County council’s trading standards team seizes £23m of unsafe items
Whitehall warned not to ‘scrap’ HS2 as review announced
Councils urged to apply for £7.5m digital innovation fund
New partnership to help Welsh councils build affordable housing
Making innovation possible
John McMahon explains why standards drive innovation and user experience.
Council proposes £120m scheme to upgrade Liverpool’s ‘flawed’ junction
15/08/2019 Liverpool City Council has submitted proposals to the Government outlining its plans to radically redesign one of the city’s major junctions as part of a wider bid to boost transport in the North. |
Welsh council trials ‘less expensive’ pothole repair method
14/08/2019 A trial of a new plastic-based substance to help councils fix potholes has found that it could be faster, cleaner and less expensive. |
Think tank calls for fuel duty rise to tackle pollution
12/08/2019 A think tank has called for tough action to tackle air pollution, particularly from road transport, including higher fuel prices and a default 20mph urban speed limit. |
Watchdog warns millions of people at risk of mobile signal ‘blackouts’
09/08/2019 Eight in ten areas in the UK suffer from patchy 4G mobile coverage, new research from Which? has revealed. |
Government welcomes plans to create West Midlands national park
08/08/2019 Whitehall has welcomed proposals to create a new West Midlands urban national park that would span more than seven cities and open up hundreds of miles of green space. |
Northants to cut out-of-area placements with £151k children’s home
07/08/2019 Northamptonshire County Council has decided to open up a new children’s home in a bid to reduce the number of children being placed outside of the county. |
Combined authority launches West Yorkshire’s ‘largest’ electric vehicle charging network
05/08/2019 The first of 88 chargepoints will go live this week in what is set to be West Yorkshire’s largest electric vehicle rapid-charging network. |
Brentwood Council signs £1bn joint venture
02/08/2019 A £1bn joint venture to deliver new homes, public spaces and local facilities has been agreed between Brentwood Borough Council and Morgan Sindall Investments. |
Birmingham CC and Capita ‘dissolve’ long-standing partnership
02/08/2019 Birmingham City Council has announced that its 13 year joint venture with Capita has been ‘largely ended’, reportedly saving taxpayers £44m. |
Free-trade zones to ‘turbocharge’ investment, Whitehall claims
02/08/2019 The Government has invited ports and airports across the UK to bid to become one of 10 new free trade areas in a move it argues will boost post-Brexit trade. |
Council charity to run Hertfordshire's libraries
02/08/2019 Hertfordshire County Council is set to save £500,000 in business rates by transferring its libraries to a charity it set up for the purpose. |
Over half of councils declare ‘climate emergency’
31/07/2019 More than half of UK councils have committed to reducing carbon emissions by declaring a 'climate emergency'. |
Liverpool submits £230m ‘Green City Deal’
30/07/2019 The mayor of Liverpool has submitted a proposal to the new prime minister for a £230m Green City Deal to tackle climate change and boost the economy. |
Nottingham Council to supply its own water
26/07/2019 Nottingham City Council is set to become the first council to run its own water services in-house, saving an estimated £64,000 a year. |
London boroughs eye £750 workplace parking charge
25/07/2019 Several London boroughs are considering introducing workplace parking levies (WPLs) of at least £750 a year to cut pollution and encourage active travel. |
Brokenshire tells house builders to ‘protect wildlife’
22/07/2019 The communities secretary James Brokenshire has published new guidance to help developers do more to protect wildlife. |
Labour pledges to end outsourced council services
22/07/2019 The biggest local government union has welcomed plans by the Labour Party to reverse the outsourcing of council services. |
Campaigners call for new definition of 'affordable' housing
19/07/2019 Many families living in the countryside could have their rents cut in half if the definition of 'affordable' housing were changed, according to campaigners. |
ICO launches consultation on its updated data sharing code of practice
18/07/2019 The Information Commissioner’s Office is asking organisations to have their say on its updated data sharing code of practice. |
Councils urged to bid for housing advisory scheme
18/07/2019 A programme offering expert advice on how local authorities can best tackle housing shortages in their areas has been launched for the third year in a row. |
Councils need ‘greater flexibility’ to develop waste strategies, MPs say
17/07/2019 Local authorities must be given the freedom to develop recycling strategies tailored to the needs of their communities, MPs have said. |
Councils work together to fight fly-tippers
16/07/2019 Cambridge and Peterborough councils are joining forces to crack down on the scourge of fly-tipping. |
Government announces £28m to ‘ease pressure' of migration
15/07/2019 Councils across England are to receive £28m to help ease the pressures on services resulting from recent migration, the Government announced over the weekend. |
Council welcomes £65m Growth Deal
12/07/2019 Moray Council has said that its area’s economy is ‘set to be transformed’ by a £65m Growth Deal, announced yesterday by the UK and Scottish governments. |
Grimsby receives £4m Town Deal boost
12/07/2019 The Government yesterday announced that Grimsby would receive £4m of investment to support the town’s ‘unprecedented’ regeneration strategy. |
Online tool to calculate health impact of trees published
11/07/2019 A new online tool which can help councils calculate how much pollution would be removed by planting trees in local areas has been launched. |
Birmingham CC to pilot ‘car free’ areas outside schools
10/07/2019 A scheme to ban vehicles from roads near schools at the start and end of the day is to be tried in Birmingham from September. |
