Council raises £1m for solar panels through ‘community investment’
PM publishes ten point plan for 'green industrial revolution'
Ministers urged to 'double down on devolution'
Social housing tenants get stronger voice under new reforms
Creating a greener local government
Mark Doyle, a senior corporate account manager at Gazprom Energy, looks at how to create a greener local government.
Research shows just over a tenth of councils have fully digitalised all citizen records
16/11/2020 Only 11% of local authorities have fully digitalised all of their citizen records, new research has revealed. |
Peers call for public service reform to improve resilience
13/11/2020 Peers have warned that ‘fundamental weaknesses’ in public services must be addressed in order to withstand future crises. |
London council to end outsourcing of parking enforcement
11/11/2020 Hackney Council is set to bring parking enforcement officers back in-house when its current contract ends in March 2022. |
Labour calls for creation of 400,000 green jobs
10/11/2020 Labour has called on the Government to ‘build it in Britain’ and to support the creation of 400,000 new jobs with a green economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. |
Council housing 'revolution' would create a quarter of a million new jobs, says report
06/11/2020 A 'radical' new approach to council housing would create 250,000 jobs and end the housing crisis, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has argued. |
Hollywood firm agrees deal to build Dagenham studio
04/11/2020 Barking and Dagenham Council has signed a deal with a Hollywood developer to build a film and TV production centre in Dagenham. |
Surrey looks to future with £20m LED conversion
29/10/2020 Surrey County Council is to convert all of its 89,000 street lights to LEDs over the next three years at a cost of £20m. |
Think tank proposes 10-point plan to reform business rates
29/10/2020 The valuation of business rates should be devolved to local government, under proposals published by the Centre for Cities. |
Robotics to be deployed in battle against potholes
27/10/2020 The University of Liverpool has launched a spin out company which will drive the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics to detect potholes and road cracks. |
Councils urged to appoint chief foresight officers
26/10/2020 Councils should appoint a ‘chief resilience officer’ to help respond to future crises, a report has argued. |
Calls for collaboration to fill the ‘strategic planning void’
21/10/2020 Closer collaboration between councils, health bodies and businesses could ‘reinvigorate strategic planning’ a new report has argued. |
Foundation urges public bodies to use ‘collective intelligence techniques’
20/10/2020 Public bodies can use collective intelligence techniques to tackle community challenges, such as healthcare and sustainability, that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study says. |
Government launches £3m supported housing pilot
20/10/2020 The Government has announced that £3m will go to fund pilots in five areas aimed at improving the quality, enforcement, oversight and value for money in supported housing. |
Watchdog warns 2025 target for superfast broadband will be 'challenging'
16/10/2020 Rural and remote areas have been left behind in plans to rollout superfast broadband, the public spending watchdog has warned. |
Councils have 'minimal' awareness of cyber-threats, think tank warns
15/10/2020 Some councils are delaying the rollout of cyber security in order to reduce costs despite the increased risk of hacks due to the pandemic, a think tank has warned. |
Council set to take housing services back in-house
15/10/2020 Kirklees Council is set to approve plans to bring the management and maintenance of its housing stock back in-house next week. |
Councils offered £20,000 to improve digital connectivity
13/10/2020 Local authorities are being urged to apply for funding that can help them improve local and regional digital connectivity. |
Three areas invited to submit unitary proposals
09/10/2020 The Government has today invited councils in three areas to submit proposals for the creation of unitary local authorities by April 2023. |
'Hand power down to level up' report argues
09/10/2020 Power must be decentralised and rebalanced around the needs of local places if the Government’s aim if levelling up is to be met, a report has argued today. |
Coastal areas call for £1bn to decarbonise the maritime sector
09/10/2020 Local coastal leaders have called on the chancellor to invest £1bn to completely decarbonise the maritime sector. |
Majority of councils lack a defined data analytics strategy, survey shows
08/10/2020 Less than a third of local authorities have a defined data analytics strategy despite the majority investing in data analytics platforms, new research has revealed. |
Scottish council becomes first to set an end poverty target
08/10/2020 The City of Edinburgh Council has become the first local authority to set an official end poverty date. |
BCP Council leader announces ‘cabinet plus’
07/10/2020 The leader of BCP Council has announced a ‘cabinet plus’ approach to decision-making and policy development for the local authority. |
Council leaders see ‘community wealth building’ as post-COVID priority
07/10/2020 Councils should focus on policies that strengthen the health, wealth and wellbeing of communities as they attempt to recover from the pandemic, report says. |
Councils need 'right culture, skills and systems' for commercial strategies
06/10/2020 Councils must have the right culture, skills and systems to unlock the benefits and mitigate the risks of commercialisation, a report has concluded today. |
Councils calls for COBRA-style action to tackle youth unemployment
06/10/2020 Council leaders have called for a COBRA-style response to tackle youth unemployment and save a ‘lost generation’ of young people. |
New review into UK’s transport connections
05/10/2020 An independent review into transport connections across the UK has been launched by the prime minister. |
