New proposals to fix Britain's 'fraying social fabric'
12/01/2021 Every local area should be represented by a parish or town council in order to rebuild ‘fraying’ communities after the pandemic, a think tank has argued today. |
Spending watchdog highlights 'litany of failures' on superfast broadband
08/01/2021 A 'litany’ of failures by the Government will leave rural homes and businesses without superfast broadband, MPs have warned today. |
Coventry and Oxford prepare to run UK’s first all-electric bus services
07/01/2021 Coventry and Oxford are set to receive up to £50m to help them become the first parts of the UK to run all-electric bus services, the transport secretary has announced. |
Property searches face delays from underfunded councils
05/01/2021 The trade body representing property search organisations has written to the communities secretary urging him to provide councils with more funding to speed up the provision of searches to homebuyers. |
West Midlands Combined Authority wins £51m to transform brownfield sites
21/12/2020 The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has won £51m to transform derelict industrial sites into new communities. |
Seven councils awarded digital connectivity funding
21/12/2020 Seven councils are set to receive funding from the Local Government Association (LGA) as part of a programme to help boost digital connectivity. |
The winners of the 2020 Street Design Awards
18/12/2020 To end the year on a positive note, we are delighted to announce the winners of the 2020 Street Design Awards. |
New measures to tackle ‘serious failures’ at Nottingham City Council
18/12/2020 An expert panel to help Nottingham City Council improve its ‘appalling financial and management issues’ has been set up by the Government. |
Data sharing framework launched to encourage use of London car clubs
17/12/2020 A new data sharing framework between London boroughs and car club operators has been launched to help accelerate the use of car clubs in the capital. |
Jenrick announces revised plan for housing algorithum
16/12/2020 The Government has announced a raft of new measures in an attempt to provide much-needed homes in urban areas and on brownfield sites. |
Boost to local test and trace funding
11/12/2020 The increase of up to £200m per month follows criticism from the National Audit Office. |
Thousands of councillors call for rethink on planning reforms
10/12/2020 Over 2,000 councillors have called on the Government to rethink its planning proposals, warning the changes will lead to an ‘unacceptable loss’ of local democracy and scrutiny. |
Guide on the ‘significant role’ of community businesses launched
09/12/2020 A body representing thousands of town and parish councils has published a guide aimed at promoting the opportunities that community businesses can create locally. |
Local government pension fund achieves 'gold standard' for administration
08/12/2020 The West Midlands Pension Fund has become the first local government pension scheme in England and Wales to achieve accreditation from the Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA). |
Jenrick outlines fast track planning service for public buildings
04/12/2020 Councils will have a legal duty to make decisions on new schools and hospitals within 10 weeks under reforms to the planning system. |
More than 100 local authorities bid to save £1bn by 2022
03/12/2020 More than 100 local authorities have joined a new initiative that aims to save £1bn by September 2022. |
Mapping tool reveals heat stored in abandoned coal mines
02/12/2020 Local authorities can now for the first time access maps which reveal the extent to which heat is stored in Britain’s abandoned coal mines, the Government has announced. |
Regions urged to apply to host UK's prototype fusion power plant
02/12/2020 Local communities and regions are being invited to put forward proposals to host the UK’s prototype fusion energy power plant. |
Shops to open longer in run up to Christmas
01/12/2020 Retailers will be able to extend their daily opening hours from Monday to Saturday in the run up to Christmas and through January, the communities secretary has announced. |
Edinburgh council can do more to ‘fulfil its potential’, auditors say
26/11/2020 The City of Edinburgh Council should do more to ‘fulfil its potential’ and improve the lives of its citizens, particularly given the additional pressures caused by COVID-19, auditors say. |
Sunak to re-write Green Book to level up the North
23/11/2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce plans to re-write the Green Book in the spending review this week, as part of the Government’s commitment to levelling up. |
Council raises £1m for solar panels through ‘community investment’
19/11/2020 Warrington Borough Council’s first Community Municipal Investment (CMI) has reached its £1m target thanks to investments from over 500 people across the UK. |
PM publishes ten point plan for 'green industrial revolution'
18/11/2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has published his ten point plan for creating a 'green industrial revolution' for 250,000 new jobs. |
Ministers urged to 'double down on devolution'
17/11/2020 A new study has called for the creation of 'pop up parishes' and 'people's budgets' to give communities greater control over local services and assets. |
Social housing tenants get stronger voice under new reforms
17/11/2020 Social housing tenants will be able to complain more effectively under new measures published by the 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. |
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
Towards Net Zero
Join us on 26 January to discover break-through technology supporting the UK’s green recovery
How are public sector leaders thinking about digital transformation?
Find out how local government is pressing ahead with digital change, wary of cybersecurity threats and understandably concerned about the financial implications of emerging from the pandemic.
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.
Council uses satellite-powered app to spot loneliness
Campaigners call on councils to help reduce car use
Coalition publishes new vision for planning reforms
Auditors call for more collaboration to drive digital transformation
