Council invests over £1m in mobile household recycling centres
Cornwall Council closes Brussels office
DWP launches 110 hubs to help young jobseekers
WMCA makes top 10 of most inclusive employers in the country
Navigating local government reorganisation - smoothing service integration
Steve White looks at how councils can best navigate the complex issues around local government reorganisation and IT.
Housing investment package worth £30m announced
07/06/2021 Over 160 projects across England have been awarded £30m as part of an investment package the Government hopes will deliver 17,000 new homes. |
10 councils chosen to pilot digital planning tools
02/06/2021 The use of digital tools in the planning process will be tested by 10 councils as part of a Government pilot. |
Data sharing 'crucial' to how councils managed pandemic, study reveals
27/05/2021 Data sharing was critical to how Scottish councils responded to the COVID-19 crisis, academics have revealed. |
Report calls for greater council powers to protect future of high street
26/05/2021 Councils and local communities should be given more power to decide the future of their high streets, a new report has argued today. |
Report finds cities hit by 'Zoomshock' are best placed for economic recovery
21/05/2021 Cities have been hollowed out by COVID but they are still best placed to drive the recovery, a report by economic growth specialists Metro Dynamics has said. |
Levelling up is 'meaningless' without devo, say Lords
20/05/2021 The Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda is meaningless without more devolution to councils and investment in local public services says a report from the House of Lords. |
Construction of £23m council-funded school for SEND students complete
17/05/2021 Somerset CC has announced that construction has finished on Polden Bower School, a brand new £23m council-funded school for students with complex needs. |
Experts call for action to be taken to tackle digital divide
12/05/2021 Leading academics have called for urgent action to be taken to tackle the digital divide as research shows there are nine million adults in the UK who can’t use the internet without help. |
Voters back committee system in Sheffield referendum
11/05/2021 Sheffield City Council will move towards a new committee system following a referendum to change how the council is run. |
Levelling up needs long-term approach, says report
10/05/2021 A shake-up of local government funding is required to achieve a levelling up of the country, a new report has concluded. |
Smart cities could be targeted by hackers, experts warn
07/05/2021 Local authorities have been given expert guidance to help protect their smart cities from cyber attacks. |
New asphalt mix like ‘anti-ageing cream for roads’
28/04/2021 A section of dual carriageway in Northamptonshire has become the first in the country to be resurfaced with a new asphalt mix which could help roads last significantly longer. |
Digital map reveals 'lacklustre recycling growth'
26/04/2021 Recycling rates have plateaued in England and Scotland for the fifth consecutive year according to a new interactive digital map of local authority recycling data. |
Falkirk first Scottish council to safeguard digital telecare
23/04/2021 Falkirk Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to launch an end-to-end digital telecare service. |
Glasgow first to sign circular economy commitment
22/04/2021 Glasgow City Council has become the first in the UK to sign a commitment to raise awareness of the full benefits of the circular economy. |
Councils at 'forefront' of climate change action
22/04/2021 To mark Earth Day, the Local Government Association (LGA) has highlighted the work being done by councils to help tackle climate change and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. |
Bigger phone masts under planning proposals
20/04/2021 Mobile companies will be allowed to make masts bigger in a bid to eliminate mobile signal blindspots by the Government. |
County rejects Bay Unitary proposal
13/04/2021 Lancashire County Council has rejected proposals to create a new Bay Unitary Council. |
Labour council pressed to insource service
12/04/2021 Neath Port Talbot CBC has been urged to bring its leisure services under direct control as it searches for a new operator. |
'Digital twin' of Bradford city centre to be created
12/04/2021 A new project to virtually ‘clone’ Bradford city centre has been unveiled. |
Johnson announces £23.6m Truro Deal
07/04/2021 Truro has secured £23.6m from the Towns Fund to boost the local economy, create jobs and new homes. |
County council chiefs welcome new Northamptonshire authorities
01/04/2021 County council leaders have welcomed two new unitary authorities which officially came into existence today in Northamptonshire. |
Minister announces £30m to boost battery and hydrogen technology
30/03/2021 The Government has announced over £30m of investment in battery technology, the electric vehicle supply chain and hydrogen vehicles. |
Local areas to receive £150m to trial flooding responses
29/03/2021 Twenty-five areas across England have been selected to receive a share of a £150m fund to develop new flooding responses. |
BCP Council to pilot drones in fight against litter
26/03/2021 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has announced a pilot scheme which will see drone-based technology used to tackle the issue of litter. |
A third of councils experienced unplanned IT outages in past year
25/03/2021 Nearly a third (32%) of councils experienced unplanned IT outages in the past year, according to new research. |
East Midlands councils launch development corporation
