County council chiefs welcome new Northamptonshire authorities
Minister announces £30m to boost battery and hydrogen technology
Local areas to receive £150m to trial flooding responses
BCP Council to pilot drones in fight against litter
Getting the data right: seamless data migration for councils
Tony Armitage outlines the most important elements for councils to consider when undertaking a data migration.
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Mayoral votes to use ‘outdated’ system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. |
Basildon and Thurrock consider merger
11/02/2021 Council leaders are drawing up a memorandum of understanding including the option of forming a South West Essex Council. |
Council to trial hydrotreated vegetable oil-fuelled waste collections
11/02/2021 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s waste collections could soon be run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) following an agreement with Crown Oil to trial this environmentally friendly fuel in two of its refuse vehicles. |
Council chiefs call for ‘secure’ access to data to help COVID-19 response
10/02/2021 Local authority leaders have emphasised the importance of ensuring councils have ‘regular, secure’ access to data to support their response to COVID-19. |
Councillors warn standardised collections will result in waste and recycling charges
09/02/2021 Residents may be forced to carry the cost of introducing standardised waste and recycling collections in England, a survey of local councillors has warned. |
Councils need funding to maintain data innovations, says report
04/02/2021 Local government needs increased investment to ensure recent data-driven innovations are maintained, a new report has argued. |
Councils propose ‘super-district’
02/02/2021 Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick DCs have revealed proposals to merge by 2024. |
Government's EV charging plans 'won't be enough', report argues
02/02/2021 The UK needs to install public electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints five times faster than the current rate at an estimated cost of between £5bn and £10bn by 2030, a think tank has said. |
Proposal for stronger local government Prudential Code
02/02/2021 Proposals to strengthen the Prudential Code and prevent local authorities from borrowing to generate yield have been put forward by CIPFA. |
Councils urged to create local design code under new rules
01/02/2021 Councils will be required to create their own local design code to ensure all new housing developments meet local standards of quality and design. |
West Yorkshire’s devolution deal signed into law
01/02/2021 The £38m ‘historic’ devolution deal for West Yorkshire has been signed into law. |
Scottish council launches world’s first hydrogen double-decker buses
29/01/2021 Aberdeen has claimed a world first after a fleet of double-decker hydrogen buses officially launched into service. |
Welsh council to trial touchless technology at pedestrian crossings
27/01/2021 Rhondda Cynon Taf Council will be trialling touchless technology at six busy pedestrian crossings in a bid to reduce the spread of coronavirus. |
Lack of data affecting decision on local energy projects, councils warn
26/01/2021 The majority of councils are struggling to access the data they need to make informed decisions around local energy projects, a new survey has revealed. |
New strategy 'a golden opportunity' to tackle child sexual abuse
22/01/2021 A new strategy to protect children from all forms of child sexual abuse has been published by the Government today. |
Report sets out need for new digital operating model
21/01/2021 Local and regional authorities should be given greater power and support to help the Government hit connectivity targets, a report has argued today. |
Government urged to adopt UPRN for residential properties
21/01/2021 The Government has been urged to adopt the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) across the housing market to reduce fraud and protect tenants from rogue landlords. |
UK cities and towns hardest hit by COVID-19 likely to recover fastest, report finds
20/01/2021 The cities worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic are likely to make the fastest economic recovery, new analysis has revealed today. |
Council uses satellite-powered app to spot loneliness
19/01/2021 Leeds City Council has become the first to adopt a satellite-enabled app to tackle social isolation and loneliness in urban areas. |
Campaigners call on councils to help reduce car use
19/01/2021 Environmental campaigners have called on local authorities to cancel spending on road building and to redirect funds to boost public transport and active travel. |
Coalition publishes new vision for planning reforms
15/01/2021 The Government has been urged to rethink its ‘damaging’ reforms to the planning system and put people, climate and nature at its heart by a coalition of 18 organisations. |
Auditors call for more collaboration to drive digital transformation
14/01/2021 Auditors have called for greater collaboration between Scottish local authorities when it comes to the use of digital technology. |
Councils urged to end outsourcing of leisure facilities
13/01/2021 A trade union has called on councils to take back control of leisure facilities after estimating leisure services giant Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL) has cut 2,000 staff on zero hours contracts since the start of the pandemic. |
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. |
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.
