Weakening financial sustainability arrangements
Paul Dossett, head of local government, Grant Thornton UK, discusses financial sustainability and raises concerns about the viability of a number of councils.
Care sector needs 540,000 workers by 2040
18/07/2024 The care sector will need 540,000 additional social care posts by 2040 to cope with the aging population, care workforce body Skills for Care estimates. |
Four-day working win
16/07/2024 Cllr Bridget Smith, leader of South Cambs DC, reflects on the results of the council’s four-day week trial and calls on Labour to back the shorter week. |
Councils stuck in social care and hospital ‘doom loop’
16/07/2024 Over-stretched councils are struggling to meet the increasingly complex social care needs of people being discharged from hospital, a new survey has revealed. |
South Cambs’ four-day week trial shows ‘positive’ results
08/07/2024 A report into South Cambridgeshire DC’s controversial four-day week trial found the majority of key performance indicators had improved or remained the same. |
School staff strike over new pay structure
27/06/2024 Teaching assistants at a school in East Yorkshire have walked out amid a dispute with the council over pay and conditions. |
Councils’ confidence for childcare roll-out ‘worryingly low’
27/06/2024 Local authorities in England have raised concerns that they will be unable to meet demand in the next phase of the expansion of free childcare. |
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. |
Union announces strike over working conditions
19/06/2024 Refuse workers in the London borough of Redbridge will strike next month over a ‘deterioration’ of working conditions. |
EXCLUSIVE: Whitehall warning over 'heightened' care provider failure risk
06/06/2024 The risk of adult social care provider failure is ‘currently heightened due to additional pressures in the market,’ a Whitehall document has warned. |
Council chiefs call for 10-year sexual health strategy
04/06/2024 Council leaders have called on the next Government to launch a 10-year sexual health strategy after new figures reveal rise in sexually transmitted infections. |
Nearly 85,000 childcare places needed, MPs warn
29/05/2024 Around 84,500 more childcare places and 40,000 extra staff are required by September 2025 if the Government is to deliver on its childcare support plans. |
Nearly 30,000 elderly people die waiting for social care
20/05/2024 Almost 30,000 elderly people died last year before ever receiving the social care for which they were waiting, a new analysis has revealed. |
Third of councils fear being unable to meet Care Act duties
14/05/2024 Only around two thirds of local authorities are confident they will be able to meet all their legal duties under the Care Act next year, council chiefs warn. |
Fresh Best Value Notice for South Cambs over four-day week
08/05/2024 The Government has issued a new Best Value Notice to South Cambridgeshire DC due to ‘ongoing concerns’ about the authority’s four-day working week. |
New £64m WorkWell pilot programme announced
08/05/2024 The Government has announced a new £64m pilot programme called WorkWell to assist individuals with long-term health issues rejoin the workforce. |
Oxford’s workforce issues a ‘significant risk’
10/04/2024 High staff turnover and difficulty recruiting at Oxford City Council could affect staff morale, wellbeing and absence and ultimately impact service delivery, a report has found. |
Dorset Council sets up recruitment firm
10/04/2024 Dorset Council has launched a recruitment company to help fill temporary roles. |
Mental illness costs England £300bn a year
27/03/2024 The cost of mental ill health in England was £300bn in 2022, according to new research. |
Unions call for 10% wage hike
04/03/2024 A 10% wage rise is the ‘only way to maintain the staff levels necessary to deliver services’, Unison, Unite and GMB say. |
Productivity plans: more than just reducing expenditure
20/02/2024 Owen Garling, the Knowledge Transfer Facilitator at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, explains how the public sector can boost its productivity levels. |
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. |
Flexible-work denied to third of women in public sector
15/02/2024 Three in ten (30%) women working in the public sector have had requests to work flexibly denied, new research from Unison has revealed. |
Rayner floats three-year pay deal
14/02/2024 An incoming Labour Government could throw its weight behind a longer-term pay deal for the sector to avoid the embarrassment of strikes, well-placed sources have suggested. |
Welsh government announces £25m for councils
07/02/2024 The Welsh government has announced an additional £25m to support cash-strapped local authorities in 2024-25. |
Migrant care worker family ban ‘reckless’, union says
31/01/2024 The Government’s decision to ban migrant care workers from bringing family over to join them in England could ‘spell disaster for social care’, union warns. |
Councils raise alarm over free childcare offer
25/01/2024 Ahead of the roll-out of the expansion to free early education entitlements, councils have warned there may not be enough childcare places to meet demand. |
Care providers closing due to ‘perilous’ environment
16/01/2024 Social care services are facing a situation that is ‘more perilous than ever’ with 43% of providers closing services or handing back contracts, study reveals. |
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’. |
Half of workers unsure their council can avoid bankruptcy
08/01/2024 Around 50% of local government workers are ‘unsure’ or ‘unconfident’ that their organisation is financially sustainable, a new study has revealed. |
Gov’s migration plans threaten ‘recruitment crisis’
13/12/2023 Hundreds of thousands of non-UK nationals working in London’s health and social care sector are likely to be hit by the Government’s new migration policies, Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned. |
Wraparound childcare: what do parents want?