Say ‘no to ugliness’, commission tells planners
10/07/2019 Councils should 'say no to ugliness' in their planning decisions, according to a report commissioned by the Government. |
Whitehall announces nearly £40m electric chargepoint investment
09/07/2019 The Government has announced it is investing £37m to transform electric chargepoint infrastructure. |
Around 50 towns to benefit from multi-million pound high street fund
08/07/2019 The Government has announced the second phase of a multi-million pound fund designed to ‘transform’ high streets across the country. |
Cardiff to invest £1bn in new transport system
05/07/2019 Cardiff Council has announced a £1bn plan to overhaul the Welsh capital’s transport system to prevent it from ‘grinding to a halt’. |
Chesterfield Borough Council makes LEP membership decision
04/07/2019 Chesterfield Borough Council has decided which Local Enterprise Partnership it will stay a member of following the government's insistence all councils must not belong to more than one. |
Think tank calls for creation of ‘investment state’
03/07/2019 A think tank has called for an end to austerity and the creation of an ‘investment state’ to help boost economic growth. |
Alliance calls for voting reforms to fix 'failing' system
03/07/2019 Political parties and civil society groups have signed the Good Systems Agreement calling for reforms to the UK's voting system. |
Brokenshire calls for 'new deal for local government'
02/07/2019 Communities secretary James Brokenshire has called on the next Prime Minister to publish a Green Paper on a new deal between local and central government. |
Minister announces £100,000 to boost town centres
02/07/2019 High Streets Minister Jake Berry has announced the latest round of funding to make shopping centres more attractive to business. |
Leader of ‘fractious’ council seeks government help
28/06/2019 The leader of Merthyr Tydfil Council has asked the Welsh Government for help to overcome its ‘fractious’ position and financial challenges. |
Policies to clean up air pollution ‘effective’, research suggests
27/06/2019 Policies to clean up air pollution in the UK over the past 40 years have led to significant reductions in human exposure to air pollution, research suggests. |
UK commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net zero’
27/06/2019 The UK has become the ‘first major economy’ to pass a law to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. |
The winners of the 2019 Street Design Awards
26/06/2019 From the restoration of a historic burial site to a successful and innovative road safety scheme, the winners of the 2019 Street Design Awards have been revealed. |
Local authority named ‘co-operative council of the year’
26/06/2019 South Tyneside Council has been named ‘co-operative council of the year’ thanks to their commitment to the co-op principles in the face of deep funding cuts. |
Birmingham to invest £778m to prepare for Commonwealth Games
26/06/2019 Birmingham is set to invest £778m to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the Government has confirmed. |
Liverpool gets green light to build council houses
21/06/2019 The city which built the first council houses in Europe 150 years ago is set to construct homes again after the Government lifted its ban on new building. |
New toolkit launched to help councils go green
20/06/2019 A new toolkit designed to help local authorities reduce their carbon footprint and ‘trigger the wider benefits of bold climate action’ has been launched. |
Welsh Government to simplify joint working between councils
19/06/2019 A blueprint for joint working between councils is to be published by the Welsh Government. |
Integrating migrants could boost economy by £7bn, think tank says
18/06/2019 A think tank has called for the setting up of ‘local integration funds’ to help migrants find jobs that match their skills as part of a series of proposals to improve integration. |
Millions 'wasted' on painted cycle lanes, ambassadors warn
17/06/2019 Cycling and walking ambassadors have called on the Government to provide councils with greater powers and more money to make key changes in cities. |
Greater Manchester aims to be carbon-neutral by 2038
14/06/2019 Plans by Greater Manchester to become the UK’s 'leading green and digital city-region' have won backing from the Government in its new Local Industrial Strategy. |
Sunak brings forward revaluation of business rates
13/06/2019 Business rates will reflect property values more accurately after a shake-up being introduced in new legislation. |
London Councils welcomes ‘new era of digital transformation’
10/06/2019 The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) has officially launched today to help the digital transformation of public service. |
A new whitepaper – produced by BT - looks set to dispel the myths surrounding ‘future networks’ and achieving a smarter digital future for organisations.
Download a new White Paper on dealing with the new EU General Data Protection Regulation
How PSBA is connecting the public sector in Wales
There are a number of benefits for a public sector organisation using PSBA’s services.
Digital leadership and social value ecosystems
Philip Baulch explores the role of the digital leader in driving culture change.
Ending exclusivity agreements
Paul Ceely explains how council street furniture can be opened up to accelerate the roll-out of 5G.
Why we need place-shaping technologies
Michael White of BT looks at how digital technology can enhance placeshaping.
Broadband for the future
Salisbury is about to become the first full city to benefit from fibre-to-the-premise broadbroadband, opening up a host of possibilities for residents, businesses and public services.
How local authorities see their role in place-shaping
The MJ and BT recently conducted a survey among local authority directors into their perceptions of place and their role in enhancing it with the aid of digital technology.
