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Ever increasing costs and ongoing deficits caused by years of overspending on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) could push some councils into bankruptcy, council leaders have warned. The Government is expected to announce its immediate plans for the high needs deficit statutory override, which will expire next year. Cllr Tim Oliver, Chair of the County Councils Network, said: “The mounting SEND service deficits are the burning platform for many local authorities yet there was no resolution in the Spending Review."
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Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has urged the NHS to “work better with local government”.
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Leaders of the 10 districts and the county council have all ruled out a single unitary for Hertfordshire.
The new leadership at the county council has halted all work on developing a business case for a county-wide unitary following the elections last month.
The Conservatives lost their majority and the Liberal Democrats are now the largest party at Hertfordshire CC but with no overall control.
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The absence of a narrative surrounding yesterday’s Spending Review means even the positive interventions will find few fans, write LGC editor Sarah Calkin
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Ms Reeves has said repeatedly that the Treasury had examined every department’s spending ambitions “line by line” in a detailed process known as a zero-based review.
However, Mr Johnson said virtually every department faced “exactly the same cut in its administration budgets” of 10pc over the next three years and then another 5pc in 2029-30.
During the IFS analysis of Ms Reeves’s spending review, he said this was “irrespective of [any] planned spending increase” for each department.
Visibly shrugging in the online event, Mr Johnson said: “That is not the result of a serious department by department analysis. I hesitate to accuse the Treasury of making up numbers, but…”
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One in 20 children in England now have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) after another 11 per cent yearly rise, new figures that will put more pressure on SEND reforms show.
The number of pupils with EHCPs is now 482,640 – the highest figure on record – and double the number in 2016.
The proportion of schoolchildren with a plan has now topped five per cent for the first time – rising from 4.8 per cent to 5.3 per cent in the last year.
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Local authorities will be forced to increase council tax and make further cuts despite some of the ‘positive’ funding commitments in the Spending Review, council chiefs say.
The Chancellor announced yesterday that there will be an additional £3.4bn of grant funding to the sector in 2028-29 compared to 2024-25, a real terms increase in core spending of 3.1% across the Spending Review period.
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In response to today’s Spending Review, CIPFA Chief Executive Owen Mapley said:
“The government’s Spending Review offers a mixed bag. While additional funding for the NHS and defence — both widely anticipated — has been confirmed, many unprotected areas will find little comfort in today’s announcements. For frontline services, significant pressures and concerns around long-term stability are likely to endure.
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Norfolk CC has set out plans for a single new unitary council for the area, which its analysis says could save £32m a year.
As part of local government reorganisation final proposals for Norfolk need to be submitted to government in September.
A report – which will be presented to councillors next week – outlines how a single authority would save £32m per year and repay start-up cost within 12 months, as well as avoid disruption, risks, and costs caused by splitting up county-wide services.
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Councils will receive an annual uplift of 3.1 per cent in “core spending power”, following the Spending Review. The calculation assumes council tax will continue to rise at previous rates during the next three years. LGA Chair Cllr Louise Gittins said it was positive that the Spending Review delivered “on some key LGA asks” and highlighted funding announced for children’s services and SEND, increased investment in affordable homes and the commitment to a 10-year rent settlement. Cllr Gittins added: “A re-commitment to multi-year local government funding settlements is essential for financial planning, while efficiency and innovation continues across local government. However, all councils will remain under severe financial pressure. Many will continue to have to increase council tax bills to try and protect services but still need to make further cutbacks.”
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The chancellor will confirm the budgets for each government department, as well as where she will invest billions in capital. But the Tories say this will be "a dangerous economic gamble that risks the country's financial future".
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her Spending Review shortly, setting out the budgets for all government departments over the next few years
The NHS and defence are expected to get the biggest boost when Reeves lays out how taxpayers' money will be spent at 12:30 BST - here's how the day will unfold
But some government departments are likely to face real-terms cuts - and the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank warns "sharp trade-offs are unavoidable"
Reeves is also expected to announce £39bn to help build social and affordable housing over the next 10 years, as well as extending the £3 bus fare cap in England until 2027
Reeves has already said three quarters of pensioners will receive winter fuel payments, after a government U-turn, and free school meals will be expanded to 500,000 children whose parents are receiving Universal Credit
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Rough sleeping will be decriminalised next year under government plans to scrap a 200-year-old law.
Ministers are planning to scrap the Vagrancy Act, which outlaws rough sleeping in England and Wales.
The law was introduced in 1824 to deal with rising homelessness, but Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has called it "cruel and outdated".
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The most senior district councillor in the country has warned it could take up to a decade before savings from local government reorganisation are achieved.
Speaking to The MJ, the chairman of the District Councils' Network (DCN), Sam Chapman-Allen, said he thought ministers recognised reorganisation would initially cost money to push through, which would delay savings.
Last month Cllr Chapman-Allen's predecessor as DCN chairman, Lord Fuller, warned the Government ‘appeared to be sleepwalking' into a pensions payout for town hall bosses with ‘multibillion-pound implications'.
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The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has convened a reorganisation advisory group to provide expert advice and critical challenge on implementation.
