How to Fix Local Roads: Sustainable Road Maintenance Solutions for Local Government
Explore expert insights on sustainable road maintenance and pothole repair, and learn how local government can fix the road network with proactive strategies.
Council chiefs call for boost to occupational therapist workforce
09/06/2025 Council leaders have called on the Government to invest in occupational therapists (OTs) to improve health, care, and prevention strategy outcomes. |
Council boycotts cost defence sector £30m
09/06/2025 A new report by two Labour MPs has estimated that defence companies have lost out on £30m in investment because of council boycotts. |
SEND system in urgent need of reform, says LGA
09/06/2025 A new report by the Local Government Association (LGA) has called for urgent reform of SEND services. |
'Burning platform' warning on early years' services
05/06/2025 Early years’ services are on a ‘burning platform’ with UK outcomes among the ‘worst in the civilized world’, a leader has warned. |
Spending Review ‘make or break’ for 1.5m housing target
05/06/2025 A select committee chair has written to the Chancellor warning of the impact of departmental budget cuts on Government plans to deliver 1.5 million houses. |
Chancellor unveils £15bn regional transport investment
04/06/2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled plans to invest £15.6bn in buses, trams and trains outside of London. |
Fears for council funding as ‘unprotected’ departments face cuts
02/06/2025 Council leaders have told the Chancellor they ‘desperately need’ more funding in the Spending Review as financial experts warn ‘unprotected’ government departments could face cuts. |
Councils call for support to roll out AI in pothole war
23/05/2025 The use of AI and a preventative approach to road maintenance can help local authorities detect potholes earlier and reduce the repairs backlog, LGA says. |
Care coalition calls for significant social care funding in Spending Review
22/05/2025 A coalition of stakeholders has called for significant investment in social care in the Spending Review on 11 June. |
Council chiefs warn Chancellor of ‘devastating’ financial pressures
24/03/2025 Nearly three quarters of local authorities in England have warned it will be very or fairly difficult to set a balanced budget this financial year. |
Overstretched finances threaten 1.5m housebuilding target
20/03/2025 The pressure on social housing finances at the local level could undermine the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million houses this parliament, LGA warns. |
Spring Statement: No more cash for councils
19/03/2025 The Spring Statement will give a flavour of the financial pressures councils will face after the Spending Review, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says. |
ALARM: Pothole repairs backlog hits £17bn
17/03/2025 Council chiefs have repeated their call for long-term funding for road maintenance as the ALARM survey reveals the pothole repairs backlog has reached £17bn. |
Council bailouts could ‘create longer-term risk’, warns NAO
27/02/2025 The spending watchdog has called for a ‘whole-system’ approach to fixing local government finance and warned that bailouts could ‘create longer-term risk.’ |
Council chiefs warn of ‘stark inequalities’ in oral health
11/02/2025 Local authority leaders have urged the Government to take urgent action to address ‘stark inequalities in oral health’. |
Spending Review chance to end ‘permacrisis’
11/02/2025 The Spending Review is a chance to end the ‘permacrisis’ that has left a growing number of local authorities on the brink of bankruptcy, London Councils says. |
Council facing bankruptcy calls for ‘fairer’ funding
08/11/2024 North Somerset Council, which has warned it is at risk of serving a Section 114 notice, has launched a campaign calling for a ‘fairer’ funding deal. |
Solace: Underfunding councils ‘ultimate false economy’
14/10/2024 Failing to properly fund councils is ‘the ultimate false economy’ because it forces them to make ‘repugnant’ cuts which lead to greater problems in the future. |
Councils face £54bn funding deficit
02/10/2024 England’s local authorities face a funding shortfall of £54bn over the next five years, new research has revealed. |
McMahon drops diversity scrutiny
25/09/2024 The new Government will not be asking councils for more information on their diversity spending, signalling a shift from the previous regime. |
Planning reforms ‘not sufficient’ for homes target
12/09/2024 The Government will not meet its target of building 1.5 million homes over the parliament without investing in affordable housing, according to a new report. |
Fresh local government cuts warning
14/05/2024 Government commitments mean cuts will be made to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities without a higher overall spending envelope. |
Budget: Trailblazer devo deal for North East
06/03/2024 The North East has secured a trailblazer devolution deal that could provide a package of new funding potentially worth more than £100m, chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced in his Budget. |
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. |
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. |
Centre has 'poor understanding' of what works on local growth, says NAO expert
16/05/2022 A large proportion of government spending is ‘not robustly evaluated’ and there is poor understanding by the centre about which approaches to local economic growth work best, says an expert from the National Audit Office. |
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. |
Spending Review conceals local road cuts
29/10/2021 Road maintenance funding for councils not receiving settlements through combined authorities appears to be facing a cut of around £200m over three years following the Spending Review - more if you add inflation. |
Budget 2021: Sunak unfreezes public sector pay
