Beyond the Leisure Centre: How to make the case for active wellbeing investment
This special report from LocalGov and Alliance Leisure makes the case for repositioning council leisure provision as prevention infrastructure.
Expanded cities the winners in reorganisation plans
16/07/2026 The Government has backed expanded city authorities across the country with its announcement on local government reorganisation for remaining two tier areas. |
LGA warns councils 'sidelined' by social care Fair Pay Agreement
16/07/2026 Councils are to be ‘sidelined' by a negotiating body representing care workers, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
Directors warning over proposed powers for child protection authority
16/07/2026 Stronger powers expected for the Government's child protection authority (CPA) need to be ‘proportionate' and focus on improving outcomes, ADCS says. |
Bristol welcomes ‘city of harm reduction’ status
16/07/2026 Bristol has become the first official ‘city of harm reduction’, with the declaration confirming that the council’s response to drug usage will prioritise support over punishment. |
Welsh Government’s council funding formula relies on outdated data
16/07/2026 The way that the Welsh Government allocates funding to councils is partly out of date and does not always provide value for money, auditor finds. |
Think tank warns Burnham must move fast to avoid ‘two-tier England’
16/07/2026 Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham is being urged to accelerate and widen devolution plans or risk entrenching a ‘two-tier England’. |
Concerns raised about councils’ strategic climate policies
15/07/2026 Twenty-eight per cent of local plans still neglect to deliver a strategic climate change policy, research has found. |
Push for reduced speed limits in rural areas
15/07/2026 Active Travel England (ATE) has called on councils to consider 20mph speed limits as part of its new rural design guidance. |
Reed acknowledges fair funding 'dramatic shifts' in councils' finances
15/07/2026 Local government secretary Steve Reed has conceded ‘dramatic shifts' in councils' finances resulting from the fair funding review should have been avoided. |
SEND teams hit disproportionately hard by NHS job cuts
15/07/2026 SEND teams have reportedly been hit disproportionately hard by NHS job cuts, despite being central to delivering reform, report warns. |
LGR opportunity to rebuild trust as complaints surge, Ombudsman says
15/07/2026 Local government reorganisation (LGR) and devolution represent a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to rebuild trust in councils, Ombudsman says. |
Monmouthshire pioneers with period dignity programme in schools
15/07/2026 Monmouthshire’s first-ever Menstrual Ambassador Conference has empowered young people across the county to promote period dignity and menstrual health awareness. |
Majority of councils rated ‘good’ for adult social care, but gaps remain
15/07/2026 Two thirds of councils are rated as ‘good’ when it comes to the delivery of adult social care but many are struggling to retain that rating, CQC finds. |
Councils report three-quarters of a billion overspend on adult social care
15/07/2026 Councils overspent their adult social care budgets by £715m in 2025/26, the annual Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) survey finds. |
EPI urges SEND workforce investment to combat inequality
14/07/2026 A think tank has called for greater investment in the workforce supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). |
Employers defend pay stance
14/07/2026 Employers have denied they are playing parts of the sector off against each other by offering different pay settlements to different groups of council staff. |
No progress in children’s health outcomes, report reveals
14/07/2026 Health outcomes for children have ‘worsened or stalled’ since a review almost 10 years ago, research has found. |
Welsh council chiefs welcome teacher pay consultation plan
14/07/2026 Local authority chiefs have welcomed an announcement that the Welsh Government intends to consult on a 3.5% pay award for teachers and school leaders. |
Call for new fiscal devolution framework for councils
14/07/2026 A major APPG report has called for a new fiscal devolution framework that balances local shares of national taxes with strong equalisation safeguards. |
Report calls for legal duty on councils over gambling harm
13/07/2026 Local authorities should be legally mandated to combat gambling harms, as they already are for drugs and alcohol, a new report argues. |
