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.
Building Safety Regulator delays prompt rethink
28/10/2025 Elements of building safety could be removed from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and returned to local authority control. |
Social housing regulator flags serious failings at Canterbury council
15/10/2025 Canterbury City Council has been issued a C3 grading by the Regulator of Social Housing after inspectors found it had failed to meet key consumer standards. |
Southend housing standards need urgent fix, regulator says
24/09/2025 Southend-on-Sea City Council has been told to urgently raise its housing standards after the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) handed it a C3 grade. |
Serious safety lapses found in Tandridge homes
17/09/2025 Tandridge District Council has been handed a C4 grading by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). |
Good governance key to delivering more social homes, says regulator
09/09/2025 The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has highlighted the importance of strong governance in ensuring tenants have access to more and better homes. |
‘Very serious failings’ found in council’s social housing
27/08/2025 Arun District Council’s housing service has been hit with the regulator’s lowest rating after inspectors uncovered ‘very serious failings’. |
EXCLUSIVE: Sector warns Government over rental crackdown
15/08/2025 Councils have privately warned they will be unable to enforce a planned toughening up of regulations on the quality of rented homes without extra funding. |
New council licensing system to combat ‘cosmetic cowboys’
07/08/2025 A new licensing system is to be developed to regulate unsafe cosmetic treatments, with restrictions on high-risk procedures like Brazilian Butt Lifts. |
Regulator identifies ‘serious’ social housing failings
30/07/2025 Five local authority landlords have been told to make significant improvements to the management of their social housing. |
Regulator finds ‘serious’ consumer standards failings
25/06/2025 An inspection has revealed ‘serious failings’ with Slough Borough Council’s engagement with tenants. |
Former Thurrock CFO issued with five-year ban
09/05/2025 In a historic first, the Financial Reporting Council has banned the former chief financial officer of Thurrock Council from working as a local government CFO. |
Why councils need to get on the front foot with heat network regulation
17/03/2025 Government plans for heat network regulation will transform the sector. Simon Green, MD at GEM Environmental Building Services, urges councils to get ready. |
Government push for AI growth
04/03/2025 AI is here and it is shaping our lives and our society. Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond, discusses AI regulation. |
Rayner: Grenfell inquiry must be ‘catalyst’ for systemic change
26/02/2025 The Government is committed to ‘stronger regulation’ to improve building safety, says Rayner while setting out the response to the Grenfell inquiry. |
Developers leave 1.4 million homes unbuilt
14/02/2025 Councils have given planning permission for more than 1.4 million homes since 2007 that have not been built, research has found. |
Council’s housing service in need of ‘significant improvement’
29/01/2025 An investigation by the social housing regulator has confirmed that ‘significant improvement is needed’ in Portsmouth City Council’s housing service. |
Committee chair 'shocked' by CQC shortfalls
16/01/2025 The chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Layla Moran, has said she is ‘shocked’ at ongoing shortfalls at the Care Quality Commission (CQC). |
‘Serious failings’ in two councils’ social housing standards
16/01/2025 The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has identified serious failings following inspections at Newcastle and Nottingham city councils. |
Newcastle Council tackles dangerous staircases
08/01/2025 More than 3,000 homes and 57 blocks of flats with potentially dangerous staircases have been identified by Newcastle City Council. |
Regulator to check councils’ asbestos control
06/12/2024 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is set to inspect hundreds of council buildings to check the risk of asbestos is being properly managed. |
Windsor and Maidenhead’s social care must improve, watchdog says
08/11/2024 England’s adult social care regulator has found that services provided by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council require improvement. |
First council secures top grade from social housing regulator
31/10/2024 Barnsley MBC has become the first and only council to be awarded the top grade by the Regulator of Social Housing, six months after they came into force. |
Watchdog to investigate death of schoolgirl in mudslide
10/10/2024 The national health and safety regulator has taken over the investigation into how a 10-year-old girl was killed by a mudslide during a school trip. |
CQC announces new chief executive
07/10/2024 England’s health and social care regulator has announced that Sir Julian Hartley will be appointed as its new chief executive. |
'Decades of neglect' impact on fire safety enforcement
03/10/2024 Talks have been held with the Government over councils' need for more support to enforce fire safety rules after the Grenfell fire inquiry concluded. |
Council criticised for fire risk assessment failings
25/09/2024 Harlow Council has been criticised by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) for failing to carry out thousands of fire risk assessments. |
Regulator criticizes councils for health and safety failings
13/09/2024 Three local authorities have been criticized after the social housing regulator discovered serious failings. |
Call to scrap single-word ratings in adult social care
10/09/2024 The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for the scrapping of single-word ratings in assessments of adult social care services. |
Watchdog's warning over charitable land
12/08/2024 Dozens of councils have run the risk of breaching charity laws relating to land, a watchdog has said. |
Social care watchdog ‘not fit for purpose’
26/07/2024 The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the body responsible for regulating adult social care services, is ‘not fit for purpose’, the health secretary says. |
Four councils criticised for social housing failures
09/07/2024 Four local authorities have been criticised for failing to meet the Regulator of Social Housing’s (RSH) new consumer standards. |
