Protecting the public realm without shutting it down
As Martyn's Law approaches, this free special report from LocalGov and Hill & Smith sets out how councils can protect public spaces without shutting them down.
Watch: ADCS president Ann Graham on unregistered children's homes
23/09/2026 Ann Graham, president of the ADCS, talks to LocalGov about the pressures driving councils to place children in unregistered homes. |
Adult social care complaints up 22%
23/09/2026 Complaints about adult social care in England rose 22% last year, according to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). |
York Council awarded national role in children’s services improvement
15/09/2026 The Department for Education has selected City of York Council as a Children’s Social Care Improvement Team (CIT). |
UNISON: Four in five councils still struggling to balance budgets
14/09/2026 Most councils across England, Scotland and Wales are still struggling to balance their books despite some easing of financial pressure, according to UNISON. |
TUC chief warns migration curbs risk deepening social care crisis
10/09/2026 TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has urged the PM to reconsider planned migration reforms, warning they could worsen staffing shortages in social care. |
Charity calls for new strategy to support care leaver workforce
07/09/2026 Two-thirds of councils don't require Personal Advisers for care leavers to have any accredited training or qualifications, research has found. |
Watchdogs to inspect how agencies protect children from neglect
04/09/2026 Inspectors are to carry out a new round of checks on how councils, police and health services respond to neglect among England's youngest children. |
Government rows back on plans to exclude councils from ICBs
02/09/2026 Plans to exclude councils from ICBs have been scrapped by the Government. |
Think tank calls for social care to be stripped from council tax bills
02/09/2026 A think tank has urged the Government to remove social care costs from English council budgets. |
Scrap freeze on social care support threshold, says think-tank
02/09/2026 The Government has been urged to bring the threshold for social care support in line with inflation as part of reforms. |
41k older people wiped out savings on care, charity finds
01/09/2026 Between 2017/18 and 2023/24, 41,000 older people exhausted all their savings paying for social care, new research finds. |
Human Rights committee calls for reform of social care system
26/08/2026 Over 84,000 children across England are currently being looked after by councils, research has found. |
Government invests £25m in care leavers' housing programme
25/08/2026 The Government is investing £25m in a housing programme to provide support and connection for care leavers. |
Immigration changes deepening social care workforce crisis, says UNISON
19/08/2026 The Government's immigration reforms are worsening the social care staffing crisis, UNISON has warned, citing new analysis of employment figures. |
EXCLUSIVE: Lib Dems set out three tests for cross-party social care talks
18/08/2026 Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Helen Morgan has set out three tests for cross-party social care reform talks with the Government. |
Urgent call for stronger protections for migrant nursing staff
07/08/2026 Research has found that migrant nursing staff in the social care sector are being exploited by employers, with unethical practices around visa sponsorship having been exposed. |
Doubts over health and care integration agreements
06/08/2026 Doubts have been cast over the future of a key model for joint working between health and council services. |
Ombudsman warns over safeguarding failures after Portsmouth scandal
05/08/2026 The LGSCO has warned councils cannot outsource safeguarding responsibilities after finding serious failings in the care of an elderly woman in Portsmouth. |
Beyond the Language of Crisis: Fixing social care's workforce problem
29/07/2026 LocalGov talks to ADASS President Phil Holmes about the social care workforce crisis and what the PM's reform plans need to deliver. |
Burnham unveils plans to reform social care workforce
29/07/2026 Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced plans to overhaul the social care workforce as part of a wider push towards a National Care Service. |
Social Care Crisis: What local government needs to know
27/07/2026 Councils are £715m over budget and PM Andy Burnham says social care reform is essential to stop the NHS collapsing — here's what it means for local government. |
Parks: Councils' secret weapon, not an easy cut
27/07/2026 Green Flag Award scheme manager Paul Todd tells LocalGov why councils weighing cuts to green spaces are missing the bigger picture. |
Social care is main driver of councils' emergency funding requests
27/07/2026 Social care is ‘taking centre stage' as the main factor driving councils' requests for exceptional financial support from Government, a new paper has found. |
NHS faces collapse without social care reform, says Burnham
27/07/2026 The NHS will collapse without social care system reform, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said. |
Burnham promises to empower councils as Rayner returns to replace Reed
20/07/2026 Andy Burnham has promised to give councils more powers to tackle problems such as rough sleeping and social care while moving decision-making from Whitehall. |
