Renewables at no upfront cost?
Rebecca Lawson explains why local authorities are embracing community energy.
In a nutshell: What the election result means for local government
13/12/2019 With the Conservative party securing its biggest majority since the 1980s, what does this mean for local government? |
‘Vast majority’ of council vehicles run on diesel despite pollution concerns
11/12/2019 Over 90% of vehicles operated by local authorities run on diesel despite council efforts to tackle air pollution, new research has revealed. |
Measuring the true value of community transport
11/12/2019 ECT Charity explains why community transport is worth its weight in savings. |
Top 100: Our most popular local government stories of 2019
10/12/2019 From calls to a 10% pay rise for council staff to declaring a climate change emergency, here is our countdown of the 100 most popular stories on LocalGov during 2019. |
Cycling key to stopping plastic polluting the ocean, charity says
10/12/2019 A charity has called on the next Government to invest more into the promotion of cycling and walking as part of the effort to prevent plastic polluting the ocean. |
It’s party time
05/12/2019 Paul Marinko tries to help the sector navigate the web of policy commitments for local government on offer after 12 December. |
Khan urged to make transport ‘fairer’ for Londoners on low incomes
04/12/2019 A think tank has called on Mayor Khan to make public transport more affordable for lower-income residents in London. |
Uber loses licence to operate in London
25/11/2019 Transport for London (TfL) has ruled against granting Uber a new private hire operator’s licence, deeming it to 'not be fit and proper' to hold one. |
Cities can address climate crisis by ‘joining the dots’ between sectors
14/11/2019 Cities can help protect the environment by linking up their policies on transport, energy and the built environment, according to campaigners. |
Councils warn about spiralling cost of free school transport
04/11/2019 Councils will be spending £1.2bn on providing free school transport by 2024, new research has found. |
Outdated taxi laws putting public at risk, councils warn
01/11/2019 The Government has been urged to reform 'outdated and flawed' taxi laws by the Local Government Association (LGA). |
Birmingham CC welcomes extension of injunction banning ‘street cruising’
31/10/2019 A court has agreed to extend an injunction banning street cruising from the roads of Birmingham for another three years, the city council has confirmed. |
Khan launches ‘world-leading’ scheme to get dangerous lorries off the road
30/10/2019 The mayor of London has launched a scheme to remove ‘the most dangerous’ Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) from the capital’s streets. |
Bristol council considers banning diesel vehicles
30/10/2019 Bristol City Council is considering banning diesel vehicles in what it claims will be the quickest way to reduce nitrogen dioxide in the air. |
Reading to ditch polluting Hackney Carriages
25/10/2019 Older black cabs in Reading are set to be replaced with low emission vehicles as part of the council’s effort to make the city carbon neutral. |
Funding for buses cut by 40% in last decade
25/10/2019 Local authority funding for buses in England has fallen by more than 40% in the past decade, new figures have revealed today. |
Charity calls for ‘whole Government approach’ to health of young people
16/10/2019 Whitehall should transform its policies across housing, transport and education in order to secure the future health of today’s young people, charity says. |
North and Midlands ‘must take control’ of HS2, report says
16/10/2019 A review of HS2 has warned against stopping work on the high-speed network and insisted that the North and Midlands ‘must take control’ of the project. |
Queen's Speech 19: Whitehall unveils major infrastructure and rail plans
14/10/2019 The Queen's Speech pledges infrastructure strategy, aviation bill and proposals for rail reform. |
Study uncovers six factors driving bus use
09/10/2019 New research has revealed the underlying factors that best predict levels of bus use in local areas. |
Greater Manchester first to consult on bus franchising
09/10/2019 Greater Manchester is set to become the first city-region in the UK to hold a public consultation on the introduction of a bus franchising scheme. |
Not so fast - HS2 could be cut at both ends
07/10/2019 Council leaders in West Yorkshire have warned of ‘grave consequences’ after it was reported that the leg of HS2 from the Midlands to Leeds could be axed. |
Ministers promise a national bus strategy
30/09/2019 A new Government bus strategy backed with an initial £220m will see local authorities pilot schemes to boost electric take-up and low fares, as well as more London-style franchising powers. |
Welsh councils to receive over £400,000 for electric charge points
26/09/2019 Nine local authorities in Wales are set to receive hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding from Whitehall to install electric vehicle charge points. |
Bus use falls to lowest level in a decade
25/09/2019 Councils have renewed calls to be given more say in how bus services are run after the latest figures showing the number of people using them at their lowest level for a decade. |