24/03/2021 A consortium of local authorities in the East Midlands is taking a major step forwards with proposals to launch a body which could trial a new model for planning and cross-regional economic development. |
Report calls for a 'connected recovery' from pandemic
24/03/2021 Safer and more welcoming public spaces would help people reconnect post-COVID-19, MPs and peers have argued. |
Commission calls on councils to improve digital services for social care
23/03/2021 Not enough local authorities or care providers are using the available technology within social care to keep people safe at home, a new study finds. |
Plymouth to set up council-owned care company
22/03/2021 Plymouth City Council is setting up its own care company after a number of providers warned they could not provide services at short notice. |
Council gives green light to £350m developments
18/03/2021 Southampton City Council has given the green light to two new developments that will see over 1000 homes built in the city. |
Scottish islands to receive £100m boost
18/03/2021 The UK and Scottish governments have signed an investment agreement that could deliver a £335m boost for Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides. |
Government unveils hydrogen transport hub ‘masterplan’
17/03/2021 The Government has unveiled the official ‘masterplan’ for the UK’s first-ever hydrogen transport hub. |
Mayoral votes to use ‘outdated’ system
16/03/2021 The Government plans to switch to the first-past-the-post system to elect mayors. |
UCL study calls for ‘21st century approach to prosperity’
16/03/2021 A new study has criticised the Government’s top down levelling-up agenda and calls for what it calls a ‘21st century approach to prosperity’. |
Johnson unveils £3bn plan to 'shake-up' bus services
15/03/2021 Councils are being urged to enter into a statutory ‘enhanced partnership’ or franchising agreements with bus companies in order to receive new funding from the Government. |
Local government pension fund to become net zero investor
10/03/2021 The Avon Pension Fund has committed to becoming a net zero investor by 2050 or earlier. |
Tear down devolution 'barriers,' APPG urges
09/03/2021 Powers should be devolved to councils before reorganisation takes place, a new report has concluded. |
New toolkit to help councils champion good governance
09/03/2021 New toolkits to help senior council staff and councillors understand and act on risks to good governance have been published today. |
Home secretary announces £23m to tackle exploitation of young people
08/03/2021 A children’s charity has called for a national strategy to provide help for children at risk of exploitation rather than a strategy focusing on ‘hot spots’. |
Budget 2021: Chancellor confirms £4.8bn ‘levelling up fund’
03/03/2021 Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the first round of the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund will be available to local areas to help tackle regional inequalities. |
Liverpool City Region launches £30m digital joint venture
26/02/2021 A £30m joint venture to make the Liverpool City Region the most digitally connected area in the UK has been unveiled by metro mayor Steve Rotheram. |
Labour calls for council powers to intervene in high streets
25/02/2021 Proposals for councils to take over empty shops and a ‘wholesale reform’ of business rates have been put forward by Labour. |
Hackney plans to insource £12m of services
25/02/2021 Council services in the London borough of Hackney worth nearly £12m every year will be reclaimed from private companies as part of a new strategy to deliver public services in-house rather than outsourcing them. |
Consultation starts on restructuring local government in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset
23/02/2021 A consultation on creating unitary authorities in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset has been announced today by the Government. |
Homes England invites councils to become strategic partners
22/02/2021 Local authorities have been invited to become strategic partners with Homes England to increase the delivery of affordable housing. |
Boston Council becomes third shareholder in local authority company
19/02/2021 Boston Borough Council has agreed to become a shareholder in a local authority trading company to save £1.8m over the next ten years. |
Plan could double economic output of Oxford-Cambridge Arc to £200bn, minister says
18/02/2021 The Government has announced a ‘spatial framework’ plan aimed at transforming the economic and cultural potential of the area stretching between Oxford and Cambridge. |
London councils awarded £150,000 for digital projects
17/02/2021 Two local authority digital projects in London aimed at making smarter use of data have been awarded £75,000 each. |
Think tank's launches levelling up Big Bang theory
15/02/2021 The Government should launch a Northern Big Bang to ‘unleash a torrent of investment into the Northern economy’ says a report from a Conservative think-tank. |
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
Reset and rebuild: delivering better connected services
At a recent webinar organised by The MJ and BT, three speakers gave a national, local and provider perspective on the Government's £5bn gigabit speed connectivity revolution. Michael Burton reports.
Helping Merton Council go above and beyond for its community
Bringing the right technology and expertise together to digitally transform Merton Council.
BT Partners with scale-ups on breakthrough green tech
Tech scale-ups collaborate with BT to develop new services aimed at helping public sector customers transition to Net Zero.
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.
