LocalGov to partner with LATCo Conference 2026
LocalGov confirmed as the official media partner for the LATCo Conference & Exhibition 2026, supporting the event in highlighting innovation and best practice.
Call for mandatory pothole training for councils
08/09/2025 The RAC and RSTA have called on the Government to mandate training for councils that fail to carry out preventative road maintenance. |
Think tank reports rise in ‘economically inactive' young people
26/08/2025 The number of those aged 16 to 24 and not in education, employment or training has risen to almost one million, a think tank has revealed. |
Councils set to benefit from ‘bespoke’ housebuilding support
08/07/2025 A vanguard of 10 councils has been selected to co-design the new Council Housebuilding Support Service (CHoSS). |
LGA: Councils have £276bn of untapped potential
04/07/2025 Government support overcoming place-specific barriers to growth could help local authorities unleash £276bn of untapped economic potential, research suggests. |
‘Skills revolution’ boosted with 120,000 training places
27/05/2025 The Government has made available 120,000 new training opportunities to help young people develop skills in key areas such as social care. |
Skills England 'needs time to prove itself'
06/05/2025 The agency created by the Government to boost post-16 skills in England needs a year to show whether it will be effective, a prominent educationalist says. |
Streeting: Care staff to be trained in ‘cutting-edge’ tech
09/04/2025 Social care workers will be trained to use the latest ‘cutting-edge technology’ to help improve the social care system, Wes Streeting has said. |
London’s high streets get £21m regeneration boost
28/02/2025 London’s high streets are to benefit from £21m additional funding this year aimed at regenerating the capital’s high streets. |
Tackling the ecological skills gap
21/01/2025 Catherine Spitzer, chief executive of Environment Bank, explains how private investment can help councils that are struggling to attract skilled ecologists. |
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. |
Digital advisory group launched for Scotland’s public sector
03/12/2024 A new unit has been formed to develop digital skills across Scotland’s public and third sectors. |
Kendall: Local government to join up work opportunities
26/11/2024 Mayors and councils will be given powers to join up services locally to tackle worklessness, the work and pensions secretary will announce today. |
Call for national strategy for older prisoners
02/09/2024 The Government must create a national strategy to manage and care for rising numbers of older people in prison, a charity has said. |
Protecting our health
14/08/2024 Oliver Norman, Regional Vice President for UK & Ireland, Veritas Technologies, looks at why data protection should be a priority for healthcare organisations. |
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. |
New Advanced CPD Set to Combat False Fire Alarms
22/07/2024 Advanced is pleased to announce the launch of its latest Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course: Managing False Fire Alarms: Tools & Techniques. |
Skills England to fix ‘fractured’ skills landscape
22/07/2024 A new body will tackle the ‘fractured’ skills landscape across England, the Prime Minister and education secretary have announced. |
King's Speech: Devolution takes centre stage
17/07/2024 The announcement of an English Devolution Bill took centre stage in the King's Speech. |
King's Speech: A plan for devolution
17/07/2024 The new Labour Government has set out a widespread plan for devolution and economic growth in its Parliamentary timetable, with central diktat reserved for planning proposals. |
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. |
NextGov: Planning under the next government
19/06/2024 Mike Kiely, chair of the Planning Officers Society, calls on the next government to build a more efficient and effective planning system. |
Levelling up progress ‘glacial’, think tank says
19/06/2024 Progress on levelling up in England has been ‘glacial’ and – according to some metrics – inequality has got worse, a new analysis by the IFS has revealed. |
‘Existential crisis’ for councils as £6bn funding gap revealed
06/06/2024 A new Local Government White Paper has uncovered a £6.2bn funding gap facing councils in England over the next two years. |
Local Government Apprentice of the Year announced
24/05/2024 Sara Jenner-Akehurst from Cambridgeshire County Council has been named as the 2024 Local Government Apprentice of the Year. |
Call to fix ‘incomplete patchwork’ of devolution deals
13/05/2024 The next government must extend devolution to 85% of England to address an ‘incomplete patchwork of mismatched deals’, a think-tank has argued. |
SkillGate’s Classroom Booking System - Training course booking made easy!
29/04/2024 Streamline your training course booking operations with SkillGate’s Classroom Booking System. |
What is a metro mayor?
