Making AI work for women: A leadership opportunity for local government
12/03/2026 Artificial intelligence (AI) is arriving in local government bringing challenges and opportunities, which will transform the workplace and affect women in particular, says Anna Triponel, human rights expert and the founder of Human Level. |
South Ayrshire Council could consider job cuts in new workforce plan
20/02/2026 South Ayrshire Council has revealed that workforce changes will be unavoidable as part of the measures required to close its budget gap. |
Cheshire East a 'floundering ship', claims opposition
20/02/2026 Cheshire East Council has been described as a ‘floundering ship' as it grapples with a financial crisis amid instability among its senior officers. |
Public libraries face volunteering workforce pressures
17/02/2026 A new report has warned that England’s public libraries face mounting workforce and infrastructure pressures as volunteering continues to expand. |
Future Sheffield: How one city council is upskilling its workforce
13/02/2026 Facing rising demand and tighter budgets, Sheffield City Council is upskilling its workforce through a Data Academy delivered by Multiverse. LocalGov reports. |
Bury Council ponders using AI for budget gains
06/02/2026 Bury Council is considering implementing AI to boost service efficiency and close budget gaps. |
Royal reception celebrates Northern Ireland local government staff
04/02/2026 Local government representatives from across Northern Ireland were honoured at a special reception hosted by Their Majesties The King and Queen. |
AI skills push aims to equip 10m workers by 2030
28/01/2026 The Government has launched an expansion of free AI training for workers, including local government employees, aiming to upskill 10 million people by 2030. |
Why upskilling the workforce is mission-critical
15/01/2026 Local government’s digital future depends on its people — and councils like Sheffield are proving that investing in data skills is the fastest way to deliver. |
EXCLUSIVE: LGA plan hits mid ranks
15/01/2026 The latest plans to slash the pay for Local Government Association (LGA) staff are unlikely to hit those on the very highest salaries, leaked figures reveal. |
How partnerships can help LAs grow the labour market through apprenticeships
08/01/2026 Partnerships can help councils fill critical skills gaps and grow the labour market by boosting apprenticeship starts, according to leading training provider. |
National recruitment campaign for local government launched
05/01/2026 A new national recruitment drive aiming to boost council workforces has been launched amid growing staffing pressures across local government. |
Reed says councils should not be offering 'full-time pay for part-time work'
23/12/2025 Local authorities should not be offering full-time pay for part-time work, communities secretary Steve Reed has told council leaders. |
Council staff demand pay rise amid rising pressures
01/12/2025 Unions representing council workers have today submitted their joint pay claim for 2026–27, calling for a wage rise of at least £3,000. |
Lords: Devolve powers to tackle youth unemployment faster
19/11/2025 Devolution of power and resources to councils could reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), a new study suggests. |
Editor’s Comment: What local government wants from the Autumn Budget
17/11/2025 As councils face soaring pressures, the Autumn Budget Insights series outlines what local government leaders are calling on the Chancellor to deliver. |
Reed: Reorganisation will contribute to 'fair' pay
14/11/2025 Local government reorganisation will help pay council workers a ‘fair wage', communities secretary Steve Reed has suggested. |
Digital Transformation, AI and Local Government: The Case for Workforce Upskilling
14/11/2025 The new LocalGov and Multiverse report explores how workforce upskilling is driving smarter, more efficient, and inclusive local government transformation. |
Autumn Budget Insights: A chance to rebuild councils
11/11/2025 Mike Short, head of local government at UNISON, argues that the Autumn Statement is a chance to protect services and staff, and renew local government. |
EXCLUSIVE: Succession headache for sector
05/11/2025 Councils are ‘on the brink of staffing crisis’ due to their ageing workforce, public sector trading organisation Commercial Services Group (CSG) has warned. |
Autumn Budget Insights: What the local government workforce really needs
04/11/2025 Pam Parkes, President of PPMA, argues that local government cannot deliver reform or growth without investing in its workforce. |
Smarter Spaces: The case for council office reconfiguration
04/11/2025 Kingsley Clarke, Head of SCF (South West) at Southern Construction Framework, explains why councils must rethink office space. |
Roney legal case collapses
24/10/2025 A court case accusing Birmingham City Council chief executive Joanne Roney of an antisemitic slur has collapsed as ‘there was not a shred of evidence’. |
Scottish councils demand £750m social care lifeline
24/10/2025 Scotland’s political leaders have been told they face a ‘defining moment’ for local services — with social care at the centre of a new call for action. |
Domestic recruitment challenges persist in adult social care