Uber granted two month licence
24/09/2019 Transport for London (TfL) has issued Uber with a two-month private hire operator licence after previously trying to oust to ride hailing app from its network. |
Council chiefs call for devolution process to be ‘reignited’
20/09/2019 The Government must 'reignite the devolution process' to give all parts of England more powers and funding, council leaders have demanded. |
Health chiefs recommend new air pollution curbs
19/09/2019 Environment and public health chiefs have made a raft of recommendations to tackle air pollution in London, including new local measures to reduce car use. |
Oxfordshire councils launch ‘bold’ plans for tackling congestion
19/09/2019 Local authorities in Oxfordshire have announced new plans for reducing congestion on all major routes into Oxford. |
Councils urged to apply for £120,000 local road fund
17/09/2019 Local authorities are today being urged to apply for a new grant fund aimed at improving the safety of local roads. |
Woodland clearances for HS2 temporarily halted
16/09/2019 The Government has called a temporary and conditional halt to the removal of ancient woodlands for HS2 while the high speed train programme is reviewed. |
Council chiefs call for control over bus services
16/09/2019 Councils must be allowed to control bus services in their areas, according to local government leaders. |
PM urged to invest over £45m in the Midlands rail network
12/09/2019 The Prime Minister has been urged to get behind a multi-billion pound plan to ‘supercharge’ the Midland’s economy by reforming its rail network. |
HS2 proposals could bring £1.4bn of benefits, Midlands transport body says
09/09/2019 New plans submitted to the review of the controversial HS2 scheme propose directly connecting the city centres of Birmingham and Nottingham and Leicester and Leeds with high speed trains. |
100 places chosen to develop new town deals
06/09/2019 Towns across England have been invited to develop proposals for new multi-million pound Town Deals. |
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'. |
Council leaders calls for green light on HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail
03/09/2019 Council leaders have joined a new campaign to ensure the Government goes ahead with HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR). |
Northern leaders to review controversial HS2 scheme
27/08/2019 The Northern Powerhouse Partnership will hold a review into HS2 to ensure the North is ‘properly heard’ in the Government-commissioned review of the scheme. |
Whitehall warned not to ‘scrap’ HS2 as review announced
21/08/2019 The Government has announced an independent review into ‘whether and how’ the HS2 programme should proceed. |
TfN submits £700m proposals for National Roads Fund
21/08/2019 Transport for the North has submitted £700m bids to the National Roads Fund, including 12 schemes for the major road network and four for large local majors. |
Council services ‘declining’ due to £5bn funding gap, MPs say
21/08/2019 MPs have accused the Government of being ‘derelict in its duty’ by failing to set out a funding settlement that would ease the pressure on frontline services. |
London set for three times more transport investment than North
19/08/2019 London is in line for almost three times more transport investment per person than the North of England, according to IPPR North. |
Council chiefs call for billions to fix North’s ‘creaking infrastructure’
15/08/2019 Leaders from across the North have today called on the Government to commit to multi-billion pound infrastructure pledges that would boost the region’s economic fortunes. |
Council proposes £120m scheme to upgrade Liverpool’s ‘flawed’ junction
15/08/2019 Liverpool City Council has submitted proposals to the Government outlining its plans to radically redesign one of the city’s major junctions as part of a wider bid to boost transport in the North. |
Two Black Country stations to reopen thanks to £10m grant
06/08/2019 Two stations are to be reopened in the Black Country thanks to a £10m Government grant after being closed for nearly half a century. |
Combined authority to pilot 'Uber-style' bus service
26/07/2019 Plans to pilot a ‘demand-responsive’ bus service across Tees Valley have been approved. |
London Assembly reminds PM of past promises
25/07/2019 The London Assembly has written to the new PM urging him to continue opposing Heathrow expansion and calling on him to support moves to tackle domestic abuse. |
MPs call for dedicated funding for active travel
23/07/2019 MPs have criticised the Government for inadequate and ‘piecemeal’ active travel investment and called for a dedicated funding stream for local walking and cycling. |
Grayling warned £350m local roads fund is ‘not enough’
22/07/2019 Council chiefs have told the Government a recently announced £350m funding boost to help improve local roads is not an alternative to long-term investment. |
Whitehall announces nearly £40m electric chargepoint investment
09/07/2019 The Government has announced it is investing £37m to transform electric chargepoint infrastructure. |
Funding cuts could have paid for eight million pothole repairs, council chiefs say