25/04/2024 A metro mayor is directly elected by local people to oversee a region’s combined authority. |
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. |
LGA announces 2024/25 Sector Support programme
12/04/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has announced the 2024/25 Sector Support programme to help councils ‘deliver critical services to communities.’ |
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games boosted economy by £1.2bn
08/04/2024 The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games contributed approximately £1.2bn to the UK economy, according to an evaluation of the impact of the event. |
UltraCrete partners with Salford City College
27/03/2024 A new UltraCrete and Salford City College Group partnership will see Highways Maintenance Skilled Operative Apprenticeship students become UCARS Accredited. |
Putting personal assistants at the heart of care
19/02/2024 Ben Weatherall, co-founder and director of Curam, discusses the skills deficit in the social care system and what to do about it. |
National Apprenticeship Week: The importance of a national skills strategy
05/02/2024 Nichola Hay MBE, director of Apprenticeship Strategy and Policy at BPP, discusses the importance of a national strategy with a regional approach. |
Study reveals ‘worrying’ state of local government leadership
25/01/2024 Just over half of council leaders and managers believe their local authority isn’t ensuring accountability for failure, an alarming new study has revealed. |
Social care career reforms ‘only scratch the surface’
10/01/2024 The Government today announced new measures to improve the career prospects of social care staff but concerns remain that this ‘may only scratch the surface’. |
Nine million adults lack essential skills
03/01/2024 Nine million adults lack essential skills with skill level disparities within local areas far exceeding those between local and combined authorities. |
Skills shortage ‘putting brakes’ on net zero
12/12/2023 The skills shortage is undermining efforts to reduce carbon emissions and effectively tackle the climate crisis, local authority leaders in London have warned. |
Autumn Statement: Level 4 devolution unveiled
22/11/2023 More powers will be offered to areas with a level 3 devolution deal, the Government has announced as part of the Autumn Statement. |
Councils sign cross border partnership
13/11/2023 Two English councils, Herefordshire and Shropshire, and two Welsh county councils, Monmouthshire and Powys, have signed a partnership agreement. |
Skills devolution call
17/10/2023 Control of UK skills funding should be devolved to councils to ensure it is tailored to local jobs and economies, a national network of 27 cities has urged. |
London Councils eyes apprenticeship levy devolution
09/10/2023 London Councils has named securing devolution of the apprenticeship levy to its boroughs to fund skills and employment activity as a key short-term priority. |
New festival to light up Scarborough
05/10/2023 The Scarborough Lights festival will be launched next month as part of a three-year plan to boost arts, attract tourists and improve job opportunities on the North Yorkshire coast. |
Wales to consider funding bids straddling English border
11/09/2023 Wales’ economy minister has said he would consider funding bids from a new council partnership that crosses the Welsh and English border. |
EXCLUSIVE: Mayors press for trailblazer devolution powers
04/09/2023 Mayors are pressing for devolved powers currently reserved for their trailblazer counterparts in ongoing talks with the Government. |
County leaders call for ‘adult education revolution’
04/09/2023 County council leaders have urged the Government to ‘fast track’ devolution deals to help boost the number of people taking part in adult education. |
Welsh and English councils announce new partnership
30/08/2023 Councils on either side of the border between Wales and England are set to join a partnership in a bid to seek Government funding. |
Liverpool to provide 4,500 tablets to tackle digital exclusion
18/08/2023 More than 4,500 people in the Liverpool City Region will receive free tablets, internet access and training as part of a scheme to bridge the UK’s ‘digital divide’. |
Fresh LGA drive to influence MPs over skills
07/08/2023 The Local Government Association has proposed to establish a skills and employment working group as it seeks to influence MPs ahead of the election. |
LGA: ‘Radical shift’ towards local employment support needed
25/07/2023 Council leaders have called for a ‘radical shift’ from centralised employment support after a consultation emphasised the benefits of 'local involvement'. |
Skills shortage set to worsen with end of European fund
21/07/2023 Local authority leaders have warned that the ongoing skills shortage could get worse as the European Social Fund (ESF) finishes at the end of this year. |
MPs call for devolution of employment support
19/07/2023 The delivery of support aimed at helping people into employment should be devolved to groups of local authorities, MPs have said. |
Government backtracks on ‘employment only’ adult education outcomes
