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.
South Cambs permanently adopts four-day week
18/07/2025 South Cambridgeshire District Council has voted to become the first council in the UK to permanently adopt a four-day week. |
Four-day week trial success, says council
04/07/2025 A report into South Cambridgeshire District Council’s four-day week trial has found most of the monitored services either improved or were maintained. |
EXCLUSIVE: Government turns to councils for extra building inspector capacity
30/06/2025 The Government has turned to councils for extra building inspector capacity as high-rise housing projects continue to be dogged by regulatory hold-ups. |
NAO: Council capacity issues undermining bus services
27/06/2025 Financial pressures on councils have meant that local bus services have continued to decline despite Government intervention, new report by the NAO has found. |
Housing target threatened by planning officer shortage, says UNISON
16/06/2025 The Government’s efforts to boost affordable housing could be derailed if the shortage of planning officers in England is not addressed, UNISON warns. |
Housebuilders call for ‘meaningful action’ on planning staff crisis
05/06/2025 The association representing housebuilders in England and Wales has called on the Government to tackle the staffing shortage in local planning authorities. |
Bristol council considers scrapping Knowledge Test
02/06/2025 Bristol City Council is considering scrapping the city’s Knowledge Test because it presents a ‘significant barrier’ to new taxi drivers. |
What the changes to overseas recruitment mean for the care sector
15/05/2025 Melanie Weatherley MBE, co-chair of the Care Association Alliance, responds to the Government’s decision to end the recruitment of care workers from overseas. |
International recruitment of care workers to end
12/05/2025 The Government is set to end the recruitment of care workers from overseas to bring down the migration figures, but critics call the move a ‘crushing blow’. |
LGA to provide salary grants for planners
12/02/2025 The Local Government Association is offering councils financial support to help boost their planning capacity through the Pathways to Planning initiative. |
Trading standards cuts expose millions to danger
03/02/2025 Millions of people are exposed to scams and dangerous products because of understaffed trading standards teams, a freedom of information request has revealed. |
South East councils on brink of ‘crisis’
04/12/2024 The local government system in the South East of England is on ‘the brink of looming crisis’, according to a think-tank. |
Devolution would help skills 'mismatch' - report
03/12/2024 Government should give local areas greater powers over skills to address the ‘mismatch' of people needed for future industries, Birmingham Uni has urged. |
Councils will need 13,000 new social workers over next decade
27/11/2024 Councils in England will need to hire 13,000 more social workers over the next 10 years amid growing need for the care and support of young people, according to new research. |
Council recruitment drive launches across England
04/11/2024 A national recruitment campaign has launched to encourage people to work for their local council. |
International recruitment boosts social care workforce
10/10/2024 The adult social care workforce has grown thanks to carers from abroad, but sector still faces domestic recruitment and retention challenges, study reveals. |
Scottish councils face critical workforce gaps
05/09/2024 Local authorities in Scotland are facing critical workforce gaps in multiple areas, in particular in social care and social work, a new report has found. |
Fixing care’s recruitment and retention issue
31/07/2024 Ben Weatherall, co-founder and director of Curam, looks at what local authorities can do to fix the care sector’s recruitment and retention issue. |
Care sector needs 540,000 workers by 2040
18/07/2024 The care sector will need 540,000 additional social care posts by 2040 to cope with the aging population, care workforce body Skills for Care estimates. |
Four-day working win
16/07/2024 Cllr Bridget Smith, leader of South Cambs DC, reflects on the results of the council’s four-day week trial and calls on Labour to back the shorter week. |
South Cambs’ four-day week trial shows ‘positive’ results
08/07/2024 A report into South Cambridgeshire DC’s controversial four-day week trial found the majority of key performance indicators had improved or remained the same. |
Council spends £1m in bid to speed up planning
12/06/2024 Wiltshire Council will pour an extra £1m into its planning department this year to process applications more quickly and improve customer service. |
Nearly 30,000 elderly people die waiting for social care
20/05/2024 Almost 30,000 elderly people died last year before ever receiving the social care for which they were waiting, a new analysis has revealed. |
Third of councils fear being unable to meet Care Act duties
14/05/2024 Only around two thirds of local authorities are confident they will be able to meet all their legal duties under the Care Act next year, council chiefs warn. |
Nationwide local government recruitment campaign planned
29/04/2024 Ministers have agreed to fund the roll-out of a national publicity campaign promoting the attractions of working for local government. |
