Protecting the public realm without shutting it down
As Martyn's Law approaches, this free special report from LocalGov and Hill & Smith sets out how councils can protect public spaces without shutting them down.
Axing patient watchdog risks NHS ‘marking own homework’, warns LGA
01/06/2026 Government plans to abolish the network of Healthwatch patient watchdog organisations that work with councils to monitor NHS and adult social care services have been criticised by the Local Government Association (LGA). |
Watchdog tells Scottish councils to raise ambition on transformation
20/05/2026 Scotland's councils need to significantly increase the pace and scale of their service transformation or risk facing greater costs later, watchdog warns. |
Lloyds social housing ad branded ‘misleading’
22/08/2025 A Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) advert stating that the lender had provided £19.5bn to social housing projects has been banned by the advertising watchdog. |
Scottish councils must ‘urgently’ reform, watchdog says
01/10/2024 Local authorities in Scotland must urgently transform how they work if they are to ‘sustainably maintain services’, a public finance watchdog has said. |
Wales ‘a long way’ from active travel aims
19/09/2024 The Welsh Government is a long way from achieving the step-change in active travel it set out more than a decade ago, a spending watchdog has found. |
Council ‘needs financial plan’ after £60m school blunder
21/08/2024 Renfrewshire Council has been urged to develop a financial plan after its miscalculation over school places was estimated to cost £60m to fix. |
Schools blunder to cost council £60m
18/01/2024 A report has found that Renfrewshire Council, whose ‘gross incompetence’ left a community short of hundreds of school places, has again failed to be transparent with residents on school provision. |
'Critical' to maintain progress, Dundee told
30/11/2023 A finance watchdog has said Dundee City Council is ‘well-run’ but ‘long-standing difficulties remain’ to be tackled in its improvement journey. |
MPs launch inquiry into controversial watchdog
24/11/2023 An inquiry looking at the remit of the controversial Office for Local Government (Oflog) was launched by MPs today. |
Levelling up ambitions blighted by delays, says NAO
17/11/2023 Ministers’ levelling up ambitions have been blighted by delays to key construction projects, with many deadlines unlikely to be met, the UK’s spending watchdog has warned. |
Oflog moves to expand remit
30/10/2023 The new Office for Local Government (Oflog) watchdog has proposed to widen its scope to five new service areas. |
