10 ways councils are making budgets go further
Discover 10 ways councils are stretching budgets further, from digital transformation and energy efficiency to community partnerships and data-driven decision-making.
Reorganisation and fair funding will 'throw cards up in the air' on budgets
16/10/2025 The impact of reorganisation and the fair funding review will ‘throw all the cards up in the air' for councils trying to hit budget, sector expert has warned. |
Exclusive: Cleverly criticises Labour's 'short term fixes'
02/10/2025 The shadow local government secretary has accused Labour of leaving councils with ‘short term fixes', identifying asylum hotels as an area ‘showing strain'. |
LGR 'making senior recruitment difficult', says Kent's Reform UK leader
08/09/2025 The Reform UK leader of Kent CC has said local government reorganisation (LGR) is ‘disrupting business as usual' and making recruitment ‘very difficult'. |
Judge temporarily bans new arrivals at Epping asylum hotel
18/08/2025 A judge has ordered a hotel not to accept any new applications from asylum seekers until his ruling on Epping Forest DC's request for a temporary injunction. |
Reform-controlled county agrees to back two unitary model
10/07/2025 Reform-controlled Derbyshire CC has agreed to back a two unitary model with a north south configuration. |
St Helens peer challenge expected to conclude council has 'transformed'
01/04/2025 St Helens MBC's corporate peer challenge is expected to conclude the council has been ‘transformed over the past five years'. |
Birmingham's post Oracle scrutiny portal 'should help to better understand risks'
20/03/2025 A new online information site for scrutiny teams at Birmingham CC should lead to a better understanding of risk after the Oracle IT scandal, councillor says. |
'Devil in the details' of welfare reform plans, says SIGOMA
19/03/2025 The ‘devil will be in the details' of the Government's proposed reforms to welfare, says SIGOMA leader. |
Leicestershire pushes for 'transparent' talks with districts on reorganisation
27/02/2025 District councils have ‘excluded' Leicestershire CC from meetings and discussions about future plans for reorganisation. |
State will operate 'more like a start-up'
10/12/2024 The launch of a £100m fund to pioneer public sector reform and deliver the Government's Plan for Change will see the state operate ‘more like a start-up', a minister has pledged. |
Budget: Chancellor promises to permanently lower business rates
30/10/2024 The chancellor prioritised delivering permanently lower business rates from 2026-27 in the Budget by lowering multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. |
Regional growth initiatives likely to 'fall over next year' without UKSPF clarity
12/09/2024 Regional growth initiatives are likely to ‘fall over next year' unless the Government clarifies the future of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a combined authority chief has warned. |
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. |
Stronger Things: 'Go deeper to deal with the age of division'
04/06/2024 Using community power to tackle polarisation requires ‘going deeper and deeper until some of the falsehoods clear out’, New Local’s Stronger Things has heard. |
Dashboard compares healthy life expectancy across councils
10/04/2024 A data tool to compare healthy life expectancy across all councils in England has been launched by The Health Foundation. |
PAC: New housing continues to be built in high risk areas
17/01/2024 More than half of councils rarely or never inspect a new housing development to check compliance with flood risk planning conditions, new PAC report says. |
NCASC: Social care 'doing a good job' getting investment
01/12/2023 Those working in adult social care are ‘already doing a very good job at getting investment and commitments to reform’, government minister Helen Whately says. |
Town halls still battling cost hikes
24/11/2023 Councils are continuing to battle with the impact of cost increases on budgets despite consumer inflation falling, says leader of England’s county treasurers. |
Chiefs' new professional development framework launched
17/10/2023 The first version of a new professional development framework to keep local government chief executives ‘ahead of the game’ has been launched. |
Gove pledges to halt council four-day weeks
02/10/2023 Michael Gove has pledged to stop local authorities from implementing a four-day week and said councils could face budget cuts if they adopt one. |