Carers still facing prosecution over allowance penalties
20/07/2026 Unpaid carers are being threatened with prosecution or ordered to repay thousands of pounds after falling foul of ‘cliff-edge’ rules governing allowances. |
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. |
Initiative to tackle profiteering in child placements expanded
13/07/2026 Over 100 councils will take part in the Government's expanded regional children's care initiative, which ministers hope will help tackle profiteering. |
Leaders react to Casey's call for national health and social care service
09/07/2026 Local government leaders have reacted to a call from Baroness Casey for a national health and social care service. |
LGA Conference: MP warns Burnham not to delay local elections again
08/07/2026 Zoe Franklin MP issued a pointed warning to Andy Burnham at the LGA Conference, warning that Labour cannot use devolution to delay local elections again. |
Delayed discharge costs rise to £2.7bn
08/07/2026 The cost of delayed discharged rose 7.5% to £2.7bn in 2025/26, according to The King’s Fund. |
Funding pledge could shackle social care reform
07/07/2026 The prospects for social care reform under an Andy Burnham government could be constrained by his tax pledges, experts have warned. |
Council chiefs urge next PM to close £7bn funding gap
03/07/2026 The LGA is calling on the next PM to lay out a new path for local services that is not reliant on council tax rises and short-term fixes. |
Next PM must fast-track social care reform, MPs say
02/07/2026 The Health and Social Care Committee has urged the next Prime Minister to ensure findings from the Casey Commission are published before its current 2028 deadline. |
Council receives £7.1m health and social care integration boost
02/07/2026 Powys County Council has received a £7.1m health and social care integration boost. |
Baroness Casey open to a faster social care reform timetable
24/06/2026 Baroness Casey has said she is open to a faster implementation of social care reforms if required by the next Prime Minister. |
Social care vacancy rate falls to decade low but challenges ahead
24/06/2026 Adult social care vacancies have fallen to a decade low, according to Skills for Care. |
NSPCC admits failing to report high-risk child contacts to councils
23/06/2026 The NSPCC has referred itself to the Charity Commission after discovering that contacts from children categorised as high-risk were not passed on to councils. |
Ombudsman finds council failed disabled teenager over housing delays
18/06/2026 A disabled teenager was left without access to vital medical equipment after a London council failed to act on repeated warnings about unsuitable housing. |
Beyond the Leisure Centre: How to make the case for active wellbeing investment
12/06/2026 This special report from LocalGov and Alliance Leisure makes the case for repositioning council leisure provision as prevention infrastructure. |
Axing patient watchdog risks NHS ‘marking own homework’, warns LGA
01/06/2026 Government plans to abolish the network of Healthwatch patient watchdog organisations that work with councils to monitor NHS and adult social care services have been criticised by the Local Government Association (LGA). |
Five thousand care homes uninspected for five years, analysis reveals
18/05/2026 Over 40% of registered care homes have not received a full CQC inspection since February 2021, with some local authority areas seeing rates above 80%. |
CQC hands out third inadequate rating
18/05/2026 Salford City Council is the third council to be rated inadequate for its adult social care services by the Care Quality Commission since assessments began. |
Eight-year-old launches legal challenge against SEND consultation
12/05/2026 An eight-year-old severely autistic girl is seeking a judicial review of the Government's consultation on its proposed special educational needs reforms. |
New Councillors, Same Pressures: IFS warns councils face unchanged funding challenges
11/05/2026 New councillors elected last week inherits a local government finance picture that is deeply constrained – and unlikely to improve quickly, IFS warns. |
Newly elected councillors urged to prioritise adult social care
11/05/2026 Care England has called on councillors elected in last week's local elections to make adult social care a top priority. |
Designing for cohesion
07/05/2026 Tom Fairey, Development Director at Alliance Leisure, discusses how community spaces can strengthen local connections. |
Local Elections: What voters really want from their councils
06/05/2026 With voters heading to the polls tomorrow, a recent YouGov survey reveals what local issues matter most — and the answers are not always what you might expect. |
Prevention 'insufficiently embedded' in social care, says COSLA
28/04/2026 Scotland's social care system faces unsustainable strain, with services trapped in reactive crisis management rather than preventative support, COSLA warns. |
Social work funding must match nursing and teaching, says LGA
24/04/2026 More than half of adult social workers are experiencing increasingly complex caseloads while resources fail to keep pace with demand, new LGA survey reveals. |
Southport Inquiry: Councils face challenge to prevent future attacks