Leveraging data to reverse the planning staff decline
22/04/2024 Scott Goodwin, divisional director Land, Property and Public Protection, Idox, explains how rapid access to easily consumed data can transform planning teams. |
Teacher vacancies rise in almost nine in 10 local authorities
19/04/2024 Teacher vacancies have increased in 86% of English local authority areas since 2010, according to analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). |
UltraCrete wins Employment and Skills Award at RSTA Annual Conference
18/04/2024 UltraCrete are delighted to announce that they have been presented with the coveted Employment and Skills Award at the 2024 RSTA Annual Conference. |
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’. |
Oxford’s workforce issues a ‘significant risk’
10/04/2024 High staff turnover and difficulty recruiting at Oxford City Council could affect staff morale, wellbeing and absence and ultimately impact service delivery, a report has found. |
Dorset Council sets up recruitment firm
10/04/2024 Dorset Council has launched a recruitment company to help fill temporary roles. |
Drive to tackle planning officer shortage ‘crisis’
29/02/2024 The Government is supporting a push to address the nationwide shortage of planning enforcement officers. |
Flexible-work denied to third of women in public sector
15/02/2024 Three in ten (30%) women working in the public sector have had requests to work flexibly denied, new research from Unison has revealed. |
New £4.9m bonus scheme amid childcare expansion concerns
02/02/2024 The Government has launched a recruitment drive ahead of its free childcare expansion, but a major early years organisation has warned it will do little to boost staff numbers before rollout. |
Leaderships posts left vacant to cut costs
11/01/2024 Senior leadership posts at Cheshire East Council are being temporarily left vacant as the authority faces ‘significant financial pressures’. |
Local government recruitment drive launches
10/01/2024 Councils in the North East of England will pilot a new campaign to encourage people to take up a job in local government. |
Navigating the complex terrain of recruitment
18/12/2023 Rod McMillan, marketing manager, Monster UK discusses how local authorities can improve recruitment and retention of staff. |
Derbyshire denies facing ‘bankruptcy situation’
17/11/2023 Derbyshire County Council said ‘serious challenges’ lie ahead despite its progress in tackling its financial shortfall. |
South Cambridgeshire to save £750k from four-day week trial
10/11/2023 A council criticised by the Government for failing to demonstrate Best Value has announced projected savings of more than £750,000 from its four-day week trial. |
Almost 400,000 carers leave workforce
12/10/2023 A new report offers an insight into the care sector’s struggle to retain staff after almost 400,000 carers left their jobs in a year. |
Labour to tackle 'antiquated planning system'
09/10/2023 Labour has pledged to overhaul the planning system in a bid to ease the progress of infrastructure projects. |
Council expands four-day week trial after fresh call to end it
14/09/2023 A 12-month four-day week trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council will expand next week, despite local government minister Lee Rowley again calling on the council to end it. |
Why the four-day week could solve the workforce crisis
12/09/2023 Local councils are struggling with job recruitment and retention. Melanie Pope, 4 Day Week Campaign, argues a four-day working week could be the answer. |
Councils ‘waste’ £2bn on agency staff
11/09/2023 At least £2.1bn was spent on agency staff by councils across the UK last year, according to analysis by the 4 Day Week Campaign. |
Guildford halts recruitment after S114 warning
01/09/2023 Guildford Borough Council has stopped hiring until at least October as it attempts to cover a multi-million pound financial shortfall. |
‘Mass exodus’ claims at North Lincolnshire
14/08/2023 North Lincolnshire Council is facing a ‘mass exodus’ of senior staff, opposition members have claimed. |
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. |
NHS leaders call for social care workforce plan
03/07/2023 NHS leaders have written to the Prime Minister calling for a social care workforce plan to boost recruitment and retention in the social care sector. |
Majority of councils support return of virtual meetings
29/06/2023 Most councils would like to be able to reintroduce virtual meetings to support the recruitment and retention of councillors, a new survey has revealed. |
Vulnerable youngsters failed by care system
24/05/2023 ‘Vulnerable young people are being failed’ by the children’s social care system, a former education secretary has warned. |
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. |
LGA moves to tackle workforce crisis
10/03/2023 The association’s executive advisory board heard that all of the LGA’s policy boards had highlighted ‘significant workforce capacity challenges’. |
Bed blocking down by just 3% a month on from £250m plan
22/02/2023 The Government’s £250m initiative to speed up hospital discharges reduced the number of bed blockers by less than 3% in its first month. |