It is understood the group includes individuals, including Birmingham City Council's lead commissioner and former local authority chief executive Max Caller, and organisations with reorganisation expertise, including those who have undergone or are currently undergoing unitarisation.
MHCLG promised it would publish terms of reference and members of the group.
The department has also co-convened with the Local Government Association a sector support steering group.
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Health services could deteriorate under proposed changes to Integrated Care Boards, a senior local government figure has warned.
A blueprint document has advised the boards to consider mergers and reduce headcount as part of a broader 10-year plan to modernise the health service, which has sparked concerns across local government after the sector was largely bypassed.
ICBs have been told their new geographical boundaries should pay regard to local government devolution, with councils having only one in their area and populations no smaller than one million.
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Local authorities will be forced to make ‘deep cuts to important services' if the Government pushes ahead with resetting the business rates baseline in 2026-27, the District Councils' Network (DCN) has warned.
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One third of council figures think setting the population threshold at 500,000 is 'about right' but 40% think it is too large, according to LGC research.
LGC’s latest Confidence Survey asked for views on the government's local government reorganisation plans, including whether they agreed with the government's proposed minimum population size for new unitary councils.
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There is no evidence of widespread waste in the services putting most pressure on council finances, the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy has said.
Owen Mapley’s comments come after Reform UK broke though in last month’s local elections on a platform that included cutting “council waste” and sending in taskforces modelled on Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) into the authorities they now control.
Speaking to LGC, Mr Mapley said: “I absolutely think the reality of local government funding, after 15 years of constraint funding and unconstrained increases in demand, is that there are unlikely to be significant sums that are universally agreed as waste.”
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The Chancellor of the Exchequer presented her Spending Review to Parliament on Wednesday 11 June.
Full details and supporting documents can be accessed on the HM Treasury website.
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Councils can expect their core spending power to rise by 2.6% in real terms between 2025-26 and 2028-29, Treasury documents published the lunchtime reveal.
Documents published after chancellor Rachel Reeves’ speech say overall core spending power for councils is set to increase to £79.3bn. This includes money councils can raise themselves and the Treasury's calculations assume a 3% core council tax referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept.
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The government has announced a massive £39bn investment in social housing in its bid to build 1.5 million new homes this parliament.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her Spending Review to announce “the biggest cash injection to social and affordable housing in 50 years.”
Reeves told MPs social housing had been “neglected for too long” and outlined: “a new Affordable Homes Programme – in which I’m investing £39bn over the next decade.
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London will join the areas on course to get an integrated financial settlement from the government from next year, the Spending Review announced today.
The Greater London Authority will join mayoral authorities in North East, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Liverpool City Region in getting an integrated settlement from 2026?27.
These five authorities will join Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, that received their first integrated settlements this financial year.
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The government has named 25 “trailblazer neighbourhoods” that will receive funding up to £20m for “community-led regeneration and renewal” as part of today's Spending Review.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government said the areas would receive “long-term investment for communities and early support to prepare for investment from a dedicated team”.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed over £1bn of financial support towards reforms to children's social care and the special educational needs (Send) system today.
In the Spending Review, the Treasury allocated £760m towards making the Send system to "more inclusive and improve outcomes for all children and young people".
This week, a new report commissioned by the Local Government Association revealed how the Send system is “not working well for anyone in it” and at its most extreme, causes “long-term misery, stress and hardship for young people and their families”.
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The Chancellor has backed a fair pay agreement for social care workers in a Spending Review that failed to address many of the struggling care sector’s concerns.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an increase to NHS funding of 3% a year, which means the health service gets £29bn extra a year.
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Deprived communities set to benefit from local growth funding, reveals Chancellor Reeves.
In today’s Spending Review, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced ‘investments in up to 350 deprived communities across the UK’.
Chancellor Reeves declared the local growth investments will be made into mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands, ‘completing the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund’ through the long-term funding strategy.
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Councils will have to wait until the autumn for details of reforms to services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The Treasury's Spending Review, published today, states the Government's approach ‘will be set out in a schools white paper in the autumn'.
This will include ‘details on supporting local authorities as the Government transitions to a reformed system as part of the upcoming local government funding reform consultation'.
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the government's Spending Review, which outlines the day-to-day budgets for departments over the next three years. Here BBC correspondents analyse how some key services have fared and what the decisions may mean for you.
The government is staring down the barrel of ever-growing demand for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support. The Spending Review does not seem to address deficits racked up by councils supporting those children, but it does appear to have set aside around £700m to reform the system.
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A new report commissioned by the LGA reinforces the case for reforming the SEND system ahead of the Spending Review. It is calling for an overhaul of the current system, where while in some cases an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be appropriate, for most children they will get the support they need in schools, without needing an EHCP. It follows regional and national workshops with young people, parents and carers, and leaders of health, education settings and local government that discussed how the SEND system could be reformed. Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said a new SEND system should be an “inclusive system where an EHCP is not necessary, with a sufficient workforce and investment in early intervention” while Cllr Tim Oliver, Chair of the County Councils Network, said the report’s proposals outline a “sustainable path forward with greater inclusion within mainstream schools and early years at its core”
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Rural bus services have decreased by 18% since 2019 due to insufficient transport funding in county and rural areas, new research reveals.
