10 ways councils are making budgets go further
Discover 10 ways councils are stretching budgets further, from digital transformation and energy efficiency to community partnerships and data-driven decision-making.
Care home fraud uncovered by Dudley Council
30/10/2025 An investigation by a council’s trading standards team has found former care home bosses guilty of having ‘financially abused’ an elderly resident. |
Warning issued after seizure of 3,600 illegal vehicle parts
29/10/2025 Authorities have seized more than 3,600 counterfeit vehicle parts worth over £100,000 from a self-storage facility in South Gloucestershire. |
Company faces ‘zero tolerance’ penalty for fire safety failings
28/10/2025 A company has been fined £50,000 by Birmingham City Council for an ‘unacceptable’ failure to implement essential building improvements. |
Roney legal case collapses
24/10/2025 A court case accusing Birmingham City Council chief executive Joanne Roney of an antisemitic slur has collapsed as ‘there was not a shred of evidence’. |
Reform UK election challenge dismissed by High Court
22/10/2025 A Reform UK candidate who contested a tied local election result in Worcestershire has had her legal challenge dismissed by the High Court. |
Council called out for failing to pay minimum wage
20/10/2025 Coventry City Council has been named among nearly 500 employers found to have underpaid staff the National Minimum Wage, according to the Government. |
Council considers court order over unstable building
03/10/2025 Herefordshire Council is seeking legal advice due to safety issues surrounding a high street building. |
Notts council faces legal challenge over media ban
01/10/2025 A newspaper group has launched legal action against a decision by Reform UK-led Nottinghamshire CC to ban its journalists from covering council business. |
Gwynedd to appeal court block on second homes clampdown
29/09/2025 Gwynedd Council is preparing to launch an appeal after losing a legal challenge to its clampdown on second homes. |
Council takes action against ‘Kingdom of Kubala’
26/09/2025 A council has raised concerns about a group camping in the Scottish Border woodlands. |
Council leader resigns after embezzlement charge
23/09/2025 The leader of Perth and Kinross Council has stepped down after being charged with embezzlement. |
Ex-Labour councillor charged in ‘honeytrap’ case
18/09/2025 A former Labour councillor has been charged with blackmail and communications offences following a probe into the Westminster ‘honeytrap’ scandal. |
EXCLUSIVE: Judicial review threat for food waste laggards
16/09/2025 English councils that fail to offer separate food waste collections to all homes from April could face judicial review, a Whitehall insider has warned. |
High Court blocks closure of Caerphilly libraries
11/09/2025 Plans to close 10 libraries across Caerphilly county borough have been halted after the High Court granted an interim injunction. |
PAC: Family court delays put social care under strain
10/09/2025 Children and families are being failed by delays in the family justice system, the Public Accounts Committee has warned, with impacts felt in social care. |
Councils seek legal advice amid reorganisation confusion
09/09/2025 Councils facing boundary changes as part of local government reorganisation are seeking legal advice to clarify what proposals they can put forward. |
Epping Forest suffers legal blow
03/09/2025 Epping Forest DC has remained defiant in its opposition to use of The Bell Hotel for asylum accommodation despite a further legal setback. |
Breaking: Epping asylum hotel injunction overturned
29/08/2025 A temporary injunction banning use of the Bell Hotel in Epping to accommodate asylum seekers has been overturned. |
Council worker jailed for £236k fraud
29/08/2025 A council employee who secretly held multiple jobs has been jailed for three years after defrauding local authorities out of more than £236,000. |
'Political' motivation behind Epping hotel injunction
28/08/2025 Epping Forest DC sought an injunction banning the use of the Bell Hotel to accommodate asylum seekers for ‘political' reasons, it has been claimed. |
Resident fined over £100k for felling ancient tree
26/08/2025 A resident has been fined over £100,000 for illegally cutting down an ancient tree protected by a preservation order. |
Council leader slams Marilyn Manson gig over assault claims
22/08/2025 The leader of Nottingham City Council has criticised an arena’s decision to allow Marilyn Manson to perform due to allegations of sexual assault. |
Council wins temporary injunction over asylum hotel
19/08/2025 Asylum seekers are to be removed from an Essex hotel that has became the focus of protests this summer. |
Pothole Claims: What Councils Need to Know
18/08/2025 Councils face growing pothole claims. Georgia Milton of DWF highlights how strong inspections and AI tools can help balance legal duties, budgets and safety. |
Judge temporarily bans new arrivals at Epping asylum hotel
18/08/2025 A judge has ordered a hotel not to accept any new applications from asylum seekers until his ruling on Epping Forest DC's request for a temporary injunction. |