08/07/2019 Council leaders have called for more cash after calculating money cut from road funding budgets over the last decade could have fixed millions of potholes. |
Cardiff to invest £1bn in new transport system
05/07/2019 Cardiff Council has announced a £1bn plan to overhaul the Welsh capital’s transport system to prevent it from ‘grinding to a halt’. |
Northern Powerhouse: The first five years
01/07/2019 The Northern Powerhouse has celebrated its fifth birthday. But what is it, and what has it achieved? Mark Whitehead investigates. |
Burnham jumps aboard franchising bus
24/06/2019 Andy Burnham has become the first mayor in the country to recommend bus franchising, as part of a plan to create a ‘modern public transport system’. |
Millions 'wasted' on painted cycle lanes, ambassadors warn
17/06/2019 Cycling and walking ambassadors have called on the Government to provide councils with greater powers and more money to make key changes in cities. |
Bus users outline plan to reverse rural decline
13/06/2019 A group representing bus users across the UK has published a 10-point plan to reverse the decline in rural services. |
Malthouse announces £142m infrastructure investment
11/06/2019 Thousands of new homes will be built in two areas as a result of £142m investment in infrastructure, housing minister Kit Malthouse has announced. |
Noisy drivers face fines under new plans
10/06/2019 Drivers with noisy vehicles are facing a crackdown with new technology to detect illegal sound levels. |
Calls to make cycling more inclusive for women, older and disabled people
06/06/2019 Women, older and disabled people are neglected in provision of resources to support cycling, according to a report. |
Scotland's 20mph roll-out suffers blow
03/06/2019 A national roll-out of 20mph speed limits in Scotland has suffered a blow after a key committee refused to recommend the bill. |
Mayors want Northern franchise scrapped
30/05/2019 Two North West metro mayors have called on transport secretary Chris Grayling to terminate the Northern rail franchise ‘as soon as possible’. |
Gov to fall short on national cycling target
28/05/2019 The Government is set to fall way short of its target of doubling the number of cycling journeys by 2025. |
City of London plans UK’s first 15mph speed limit
28/05/2019 The Square Mile in London is set to become the UK’s first area with a 15mph speed limit. |
We need a national bus strategy, MPs say
22/05/2019 Bus services are in 'steady decline' due to uncoordinated, fragmented Government policy and local funding, according to influential MPs. |
Councils urged to take control of bus services
17/05/2019 Councils have been reminded they can take control of bus services under new powers introduced by the Government. |
North ‘being short-changed by HS2’
16/05/2019 A House of Lords committee has called on ministers to rethink HS2 after finding evidence that the costs of the high speed rail link ‘appear to be out of control’. |
Grayling calls on councils to apply for green transport funding
16/05/2019 Chris Grayling has urged more local authorities to apply for funding earmarked for investment into ecologically sustainable transport projects. |
London council budgets slashed 17% over last decade
13/05/2019 London’s local authority budgets have dropped by nearly a fifth – or 17% – per head over the last eight years, a new study has revealed. |
Scrap older cars and replace them with ‘mobility credits’, Welsh ministers told
09/05/2019 Welsh ministers will today hear how pollution could be tackled by scrapping older cars and replacing them with credits to use on buses, trains and daily car and bike hire. |
UK needs £1bn a year to combat flood threat
09/05/2019 A long-term strategy to ensure infrastructure is resilient to flooding and coastal change by 2050 has been unveiled today by the Environment Agency. |
No such thing as a ‘rural transport problem’, report concludes
03/05/2019 It is ‘very easy’ to provide high quality public transport to rural communities, a study comparing approaches to transport in four countries has concluded. |
Heathrow runway clears High Court hurdle
01/05/2019 The High Court has dismissed arguments against Heathrow expansion and found that the Government is free to ignore the Paris Agreement on climate action until it forms part of UK law. |
Peers call for strategies to develop ‘under-performing’ rural areas
29/04/2019 Local authorities should develop their own strategies for realising the ‘potential in struggling and under-performing’ rural areas, committee says. |
MPs call for more commitment to transport in the North
29/04/2019 A group of over 80 Parliamentarians have written to the Chancellor arguing that the Government does not have to choose between HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail because ‘we need both’. |
London’s transport commissioner criticised over Crossrail debacle
23/04/2019 The chair of the committee overseeing the Crossrail project has accused London's transport commissioner of 'watering down' information sent to Sadiq Khan. |
Khan hails 'landmark day' as London ULEZ begins
08/04/2019 London’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) – described by mayor Sadiq Khan as the world’s toughest vehicle emissions standard – began on Monday. |
Has the Government ‘gone cold’ on the Northern Powerhouse?