23/04/2026 Councils face a challenge to prevent attacks such as those in Southport that claimed the lives of three schoolgirls, children's services directors warn. |
Illegal children's home placements up 370%
20/04/2026 The use of illegal, unregistered children's homes has surged by more than 370% in four years, according to new research. |
Government to examine deaths of vulnerable care leavers
16/04/2026 The Government has announced a review into the deaths of vulnerable care leavers, aiming to improve protections for young people leaving the care system. |
Lancashire CC apologises for role in failings before Southport attack
14/04/2026 The chief executive of Lancashire County Council has apologised for the authority's role in the systemic failings that preceded the Southport knife attack. |
Thousands of unpaid carers to have allowance debts cancelled
13/04/2026 The Government has announced that tens of thousands of unpaid carers will have debts reduced, cancelled, or refunded following a decade of confusing guidance. |
LocalGov Round-Up: LGR, Finance and Local Elections
10/04/2026 This week councils faced questions over reorganisation, concerns over the finances of the social care sector and a reminder of electoral fraud risks. |
Unison proposes adult social care pension scheme
08/04/2026 A letter proposing a pension scheme for adult social care workers funded by employers and employees has been sent by Unison to health and social care secretary Wes Streeting. |
Welsh councils warn social care system ‘stretched too far’
26/03/2026 Welsh councils are warning that social care is under unsustainable pressure and cannot continue without long-term funding certainty. |
Scottish councils call for leisure and sport investment as prevention tool
26/03/2026 Scotland's councils are calling for long-term investment in public leisure and sport. |
Children stuck in hospital as lack of community care sparks ‘hidden crisis’
19/03/2026 Children are spending thousands of unnecessary days in hospital due to gaps in community and social care, the Children’s Commissioner for England has warned. |
ICB savings risk shifting care costs to councils, think-tank warns
19/03/2026 An ICB’s £277m savings programme for 2025/26 risks shifting care costs to local councils and residents, the Nuffield Trust has warned. |
Casey urged to consider potential of LATCos for social care
11/03/2026 Baroness Louise Casey has been urged to look at local authority trading companies (LATCo) providing an ‘antidote' to billions being drained from social care. |
Welsh councils urge funding boost to ease social care pressures
09/03/2026 Welsh councils have called for additional funding for social care to help break what they describe as a cycle of ‘managing crisis’ across frontline services. |
BREAKING NEWS: Streeting agrees to 'simple asks' from Baroness Casey
05/03/2026 Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has agreed to ‘simple asks’ on dementia, social care and motor neurone disease (MND) from Baroness Louise Casey. |
BREAKING NEWS: Baroness Casey makes five 'simple asks' of Streeting
05/03/2026 Baroness Louise Casey has revealed she has written to health and social care secretary Wes Streeting with five ‘simple' social care asks. |
Contract blunder left 400 children without therapy, ombudsman finds
04/03/2026 Bucks Council left up to 400 children without therapy they were legally entitled to after failing to properly manage a change in its contracted services. |
'Social care reform caught in political catch-22,' report finds
02/03/2026 Social care reform is caught in a political catch-22 with Government frightened to tackle the issue, according to a new report. |
Call for exclusion of adult social care premises from ‘Mansion Tax’
26/02/2026 Care England has called on the Government to exclude adult social care premises from the High Value Council Tax Surcharge, known as the ‘Mansion Tax.’ |
Health and social care integration plans receive £7.1m boost
18/02/2026 Plans for health and social care integration in Powys, mid-Wales have received a £7.1m funding boost. |
Social care in Scotland receives £20m boost
13/02/2026 The Scottish Government has confirmed that social care will receive a £20m cash injection. |
Think tank urges more support for unpaid carers
10/02/2026 One in three people from poorer backgrounds are unable to work due to their unpaid caring responsibilities, research has found. |
Campaigners call for strengthened SEND protections ahead of reforms
04/02/2026 A joint statement has been sent to the Secretary of State, warning that legal protections for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) must be preserved. |
Govt pledges to recruit 10,000 foster carers
03/02/2026 The Government has unveiled a plan to recruit up to 10,000 new foster carers in England this Parliament, aiming to reverse a sharp decline in approved carers. |
Social care costs for asylum seekers up 148%
02/02/2026 Local authorities across the UK have seen a notable rise in spending on social care for people seeking asylum. |
Call for national standards to end social care lottery
27/01/2026 National standards of care could be the key to ending the stark variation in social care across England, according to a new report. |
Scottish social care undermined by ‘systemic underinvestment’
