Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
Report finds fall in provision of long-term care
28/02/2025 Councils provided long-term care to fewer people last year than they did a decade ago, according to a new report. |
Local plans ‘overhaul’ announced
28/02/2025 The Government has announced an ‘overhaul’ of the local plan process in a bid to speed up development. |
Number of rough sleepers up by a fifth
28/02/2025 The number of people rough sleeping in England has increased by a fifth in a year, according to new government figures. |
Call to scrap ringfence in homelessness funding
27/02/2025 The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged the Government to scrap a new ringfence within the homelessness prevention grant. |
Tameside children waiting too long for care reviews
27/02/2025 Tameside Council is taking too long to review children’s education, health and care (EHC) plans, an investigation has found. |
Lack of staff and funding hinder AI progress
26/02/2025 County councils have warned that insufficient staff capacity and training and a lack of funding are hindering the roll-out of artificial intelligence (AI). |
New rules at district after ‘inappropriate behaviour’
26/02/2025 Teignbridge District Council has agreed to adopt a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to swearing and abusive behaviour after auditors criticised the behaviour of some members. |
New funding for local government to tackle digital exclusion
26/02/2025 The Government has announced that new funding will be available to help local and combined authorities to tackle digital exclusion. |
Leicester to build 53 council homes on derelict school site
24/02/2025 Work is set to begin on the construction of 53 council homes at a derelict school site in Leicester. |
Councillor quits after tax arrears revealed
24/02/2025 A Lancashire councillor has resigned after it was revealed he owed almost £4,000 in council tax. |
Investigations into Godstone sinkhole delayed
24/02/2025 Authorities have delayed investigations into the cause of a huge sinkhole in a Surrey village, citing safety concerns. |
Car driven into council officer outside school
20/02/2025 Police have joined local authority staff on school parking patrols in a Kent borough after a car was ‘driven deliberately’ into a council officer. |
Brighton ditches electric buses for diesel
20/02/2025 Brighton and Hove City Council, which has pledged that the region will be carbon neutral by 20230, has ditched electric buses in favour of diesel power. |
Landlord fined after 18 people found in three-bed house
20/02/2025 A landlord has been ordered to pay £37,000 after Barnet Council inspectors found 18 people, including children, sharing a home in Edgware. |
Council to stop using X
20/02/2025 Southampton City Council has announced it will no longer post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in a decision it said was ‘fundamentally about values’. |
Councillor barred from budget vote over unpaid tax
20/02/2025 A borough councillor in Lancashire owes almost £4,000 in council tax, making him unable to vote on the authority’s budget. |
Call for ministers to step in over Birmingham strikes
20/02/2025 Britain’s largest union has called on ministers to intervene amid ongoing industrial action by refuse workers in Birmingham. |
Government announces 10-year study on youth vaping
19/02/2025 A £62m research project will provide ‘the most detailed picture yet’ of the the long-term health effects of vaping on children, ministers have announced. |
End of statutory override could leave half of councils insolvent
19/02/2025 More than half of unitary and upper tier councils could be unable to balance their books when the statutory override for special needs spending expires, a survey has found. |
Major incident declared after sinkhole appears in Surrey
19/02/2025 Agencies have declared a major incident after a sinkhole appeared in a Surrey village, forcing residents to evacuate their homes. |
