Fighting the Fakes: The battle against AI disinformation
The Electoral Commission has launched a deepfake detection pilot ahead of May's elections. LocalGov's editor William Eichler finds out how it works.
Digital Health Tools: Supporting healthier communities at scale
25/02/2026 GLL’s Joseph Rham explores how the use of digital platforms is leading to measurable improvements in community health. |
Sport England announces 27 new ‘Place Partnerships’
28/11/2025 Sport England has unveiled 27 additional ‘Place Partnerships,’ expanding its drive to tackle inactivity across England. |
Everyone Active launches new Community Champions scheme
09/06/2025 Leisure Operator, Everyone Active, launches new Community Champions scheme to fund local projects. |
Funding to target ‘manifestly unfair’ sport access
07/11/2023 Sport England has announced a funding overhaul to tackle regional disparities in access to physical activity. |
Public support more focus on poor health causes
02/10/2023 The Government should invest more in public health to address the roots of poor health, according to a poll for the charity Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). |
Historic lido reopens after £6m makeover
22/08/2023 The historic Northcroft Lido in Newbury has reopened to the public following a £5.7m refurbishment. |
Publicly-owned leisure centres with pools to receive £63m
14/03/2023 Local leisure centres with swimming pools are set to receive a multi-million-pound boost tomorrow to help them with rising energy bills and maintenance costs. |
‘Highest performing’ active travel councils named
13/03/2023 Leicester and Nottingham councils have been rated as two of the highest performing local authorities in the first ever Government review of active travel. |
Unpaid carers given free access to leisure centres
26/09/2022 Unpaid carers in Devon are being given free access to leisure centres as part of a local authority-run pilot. |
Councils to share nearly £13m to test ‘social prescribing’
22/08/2022 Eleven councils areas to receive £12.7m between them to trial giving GPs the power to prescribe walking, wheeling and cycling to boost the health of residents. |
Neath Port Talbot leisure services moving ‘in-house’
02/08/2022 Leisure services in Neath Port Talbot are set to be brought back in-house next year, local authority says. |
Health pilot to explore using sports centres to tackle arthritis launched
01/07/2022 A project has been launched to investigate how to transform leisure facilities into musculoskeletal (MSK) hubs which can be accessed in every community. |
One in five children at risk of obesity
19/05/2022 Government should help provide more affordable leisure opportunities, council chiefs say as study reveals children are not getting enough exercise. |
Council leaders urge GPs to prescribe leisure centre trips
16/05/2022 Council leaders are urging GPs to prescribe obese patients classes at local leisure centres after research found it could increase life expectancy four years. |
Cycling and walking ‘on prescription’ in the West Midlands
26/08/2020 Healthcare professionals are piloting a scheme in the West Midlands which will ‘prescribe’ outdoor activities for some people with poor mental health. |
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New figures reveal exercise inequalities
06/12/2019 Children from less affluent families are less likely to participate in physical activity than their wealthier peers. |
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Social prescribing does not achieve ‘meaningful’ health outcomes, study says
19/11/2019 Council chiefs have defended social prescribing after researchers argue the practice does not ‘achieve meaningful levels’ of health and well-being changes. |
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Children do less exercise as they get older, research reveals
14/11/2019 Primary school children do less exercise as they get older, according to new research. |
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Sturgeon announces £27m to promote walking and cycling
16/10/2019 More than 200 ‘active travel’ projects across Scotland are set to receive a multi-million pound investment, Scotland’s first minister has announced. |
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Council chiefs back campaign promoting physical activity
29/08/2019 Local authority leaders are backing a campaign to help the 15 million people who live with long-term health conditions in England do more physical activity. |
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Council rolls scooters out in bid to tackle pollution
13/02/2019 Children in Leeds will soon be travelling to school on scooters instead of in cars as part of the council’s push to clean up the city’s air. |
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Keeping elderly active could save care sector billions, report says
30/10/2017 Pharmacists and meals on wheels staff could help tackle the UK’s ageing crisis by encouraging elderly people to take exercise, according to campaigners. |
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Councils ‘urgently’ need solutions to tackle ‘inactivity epidemic’, charity says
25/08/2017 Local Authorities urgently need to put in place solutions to tackle the ‘physical inactivity epidemic’, walking and cycling charity says. |
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Green prescriptions ‘miracle cure’ for obesity, say councils
06/09/2016 Doctors prescribing exercise outdoors would help tackle obesity, council chiefs say. |