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. |
Councillors split on solution to workforce crisis
26/01/2023 The LGA’s executive advisory board considered a survey that found more than nine in 10 councils were experiencing staff recruitment difficulties. |
Nine in 10 councils experiencing staffing issues
20/01/2023 Council leaders have warned that the workforce crisis is threatening local services as a survey reveals nine in 10 councils are experiencing staffing issues. |
Local government must look to new technology approaches in 2023
09/12/2022 In the face of unprecedented budgetary and security pressures, local government needs to look for new ways to implement and manage solutions. Richard Hartill reports. |
Mandarins deny ICSs 'set up to fail'
03/11/2022 MPs on the Public Accounts Committee quizzed top civil servants from the Department of Health and Social Care about the new bodies. |
Care in crisis: CQC reveals stark issues ahead
21/10/2022 The care system is in crisis and staff now live with the risk their patients will come to harm, the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) annual report has revealed. |
Solace Summit: recruitment crisis laid bare
13/10/2022 The scale of the recruitment crisis facing councils has been laid bare at the Solace Summit. |
Social care vacancies up by a record 52%
11/10/2022 The number of vacant posts in adult social care has increased by a record 52% in one year, an alarming new report has revealed. |
How technology can help local governments tackle the challenge of staff turnover
30/08/2022 James Scott explores how technology help alleviate the issue of staff turnover in local councils. |
Liverpool set for further intervention
19/08/2022 Commissioners at Liverpool are set to take on governance and financial decision making in an extension of their powers following a damning report. |
Slough's financial challenge 'unprecedented'
28/07/2022 Commissioners at Slough Council are set to be given powers over recruitment after finding it was unable to turn around its finances quickly enough. |
Ofsted calls for social care workforce strategy
27/07/2022 The watchdog the need is ‘more urgent than ever’ as it published a report looking at the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on children’s social care. |
Filled posts in adult social care are down for the first time
21/07/2022 The number of filled posts in adult social care is down for the first time on record, highlighting recruitment challenges, a new report has found. |
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. |
LGA Conference: Sector should consider offering four-day week
29/06/2022 Councils may have to consider offering a four-day week in order to attract the staff desperately needed by the sector, a workshop at the Local Government Association’s (LGA) annual conference has heard. |
Staff shortages undermining drug treatment, study reveals
21/06/2022 A loss of skilled professionals and the fragmentation of services has proven a major barrier to tackling drug addiction, new research has found. |
Half of social workers at risk of quitting survey finds
13/06/2022 Nearly half (49%) of social workers say they are less likely to stay in their jobs due to excessive workloads, high stress levels and low morale. |
Council to recruit 1,000 embedded digital champions
07/04/2022 Dorset Council is looking to recruit 'an army' of digital champions to help digitally excluded residents get online. |
Ministers urged to reverse public health cuts
22/03/2022 The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged ministers to reverse public health cuts amid warnings the COVID-19 pandemic has left staff exhausted and exacerbated recruitment difficulties. |
Think tank warns of 'invisible crisis' in home care
01/12/2021 The social care sector in England has lost up to 50,000 workers in the past six months, new analysis has revealed. |
Crisis talks: Government support urgently needed to tackle the social care sector recruitment crunch
16/11/2021 Kris Peach explores what the industry needs in order to tackle the worst workforce crisis in more than a decade. |
Government told to ‘invest’ in social care to solve recruitment crisis
13/10/2021 A new report has emphasised the importance of ‘properly’ rewarding care workers as figures reveal that adult social care providers are struggling to recruit and retain staff. |
A million extra health and social care staff needed in the next 10 years, says report
01/10/2021 More than 600,000 extra social care staff are needed in the next decade to meet the growing demand for care, according to new research. |
Wolverhampton's i9 selected to house MHCLG's Midlands base
28/05/2021 Two floors of Wolverhampton’s new i9 office building will be home to the first ministerial department outside of London, it has been announced. |
How to reduce spending on temporary staff and boost employee engagement
25/02/2021 Scott Erwin calls on councils to adopt a ‘dynamic staffing’ model to combine the use of agency staff with more stable budgeting. |
More than 110,000 job vacancies in social care, report finds
21/10/2020 Analysis shows that 7.3% of adult social care roles in England were vacant in 2019/20, equivalent to 112,000 vacancies at any one time. |
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Re-write the rules of recruitment
