' councils
28/09/2020 The Lib Dems have used their autumn conference to warn that the Government’s planning proposals will ‘disempower’ councils. |
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ADASS issues stark warning as White Paper faces further delays
17/09/2020 The social care system risks complete breakdown experts have warned as it emerged that the long-awaited White Paper has been delayed again until next year. |
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LEPs need capacity boost to improve delivery, research finds
07/09/2020 Local enterprise partnerships (LEP) would be better at delivering large-scale capital projects if they had more capacity, independent research for the Government has found. |
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Leader of Northumberland Council is deposed
03/09/2020 The leader of a scandal-hit council compared to North Korea has been deposed after a vote of no confidence at a fiery meeting. |
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Councils facing £2bn budget black hole
18/08/2020 Councils face a budget black hole of £2bn this year due to unfunded coronavirus costs, a new study has found. |
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Better response to pandemic from European councils, says think-tank
16/07/2020 Local government across Europe has been able to react to the coronavirus crisis with greater power and autonomy than in the UK, a report published today has found. |
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Combined authority 'spending reserves like it's going out of fashion'
17/06/2020 Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s chief executive has expressed doubts about whether his region would be able to cope with a second wave of coronavirus infections. |
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Budget 2020: New West Yorkshire mayor announced
11/03/2020 A new directly-elected West Yorkshire mayor has been announced with the Government signing a new devolution deal amid plans to ‘level up’ the UK economy. |
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Will local authorities become airspace planners?
28/01/2020 Chris Gee explains what councils need to consider when creating a drones policy. |
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Medway caves after Ombudsman rap
16/01/2020 Medway Council has finally accepted the recommendations in a Local Government Ombudsman public interest report after a two-year stand-off. |
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Former housing minister warns of ‘a new generation of slum housing’
16/01/2020 A former housing minister has warned that national planning policy needs ‘a radical rethink’ in order to promote the wellbeing of communities. |
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Over 12,000 Blue Badges granted to people with ‘hidden disabilities’
02/01/2020 Thousands of people with hidden disabilities have benefitted from the Government’s extended Blue Badge scheme, new figures reveal. |
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Welfare reform drives ‘sofa surfing’, council chiefs warn
23/12/2019 Council leaders have called on the Government to adapt welfare reforms as research finds changes to the benefits system have been a driver of ‘sofa surfing’. |
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Parish councillors call for childcare support
23/12/2019 Local councillors have urged the new Government to reform rules which prevent them from being able to claim childcare costs. |
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County leaders call for an end to ‘city centric policy obsession’
18/12/2019 Councils have urged the new Government to focus less on cities and to invest more in towns and deprived communities to help level up ‘left-behind’ areas. |
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Oxford CC publishes £19m climate emergency budget
17/12/2019 Oxford City Council has outlined a £19m climate emergency budget to help the authority become a zero carbon council in 2020. |
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All politics is local - and policymaking should be too
05/11/2019 Nadine Smith explains how local governments can achieve real public impact by building relationships based on trust and engaging with citizens to solve some of the complex challenges of local governance. |
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Guidance to help cash-strapped councils deliver policies published
16/10/2019 New guidance cautions local authorities that have been hit hard by austerity against using untested programmes in disadvantaged areas. |
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Javid promises devolution White Paper
30/09/2019 A new White Paper to more powers to local areas was announced in the Chancellor’s speech to the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester today. |
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Core Cities' £28bn Shared Prosperity Fund warning
26/09/2019 The proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) must be worth at least £28bn over seven years if the UK is to deliver its devolved policy objectives, a leading sector body has warned. |
