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.
Yusuf returns to Reform UK to lead DOGE team
09/06/2025 Former chairman of Reform UK, Zia Yusuf, has announced he is returning to the party to run its DOGE team shortly after quitting. |
Reform UK: What Britain’s fastest rising party stands for
29/05/2025 Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is gaining greater political influence and visibility in local government. But what does the party stand for? |
Farage declares the two-child benefit cap must end
28/05/2025 Nigel Farage has announced his intentions to abandon the two-child benefit cap, resulting in over £3bn of new spending. |
US trade deal needed in ‘weeks, not months’, Mayor says
07/05/2025 The Government must secure a trade deal with President Trump in ‘weeks, not months’ to avoid damage to the West Midlands economy, Mayor says. |
Liverpool tourism tax gets the green light
28/04/2025 Hoteliers in Liverpool have backed plans to introduce a £2 overnight visitor charge. |
Carbon tax could cost councils billions, LGA warns
25/04/2025 A scheme aimed at reducing carbon emissions from the burning of waste could place ‘billions of pounds’ of unavoidable costs on local authorities, LGA warns. |
West Midlands expected to be worst hit by Trump tariffs
07/04/2025 The West Midlands is expected to be the region worst hit by President Donald Trump's 10% tariff on UK exports to the US, a charity has said. |
Council chiefs defend six figure salaries
01/04/2025 Local authority leaders have defended local government salaries exceeding six figures, arguing it is important to attract the ‘right people’. |
Parliament rally calls on Government to tackle social care crisis
25/02/2025 Campaigners are gathering at Parliament today to call on the Government to address the social care crisis. |
Nursery fees set to jump 10%
11/02/2025 The rise in employers' national insurance will force most nurseries to increase their fees by 10%, a new survey has revealed. |
HMRC does not know how much National Insurance it collects from councils
29/01/2025 HMRC has said it does not hold data on employers National Insurance Contribution (NIC) payments received from principal local authorities. |
Tax hike threatens to add to nursing home costs
27/01/2025 The Government has been urged to reverse its NICs hike on care providers as figures reveal how much nursing costs for pensioners have increased in a decade. |
High street businesses brace for business rates hike
21/01/2025 Thousands of high street businesses are set to see their rates bill more than double this year, financial experts warn. |
Edinburgh tourism tax could be starting point for fiscal devolution, experts suggest
20/01/2025 The approach to a tourism tax being taken forward in Scottish and Welsh cities could be a starting point for fiscal devolution in England, experts suggest. |
Scottish council chiefs call for help with NI hike
07/01/2025 Scottish council leaders have called on the Government to cover the costs the public and charity sectors are facing from the rise in national insurance. |
Council urges Government to drop farm tax plans
27/11/2024 Cornwall Council has agreed to call on the Government to reconsider its changes to inheritance tax rules. |
Petition calls for social care national insurance hike exemption
18/11/2024 Care England has called on its members to sign a petition calling for an exemption from the Government’s employer national insurance (NIC) tax rise. |
Council chiefs call for sugar tax on milkshakes
05/11/2024 Local authority leaders have called for the soft drinks industry levy to be devolved to councils to tackle obesity and to be expanded to milk-based drinks. |
Thousands of council-owned buildings spend time vacant
22/10/2024 New research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) has found that thousands of buildings owned by local authorities spent time empty during 2022 and 2023. |
Localis: Counterproductive ‘tax landscape’ threatens pubs
23/09/2024 A think tank has warned that a ‘counterproductive regulatory and tax landscape’ threatens the future of local pubs. |
New waste tax could cost councils billions
17/09/2024 A proposed tax on the carbon emitted from burning waste could cost councils billions over the next decade, according to new analysis. |
Think tank calls for health and prosperity improvement zones
17/09/2024 Local authorities should be empowered to create health and prosperity improvement zones modelled on clean air zones, a cross-party commission says. |
‘Massive disparities’ in number of bins councils collect
20/08/2024 There are ‘massive disparities’ in the number of bins that UK councils ask residents to sort their rubbish into, a new survey has revealed. |
King's Speech: OBR handed beefed-up scrutiny role
17/07/2024 The Government has put fiscal stability in the form of a Budget Responsibility Bill at the heart of the King's Speech. |
Nottingham considers £2 accommodation levy
04/07/2024 Nottingham City Council members are set to consider plans to introduce a nightly £2 levy on accommodation providers. |
First ‘tourist tax’ on hold
02/07/2024 The first so-called coastal tourist tax in the UK has been put on hold following opposition from Dorset hoteliers. |