29/11/2023 Ellen Broomé, managing director of Coram Family and Childcare, shares what must be done to make sure families can access the provision they need. |
Million more public transport commuters needed, think-tank says
29/11/2023 The largest cities in Britain should aim to boost the number of public transport commuters by nearly one million to reduce congestion and pollution, a think-tank has said. |
Councils need help to tackle care staff exploitation, union says
28/11/2023 The Government must drop plans to cap overseas care staff and act to stop the exploitation of those already working in the UK, the trade union Unison has said. |
Government behind on scaled-back care reforms
10/11/2023 The Government is behind even on its revised plans to overhaul adult social care, a National Audit Office (NAO) report has found. |
Four-day week trial continues despite DLUHC guidance
31/10/2023 South Cambridgeshire will continue its four-day week trial after new government guidance said councils employing the practice should ‘cease immediately’. |
Reports of exploitation in care sector surge
23/10/2023 There has been a dramatic rise in the number of workers in the care sector contacting a national helpline for victims of modern slavery, charity reveals. |
Council chiefs call for workforce plan after ‘unfair care’ warning
20/10/2023 Council leaders have repeated their call for a dedicated social care workforce plan in response to a CQC warning that councils are struggling to meet demand. |
Almost 400,000 carers leave workforce
12/10/2023 A new report offers an insight into the care sector’s struggle to retain staff after almost 400,000 carers left their jobs in a year. |
Campaign to recruit carers launched
10/10/2023 A campaign to recruit adult social care workers has been launched as part of the effort to tackle the social care workforce crisis. |
Children’s services hindered by ‘systemic challenges’
09/10/2023 Children’s services are doing ‘inspiring work’ but find themselves held back by ‘wider, systemic challenges’, a council chiefs say. |
Care workers in Wales feel undervalued, poll reveals
05/10/2023 Social care workers in Wales feel undervalued by the public and underpaid for the work they do, a new survey has revealed. |
Council to shut 39 facilities
02/10/2023 North Lanarkshire Council has decided to close 39 community facilities in response to its financial shortfall. |
Social care should be top of manifestos, forum says
28/09/2023 Adult social care reform should be prioritised on the agendas of all political parties, the National Care Forum (NCF) has said. |
South Cambs denies tampering with 4-day week trial report
28/09/2023 South Cambridgeshire DC has hit back at accusations that they tampered with a report to present an optimistic picture of the controversial four-day week trial. |
Unite and council reach deal to end waste strike
27/09/2023 Waste service workers and street cleaners return to work today after negotiations between Tower Hamlets Council and the trade union Unite put an end to industrial action. |
Over £8bn needed to stop care ‘deteriorating’
25/09/2023 Sustainable planning for the care sector must replace short-term cash injections, the Health Foundation said as it published projected costs for adult social care. |
Brighton settles 10-year equal pay issue
20/09/2023 Brighton and Hove City Council will adjust bank holiday pay for more than 800 staff in response to calls from Unison. |
Providers set out ‘pragmatic’ social care plan
19/09/2023 A plan for adult social care with recommendations for the next Government has been put forward by Care England. |
Council expands four-day week trial after fresh call to end it
14/09/2023 A 12-month four-day week trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council will expand next week, despite local government minister Lee Rowley again calling on the council to end it. |
Staff warn of general election disruption over voter ID
13/09/2023 Faced with the rollout of voter ID, electoral administrators have said they are not convinced they can deliver a general election before January 2025. |
Why the four-day week could solve the workforce crisis
12/09/2023 Local councils are struggling with job recruitment and retention. Melanie Pope, 4 Day Week Campaign, argues a four-day working week could be the answer. |
Watchdog uncovers ‘weaknesses’ in councils’ workforce plans
12/09/2023 Weaknesses in Welsh councils’ workforce strategies could hamper their ability to deliver in the long term, Audit Wales has found. |
‘Cinderella’ care sector staff facing poverty
29/08/2023 Most care workers are earning less than the real Living Wage and left ‘struggling to survive’, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned today. |
School staff at 10 Scottish councils to strike
18/08/2023 Local authority employees in schools and early years provisions across Scotland will strike for two days next month, GMB Scotland has announced. |
Social care workforce survey launched
14/08/2023 Staff working in the adult social care sector are being asked to share their experiences in a new Government survey. |
Councils slammed over '47-year negligence' after Uber court case
02/08/2023 A union representing private hire drivers has claimed victory in a court case that has clarified the legal status of ride-hailing services and their drivers. |
Sheffield council staff dismissed or resigned over fraud, report says
28/07/2023 Staff at Sheffield City Council have lost their jobs or resigned following the discovery of fraudulent activity, according to a report. |
Government confirms £600m social care fund
28/07/2023 A health think tank has welcomed confirmation of £600m to boost the social care winter workforce but warn it may not fix the problem ‘after years of neglect.’ |
LGPS staff voice workforce concerns
28/07/2023 Nearly a quarter of local government pension scheme (LGPS) employees feel they do not have the right staff in place, a new survey has revealed. |
Workforce concerns raised in social care survey
25/07/2023 Workforce concerns in children's social care have been brought to light in a new poll, in which 20% of council social workers said they planned to leave. |
Recuriter: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth
Recuriter: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and London Borough of Wandsworth
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.
Written by contributors who work with local government, LocalGov's white paper Transforming Local Government: A Strategic Guide for Labour will provide insights into the 5 major issues Labour must tackle.