02/04/2019 Neil Merrick talks to the Northern Powerhouse minister Jake Berry about the progress of developments in the North. |
Grayling launches £200m pothole fund
01/04/2019 Councils in England will be given a share of more than £200m for road maintenance and pothole repairs, transport secretary Chris Grayling has announced. |
Councils chosen to share £25m clean bus funding
22/03/2019 A £25m fund to upgrade buses with technologies that reduce harmful emissions will be shared by 14 local authorities. |
Norman sets out plans for urban mobility
19/03/2019 Ministers have announced a ‘review’ that will pave the way for transforming the way people and goods move around our cities, alongside £90m to ‘test ideas’ to improve journeys. |
Edinburgh tram extension gets green light
15/03/2019 Councillors in Edinburgh have voted to back the £207m extension of the city’s controversial tram network to Leith and Newhaven. |
Stobart announced as Tee Valley airport operator
14/03/2019 Tees Valley Combined Authority has announced that Stobart Group will be the operator of the local airport now that it has been brought under public control. |
Birmingham faces 'major public health crisis’, council warns
14/03/2019 Birmingham City Council has been given the go-ahead to introduce a clean air zone to tackle what it has called a 'major public health crisis'. |
Legal challenges to Heathrow Expansion begin
11/03/2019 Five legal challenges to the Government’s plans for a new runway at Heathrow will reach the High Court this week. |
Sutton chosen to trial 'on-demand' bus service
20/02/2019 An ‘on-demand’ bus service is set to be trialled in Sutton to help reduce the borough’s high dependency on cars. |
Newcastle council to discuss £5m station ‘revamp’
18/02/2019 Councillors in Newcastle are considering a multi-million pound package of measures that will revamp the city’s central station. |
Think tank calls for devolution of transport funding
18/02/2019 The devolution of transport funding will enable councils to invest on a strategic basis and help match up transport with new developments, a new report says. |
Council rolls scooters out in bid to tackle pollution
13/02/2019 Children in Leeds will soon be travelling to school on scooters instead of in cars as part of the council’s push to clean up the city’s air. |
Whitehall launches consultation on taxi licensing
12/02/2019 Local authorities could soon be required to ensure that every prospective taxi driver undergoes enhanced criminal record and background checks. |
Northern leaders approve £70bn transport plan
11/02/2019 Northern leaders have approved a £70bn transport plan for their region and will now take steps to submit a business case to Government for rail investment. |
Underfunding of bus scheme leaves elderly ‘isolated’
11/02/2019 Elderly and vulnerable people could be left isolated because the concessionary bus fares scheme is underfunded, local government leaders have warned. |
Popular council services could be swallowed by £8bn funding black hole
01/02/2019 Many popular council services could disappear by 2025 due to a £8bn funding black hole, council leaders have warned today. |
£70bn plan to boost the North’s infrastructure published
31/01/2019 Transport for the North has set out a multi-billion pound blueprint for transforming the North’s economy and creating an estimated 850,000 jobs. |
Infrastructure projects 'undermined' by lack of public engagement
28/01/2019 Future transport projects in London could be undermined if politicians fail to engage with the public, a major infrastructure firm has warned. |
Councils take ‘risk-based’ approach to filling in potholes
18/01/2019 Councils are increasingly adopting a ‘risk-based’ approach to filling in potholes, an analysis of council response times to calls about road defects has found. |
York invests nearly £2m to improve air quality
10/01/2019 City of York Council plans to invest £1.6m in order to reduce the exhaust emissions from local bus services. |
Burnham launches plan to make Greater Manchester an ‘ambitious hub’
07/01/2019 Greater Manchester’s leaders are today announcing ‘radical plans’ to deliver more affordable housing and better transport across the region. |
Grayling awards £13.8m deal to ferry firm with no boats
03/01/2019 Chris Grayling has defended a £13.8m ferry contract being given to a company with no boats on the grounds that the Government is supporting British business. |
Parish councils protest against airport expansion
20/12/2018 A group of parish councils have protested at plans to expand Bristol Airport on the grounds that it will increase traffic and damage the environment. |
VolkerHighways to bring Bath up to date with £70m deal
18/12/2018 VolkerHighways has signed a new highway maintenance and improvements contract with Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council worth up to £70m over 10 years. |
This issue of Local Government News explores what impact the increase to the Public Works Loan Board rate have on councils’ capital schemes and why adopting AI will not just improve customer service response times for councils.
This issue also finds out how local government pension funds are backing infrastructure projects and calls on local government to get better value from its technology spend.