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. |
Pubs ‘vanishing’ at alarming rate, study reveals
17/06/2024 The number of pubs forced to call last orders for the final time increased at an alarming rate during the first quarter of the year, study reveals. |
Rayner accusation after police drop probe
29/05/2024 Shadow communities secretary Angela Rayner has hit out at the Conservatives’ ‘desperate tactics’ after police said they would take no further action following an investigation. |
Scottish councils criticise ‘excessive’ tourism tax delay
28/05/2024 Local authority leaders across Scotland have called on Holyrood to accelerate plans to empower them to charge visitors for overnight stays. |
Dorset to host UK’s first coastal ‘tourist tax’
15/05/2024 The first coastal ‘tourist tax’ in the UK is set to be introduced in Dorset after hoteliers in the region voted for the plans. |
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. |
Thanet DC drops tourism tax plan
29/04/2024 Thanet DC has decided to drop plans for a tourism tax because the Government has ‘no intention’ of giving the council the powers to implement one. |
LGA lobbied over income tax devolution
24/04/2024 The Local Government Association’s (LGA) White Paper should make the case for councils to receive a share of income tax, sector experts have urged. |
Next Government urged to look at devolving air passenger duty
10/04/2024 The leader of a Labour council in the shadow of Heathrow Airport has urged the next Government to look at devolving air passenger duty (APD). |
Lib Dems pledge to scrap business rates
09/04/2024 The Liberal Democrats would deliver tax reforms to ‘revive struggling high streets’, leader Ed Davey will announce today. |
Making England smoke-free could redirect £11bn to local economies
09/04/2024 A new study has found that if everyone in England stopped smoking, £10.9bn could be redirected to local economies each year. |
Craig hails tourist tax 'success'
08/04/2024 The leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, has hailed the UK’s first city tourist tax a ‘success’ a year on from its introduction. |
Tax haven crackdown announced by childcare body
08/04/2024 The membership body for children’s homes has announced a change in its membership criteria to combat the use of tax havens by childcare providers. |
Think-tank's call for landfill tax devolution
04/04/2024 A think-tank has called for a portion of the proceeds from landfill tax to be devolved to councils. |
Cambridge members discuss £2-a-night tourist tax
02/04/2024 Cambridge City Council members are considering plans that could see hotels in the city introduce a tourist tax. |
Online sales tax not priority for London
20/03/2024 London Councils has decided it will not prioritise an online sales tax (OST) as part of its lobbying effort. |
Tax cuts could drive 55,000 into poverty
05/03/2024 Tax cuts reportedly being considered by the Chancellor in tomorrow's Budget could result in tens of thousands of people being driven into poverty. |
Keep carers in work to save £6bn, Government urged
19/02/2024 The UK economy will lose billions this year because of unpaid carers who are unable to work, a think-tank has warned. |
London Councils to step back support for land value tax plans
23/11/2023 London Councils is expected to distance itself from backing the idea of a land value tax when its leaders meet next month. |
Britain faces 'highest tax raising parliament in history', CCN told
21/11/2023 Britain currently has the ‘highest tax raising parliament in history’, a leading economist has pointed out. |
Land value tax could redistribute billions
09/11/2023 A plan to reform business rates could lead to billions of pounds being redistributed from high land value areas to other parts of the country. |
Call for local income tax collection for biggest city regions
08/11/2023 More taxation powers, including the ability to keep a proportion of income tax, should be devolved to England’s three biggest city regions, a think-tank has argued. |
Tired of empty shops? It’s time to ban box shifting
29/09/2023 Sian Berry AM, Green London Assembly Member and Camden councillor, calls for an end to the use of the tax evasion technique known as ‘box shifting’. |
Call for pubs minister
28/09/2023 The Government should offer pubs tax rebates and appoint a minister responsible for a long term-strategy for the sector, report by think-tank Localis argues. |
‘Box shifting’ loophole costing councils £250m a year
26/09/2023 Councils in England could save £250m annually if a legal loophole that enables landlords to avoid business rates was closed, campaigners say. |
How to fix local government finance
25/09/2023 Dr Greg Stride & Dr Andrew Walker, LGIU Local Democracy Research Centre, look at the lessons from other countries when it comes to local government finance. |
Thriving tourism that supports local need
25/09/2023 Cllr Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, has set out three things needed for tourism to thrive in a way that meets the needs of residents. |
Calls to scrap council tax hike as consultation closes
20/09/2023 Councils should have complete control over their local tax, thinktank Reform Scotland has said in response to plans to increase council tax across Scotland. |
