VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Union launches Fair Funding campaign to save council jobs
19/05/2025 Unite has launched a campaign calling for an overhaul of how local authorities are funded to prevent further bankruptcies and job and public service cuts. |
Hunger costs put severe strain on public services
29/04/2025 Public services are under £13.7bn worth of pressure due to the Government’s negligence in addressing hunger and hardship, according to anti-poverty charity. |
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. |
Rayner to launch public sector rewire White Paper
16/12/2024 Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will kick off a huge rewiring of public service reform with the launch of the devolution White Paper in Leeds later today. |
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. |
Six tips to improve public services in the UK
15/07/2024 From social care and schools to bins and the criminal justice system, public services touch the lives of everyone. Here are six tips for improving them. |
Poll reveals support for tax increases to boost public services
01/07/2024 More than half of UK households support investment in public services even if it means they are taxed more, according to new analysis. |
General Election: Public services must be ‘centre’ of party manifestos
22/05/2024 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a general election at what local authority leaders have described as a ‘pivotal time’ for the country. |
Scotland’s public services ‘crumbling’
19/02/2024 Scots have observed worsening poverty and public services are failing to address social problem, according to a new report. |
Scottish budget ‘missed opportunity’ for reform
03/01/2024 The Scottish budget is a ‘missed opportunity’ for delivering on public service reform, local authority leaders in Scotland have told Holyrood. |
Public services ‘in a dire state’
31/10/2023 No public services are performing better than before the pandemic and satisfaction with councils has dropped, a report has found. |
Public support more focus on poor health causes
02/10/2023 The Government should invest more in public health to address the roots of poor health, according to a poll for the charity Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). |
£80m bus funding confirmed
29/09/2023 The Government has confirmed the funding allocations of £80m to support local authorities’ bus service improvement plans (BSIPs) in 2024-25. |
Council leaders create roadmap for a Starmer government
26/09/2023 A plan for a future Labour administration to ‘reform public services and rebuild trust’ has been drawn out by local authority leaders. |
Welsh local services at ‘mortal risk’, council chiefs warn
15/09/2023 Local authority leaders in Wales have warned the UK Government that local services could be at ‘mortal risk’ if further funding was not forthcoming. |
Gauke calls for new Office for Spending Evaluation
31/07/2023 Former Treasury minister David Gauke has called for a new Office for Spending Evaluation to prioritise ‘productive’ spending on public services. |
Public sector pay increases do not add to inflation, think tank says
18/07/2023 Increasing pay for public sector workers by 10% would not add much to inflation, according to a new report by the think tank IPPR. |
Seven in 10 support more control over local services
17/07/2023 Nearly 70% of people say they would like their community to have more control over how local services are delivered, a new poll has revealed. |
Bankrupt Woking consults on future of services
12/07/2023 Woking Borough Council has launched a consultation on its discretionary services after it halted all non-essential spending due to unsustainable debts. |
New council to adopt Armed Forces Covenant
01/02/2023 The new North Yorkshire Council is set to pledge its support to members of the Armed Forces and military veterans. |
Gove urged to address ‘inequalities’ affecting GRT community
27/01/2023 Lords committee has asked the Government for more information on how it plans to address inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) people. |
Devon council leader warns of ‘deep cuts’
02/11/2022 Devon County Council’s leader has warned the council will have to make ‘deep cuts’ to the county’s local services unless the Government provides more help. |
London councils face £700m funding gap
01/11/2022 Councils in London will be forced to find £700m of savings unless the Government boosts funding for local services in the capital, cross-party group says. |
Chancellor warned local services ‘on a cliff-edge’
01/11/2022 Local authority leaders have urged the PM ahead of the upcoming autumn statement to ensure that councils have the funding necessary to protect services. |
Councils prepare for Queen’s funeral
16/09/2022 Local authorities across the country are set to close council buildings during the Queen’s funeral but many essential services will still take place. |
Library demand surges due to cost of living crisis
09/06/2022 The Government has been told not to ‘take libraries for granted’ as survey reveals the cost of living crisis has increased demand for library services. |
GRT community face ‘shocking’ levels of discrimination
18/05/2022 Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people’s experiences of public services including housing, health and education are marred by discrimination, peers say. |
Councils fighting to keep on top of rights of way maintenance
10/06/2021 Councils fight to keep on top of the maintenance needs of rights of way alongside a backdrop of increased public expectations, place directors have said. |
Welsh ministers call for ‘end of austerity’
30/08/2019 Local government leaders across Wales have joined with ministers to call for an end to austerity. |
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Local government workers deserve thanks
21/06/2019 Civil service workers are under-appreciated and it’s time to change that, says Heather Glanville of Boundless, the membership club for public sector workers. |
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Holyrood passes £42.5bn budget but warns of Brexit recession
22/02/2019 Holyrood has approved the 2019-20 budget which will see billions invested into public services — but warned Brexit could push Scotland into recession. |
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End ‘unnecessary’ homelessness catch-22, watchdog says
18/12/2018 A watchdog has called for an end to the ‘unnecessary catch-22’ where homeless people are unable to access public services because they have no postal address. |
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Code of conduct for private companies ‘urgently’ required, union says
08/02/2018 The Government needs to establish a new code of conduct for the delivery of public services by private companies, says public service union. |
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Whitehall announces nearly £2m for public service mutuals
12/01/2018 The Government has released £1.7m in funding in order to help organisations ‘become or grow’ as public service mutuals. |
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Innovative, inspiring and effective
19/12/2017 Laura Sharman attended a special event at Nottingham Castle to celebrate the winners of the first ever Local Public Ownership Awards. |
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Commission launched to study Brexit impact on public services
24/08/2017 A new commission has been launched tasked with exploring the risks and opportunities of Brexit for public services. |
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Public sector workers work £11bn of unpaid overtime a year, union says
24/07/2017 Two million public sector workers regularly work unpaid overtime, union says in response to chancellor’s suggestion public sector workers are ‘overpaid’. |
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Key policies to make Brexit a success for public services
17/05/2017 Brexit should be an opportunity to devolve power to the regions and promote local growth, commission says. |
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Majority of Leavers and Remainers support council-run services
15/05/2017 The majority of Leavers and Remainers would prefer to see more in-house services run by councils, new polling reveals. |
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Cuts are 'dismantling' neighbourhood services, warns report
25/04/2017 Spending on local services such as bin collections, parks, roads and libraries has fallen by £3.1bn between 2010/11 and 2015/16, new research has revealed. |
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Report: Further failure inevitable
26/07/2016 The Government’s ‘superficial’ means of tackling failure in public services is not the solution, a new report has claimed. |
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New e-book ‘tribute’ to dedication of public sector workers
15/07/2016 An new online publication aims to show the best of what people in local government do in their everyday work. |
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London borough signs new civil enforcement contract
21/03/2016 The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has extended its parking and civil enforcement contract with NSL in a deal worth £65m. |
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Report: Millions of complaints about poor public services go unreported
26/02/2016 Around 15 million people who experienced poor public services in the last two years did not register an official complaint, a study has found. |