Councillor cleared of inciting violence
18/08/2025 A Labour councillor who said far-right activists should have their throats cut has been found not guilty of inciting violence. |
Council fined following care home health and safety issues
11/08/2025 A fine of nearly £100,000 has been issued to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Council due to an incident in St Brendan's Care Home. |
Reform UK council leader risks contempt of court
05/08/2025 Warwickshire council leader George Finch risks facing prosecution for contempt of court after discussing an alleged rape at a Reform UK press conference. |
Councils underperform in meeting self-build plots demand
01/08/2025 Over 50% of councils reportedly did not abide by legal guidelines around authorising sufficient numbers of self-build homes. |
Peers pass fire and hire exemption
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. |
Reform candidate takes legal action after losing dead heat election
22/07/2025 Reform UK candidate Liz Williams has filed a petition to the High Court claiming her loss in May's dead heat election in Worcestershire County Council’s Littletons division was fraudulent. |
Council forgoes lake ownership following algae issues
21/07/2025 A council has handed over its lease on a lake after ‘toxic blue-green algae’ is found in the water. |
Councils to be handed powers to inspect rented homes without notice
21/07/2025 Councils are set to be given powers to inspect rented homes without providing notice to landlords |
EXCLUSIVE: Crawley ponders legal response to unitary dismissal
17/07/2025 Crawley BC is considering its next steps, including a potential judicial review, after local government minister Jim McMahon dismissed its proposal for a cross-county unitary. |
Council faces backlash over transgender pride flag crossings
07/07/2025 Camden Council could encounter legal action due to its Transgender Awareness Crossing, a road crossing painted pink, blue and white. |
Fraud cases cost council £2.7m last year
30/06/2025 Stoke-on-Trent City Council has revealed 108 cases of fraud were perpetrated against the local authority last year. |
Legal warning over Reform's pension plans
26/06/2025 A legal expert has warned Reform UK councils will not be able to slash local authority pensions. |
Council warns Government plan would force £95m savings
26/06/2025 Croydon LBC would have to deliver the ‘highest level of service cuts made by one council in one year in the country’ under Government plans, the council has claimed. |
Landlords take council to court over licensing fees
23/06/2025 A legal case has been filed against Leicester City Council following a dispute about landlord fees. |
Judge set to consider campsite dispute
19/06/2025 Wadhurst Parish Council is undertaking legal proceedings to protect an ecological site from ‘inappropriate developments’. |
Grooming gangs report warns of ‘collective failure’
16/06/2025 There has been a ‘collective failure’ to address questions about the ethnicity of perpetrators when it comes to child sexual exploitation, Casey report finds. |
Rochdale grooming gang convicted of raping girls
16/06/2025 Seven members of a Rochdale grooming gang have been found guilty of charges including rape and indecency with a child. |
Hollinrake warning over DOGE request
13/06/2025 Requests for data by Reform UK’s DOGE unit are a ‘cyber-security disaster waiting to happen’, shadow levelling up secretary Kevin Hollinrake has warned information commissioner John Edwards. |
Minister suggests commissioners needed for Croydon
13/06/2025 Minister Jim McMahon has suggested escalating Croydon LBC’s statutory intervention to a commissioner-led model to ensure it can ‘achieve sustained change at the pace needed’. |
Councillors condemn ‘thuggish’ Ballymena riots
12/06/2025 Members of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council have condemned the riots in Ballymena, demanding that the ‘thuggish behaviour and disorder’ stop immediately. |
Drastic rise in bailiff impersonation cases, warns CIVEA
05/06/2025 There has been a 300% increase in reports of ‘fake bailiffs’ seeking to ‘scare victims into paying fictitious debts’, says the Civil Enforcement Association. |
High Court orders Lambeth Council to scrap LTN
05/06/2025 Lambeth Council has been instructed to remove the low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in West Dulwich immediately following a recent court ruling. |
Judge rules that Jodie Marsh’s lemurs are ‘not a nuisance’
04/06/2025 A district judge has approved Jodie Marsh’s request to keep lemurs at her private animal sanctuary. |
Rotherham Council faces inquest following death of foster carer
03/06/2025 An inquest has begun at Sheffield Coroner's Court following the death of a foster carer who was run over by her 12-year-old dependant. |
Bath council faces legal threats over LTN
27/05/2025 The council’s plans to implement a permanent low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in Bath provide grounds for litigation, residents have warned. |