London council calls for power to impose overnight levy
20/09/2023 Westminster City Council has called on the Government to enable local authorities to tax tourists on stays. |
Pubs 'vanishing' at alarming rate as closures jump 50%
18/09/2023 The number of pubs that have been demolished or converted into other types of use has risen dramatically, with over 380 ‘vanishing’ this year. |
Bristol rules out workplace parking levy
10/08/2023 Bristol City Council has ruled out introducing a workplace parking levy because of the cost-of-living crisis. |
Government heads off business rates review
21/07/2023 A bid to secure a review of business rates in the House of Lords has failed. |
Preventing future Section 114 notices
13/06/2023 Joanne Pitt, Local Government Policy manager at CIPFA, reflects on Woking BC’s financial troubles and looks at the lessons for other councils. |
Number of council staff earning over £100k down post-pandemic
19/04/2023 The number of council staff receiving more than £100,000 is nearly at 2,800, according to campaigners, which is down slightly from last year. |
Labour pledges to revitalise high streets
12/04/2023 Labour will today promote its plan to revitalise ailing high streets through a £700m fund to help small businesses with soaring energy bills. |
Tourism tax could raise councils nearly £430m, study says
03/04/2023 More than £428m a year could be raised by imposing a £1-a-night levy on visitors staying in hotels, according to the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP). |
Sugar levy prevented 5,000 cases of obesity every year
27/01/2023 Council leaders have called on the Government to recommit to the sugar levy as a new study reveals it prevented more than 5,000 cases of obesity every year. |
Councillors call for ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco
18/01/2023 Local councillors have urged the Government to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ levy on tobacco manufacturers and to replace the expired plan to control tobacco. |
MPs urge HMRC to up game
10/01/2023 HMRC is failing to collect billions of pounds of tax it is owed each year that could have helped further fund local public services, MPs have warned. |
Public EV network under pressure from electricity price rise
10/01/2023 RAC and FairCharge have called on the Government to slash the VAT rate at public electric vehicle chargers after new data shows increase in charger costs. |
Manchester introduces post-COVID ‘toursim tax’
12/12/2022 Visitors to Manchester will be required to pay a ‘tourism tax’ as part of a new initiative to support the city’s accommodation sector after Brexit and COVID. |
Councils invited to host Investment Zones
03/10/2022 Local authorities are now able to apply to host a new Investment Zone, the Government announced over the weekend. |
Mini-Budget: Kwarteng's plans to boost economic growth
23/09/2022 New Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has unveiled a mini-Budget aimed at boosting the economy and growing his way out of the country’s financial woes. |
Mini-Budget: Chancellor drops social care levy
23/09/2022 Chancellor Kwarteng today confirmed that the National Insurance (NI) rise will be reversed and a planned levy to fund social care will be dropped. |
Mini-Budget: Universal Credit sanctions tightened
23/09/2022 Tens of thousands of people on Universal Credit face sanctions and reductions if they do not show up at jobcentres, under plans unveiled by the chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. |
Westminster council wages war on ‘dirty money’
21/09/2022 Westminster council will take steps today to tackle economic crime in order to combat the capital’s reputation as the European centre for money laundering. |
Westminster council calls for ‘reform’ of business rates
26/08/2022 Westminster City Council has called for a ‘fundamental reform’ of business rates ahead of what the local authority warns will be a difficult winter. |
Road-pricing system fairer than fuel tax
16/05/2022 Charging motorists a levy based on the miles they drive would be fairer than taxing fuel and could address the cost of living crisis, think tank says. |
Red diesel ban ‘tangible threat’ to waste strategy
18/03/2022 The Chancellor has been warned that the red diesel ban is ‘counter intuitive’ and presents ‘a tangible threat’ to the Government’s waste strategy. |
Council chiefs call for VAT cut on vaping products
09/03/2022 The Government should cut Value Added Tax (VAT) on the sale of vaping products to help people to stop smoking, local authority leaders say. |
Trade unions call for £200 fuel loan to be a grant
07/03/2022 Trade unions have called on the Government to protect working families against further energy price rises as a result of the Ukraine crisis. |
Councils concerned taxis ‘not aware’ of upcoming tax checks
06/01/2022 Council leaders are concerned that taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) operators are ‘not aware’ of forthcoming conditionality tax checks, research finds. |
Tax ‘loophole’ costs councils £110m
09/08/2021 New research suggests business rates relief for holiday lets is currently worth £110m a year. |