15/10/2025 The adult social care sector in England continued to grow in 2024/25, but challenges in domestic recruitment and workforce sustainability remain, a new report reveals. |
Call for better training for adult social care workforce
26/09/2025 Working conditions and workforce training in adult social care need urgent improvement, according to a new report from the Royal Society for Public Health. |
Shropshire 'a hair's breadth' from s114
25/09/2025 Shropshire Council will have to rely on Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) to stave off a section 114 notice, according to a corporate peer challenge. |
‘Landmark’ regeneration plan to transform Gateshead town centres
24/09/2025 Gateshead’s town centres are to receive ‘dramatic’ improvements under its regeneration scheme. |
Think tank reports rise in ‘economically inactive' young people
26/08/2025 The number of those aged 16 to 24 and not in education, employment or training has risen to almost one million, a think tank has revealed. |
What Council Unitarisation Means for Neighbourhood Services
12/08/2025 APSE’s guidance on safeguarding neighbourhood services, aligning working practices, and planning efficiencies during local government reorganisation. |
Work scheme for people with health conditions launches in West England
11/08/2025 A programme to help people with health conditions back into the workplace has been launched in the West of England. |
Councils must support care-experienced young people, says report
11/07/2025 More funding is required to improve early intervention services for children’s social care, says Education Committee. |
Reform UK’s ‘Doge’ witch-hunts will achieve little
27/06/2025 With council workers under threat, Mike Short, head of local government at UNISON, questions the value of Nigel Farage's unwanted audits |
International recruitment of care workers to end
12/05/2025 The Government is set to end the recruitment of care workers from overseas to bring down the migration figures, but critics call the move a ‘crushing blow’. |
Streeting: Care staff to be trained in ‘cutting-edge’ tech
09/04/2025 Social care workers will be trained to use the latest ‘cutting-edge technology’ to help improve the social care system, Wes Streeting has said. |
Matrix Workforce Management Solutions Appoints Andrew Curry as Client Engagement Director for Health and Social Care
09/04/2025 Matrix, a leader in Workforce Management Solutions, has announced the appointment of Andrew Curry as Client Engagement Director for Health and Social Care. |
London’s high streets get £21m regeneration boost
28/02/2025 London’s high streets are to benefit from £21m additional funding this year aimed at regenerating the capital’s high streets. |
Fife Council reaches £46m ‘turning point’
25/02/2025 Fife Council has reached a ‘turning point’ and will now have to save £46m, according to a new report by the Accounts Commission. |
Matrix Workforce Management Solutions Increases Scope on the G-Cloud 14 Framework
24/01/2025 Matrix is proud to announce increased scope on the G-Cloud 14 framework, further cementing their position as a leading provider of workforce solutions to the public sector. |
Frustration mounts over lack of care workforce strategy
06/12/2024 Frustration in the sector is growing as the Government fails to produce a workforce strategy for social care. |
Kendall: Local government to join up work opportunities
26/11/2024 Mayors and councils will be given powers to join up services locally to tackle worklessness, the work and pensions secretary will announce today. |
Somerset could cut 450 jobs
28/10/2024 Somerset Council has announced that there will be compulsory redundancies across its workforce, with 450 posts at risk. |
West Northants asks staff to consider redundancy
21/10/2024 West Northamptonshire Council has asked staff to consider voluntary redundancy, flexible retirement and reduced working hours in a bid to cut costs. |
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. |
Planning departments hit hardest by staff shortages
14/10/2024 Planning departments are facing the worst workforce shortages, with eight out of 10 experiencing recruitment and retention issues, new research has revealed. |
Why social care isn’t just a discharge service
10/10/2024 Sean Harriss, Senior Advisor at PPL, talks about how viewing social care as a ‘hospital discharge service’ means the value of social care isn’t realised. |
International recruitment boosts social care workforce
10/10/2024 The adult social care workforce has grown thanks to carers from abroad, but sector still faces domestic recruitment and retention challenges, study reveals. |
Scottish councils face critical workforce gaps
05/09/2024 Local authorities in Scotland are facing critical workforce gaps in multiple areas, in particular in social care and social work, a new report has found. |
Quarter of councils not ready for childcare expansion
27/08/2024 A quarter of councils lack confidence in their ability to expand Government-funded childcare support in September, Local Government Association reveals. |
Labour reaffirms commitment to National Care Service
07/08/2024 Care minister Stephen Kinnock has reaffirmed Labour's commitment to a National Care Service. |
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. |
