Councils urged to give views on FOI laws
Veterans given better access to services with new ID cards
Newcastle council to discuss £5m station ‘revamp’
Standards of conduct in local government
Tiffany Cloynes and Clare Hardy explore why there could be major changes ahead to the regime for monitoring the standard of conduct of members of local authorities in England.
UK Franchise calls for high street reform in 2019
19/02/2019 Mathnasium urges landlords and planning departments to modernise planning policy. |
Think tank calls for devolution of transport funding
18/02/2019 The devolution of transport funding will enable councils to invest on a strategic basis and help match up transport with new developments, a new report says. |
Loss of social homes has added billions to housing benefits bill, councils warn
15/02/2019 The housing benefit bill could have been reduced by billions if 100,000 social homes had been built over the past two decades, council leaders have said today. |
Commission to look at decade of financial failings at Newham
15/02/2019 Newham LBC is to press ahead with a commission to examine a litany of financial failures dating back 13 years. |
Making a ‘smart city’ even smarter
15/02/2019 Amos Meiri explores how a city currency platform can be used for the public good. |
Union refused an injunction over ongoing bin dispute
15/02/2019 A series of one-day strikes by refuse collectors in Birmingham is set to go ahead next week after a legal challenge by the Unite union failed. |
Carers win right to appeal in £400m sleep-in shift battle
14/02/2019 The Supreme Court has granted carers the right to appeal in the ongoing sleep-in shift legal battle with a the mental health charity Mencap. |
Pilot project helps a third of youths quit ‘county lines’
14/02/2019 Specialist support helped nearly a third of young people in a pilot project to quit 'county lines' involvement with drugs, according to a review. |
Brokenshire announces £250m of housing deals
14/02/2019 Communities secretary James Brokenshire has evoked the 'spirit of Britain's post-war push' to publicise the Government's housebuilding programme. |
Whitehall cuts result in ‘lost generation’ of deaf children
13/02/2019 England’s deaf children are falling a whole grade behind their hearing class mates despite deafness not being a learning disability, a charity has warned. |
Solution to £8bn cost of congestion 'in city halls'
13/02/2019 Drivers in the UK lost an average of 178 hours a year due to congestion in 2018, costing £7.9bn, according to the latest data from INRIX. |
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Standards of conduct in local government
13/02/2019 Tiffany Cloynes and Clare Hardy explore why there could be major changes ahead to the regime for monitoring the standard of conduct of members of local authorities in England. |
Brokenshire slams door on One Yorkshire plan
12/02/2019 Communities secretary James Brokenshire has told regional leaders that their plans for a One Yorkshire metro mayor fails to meet the Government’s devolution criteria. |
Whitehall launches consultation on taxi licensing
12/02/2019 Local authorities could soon be required to ensure that every prospective taxi driver undergoes enhanced criminal record and background checks. |
Planning appeals could be slashed by five months
12/02/2019 Decisions on planning appeal inquiries could be made five months faster under proposals published today. |
Spending Review ‘make or break’ for cash-strapped councils
11/02/2019 Local government leaders have warned the Chancellor that the upcoming Spending Review will ‘make or break’ over-stretched council services. |
Labour would create local government commission
11/02/2019 Labour would create a new commission that would allow councillors to influence every decision that affects local authorities if they won a General Election. |
Northern leaders approve £70bn transport plan
11/02/2019 Northern leaders have approved a £70bn transport plan for their region and will now take steps to submit a business case to Government for rail investment. |
Involving young people in local democracy
08/02/2019 With less than 1% of councillors being under the age of 25, just why is it so hard to get younger people to stand for election? Mark Whitehead investigates. |
Planning system ‘underperforming’, auditors say
08/02/2019 The Government’s planning system is ‘underperforming’ and struggling to deliver on its aim of building 300,000 homes a year, auditors have found. |
Councils urged to give lifeline to those affected by the benefit cap
08/02/2019 The majority of councils have failed to spend all their funding to help people affected by the benefit cap, new research has revealed. |
Dorset’s achievement in a world transformed
07/02/2019 Andrew Flockhart shows how officers and members throughout Dorset worked together – despite a host of challenges – to be ready for the transformation on 1 April from nine councils to two unitary authorities. |
Johnson’s bridge proposals ‘vanity project’, public says
07/02/2019 The majority of British adults think Boris Johnson’s bridge proposals are ‘vanity projects’ and prefer investment into underground systems in major cities. |
MPs blast Whitehall’s ‘confused’ approach to early years education
07/02/2019 MPs have criticised the Government’s 30 hours childcare commitment arguing that it ‘confused’ and ‘entrenches’ disadvantage. |
Tower Hamlets first council to trial photographic entry system in by-elections
07/02/2019 Tower Hamlets Council will be the first in the country to use an automated photographic entry system in two of its by-election counts today. |
Whitehall to tackle illegal traveller sites
07/02/2019 The home secretary has announced that he is considering making it a criminal offence for travellers to set up camps on land they should not be on - despite a shortage of legal sites. |