Kent councils take back control of housing stock
05/10/2020 Four councils in East Kent have taken back control of housing management services. |
Councils key to levelling up agenda, says report
02/10/2020 Local government must have adequate funding to level-up deprived English towns, according to new research. |
Wirral council introduces new committee system
30/09/2020 Wirral Council has approved plans to move to a committee system of local government. |
PM pledges to transform skills and training system
29/09/2020 The Prime Minister has outlined plans to transform the training and skills system to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic. |
PM pledges to protect ‘additional 4%’ of UK’s land
28/09/2020 The Government has committed to protecting 30% of the UK’s land by 2030 as part of a global effort to protect nature and boost biodiversity. |
Charity warns many council websites are still inaccessible
23/09/2020 Inaccessible council websites are preventing millions of disabled people from accessing vital services and information, a charity has warned. |
Calls for £1.3bn fund to buy-up private housing for social rent
23/09/2020 A £1.3bn National Housing Conversion Fund would create 42,500 new affordable homes and 9,300 new jobs, according to a new report. |
Councils urged to combine employment support into homelessness services
21/09/2020 Personalised support from councils could help twice as many people stay in employment, a new paper has argued. |
Manchester CC launches consultation on 270 home regeneration proposal
18/09/2020 Manchester City Council has launched a consultation on a regeneration plan that will see 270 new homes built in Collyhurst. |
Somerset councils vote to establish two unitary authorities
16/09/2020 District councils in Somerset have voted for a transformation plan that will see them replaced by two unitary authorities. |
Coventry e-scooter trial ‘paused’ due to misuse
16/09/2020 An e-scooter trial in Coventry has been paused after reports that some users have been riding the scooters on pavements. |
Supporting over 50s ‘crucial’ to building post-pandemic resilience, charity says
15/09/2020 Stronger action to support those in their 50s and 60s will be ‘crucial’ to building the UK’s resilience after the coronavirus pandemic, charity says. |
Council announces ‘innovative’ nitrate neutral development scheme
14/09/2020 Havant Borough Council has become the first local authority to enable nitrate neutral regeneration and redevelopment. |
Government announces £22m rural broadband investment
14/09/2020 Over £22m of funding is being invested into the Government’s broadband voucher scheme to boost broadband speeds in rural English shires and counties. |
All West Yorkshire councils back devolution deal
11/09/2020 All five West Yorkshire councils and the Combined Authority have given their consent to a devolution deal for the region. |
Holyrood announces £30m regeneration fund
10/09/2020 The Scottish government has announced that Scotland’s local authorities will receive £30m of new investment for regeneration and town centres. |
Councils voice support for new Community Wealth Fund
10/09/2020 Calls for a Community Wealth Fund to transform the most ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods have been backed by 10 councils in England. |
Digital secretary announces £2.6m data sharing project
09/09/2020 The Government today launched a National Data Strategy, which includes a new multi-million pound project to address barriers to data sharing. |
Private finance can drive ‘infrastructure revolution’, says CBI
08/09/2020 Private sector investment can be a major driver of the UK’s ‘infrastructure revolution’, according to business representatives. |
Review calls for new local government audit regulator
08/09/2020 A new local government audit body should be created and ministers should change the way they judge the financial stability of councils, a review of local government audit has found. |
Scottish councils release blueprint for change
07/09/2020 A local government blueprint laying out the changes required to unlock councils’ full potential has been published by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) today. |
Council chiefs announce net zero innovation programme
02/09/2020 Councils and universities can apply for a new Net Zero Innovation Programme to address climate challenges at a local level, the Local Government Association (LGA) and UCL announce today. |
DCN: Bigger local government is ‘not better or cheaper’
01/09/2020 Proposals for county unitary councils would be 122 times larger than the average council in Germany, a new report by the District Councils’ Network (DCN) warns today. |
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
DT20 event: Tuesday 24th November
Join us to be inspired about how digital transformation in Wales and the South West has the power to re-shape your future.
How the virus pressed the fast forward button
The pandemic accelerated changes that were already happening. The challenge is how to manage the future, as chief executives from across England’s South West discussed in a round table organised by The MJ and BT. Chair Michael Burton reports.
The future is now - Insights from digital transformation leaders
The Future is Now is our one-hour live event looking at how successful digital transformation has strong leadership at its core.
Keeping the Welsh public safe with PSBA’s network
PSBA has supported Dyfed-Powys Police (DPP) with network solutions for over a decade, providing connectivity services to enable DPP to serve Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys, the largest police force area in England and Wales.
Empowering change: join BT experts and customers live on 25 June
Empowering change: How digital transformation can help you work smarter.
BT: Providing more superfast connections than ever
In the coming years, we are going to see more and more smart devices connecting to mobile and broadband networks. BT Group is one of the major players in this space and is at the heart of the growing tech sector in Wales.