27/01/2026 Social care in Scotland is undermined by the ‘systemic underinvestment’ in prevention and early intervention delivered by social care services, report finds. |
Councils fear exclusion from pay negotiations
27/01/2026 Council chiefs are calling for a formal role in negotiations on the Government’s proposed Fair Pay Agreement for care workers. |
Call for 'national fee model' for care support
19/01/2026 Care Forum Wales (CFW) has called for a ‘national fee model’ to end the ‘postcode lottery’ of care funding. |
LGA: Fair Pay Agreement ‘unworkable’ without council involvement
16/01/2026 The proposed adult social care Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) model is unworkable without adequate funding and meaningful local government involvement, LGA warns. |
Shared Lives charity supports almost 10,000 people in UK
14/01/2026 Home care charity, Shared Lives, supports 10,000 people through personalised, relationship-based care, new data has revealed. |
Illegal children’s homes cost councils over £350m in a year, report finds
12/01/2026 Councils have spent more than £350m on placing children in illegal accommodation over the past year, research has revealed. |
Government announces £50m boost to Disabled Facilities Grant
12/01/2026 An additional £50m for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) has been announced by the Government. |
Consistent approach needed on evaluating delayed discharge initiatives, says auditor
08/01/2026 A consistent approach is needed on evaluating and reporting on initiatives to improve delayed discharges, according to a new report. |
Six digital companies to share £1.5m WorkWell funding
06/01/2026 Six digital companies are to share £1.5m in WorkWell funding under an NHS and local government led programme. |
Council says 'more to be done' after SEND improvements
05/01/2026 Hertfordshire County Council has said there is still ‘more to be done’ after an inspection report noted improvements in SEND services. |
Council apologises for sign language failure
05/01/2026 A London council has apologised after failing to find a sign language interpreter for a deaf man receiving care. |
Public Health Grant 'must keep pace with inflation', LGA chair says
18/12/2025 Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor, chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, has welcomed a multi-year funding settlement for the Public Health Grant but warned it must keep pace with inflation and rising demand to deliver on prevention and reduce pressure on health and social care. |
Call to end ‘shadow market’ of unregistered children’s homes
03/12/2025 Almost nine in 10 councils placed children in unregistered homes this year due to limited registered options, research has found. |
Complex care needs drive up social care costs for young people
25/11/2025 The growing complexity of care and support needs have increased social care costs by almost a third in 2025, according to a new survey. |
LGA: Councils face ‘huge pressures’ to deliver children’s services
20/11/2025 Over 80,000 children are being looked after by councils across England, figures have revealed. |
Care cash extraction tops £250m, report warns
12/11/2025 Private providers extracted over £250m from public spending on care in just three UK regions between 2021 and 2024, according to a new analysis. |
Redesigning Services: Anti-racist models of home improvement
29/10/2025 Without inclusive home improvement support, the wellbeing of people from racially minorities will be at risk, writes Nazia Azad of Centre for Ageing Better. |
Councils to fund half of increased labour costs under fair pay agreement
27/10/2025 Local authorities are projected to fund over half of increased labour costs passed on by providers as a result of the fair pay agreement for social care. |
Deprived areas hit hardest by pharmacy closures
24/10/2025 England’s most deprived areas are bearing the brunt of pharmacy closures, new research from the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has revealed. |
Lack of investment 'threatens' shift to community care, says CQC
24/10/2025 A lack of investment in community services threatens the 10-Year Health Plan’s goal of shifting care closer to home, according to the CQC. |
Scottish councils demand £750m social care lifeline
24/10/2025 Scotland’s political leaders have been told they face a ‘defining moment’ for local services — with social care at the centre of a new call for action. |
Lancashire leaders call for delay to council shake-up
23/10/2025 Lancashire County Council has asked the Government to delay the county’s planned local government reorganisation. |
Domestic recruitment challenges persist in adult social care
15/10/2025 The adult social care sector in England continued to grow in 2024/25, but challenges in domestic recruitment and workforce sustainability remain, a new report reveals. |
Social care fair pay 'unlikely to be sufficient'
10/10/2025 Doubt has been cast on whether the adult social care fair pay agreement will have the impact claimed by ministers. |
Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews: Safeguarding Children After Abuse or Neglect
09/10/2025 Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs) are vital for protecting children across England. In this LocalGov ‘Need to Know’ guide, we break down what they are, why they matter, and how they help improve safeguarding practices. |