Council approves plans for 10ft Thatcher statue
06/02/2019 Councillors in Lincolnshire have given the go ahead for a bronze statue of Margaret Thatcher to be placed in Grantham, home town of the late prime minister. |
Universal Credit claimants are falling behind on housing payments warns Citizens Advice
06/02/2019 A cut in the time people have to wait for payment of Universal Credit has made no difference to the number struggling with debt, according to campaigners. |
More than 165,000 social homes lost in six years
06/02/2019 More than 165,000 of the most affordable rented homes have been lost across England in the last six years, new research has revealed. |
Council pension fund forum welcomes Ryanair's chair stepping down
05/02/2019 The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has welcomed the announcement that the chair of Ryanair, David Bonderman, is stepping down from the role. |
Hundreds of Birmingham refuse workers to strike ‘weekly’
05/02/2019 Over 300 refuse workers have announced they will begin two days of strike action a week in an escalation of the ongoing industrial dispute with the council. |
Brokenshire to intervene over ‘lamentable’ failures to publish local plans
05/02/2019 The secretary state for communities has written to Wirral and Thanet councils warning them that Whitehall intended to intervene over their failure to put local plans in place. |
Councils accused of not doing enough to prepare for Brexit
04/02/2019 Councils are not doing enough to prepare for Brexit and need to step up their game, the concerned Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has told sector figures. |
Commissioner calls for compulsory register of ‘off the grid’ children
04/02/2019 Thousands of children are receiving no school education and are invisible to local authorities, the Children’s Commissioner for England has warned. |
Austerity undermines planners ability to ‘serve public interest’, report says
04/02/2019 Central Government cuts have eroded the ability of local planners to think strategically about planning and to ‘serve the public interest’, research has revealed. |
Consumer enforcement system on ‘verge of collapse’, report warns
04/02/2019 The consumer enforcement system is too reliant on overstretched local authorities and is on ‘the verge of collapse’, watchdog says. |
Less than 1% of councillors are aged under 25
01/02/2019 Under 1% of councillors serving on local councils are aged under 25, new research has revealed. |
Majority supports new housing but only on brownfield sites, survey finds
01/02/2019 New research shows that the majority of people support the building of new homes but oppose developments being located on green field sites. |
Stevenage Borough Council seeks judicial review of delayed local plan
01/02/2019 Stevenage Borough Council has decided to take legal action over the Government’s decision to delay the authority’s local plan for over a year. |
Thousands of community-led homes ‘at risk’ due to cuts
31/01/2019 An estimated 3,500 community-led homes are at risk due to the Government’s decision to close a multi-million pound housing fund. |
Rough-sleeping up 165% over the last decade, figures reveal
31/01/2019 High rents, a ‘faulty’ benefits system, and a lack of social housing has driven the dramatic rise in rough-sleeping since 2010, a homelessness charity has said. |
Councils must ensure parking fines are issued correctly, Ombudsman says
31/01/2019 The local government Ombudsman has urged councils to ensure they are using the correct legislation to issue parking fines at country parks. |
York's firework display could be shown on TV in China
31/01/2019 A huge firework display being planned in Yorkshire could end up being shown on TV in China. |
Brokenshire gets Brexit breakdown from chiefs
31/01/2019 Chief executives have told communities secretary James Brokenshire Whitehall needs to be more joined up between departments and in its communications with councils over Brexit. |
How can local authorities successfully and sustainably tackle homelessness in their area?
31/01/2019 Victoria King Lowe explores how local authorities can work with partners to attract additional funding and implement cost-effective solutions that can reduce rough sleeping and homelessness. |
Local government and Brexit: a steady hand is needed
30/01/2019 While the £56.5m cash injection this week will go some way in helping councils prepare for the impact of Brexit, Mark Whitehead warns local government will be on the frontline for dealing with worst case scenarios. |
Call for power to ban councillors
30/01/2019 Council standards boards should have the power to ban councillors for up to six months without allowances, the Committee on Standards in Public Life has recommended. |
Scottish government must eradicate ‘extreme fuel poverty’, committee says
29/01/2019 A Holyrood committee has called on the Scottish government to eradicate ‘extreme fuel poverty’ over the next two decades. |
The risk of pipe and cable strikes
29/01/2019 Richard Broome draws on data from the company’s recent Digging Up Britain report to highlight how common a problem asset strikes and looks at what local government should be doing to stop them from happening. |
RAC reports drop in pothole-related breakdowns
29/01/2019 The last quarter of last year saw one of the lowest percentage shares of Winter pothole-related faults on record, according to the RAC. |
The December issue of Local Government News looks at the consequences a council may face if it is unable to provide statutory services, the launch of Liverpool’s housing company and how councils can best manage roles in local authority companies.
It also has a special section on green building and energy efficiency including what funding is available to enable councils to deliver heat networks and how councils can pay for ‘smart buildings’.
