Councils cautiously welcome £2 bus fare cap
22/07/2026 The Government has announced that single bus fares in England outside London will be capped at £2 from January to December 2027, replacing the £3 cap. |
Council depot visit unveils Norfolk’s bus network improvements
22/07/2026 A visit to First Bus’s Great Yarmouth depot has revealed the rewards of Norfolk County Council and First Bus’s £13.8m investment in the region’s bus services. |
Think tank urges Burnham to learn from past growth policy
22/07/2026 A new report from Localis is urging incoming PM Andy Burnham to draw on lessons from decades of local growth policy as he pursues ‘Manchesterism’. |
Council data prompts call for review of Dangerous Wild Animals Act
22/07/2026 More than 2,200 non-native wild animals are being kept under private ownership in Britain through council-issued licences. |
New Glasgow trail explores city's links to slavery and colonialism
22/07/2026 A new city centre trail has launched in Glasgow, highlighting the city's colonial history and the lasting impact of its role in the transatlantic slave trade. |
Khan launches £58m fund to cut energy bills
22/07/2026 The Mayor of London has announced more than £58m in new funding to improve the energy efficiency of up to 5,000 homes across the capital. |
Reform UK demands PM Burnham devolve control over asylum housing
22/07/2026 Reform UK has written to new PM Andy Burnham demanding local authorities be given the power to block the placement of asylum seekers in their communities. |
Eshalomi appointed MHCLG minister
22/07/2026 Florence Eshalomi has been appointed as a minister at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). |
Dorset Council leader calls for quicker progress on devo deal
21/07/2026 The leader of Dorset Council has appealed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham to urge him to accelerate the approval of a devolution deal for the south west. |
Burnham urged to build new partnership with Northern leaders
21/07/2026 The Great North has called on PM Andy Burnham to build a new partnership with Northern leaders, placing devolution at the heart of national renewal. |
Council chiefs urge Rayner to reset local government reorganisation
21/07/2026 County council leaders have urged newly reappointed Housing Secretary Angela Rayner to reset local government reorganisation (LGR). |
Residents urged to ‘remain vigilant’ amid seizure of counterfeit toys
21/07/2026 North Northamptonshire Council has seized nearly 500 non-compliant toys over the last month, prompting safety warnings about their potential risks. |
West Midlands Mayor urges PM to create Night-Time Economy Minister
21/07/2026 Mayor Richard Parker has called on Andy Burnham to appoint a Minister for the Night-Time Economy, days after the PM created the UK's first AI minister. |
Burnham promises to empower councils as Rayner returns to replace Reed
20/07/2026 Andy Burnham has promised to give councils more powers to tackle problems such as rough sleeping and social care while moving decision-making from Whitehall. |
Campaigners strive to save historic Durham mosaic mural
20/07/2026 Campaigners are working to save a historic mural that could be lost during the demolition of Durham County Hall. |
Oldham Labour offers olive branch to break impasse
20/07/2026 Oldham Council's Labour group has offered ‘greater collaboration' with other parties after the authority's third attempt at electing a leader failed. |
Birmingham Council pays tribute to Ozzy Osbourne’s legacy
20/07/2026 Birmingham City Council is set to host its first Ozzy Day celebrations, which will see music legend Ozzy Osbourne celebrated on the anniversary of his passing. |
Westminster leader calls on Burnham to overhaul London's governance
20/07/2026 The leader of Westminster City Council has written to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to rethink how London is governed. |
MPs warn £21bn housing fund at risk from council shake-up
17/07/2026 Ministers have been urged to draw up plans to protect the £21bn housing fund from disruption caused by local government reorganisation (LGR). |
Expanded cities the winners in reorganisation plans
16/07/2026 The Government has backed expanded city authorities across the country with its announcement on local government reorganisation for remaining two tier areas. |
Think tank warns Burnham must move fast to avoid ‘two-tier England’
16/07/2026 Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham is being urged to accelerate and widen devolution plans or risk entrenching a ‘two-tier England’. |
Concerns raised about councils’ strategic climate policies
15/07/2026 Twenty-eight per cent of local plans still neglect to deliver a strategic climate change policy, research has found. |
Push for reduced speed limits in rural areas
15/07/2026 Active Travel England (ATE) has called on councils to consider 20mph speed limits as part of its new rural design guidance. |
SEND teams hit disproportionately hard by NHS job cuts
15/07/2026 SEND teams have reportedly been hit disproportionately hard by NHS job cuts, despite being central to delivering reform, report warns. |
Call for more planning officers to unlock historic buildings for housing
13/07/2026 Councils chiefs have called for greater investment in planning and conservation officers to help councils bring historic buildings back into use for housing. |
Veteran in line to receive Freedom of the City award