27/10/2021 Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the Government will unfreeze public sector pay and raise the national living wage. |
Bonanza Budget claims councils have the largest rise in a decade
27/10/2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a Budget and spending review he claimed will deliver the high skill, high wage economy promised at the Conservative Party Conference. |
Budget 2021: More money for youth services and 'family hubs'
27/10/2021 A £560m cash injection for youth services and the funding of ‘family hubs’ in England to support children and parents have been confirmed in today’s Budget. |
Budget 2021: Business rate reform delayed again
27/10/2021 Business rates reform is set to be delayed again when the chancellor unveils his Budget and spending review, as the Treasury grapples with its mammoth issues around public spending. |
Council chiefs call for £875m investment in leisure facilities
25/10/2021 Local authority leaders have called on the Chancellor to invest millions into public sports and leisure facilities as part of the effort to tackle health inequalities. |
What does local government hope to get from the Spending Review?
25/10/2021 From a a multi-year funding settlement to fixing the social care crisis, William Eichler explores what local government is hoping to hear on Wednesday. |
Sunak urged to tackle backlogs in public services or face greater costs
19/10/2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak must swiftly invest in public services hit hardest by the pandemic or face much greater costs down the line, a report has warned. |
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. |
Age UK warns 10% council tax hike would still not fix care
15/10/2021 Charity Age UK has warned council tax would need to go up by another 10% next year just to allow social care to ‘stand still’. |
Lessons from Kerslake can help councils avoid surge in homelessness
13/10/2021 John Glenton calls on the Government to reinstate the £1.6bn ring-fenced budget for housing-related support |
Councils warn housing waiting lists could double next year
13/10/2021 The number of people stuck on council housing waiting lists could double next year as COVID-related support schemes come to an end, a new report has said today. |
Chancellor has ‘little or no scope’ to increase local government funding
12/10/2021 The Chancellor is going to struggle to find money for cash-strapped local authorities despite planning to implement the biggest tax rises in 25 years, think tank says. |
Councils calls for extension of council tax support funding
11/10/2021 The Government has been urged to fund local council tax support schemes for the next three years to support families on low income. |
Councils warn local road maintenance budgets face £400m cut
11/10/2021 Funding for local road maintenance has been cut by £400m this year, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
Counties in council tax warning
07/10/2021 County leaders have warned council tax bills would have to rise by almost a quarter over three years to get close to eliminating their deficit. |
Council tax could easily rise by 5% a year warn finance experts
06/10/2021 English councils will need billlions more from government and big tax rises to maintain services and pay for social care reforms, says new analysis published today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). |
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. |
Local services will face £8bn funding blackhole by 2024, councils warn
01/10/2021 Council tax will have to rise by more than a quarter in the next three years to cover the shortfall in funding for local services, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned today. |
Union calls for reversal of pay cuts to give economy £3.3bn boost
24/09/2021 The TUC has called on the Chancellor to reverse public sector pay cuts in the spending review as a means of supporting the post-pandemic recovery. |
Calls for more funding as child abuse increases
20/08/2021 Incidents involving death or serious harm to a child have risen in the past year, leading to calls for further funding. |
Research finds long-lasting benefits from Sure Start
16/08/2021 Sure Start centres prevented thousands of children from being hospitalised and cut health inequalities, according to new research. |
Chancellor facing 'difficult' spending review
21/07/2021 Public services could face a £17bn funding cut in the spending review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. |
Babies’ needs overlooked in COVID response
19/01/2021 A generation of babies risks being damaged by the fall-out from the pandemic without a concerted effort from local support systems to improve outcomes, says a new report. |
Spending Review: 'Risk all sits on local government'
26/11/2020 The Spending Review failed to tackle key issues such as reforms to local government funding, sector experts have warned. |
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Spending Review: Sunak recycles money for green transport
25/11/2020 The chancellor has used the Spending Review to confirm billions of pounds for public transport, low emission vehicles and active travel, including adding more detail to Boris Johnson’s recent ‘Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’. |
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Sunak unveils a Spending Review for jobs, public services and infrastructure
25/11/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a £4bn levelling up fund as part of a Spending Review which he claimed offered ‘huge investment’ in jobs, public services and infrastructure. |
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Spending Review: UKSPF to reach £1.5bn a year
25/11/2020 The value of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will reach around £1.5bn a year on average, chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced. |
