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.

27/08/2025

An increasing proportion of children in local authority care in Scotland are failing to attend school.

22/08/2025

Councillors and members of the public are not being presented with accurate or easy to understand information about local authority budgets, report has found.

23/07/2025

Councils with financial problems that are placed under government intervention may be exempt from a ban on sacking and then rehiring employees.

21/07/2025

Hampshire CC and East Hampshire DC have backed three unitary mainland councils, with the Isle of Wight remaining as a standalone authority.

16/07/2025

Councils fear a repeat of last summer's riots without ‘significant government investment in community cohesion', a report has found.

14/07/2025

Government plans to make it a mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse need to be backed up with an effective deterrent, human rights committee has said.

15/04/2025

Two local authority pension pools have reacted angrily after their plans to meet new standards were rejected by ministers.

14/04/2025

Reorganisation proposals submitted by councils would produce new unitaries of varying sizes but with an average population of 544,837, analysis reveals.

14/04/2025

Local authorities in Wales are raising council tax by an average of 7.2% in 2025/26 - the second largest rise for more than 20 years.

10/12/2019

Neil Merrick finds out what councils across the country are doing to welcome and resettle Syrian refugees.

09/12/2019

What impact will the increase to the Public Works Loan Board rate have on councils’ housing and other capital schemes? Neil Merrick investigates.

25/11/2019

Neil Merrick voices his frustration over how different councils interpret purdah rules.

21/10/2019

With some councils changing from estimating the number of homeless people on the streets to actually counting them, do recent figures genuinely reflect the success of the government's rough sleeping initiative? Neil Merrick investigates.

26/09/2019

Neil Merrick explores how councils are improving the safety of social housing two years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

24/09/2019

With local safeguarding children boards being abolished, Neil Merrick finds out what new arrangements councils are setting up in their local areas.

08/07/2019

With more households falling behind in council tax payments, are councils becoming too aggressive in the way they collect arrears? Neil Merrick investigates.

04/07/2019

With the government’s recent focus on regulating the private rented sector, Neil Merrick explores how councils are using licensing scheme to tackle rogue landlords.

26/06/2019

With figures showing parish precepts have risen by 4.9% this year, Neil Merrick explores how parish councils are using the extra revenue to deliver increased and better services.

02/04/2019

Neil Merrick talks to the Northern Powerhouse minister Jake Berry about the progress of developments in the North.