Building Healthier Communities: The Case for Investing in Public Health
Explore how targeted, community-based public health strategies can improve lives, reduce NHS pressure, and deliver cost savings for local authorities.
Soton council reaches equal pay settlement
18/07/2025 Hundreds of low-paid staff at Southampton City Council, most of them women, are set to benefit from an equal pay settlement, according to public sector unions. |
Care workers living in poverty, charity warns
18/07/2025 Care home staff are more than twice as likely to live in poverty compared to the average worker, a health charity has revealed. |
Council audit backlog prevents national accounts sign off
18/07/2025 The National Audit Office has refused to approve the Government's accounts for the second year running due to the ‘severe backlogs’ in local authority audits. |
Reform council agrees Doge data sharing mechanism
18/07/2025 West Northamptonshire Council has become the first council to approve a mechanism for sharing sensitive information with Reform UK’s cost-cutting unit. |
South Cambs permanently adopts four-day week
18/07/2025 South Cambridgeshire District Council has voted to become the first council in the UK to permanently adopt a four-day week. |
District council backs two-authority plan
17/07/2025 Stratford-on-Avon District Council has adopted the two unitary authority model as its preferred option for local government reorganisation. |
Council leaders call for tourist levy powers for historic cities
17/07/2025 Council leaders representing the historic cities of Bath and Cambridge have jointly called for the power to introduce a ‘modest’ visitor levy. |
Councils request delay to first mayoral election
17/07/2025 Cheshire and Warrington councils have requested that the area’s potential mayoral election be deferred by a year to reduce costs and increase turn out. |
Government deploys ‘innovation squads’ in £100m pilot
16/07/2025 Ten communities across England are set to be visited by ‘innovation squads’ as part of a £100m pilot to improve local services. |
Fiscal devolution could raise £8.9bn a year
16/07/2025 Fiscal devolution would enable local authorities to raise £8.9bn a year for local services, a report commissioned by the County Councils Network has found. |
Majority of rural councils have no social housing targets
16/07/2025 Only one in five rural local authorities have planning targets for building new social homes despite a shortage of new houses in rural areas. |
Councils push back against Reform’s Doge unit
15/07/2025 Several local authorities have reportedly pushed back against efforts by Reform UK’s Elon Musk-style ‘Doge’ unit to access sensitive data. |
Council employee prosecuted for fraud
15/07/2025 An employee who was simultaneously employed by two local authorities and a third organisation has been found guilty of fraud after earning over £230,000. |
Surrey schools to get longer half terms
15/07/2025 Starting in October 2026, council-maintained schools in Surrey will have a two-week half term and a shorter summer break. |
Reading BC accused of reorganisation ‘land grab’
15/07/2025 A proposal by Reading BC to bring five West Berkshire wards under its jurisdiction as part of local government reorganisation has been branded a ‘land grab.’ |
Councillors hold minute’s silence for girl killed by tree
14/07/2025 Councillors in Southend-on-Sea held a minute’s silence in memory of a seven-year-old girl who was killed by a falling tree. |
Measles death prompts call to improve vaccine uptake
14/07/2025 There is an urgent need to address falling immunisation rates to protect children against measles, local authority leaders have said. |
Reform UK council leader raises social care visa alarm
14/07/2025 The leader of Reform UK-controlled Kent County Council has urged the Government to rethink its plans to reduce health and social care visas to the UK. |
Anti-social behaviour hotspots identified
14/07/2025 Thirty-two town centre and high street locations across London have been identified as hotspots for anti-social behaviour, theft and street crime. |
Mayor of London announces £600k high street boost
14/07/2025 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a £600,000 investment to revitalise local high streets in the capital. |