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Spending Review: Public sector pay increase for low earners
25/11/2020 Public sector worker wage increases will be limited to the lowest paid, the chancellor has announced this afternoon. |
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Spending Review: Infrastructure gets pride of place
25/11/2020 The chancellor Rishi Sunak used to the 2020 Spending Review to launch a new strategy for UK infrastructure, supported by an infrastructure bank and a place-based 'levelling up' fund. |
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Spending Review: £2.9bn 'restart programme to help unemployed'
25/11/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a three-year £2.9bn ‘restart programme’ to help more than one million people unemployed for more than a year find work. |
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Spending Review: NHS receives £3bn funding boost
25/11/2020 The chancellor has announced £18bn will be spent on preventative coronavirus measures next year, including vaccines, testing and PPE. |
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Think tank calls for £164bn stimulus in spending review
23/11/2020 The UK’s economy needs a £164bn cash injection to restart it fully after the COVID-19 crisis, a think tank has said. |
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London boroughs face £600m adult social care shortfall by 2025
23/11/2020 Local authorities in London have called on the Government to ensure adult social care receives the same funding increases as the NHS in the upcoming spending review. |
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Over half of councils face financial failure without spending review funding increase
23/11/2020 Half of English councils will be at risk of financial failure if the spending review just provides a ‘rollover’ of funding levels from this year for 2021/22, new analysis has warned today. |
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Sunak to re-write Green Book to level up the North
23/11/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce plans to re-write the Green Book in the spending review this week, as part of the Government’s commitment to levelling up. |
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Local services need funding to support elderly impacted by COVID-19, council chiefs say
19/11/2020 Council chiefs call on Government to use Spending Review to ensure council-run services are able to look after elderly residents impacted by COVID-19. |
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MPs launch inquiry into local government finance
27/10/2020 An inquiry examining what approach Whitehall should take to funding local government as part of upcoming spending review has been launched by MPs. |
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Coronavirus leads to scrapping of three-year Spending Review
21/10/2020 Plans to create a three-year settlement for public spending have been abandoned as latest figures show the havoc coronavirus is wreaking on the public finances. |
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Streamline local government under plans to save £30bn a year, think tank argues
21/10/2020 Streamlining local government and selling off high-value council properties could save billions every year, according to a think tank. |
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Coastal areas call for £1bn to decarbonise the maritime sector
09/10/2020 Local coastal leaders have called on the chancellor to invest £1bn to completely decarbonise the maritime sector. |
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Fragmented council funding risks to value for money, report warns
05/10/2020 The increasing fragmentation in council funding ‘undermines central government’s understanding of service delivery’ and ‘risks impeding value for money,’ a report has warned. |
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Councils key to levelling up agenda, says report
02/10/2020 Local government must have adequate funding to level-up deprived English towns, according to new research. |
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Government launches Spending Review
21/07/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned of ‘tough choices’ as he launched the Comprehensive Spending Review. |
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Council planning powers under threat
08/06/2020 Planning powers could be shifted from local authorities to development corporations as part of an economic stimulus package to be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson later this month. |
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Fair Funding Review delayed until next year
05/09/2019 The Fair Funding Review and 75% business rate retention will be delayed until 2020-21. |
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Spending Round 2019: Chancellor pledges £1.5bn 'down payment' for social care
04/09/2019 Councils will have access to £1.5bn of new funding for social care next year, the chancellor has announced. |
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Spending Round 19: Javid promises an 'infrastructure revolution'
04/09/2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid used his first Sending Round to call for an 'infrastructure revolution' and promise a national strategy by 'the autumn'. |
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Spending Round 19: Schools receive £7.1bn funding boost
04/09/2019 School spending will increase by £7.1bn by 2022-23, the chancellor confirmed today. |
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Chancellor needs an extra £5bn to cover spending promises, says IFS
03/09/2019 The chancellor will need to find an extra £5bn of spending next year to meet the government's recent pledges, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. |
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Javid confirms date of ‘fast-tracked’ Spending Round