Birmingham council secures court order to stop bin lorry protests
25/05/2025 Birmingham City Council has been granted a court order to stop protests outside of its bin lorry depots as the latest move in the long-running pay dispute. |
Council wrong to evict Romani Gypsy families, judge says
23/05/2025 Medway Council was wrong to evict Romani Gypsy families who had set up home in a car park just off the M2, court rules. |
Auditors call for action on delays to children’s care cases
21/05/2025 The proportion of children subject to care proceedings who have had to wait over a year to have their cases resolved has increased, report finds. |
Legal threats to Reform ambitions
21/05/2025 Reform UK's ambitions to shake up local government could be stymied by legal hurdles, an expert warned this week. |
Ball game disruption costs council £1,000
20/05/2025 Hampshire County Council has been told to pay a couple £1,000 in damages due to the inconvenience caused by the neighbouring school’s play area. |
Judge rules in favour of campaigner in Battle for Brockwell
16/05/2025 A judge has ruled in favour of a campaigner who took legal action against Lambeth Council to stop it allowing the use of a local park for festivals. |
Councils urged to ringfence housing for women prison leavers
15/05/2025 Local authorities should ringfence a proportion of their supported housing units for women released from prison, a new report says. |
High Court rules Lambeth LTN ‘unlawful’
12/05/2025 Lambeth Council's controversial low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme has been ruled ‘unlawful’ by the High Court. |
Councils struggling to cover animal welfare costs
30/04/2025 Local authority efforts to enforce animal welfare legislation are undermined by cost restraints, according to a report by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI). |
Council takes legal advice over listed building blaze
30/04/2025 Wiltshire Council is taking legal advice over a fire at a listed building at the centre of a planning dispute. |
Fly-tippers to be charged for cost of seizing vehicles
30/04/2025 The Government is encouraging councils to work with the police to seize and crush vehicles used by waste criminals as part of a crack-down on fly-tipping. |
Lambeth defends Dosunmu payoff
29/04/2025 Lambeth LBC has defended a payoff totalling almost £88,000 to its former chief who admitted failing to stop after a collision and driving without insurance. |
Arson attack destroys buses for vulnerable children
28/04/2025 An arson attack on a Somerset Council compound in Taunton has destroyed four minibuses used for providing transport for vulnerable children and young adults. |
Toilet access depends on biological sex, watchdog says
28/04/2025 The equalities watchdog has issued interim guidance for public bodies outlining the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of a ‘woman’. |
Trial dates fixed for Liverpool City Council corruption case
28/04/2025 Trial dates have been fixed for two senior officers charged as part of an investigation into Liverpool City Council corruption. |
Council launches lawsuit against Grenfell fire fridge maker
28/04/2025 Kensington and Chelsea has accused the manufacturer of the fridge blamed for starting the Grenfell Tower fire of failing to carry out adequate safety tests. |
Directors of children’s services criticise pepper spray policy
24/04/2025 Council directors working in children’s services have criticized the Government’s decision to allow the use of pepper spray in young offender institutions. |
Council spends £220k demolishing ‘man cave’
22/04/2025 Forest of Dean District Council was forced to spend £220,000 demolishing an illegally built leisure complex belonging to a millionaire. |
Enfield threatens legal action over ancient oak felling
17/04/2025 Enfield Council has threatened the Toby Carvery pub chain with legal action after the felling of a 500-year-old oak tree. |
Cambridgeshire fined £6m after busway fatalities
17/04/2025 Cambridgeshire County Council has been fined £6m for health and safety breaches which resulted in three fatalities on its guided busway. |
Fraudster jailed for ‘brazen’ Covid scam
16/04/2025 A man who defrauded Leeds City Council out of £710,000 during the Covid pandemic has been sentenced to four years in prison. |
Busking to cease in Leicester Square
15/04/2025 Local authorities have suspended two busking pitches in Leicester Square. |
Kensington & Chelsea launches legal action against Grenfell companies
10/04/2025 Kensington & Chelsea LBC has launched legal action worth around £360m against companies involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. |
Combined authority offers staff support after mayor’s arrest
07/04/2025 Staff at West of England Combined Authority have been offered support after mayor and MP Dan Norris was arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences. |
Anti-abortion campaigner fined £20k for ‘buffer zone’ breach
07/04/2025 An anti-abortion campaigner has been given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,000 to BCP Council for breaching a protest ‘buffer zone’. |