Council tax collection deficit hits £500m
27/05/2021 Councils will need ‘additional help from taxpayers’ to balance their books, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy has warned. |
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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Think tank calls for sweeping reforms to local taxes
06/07/2020 A group of former Treasury special advisers have called for revaluation of the council tax and reform of business rates to boost the economy post-COVID-19. |
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Council celebrates ‘landmark’ ruling that will save museums thousands
18/06/2020 Exeter CC has welcomed a landmark ruling over the rateable valuation of a Grade II building in a court decision that could save museums thousands of pounds. |
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Majority of people support tax rises to solve social care crisis
06/12/2019 Two thirds of people want tax increases to pay for health and social care, a new poll has revealed. |
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Small businesses call for ‘radical’ business rates reform
21/10/2019 Representatives of small businesses have written to the chancellor calling on him to introduce business rates reform to help struggling firms. |
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High street retailers call for reform of ‘broken’ business rates
13/08/2019 Over 50 high street retailers have signed a letter calling on Chancellor Sajid Javid to reform the business rates system. |
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London boroughs eye £750 workplace parking charge
25/07/2019 Several London boroughs are considering introducing workplace parking levies (WPLs) of at least £750 a year to cut pollution and encourage active travel. |
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Council backs campaign for procurement reform
11/07/2019 Oxford City Council has become the first authority to back a fair tax campaign. |
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Councils spend £74m on empty properties in two years
03/06/2019 Local authorities have spent millions maintaining empty properties over the last couple of years, anti-tax campaigners have revealed. |
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Impact of tourism tax
27/03/2019 Rory Alexander explores what the introduction of tourism tax in the UK could mean for local councils. |
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It’s ‘business as usual’ at Mersey bridge, council defiantly insists
14/03/2019 Halton BC has said it is ‘business as usual’ at the Mersey Gateway despite a tribunal decision that the bridge’s crossing charge is 'not a tolling scheme’. |
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Scotland’s landfill ban will be £100m tax gift to England, waste experts say
27/02/2019 Waste management experts have ‘expressed deep concern’ that Scotland is not prepared for a landfill ban which will lead to higher haulage costs for councils. |
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Edinburgh council votes in favour of ‘tourist tax’
08/02/2019 City of Edinburgh councillors have voted in favour for what could be the UK’s first ‘tourist tax’. |
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‘Tweaking’ wealth taxes could raise £7bn a year, think tank says
03/01/2019 Reforming Britain’s wealth taxes could help the Government raise £7bn a year by 2022-23 to help cover the cost of public services, a think tank has argued. |
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Council chiefs call for national taxation to save care services
14/11/2018 Whitehall must start making the case for increases in national taxation in order to fund struggling adult social care services, local authority chiefs say. |
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Tax increases ‘possible solution’ to social care crisis, council chiefs say
31/07/2018 Local government leaders have proposed a series of tax increases as ‘possible solutions’ to paying for adult social care over the long-term. |
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Tax-raising powers for mayors could help reduce health inequalities, report says
15/06/2018 A leading research group has called for cities to be given more powers to help improve public health. |
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Think tank calls for ‘skills levy’ on construction industry
01/12/2017 A leading think tank has called on the Government to introduce a levy in the construction industry to boost skills training as part of a plan for Brexit. |
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Tax increases on insurance exposing public sector to ‘higher risk’, insurer warns
21/11/2017 Increases in the tax on insurance policies is leaving public sector and voluntary organisations exposed to higher risk, a leading insurer has warned. |
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Councils defend spending on public health interventions
01/11/2017 Council chiefs have defended spending on tackling harmful lifestyle choices against ‘flawed’ study which accuses them of restricting individual freedom. |