28/08/2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid has confirmed the date of the fast-tracked Spending Round announced earlier this month. |
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Councils face more funding uncertainty
14/08/2019 ‘Indicative numbers’ for the amount councils will receive in 2020/21 will not be published before next month’s Spending Review, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has admitted after it missed a self-imposed deadline. |
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Chancellor announces fast-tracked Spending Review
09/08/2019 The Government will rush through a one-year Spending Round to help prepare for Brexit. |
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Counties publish five-point plan for local government
26/07/2019 Councils need an emergency cash injection targeted at areas most in need, the County Councils Network (CCN) has said today. |
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Financial risk for children's services across London is 'unsustainable'
22/07/2019 Children’s services across London are facing an unsustainable level of financial risk, a new report commissioned by London Councils has warned. |
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EXCLUSIVE: Victory on variation
26/06/2019 The Treasury’s view of children’s services has been dealt a further blow after research linked 70% of spend variation to factors outside councils’ control. |
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Councils' role in asylum system to be bolstered
23/04/2019 Plans are being drawn up that will give councils more of a say in where asylum seekers are accommodated. |
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Concern over councils' ability to cope with polls
17/04/2019 Council chiefs have raised concerns with Government about the sector’s capacity to run EU elections so close on the heels of local polls. |
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Austerity 'could end at the Spending Review'
11/04/2019 There is a ‘genuine chance’ austerity will end at the Spending Review, according to upbeat director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Paul Johnson. |
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Spring Statement 2019: Chancellor pledges three-year spending review
13/03/2019 Chancellor Philip Hammond has pledged a ‘full three-year spending review’ for local government before the summer recess. |
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MPs launch inquiry into local government finance
06/03/2019 A new inquiry into local government finance will take place ahead of this year's Spending Review. |
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Spending review: Councils braced for further austerity
01/03/2019 Councils are under financial pressure as never before and will need all the optimism they can muster to deal with it, says Mark Whitehead. |
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MHCLG to make 'compelling case' for more funding
13/02/2019 Local government minister Rishi Sunak has vowed that his department will ‘make a compelling case’ for more funding ahead of this year’s Spending Review. |
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Spending Review ‘make or break’ for cash-strapped councils
11/02/2019 Local government leaders have warned the Chancellor that the upcoming Spending Review will ‘make or break’ over-stretched council services. |
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Public health progress put at risk by cuts
27/11/2018 The Government must restore councils’ public health grants because of their important role in the urgent task of improving public health, according to a report from leading health think tank, The King’s Fund. |
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MHCLG ‘not expecting another Northamptonshire situation’
26/11/2018 Local government finances are sustainable and the collapse of another authority is not expected, the ministry’s top civil servant has insisted. |
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Cash boost for councils only a ‘sticking plaster’
30/10/2018 Council are turning their attention to next year’s Spending Review amid warnings that yesterday’s Budget announcements failed to provide long-term stability for the sector. |
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Neighbourhood services a 'serious concern', report warns
12/10/2018 A new report has highlighted 'serious concerns' over the future quality of neighbourhood services and adult social care unless councils receive adequate funding in the next spending review. |
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LEPs told to improve ahead of EU funding changes
06/09/2018 Fresh concerns have emerged about local enterprise partnerships (LEP) as the Government considers whether to use them to funnel UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) cash. |
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Stop trying to explain away poor performance
02/08/2018 The sector needs to be more open and honest about poor performance, writes Abdool Kara. |
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Northamptonshire CC issues second emergency spending ban
24/07/2018 Troubled Northamptonshire CC has issued a second Section 114 notice in a bid to regain control of its ‘truly perilous’ finances. |
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Whitehall accused of ‘complacency’ over financial future of local government
04/07/2018 MPs have blasted the Government for being ‘complacent’ about the financial future of local authorities. |
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Counties call for pre-spending review cash injection
27/06/2018 Nearly one in five county council leaders are ‘not confident’ they can deliver a balanced budget nest year without extra funding, a new survey has revealed. |