13/07/2026 City of York Council is preparing to present its Freedom of the City award to a Normandy veteran. |
Homelessness set to rise 25% by 2030, report warns Burnham
13/07/2026 A new report has warned prime-minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham that homelessness is set to rise by a quarter, pushing councils ‘closer to bankruptcy’. |
Fifteen towns make shortlist for first-ever UK Town of Culture
10/07/2026 Fifteen towns have made the shortlist for the UK's first Town of Culture competition, chosen from nearly 400 applications submitted from across the country. |
DfE consults on raising SEND funding cap beyond £6,000
10/07/2026 The Government has launched a consultation that could see mainstream schools receive significantly more up-front funding to support pupils with SEND. |
New fund to match council investment in family hubs
10/07/2026 The Government has launched a new initiative that will see council funding for Best Start Family Hubs matched by investment from other investors. |
AI row erupts over Scarborough's 400th birthday deckchairs
10/07/2026 North Yorkshire Council is facing backlash from local artists after AI-generated images were used to create artwork for Scarborough's Giant Deckchair Trail. |
Council calls off climate emergency declaration
10/07/2026 A vote has seen Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council revoke its climate emergency declaration. |
Trafford Council publishes Wharfside regeneration masterplan
10/07/2026 Trafford Council has published its regeneration plan for Trafford Wharfside, a 150-hectare site centred around Manchester United’s proposed new stadium. |
Ketchup Catastrophe: Fly-tipping firm slapped with £17k bill
10/07/2026 A trailer full of tomato ketchup has left a Littlehampton waste company red-faced – and £17,000 lighter. |
Council warns of fake QR code stickers on parking machines
09/07/2026 West Berkshire Council has issued a warning after fake QR code stickers were found on some of its parking machines. |
LGA conference: Change journey 'will never end' in Northamptonshire
09/07/2026 North Northamptonshire Council has offered to help councils embarking on their own reorganisation journey. |
Call for stronger scrutiny of mayors
08/07/2026 Stronger accountability and scrutiny of mayors is needed should they be given greater fiscal powers under an Andy Burnham-led government, think-tank says. |
Polanski calls for end to outsourcing
08/07/2026 It’s time to bring an end to wasteful outsourcing and fix the broken planning system, Green Party leader Zack Polanski told the LGA Conference. |
LGPS urged to back ‘balanced growth’ beyond London
08/07/2026 Local government minister Alison McGovern MP said the LGPS must work closely with England's strategic authorities to deliver ‘balanced growth’. |
LGA Conference: MP warns Burnham not to delay local elections again
08/07/2026 Zoe Franklin MP issued a pointed warning to Andy Burnham at the LGA Conference, warning that Labour cannot use devolution to delay local elections again. |
Councils put aside £20m for local government reorganisation
07/07/2026 Seven local authorities have set aside a total of £20m to support local government reorganisation (LGR). |
Affordable rural housing at risk from planning reforms
07/07/2026 Government proposals to ease affordable housing requirements could result in half of all affordable rural housing being lost, according to the NHF. |
North Warwickshire BC celebrates victory in Bromford Tunnel appeal
03/07/2026 North Warwickshire Borough Council has been vindicated in the Bromford Tunnel dispute after the Court of Appeal found that the environmental effects of the extension should have been assessed. |
Biodiversity rule changes could unlock London homes, think tank says
03/07/2026 Scrapping Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements for London brownfield sites could unlock hundreds of thousands of new homes in the capital, study claims. |
Pubs get green light for late-night England v Mexico match
03/07/2026 Communities Secretary Steve Reed is writing to council leaders to confirm pubs and bars will be allowed to stay open until 5am on Monday for the World Cup. |
Council leaders demand review of ‘MegaShed’ planning law
02/07/2026 The leaders of all three political groups on South Gloucestershire Council have called for urgent reform of historical planning consents. |
Think tank calls for more devolution and digitisation to fix public services
02/07/2026 Decentralising responsibility to local areas while widening access through digital tools should be at the heart of public service reform, ThinkLabour argues. |
Housebuilding falls in half of England's council areas
02/07/2026 New analysis has found that half (51.8%) of local authorities in England are building fewer homes than they were five years ago. |
LGA warning over council intervention metrics
01/07/2026 Analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) has uncovered issues with the proposed methods used to trigger new intervention powers. |
Oxford CC slams Oxfordshire's Thames Valley devolution veto
01/07/2026 Oxford CC has voiced its disappointment after Oxfordshire CC vetoed a devolution deal which it argues could have brought billions in investment. |
Council votes to refuse support for immigration raids
McMahon returns to MHCLG
Council supports clean-up operation for plastic pellet spillage
1.4 million children miss out on free holiday clubs