17/07/2023 The Department for Education (DfE) has scrapped its plans to end funding for adult education courses that are not directly linked to employment outcomes. |
Skilled worker shortage undermining net zero drive
01/06/2023 A skilled worker shortage means that at the current rate of heat pump and insulation installation it could take ‘several hundred years’ to meet net zero. |
Council chiefs welcome £165m skills fund
25/05/2023 Local authority leaders have welcomed the launch of a £165m skills fund but say councils should be given more powers to help people into employment. |
Strategy to deliver ‘joined-up digital inclusion’ launched
22/05/2023 A campaign group has launched a ‘unique and revolutionary strategy’ linking government, industry leaders and community organisations to tackle digital poverty. |
Greater Manchester unveils skills devolution plan
15/05/2023 The shape of skills devolution in the trailblazer devolution deals has been outlined by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. |
EXCLUSIVE: ‘It’s time for a new Audit Commission’
12/04/2023 An ex-senior mandarin has today called for a new Audit Commission as The MJ reveals the draft metrics the Government is considering for its new watchdog. |
Councils lack skills in deal-making, says commissioner
30/03/2023 Children’s commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, suggested support should be provided to negotiate the market for placements for children in care. |
Empowering cities could bring £420m economic boost
23/03/2023 Bringing together employment and skills services in urban areas could result in a £420m boost to the national economy, according to local government leaders. |
Planning authorities receive £1m skills boost
20/03/2023 Councils will be able to recruit more skilled planning professionals following a £1m funding boost, housing minister Rachel Maclean has announced. |
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’. |
Council chiefs call for devolution of skills powers
24/02/2023 Local authority leaders have called for the devolution of skills budgets and powers to help them support young people into education, employment or training. |
Solving the homelessness sector’s workforce crisis
14/02/2023 Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, discusses the first ever accredited qualification for the homelessness workforce. |
County chiefs call for powers to solve rural workforce crisis
06/02/2023 Council leaders have called for powers to tackle labour squeeze as a new analysis reveals that hundreds of thousands of people have left the rural workforce. |
Northern councils sign up to ‘blockbuster’ film scheme
01/02/2023 A dozen councils in the North East have signed up to a scheme to help film and TV companies work in the region. |
First ever qualification for homelessness workforce launched
24/01/2023 The first ever accredited qualification for the homelessness workforce has been launched to help frontline staff develop their skills. |
Be Part of a Net-Zero Future – BEIS-funded training available through the Retrofit Academy
23/01/2023 Retrofit Academy secures funding to deliver over 1200 retrofit courses in England to help the UK achieve its net zero goals by building a skilled workforce. |
Council chiefs welcome call to address creative skills ‘blind spot’
17/01/2023 Council leaders have welcomed a call for a Government focus on fixing the educational ‘blind spots' and digital skills shortage impacting creative industries. |
Deal reached on North East devolution package
03/01/2023 Details of a proposed mayoral devolution deal for the North East of England have been released. |
Better together: how to retain IT talent in the public sector
21/12/2022 Arun Kumar, regional director at ManageEngine, looks at how the public sector can get over its digital skills problem. |
Government’s £4bn annual skills spend ‘failing to deliver’
14/12/2022 Council chiefs have called for an end to the centralised approach to training as report finds that the Government’s £4bn skills spend is ‘failing to deliver’. |
Gove to sign devolution deals for Norfolk and Suffolk
08/12/2022 Devolution deals are to be signed in Suffolk and Norfolk giving them over £1bn to invest in their communities, the Government has announced. |
Cornwall £360m devolution deal unveiled
02/12/2022 A £360m devolution deal on offer to Cornwall has been unveiled today. |
Thousands of apprentices quit due to ‘poor quality’ of scheme
28/11/2022 Thousands of people who have taken up apprenticeships to help them develop new skills have dropped out due to the poor quality of schemes, research reveals. |
Council leaders call for reversal of adult education cuts
11/11/2022 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to use next week’s Autumn Statement to reverse proposed cuts to community learning courses. |
MPs call for end to ‘culture of centralisation’
25/10/2022 The Government should review the requirement to have a directly elected mayor to achieve the highest levels of devolution, MPs say. |
Welsh digital and green sector gets £3m boost