Man charged in funeral home fraud case
03/04/2025 A 47-year-old man has been charged by Humberside Police in connection with a fraud case at a Yorkshire funeral home. |
EXCLUSIVE: Sector bodies decline to join legal challenge
03/04/2025 County Councils Network and Rural Services Network will not financially support legal action over axing of the £100m rural services grant, The MJ understands. |
Westminster City Council ordered to silence buskers
02/04/2025 A judge has ordered Westminster City Council to take action against buskers in Leicester Square. |
Former Liverpool director denies bribery
31/03/2025 Liverpool City Council's former head of regeneration Nick Kavanagh has denied two counts of bribery in court. |
Care providers launch legal action over NICs rise
25/03/2025 Care England has launched legal action over the Government’s rise in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for care providers. |
Councillor resigns after indecent exposure guilty plea
17/03/2025 Leader calls for councils to be empowered to remove politicians who commit crimes after resignation of a councillor who pleaded guilty to indecent exposure. |
Norfolk councils sued over alleged abuse in children’s home
14/03/2025 Former residents of a children's home in Norfolk are taking legal action against local authorities over allegations of historic physical and sexual abuse. |
Disgraced councillor told to resign
12/03/2025 Disgraced Redbridge councillor Sam Gould has been urged to resign after pleading guilty to indecently exposing himself to a 13-year-old girl. |
Former Liverpool mayor charged with bribery
10/03/2025 Ex-Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson is among a dozen people charged with bribery and misconduct. |
Legal claims against councils hit 10-year high
05/03/2025 Judicial review applications against councils have hit a 10-year high, analysis of High Court cases over the last decade has found. |
Council leader: Legally challenging grant axing worthwhile
03/03/2025 North Yorkshire Council's legal action against the Government over a £14m funding cut could cost more than £250,000. |
Children in prison failed by ‘multiple services’
27/02/2025 Children in prison have been failed by ‘multiple services’ and youth custody worsens their disadvantages, according to the Children’s Commissioner. |
Deal suspends 'mass litigation' against councils
25/02/2025 A deal has been struck to suspend debt-ridden Thurrock Council's ‘mass litigation' against 23 other local authorities. |
Grenfell council stands by contractor ban despite legal threat
24/02/2025 Kensington and Chelsea LBC is standing by its ban of a contractor involved in Grenfell Tower's refurbishment despite the firm mounting a legal challenge. |
Landlord fined after 18 people found in three-bed house
20/02/2025 A landlord has been ordered to pay £37,000 after Barnet Council inspectors found 18 people, including children, sharing a home in Edgware. |
Council staff left ‘in tears’ after LTN meeting
13/02/2025 Lambeth Council workers were left ‘in tears’ and offered wellbeing leave after a hostile public meeting about a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN), the High Court has heard. |
Council loses legal challenge over nursery fees
12/02/2025 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has failed in its bid to challenge a decision made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. |
The cost of local authority trading companies
30/01/2025 Trading companies provide a model to deliver services under tight financial circumstances, says UNISON’s Paul Bell. But at what cost? |
Parents take council to court over SEN funding
29/01/2025 Two sets of parents are taking Devon County Council to High court, arguing the council has agreed to make cuts to special educational needs (SEN) services. |
Hollywood star loses two-year legal bid to avoid council tax
28/01/2025 American actor Mercer Boffey has lost a legal challenge to avoid paying council tax on his grade II listed property in Richmond. |
Barnet issues s114 over unauthorised payments
24/01/2025 Barnet LBC has issued a section 114 notice over ‘unlawful' payments to and from the council's pension fund. |
High Court blocks health benefit cuts
17/01/2025 Cuts to health benefits which were announced by the previous Government, and which are due to take effect in September, are unlawful, High Court rules. |
Judge halts man’s bid to recover £600m bitcoin from council landfill
10/01/2025 A man’s 10-year battle to recover what he says is a £600m bitcoin fortune from a Welsh council’s landfill site has been halted in the High Court. |
Deal reached after mayor launched legal case against own council
20/12/2024 Newham LBC has struck a £36,000 deal with its directly-elected executive mayor Rokhsana Fiaz after reaching an out-of-court settlement over race and sex discrimination claims. |
Council U-turn on clawing back chief's pay-out
12/12/2024 Croydon London Borough Council has given up trying to recover cash from the settlement payment made to former chief executive Jo Negrini just before its financial collapse. |
