How Local Authorities Can Lead Smarter, More Inclusive Procurement
The 2025 Local Government Procurement Report ranks councils on SME, VCSE, and local spend, with strategies to boost social value in procurement.
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. |