17/10/2022 The Welsh government has announced a £3m boost to help support the development of skills in the digital and green sector. |
Council chiefs welcome call for £1bn skills funding
22/09/2022 Council leaders have welcomed a call to move away from the top-down approach to skills, and to provide communities with the funding needed to boost employment. |
Levelling up little more than a ‘slogan’, MPs say
24/08/2022 MPs have criticised the Government’s flagship levelling up Bill for a lack of clarity and funding commitments. |
Skills devolution to boost jobs market by one million
11/07/2022 Devolution of skills funding could allow a million people to return to the jobs market, new research has found. |
Councils urged to boost local digital skills
06/06/2022 Councils urged to do more to help small businesses with digital training as evidence suggests businesses are struggling with the social media revolution. |
Local college and The Open University to work together in £10m skills scheme
25/05/2022 The Open University is partnering with local further education providers as part of the effort to boost skills and job prospects across the country. |
Devolve powers to tackle jobs crisis, council chiefs say
17/05/2022 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to devolve more powers to councils to free them up to tackle the growing job crisis at the local level. |
Tech giant Apple awards council for digital skills work
17/03/2022 Scottish Borders Council has been awarded Apple Professional Learning Provider (APLP) status as a result of the technology and professional development the council offers to staff and young people. |
Hull and East Yorkshire named UK’s fastest growing region for digital jobs
03/03/2022 Hull and East Yorkshire’s tech sector is one of the fastest growing in the UK, new figures have revealed. |
Devolution for all: Gove unveils long-awaited White Paper
02/02/2022 By 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal, the Government’s long-awaited Levelling Up White Paper has revealed. |
LGA launches T Level support programme
27/01/2022 Up to 35 councils will benefit from a new support programme to help them create high quality T Level placements. |
Council chiefs call for devolution of skills powers
30/11/2021 Local authority leaders are urging MPs to support measures that would see councils have more say in the delivery of skills development at the local level. |
New tools maps employment and training schemes
18/11/2021 A new online tool to help councils better understand employment and skills provision in their local areas has been launches. |
Is a multi-skilled workforce the future of local government?
17/11/2021 Chris Hornung explains why multi-skilling can provide councils with the tools needed to bridge the gap between different areas, streamline communication and improve productivity?. |
Government allocates £200m Community Renewal Funding
04/11/2021 The Government has announced which projects will receive a share of the £200m Community Renewal Funding, and has given local authorities extra time to spend the money. |
£30m skills deal approved for South West Wales
26/10/2021 A £30m programme to provide thousands of people access to skills opportunities across South West Wales has been approved by the UK Government and Welsh Government. |
Over a third of the most deprived areas will not benefit from Levelling Up Fund
25/08/2021 More than a third of England’s most deprived areas will not benefit from the Government’s £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, according to new Salvation Army research released today. |
Local government can drive the UK’s green skills revolution
10/08/2021 Cara Jenkinson, cities manager at the climate solutions charity Ashden, looks at how local government can drive the UK’s green skills revolution. |
Coalition calls for reforms to ‘flawed’ apprenticeship levy
09/07/2021 The Government has been urged to make urgent reforms to the apprenticeship levy by a coalition by local government and major employers in London. |
Call to give councils greater role in creating jobs and training opportunities
18/06/2021 The Government should use the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill to give councils a greater role in tackling unemployment and skills shortages, the Local Government Association (LGA) has argued. |
Councils called on to create new programmes to close skills gap
14/06/2021 Local authorities should create skills programmes to train workers in their areas as part of the effort to tackle the UK’s engineering skills shortages, a new report argues. |
Over £600m awarded to 26 new Town Deals
08/06/2021 The Government has announced the latest round of towns deals, which will see 26 towns across England share over £600m. |
Queen's Speech: Levelling up takes centre stage
11/05/2021 The Government’s levelling up agenda was at the forefront of today’s Queen’s Speech, but the role councils will play remains uncertain. |
Harnessing the power of innovation to ensure that nobody is left behind
12/04/2021 Paul Duan explains how a new online coach is helping to make training and careers advice more targeted and accessible. |
