West Midlands councils benefit from £12m pothole boost
Local government leads way on SME procurement spend
Burnham calls for Northern spending boost
Nottingham still 'dependent upon EFS'
Local government spends £3.4bn with 39 ‘strategic suppliers’
Public procurement experts Tussell find that local government spending with the Government’s ‘strategic suppliers’ has remained flat for five years.
Snail breeding racket leaves holes in council’s finances
12/05/2025 Westminster City Council has unearthed a snail breeding racket which has been operating secret snail farms in empty office spaces. |
Ministerial envoys to be sent to Warrington
09/05/2025 A team of ministerial envoys are to be sent to Warrington BC amid doubts over the council's ‘willingness and capacity' to tackle financial challenges. |
McMahon: End to 'shaming' preventing bankruptcies
07/05/2025 An end to ‘public shaming' of councils has helped stem the tide of section 114s, local government minister Jim McMahon has claimed. |
US trade deal needed in ‘weeks, not months’, Mayor says
07/05/2025 The Government must secure a trade deal with President Trump in ‘weeks, not months’ to avoid damage to the West Midlands economy, Mayor says. |
Councils raise £360m from parking permits
07/05/2025 Local authorities across the UK raised £360m from residential parking permits over the last five years, new research reveals. |
Liverpool tourism tax gets the green light
28/04/2025 Hoteliers in Liverpool have backed plans to introduce a £2 overnight visitor charge. |
Newcastle chief defends Saudi investment
22/04/2025 Newcastle City Council’s chief executive has reportedly defended the authority seeking investment from Saudi Arabia following criticism of engagement with the controversial regime. |
Council rejects Farage bankruptcy claim
14/04/2025 Lancashire County Council has hit back at claims by Nigel Farage that it is on the brink of bankruptcy. |
Mayors' integrated settlements published
09/04/2025 Final details of integrated settlements for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands have been confirmed for 2025-26. |
Call for action on economic inequalities
07/04/2025 The Government has been urged to back mayors and shift spending priorities to tackle regional inequality by an influential think-tank. |
Government to set out SEND deficit plans
04/04/2025 The Government is to set out how it will tackle the £6bn special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficit crisis later this year. |
Spring Statement: Chancellor banks on house building adding £6.8bn to economy
26/03/2025 The Spring Statement has highlighted the benefit of housebuilding for improving public finances and focused on defence investment for regional growth. |
Somerset could be in need of exceptional financial support
25/03/2025 Somerset Council has been found to have 45 ‘key risks' that mean it may need exceptional financial support from the Government. |
Government green lights Plymouth financial support
25/03/2025 The Government has green lighted Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) worth £72m for Plymouth City Council following a review of its finances. |
Council chiefs warn Chancellor of ‘devastating’ financial pressures
24/03/2025 Nearly three quarters of local authorities in England have warned it will be very or fairly difficult to set a balanced budget this financial year. |
SEND deficits ‘ticking’ clock, CCN warns
20/03/2025 Council leaders have warned ‘unmanageable’ special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficits risk bankrupting half of England’s largest councils. |
Overstretched finances threaten 1.5m housebuilding target
20/03/2025 The pressure on social housing finances at the local level could undermine the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million houses this parliament, LGA warns. |
'Devil in the details' of welfare reform plans, says SIGOMA
19/03/2025 The ‘devil will be in the details' of the Government's proposed reforms to welfare, says SIGOMA leader. |
Spring Statement: No more cash for councils
19/03/2025 The Spring Statement will give a flavour of the financial pressures councils will face after the Spending Review, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says. |
Woking recovery hindered by capacity issues
10/03/2025 Capacity issues are hindering the financial recovery of Woking BC, commissioners have warned. |
CCN: Splitting up social care could cost £500m a year
07/03/2025 The annual cost of splitting up social care services into multiple smaller councils could exceed half a billion pounds, says County Councils' Network (CCN). |
Council chiefs call for £452m for free bus passes
05/03/2025 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to plug the nearly half a billion pound shortfall caused by the funding of free bus passes. |
Shortfall worsens after allocation changes
04/03/2025 Councils are facing an additional £76m shortfall in their temporary accommodation budgets following changes to the allocation of £440m homelessness grant. |
