Small Scale, Big Potential: Town and parish councils and devolution
Parish and town councils could play a central role in making devolution work for communities.
Further devolution plans unveiled
01/04/2026 Council leaders in the Midlands and West of England have begun responding to a call from ministers to reveal their devolution plans. |
Report finds 'optimism bias' in council projections
30/03/2026 Brighton and Hove city councillors were guilty of ‘optimism bias’ in forecasting the popularity of the i360 seafront tower, a report has found. |
Leaders united on devo despite reorg rivalry
12/03/2026 Council leaders in Hertfordshire have insisted they remain united over devolution despite presenting the Government with a range of reorganisation options. |
'Widespread lack of understanding' to blame for key worker oversight
03/03/2026 Failure to recognise council employees as key workers during the pandemic must be reviewed as part of planning for future emergencies, Covid inquiry told. |
Government rejects food waste transparency call
03/02/2026 The Government has rebuffed calls for transparency around funding for food waste collections, insisting it is not in the ‘public interest'. |
Report calls for slashing of London boroughs
03/02/2026 London boroughs should merge so the number of local authorities in the capital is reduced by about two-thirds, a report claimed today. |
National conversation on neighbourhoods needed
20/01/2026 A senior Local Government Association (LGA) figure has called for a national conversation over the role of councils in improving neighbourhoods. |
DCN name change pressure
13/01/2026 The District Councils’ Network (DCN) is coming under increasing internal pressure to move quickly to change its name to secure the future relevance of the organisation. |
MHCLG blow as councils' housebuilding expansion comes to a halt
10/12/2025 A surge in housebuilding by councils is expected to grind to a halt – threatening the Government’s target of building 1.5 million homes by 2029. |
Reed U-turn over committee system abolition
25/11/2025 Local authorities that already use the committee system will be allowed to retain it under strict conditions detailed by the Government. |
Ministers accused of 'scapegoating' nature
17/11/2025 Ministers have been accused of ‘scapegoating' nature as they attempt to build 1.5 million homes during this Parliament. |
Building Safety Regulator delays prompt rethink
28/10/2025 Elements of building safety could be removed from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and returned to local authority control. |
DCN: Deprivation key determinant for spending
21/10/2025 Unitaries with a population over 350,000 tend to spend more per resident on services but are also more likely to run into financial difficulties, DCN shows |
Council pension funds pile pressure on firms over climate
20/10/2025 Firms have been put under renewed pressure by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) to allow shareholders a vote over their climate transition plans. |
Councils to call for tighter HMO controls
02/10/2025 Councils are expected to call for tighter controls over houses in multiple occupation (HMO) after a ‘rush' of applications for HMO licences. |
LGA: Councils need more than a decade to reach decent homes standard
24/09/2025 Councils should be given up to 12 years to bring social housing up to an enhanced decent homes standard (DHS) and even then the cost may mean they build fewer new homes, the Local Government Association (LGA) has told ministers. |
Dorset hopes to recover potential contract fraud losses
23/09/2025 A council that sacked 11 interim officers over the potential mismanagement of a multi-million pound repairs contract hopes to recover at least £1m. |
Reorganisation threat to district services
23/09/2025 Services provided by district councils must not become an early casualty of local government reorganisation, a new report has warned. |
ARCH plea to increase rent cap
01/09/2025 Councils should be able to raise tenants' rents by up to £3 per week on top of any inflation-linked increase, a local authority association has told ministers. |
Scottish care kids failing to attend school
27/08/2025 An increasing proportion of children in local authority care in Scotland are failing to attend school. |