15/04/2020 Anne-Marie Scott offers her predictions for public sector recruitment challenges for 2020 and asks, ‘how do we recruit the right candidates?’ |
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County Council urges businesses to share its recruitment campaign
08/04/2020 Sarah France-Gorton, head of resourcing solutions at North Yorkshire County Council, has written to business leaders urging them to share its recruitment campaign. |
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Care providers in law change call
01/04/2020 Care providers have pleaded with Prime Minister Boris Johnson to change the law to boost staff numbers in the sector during the COVID-19 outbreak. |
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Rethinking the tech skills gap in local government
13/01/2020 Nick Walrond explains how how can local government attract candidates with the right tech skills, while avoiding long-standing vacancies or needing to outsource the role altogether. |
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Former social workers urged to return to sector
06/01/2020 Former social workers are being encouraged to get back into the care sector with the return of a national scheme. |
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At last 90,000 extra social workers needed to meet care reforms
28/11/2019 An extra 90,000 care workers will be needed to provide just two hours of basic care for older people with high needs, a report has warned today. |
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Council launches bond scheme to recruit key workers
11/11/2019 Cherwell District Council has launched a new bond scheme to encourage more key workers to move to the area. |
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Social care sector faces 'disastrous' staffing black hole
10/09/2019 A care workers union has warned of a 'disastrous' staffing black hole in England’s social care sector as research shows there are tens of thousands of vacant posts. |
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Over 40% of emergency hospital admissions ‘avoidable'
25/07/2019 Council chiefs have called for more resources to recruit care home staff after research shows four in 10 hospital admissions from care homes could be avoided. |
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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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Double the number of providers handing back care contracts to councils
12/02/2019 The number of social care providers handing back contracts to councils has more than doubled in 2018, new research has revealed. |
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Whitehall launches social care recruitment drive
12/02/2019 The Government has launched a new national recruitment campaign to help fill the 110,000 vacancies in the adult social care sector. |
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Ashford BC offers £3,000 bursary to undergraduates
14/01/2019 A Kent council has approved the introduction of an undergraduate work placement and bursary scheme - the first of its kind amongst local authorities in the county. |
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Shortage of social care workers to reach 290,000 by 2030, says report
06/12/2018 NHS figures show that in the last two years two million hospital beds were unnecessarily occupied because of a shortage of social care to support patients ready to be discharged, according to management consultants. |
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A leading question
28/11/2018 Jayson Darby considers the traits of good leaders and the role people assessment tools can play in identifying if someone’s leadership material. |
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The rise of predictive analytics in local government recruitment
20/11/2018 Why does data have such an important role to play in improving recruiting practices within the local government? Charles Hipps reports. |
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Fighting for talent in local government
13/11/2018 How are councils transforming approaches to talent acquisition using tailored technology offerings? Charles Hipps reports. |
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Counties launch joint venture to recruit temporary agency staff
21/09/2018 Hampshire has joined forces with a company set up by Kent County Council to recruit temporary agency workers. |
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Council announces recruitment ‘freeze’ to tackle £60m budget gap
03/08/2018 Shropshire Council has announced it will be ‘freezing’ all recruitment in order to ensure the authority stays within its budget. |
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Staff churn in local government - an unsustainable reality
26/07/2018 Garry Nelson explains how councils can improve effective talent acquisition, retention and development programmes. |
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Bristol first council to become ‘Ban the Box’ employer
17/04/2018 Bristol City Council has become the first local authority in the country to use job applications without a tick box that asks applicants about their criminal record. |