Woking approves ‘business as usual’ budget
04/03/2025 Cash-strapped Woking Borough Council has signed off on a budget aimed at ensuring the council ‘operates within its financial means.’ |
Councils welcome ‘gamechanger’ regeneration funding
03/03/2025 Oldham Council and Rochdale Borough Council have been granted £20m each to support a range of regeneration schemes. |
Council bailouts could ‘create longer-term risk’, warns NAO
27/02/2025 The spending watchdog has called for a ‘whole-system’ approach to fixing local government finance and warned that bailouts could ‘create longer-term risk.’ |
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. |
Parking charges driving people away from high street
25/02/2025 Almost two thirds of drivers are put off visiting their local high street due to parking charges, a new survey has revealed. |
Funding floor for Welsh councils
24/02/2025 Councils in Wales are to see an average funding increase of 4.3%, following the announcement of the Welsh Government's Budget. |
IT woes to cost Birmingham City Council more than £90m
21/02/2025 The failed implementation of Birmingham City Council’s new IT system could cost the taxpayer £90m more than was originally budgeted, auditors have revealed. |
Councils granted £1.5bn in Exceptional Financial Support
20/02/2025 Thirty cash-strapped local authorities have been granted more than £1.5bn in Exceptional Financial Support (EFS). |
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. |
Sector calls for data and evidence to drive fair funding
19/02/2025 The Government should use the best available evidence and most up-to-date data to calculate local authority funding allocations, sector groups have said. |
Hollinrake: Leaders to blame for s114 notices
19/02/2025 Conservative local government spokesperson Kevin Hollinrake has said council leaders are primarily responsible for their authorities having to issue section 114 notices. |
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. |
Rules change proposed to boost social housing supply
18/02/2025 Changes to financial rules that could unlock funds for council investment in social housing are to be put before ministers. |
'Significant weaknesses' at Cumberland and Dorset
17/02/2025 Cumberland and Dorset councils have both being found to have ‘significant weaknesses' by auditors Grant Thornton. |
Labour awards half of Tories’ ‘unfunded’ culture cash
17/02/2025 Ministers have announced today that £50m will be awarded to a string of culture projects – about half the level of funding promised by the Tories. |
‘Regressive’ council tax is a growing burden on poorest, report says
17/02/2025 The average council tax bill rose by 77% in real terms between 1994 and 2020, analysis has found. |
£300m active travel funding allocated
14/02/2025 The Government has confirmed £291m for active travel over the next two years as well as reforms to Active Travel England's (ATE) local funding model. |
Croydon in fresh call for debt write off
12/02/2025 Croydon LBC is lobbying the Government to write off its debt despite suggestions a decision will not be made until the summer. |
Scottish Government to consult on council tax reform
11/02/2025 The Scottish Government has announced plans to review the devolved nation’s council tax system to make it ‘fairer’. |
Minister told districts funding level 'just not acceptable'
07/02/2025 Local government minister Jim McMahon has responded to claims district authorities will see little increase in their funding this year. |
Port Talbot receives £8m of regeneration funding
06/02/2025 Port Talbot is set to receive £8.2m of regeneration funding in a move expected to deliver 100 jobs. |
National Insurance compensation allocations 'sensible'
05/02/2025 The Government's approach to distributing compensation to councils for higher National Insurance Contribution bills has been described as ‘sensible' by a think-tank. |
LGA: Council tax increases no substitute for fixing funding
04/02/2025 Council leaders have warned council tax increases place ‘more financial burden on households’ without fixing the long-term pressures facing local government. |
Peer warning over councillor financial understanding
04/02/2025 Not all 39 councillors at a Nottinghamshire council are fully getting to grips with the financial challenges for the local authority, peer review has warned. |
Council set to make £8.6m in savings
30/01/2025 Blackpool City Council is set to make £8.6m in savings but emphasises there will be no job losses at the current time. |
Bournemouth could borrow £57.5m to cover SEND deficit
30/01/2025 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has proposed borrowing £57.5m to tackle a funding gap for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision. |
New unitary seeks exceptional financial support
30/01/2025 A unitary council that is less than two years old is seeking exceptional financial support from Government. |