According to a report from the County Councils Network (CCN), one in five rural bus routes have disappeared over the last five years.
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The next round of the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) will not be allocated by councils bidding, The MJ has learnt.
Well-placed sources revealed the Government was considering a further round of the fund, an initiative aimed at transforming underused or derelict brownfield sites into housing developments, with cash to be allocated.
Across all rounds, the BLRF has supported at least 89 local authorities with more than 160 projects, providing nearly £100m to facilitate the release of land for about 8,600 homes.
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Reform UK's Zia Yusuf will return to the party to run its team tasked with scrutinising council finances days after quitting as chairman.
Yusuf resigned on Thursday, saying that getting a Reform government elected was not a ‘good use of my time'.
He was joined in leaving by tech entrepreneur Nathaniel Fried, who led the party's unit inspired by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the US.
In a statement on social media over the weekend, Yusuf said his decision to leave the party had been ‘born of exhaustion.'
Reform's DOGE unit has now expanded from Kent CC to Lancashire CC.
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More than a third of nurseries are already limiting the number of government-funded childcare hours they offer or are considering doing so due to spiralling costs.
A poll of 816 early years providers across England, conducted by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition and shared exclusively with The i Paper, paints a stark picture of a sector under severe financial strain.
Nearly one in five nurseries (18 per cent) report that they are currently operating at a loss, while almost one in ten (9 per cent) indicate that they are likely to close permanently within the next two years.
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Children in the most deprived areas of England are less likely to achieve good developmental goals by the age of five, according to the aid agency Unicef UK, which has urged ministers to lift the two-child benefit cap.
A report by the UN agency mapped every local authority area across England measuring its level of deprivation and a range of early childhood health and educational outcomes such as oral health, weight and A&E attendance.
The analysis found that children in England’s most deprived areas are over twice as far from achieving the government’s target of 75% of young children to reach a “good level of development”, compared with the country’s most affluent areas.
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Rachel Reeves in standoff over policing and council budgets days before spending review
Chancellor still at negotiating table on Sunday as Home Office demands more cash
Explainer: The winners and losers in Labour’s first spending review
Rowena Mason Whitehall editor
Mon 9 Jun 2025 00.02 BST
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Rachel Reeves has been locked in a standoff over the policing and council budgets just days before this week’s spending review, which is set to give billions to the NHS, defence and technology.
Yvette Cooper’s Home Office and Angela Rayner’s housing and local government ministry were the two departments still at the negotiating table on Sunday fighting for more cash, after weeks of trying to reach a settlement.
Whitehall sources said the policing budget would get real terms rises, but there was still disagreement over the level of investment needed for the Home Office to meet its commitments.
Rayner’s department is understood to have reached an agreement with the Treasury late on Sunday night after last-minute wrangling over housing, local councils and growth funds
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When Rachel Reeves delivers her long-awaited spending review on Wednesday, there will be one group of people holding their breath more than others – council leaders.
The Chancellor is widely anticipated to deliver real terms cuts to local government budgets this week, as she looks to focus increases in spending on health and defence.
Should the axe fall disproportionately on local government accounts, those working within the sector believe the prospect of more councils filing for bankruptcy will become all the greater.
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Town and parish councils have warned against potential restrictions on their tax-raising capabilities amid talk of more being created under reorganisation. Local government minister, Jim McMahon, has advised areas considering new parish councils to “think carefully about how they might be funded, to avoid putting further pressure on local authority finances and/or new burdens on the taxpayer”.
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The Government has said any child in England whose parents receive Universal Credit will be able to claim free school meals from September 2026. Parents on the credit will be eligible regardless of their income and the Government says the change will extend free school meals to 500,000 more pupils, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said would “help families who need it most”.
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The National Audit Office has found flaws with the developer contribution system that is undermining councils' ability to hold developers to account.
A gap in capacity and skills within councils compared to large developers is hampering funding negotiations to fund affordable homes and essential local infrastructure, a report published today revealed.
Councils are responsible for securing developer contributions through section 106 agreements or set a community infrastructure levy (CIL) but are faced with a power imbalance when up against large developer who have specialist negotiators.
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The government has committed to legislating for remote attendance at council meetings when “time allows” and announced that it will also require upper tier councils to have proxy voting schemes for full council.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government yesterday published its response to a consultation it carried out last year on remote meetings and proxy voting for councils.
This confirmed that ministers would proceed with necessary changes to allow remote attendance at meetings, something many in the sector have campaigned for.
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Councils have been warned to brace for grant cuts after next week's Spending Review despite deputy prime minister Angela Rayner's attempts to shield the sector.
Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think-tank has found that, if the Government protects health and defence, real-terms cuts to other departments in the coming years would be inevitable.
Speaking to The MJ this week, IFS senior research economist Kate Ogden said: ‘Local government has done better in the last few years than other departments, but the Government has got lots of commitments and a tight envelope.
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Next week’s Spending Review will have huge implications for the future finances of local government. Martin Ford looks at what we know so far, and the key questions yet to be answered.
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Three minsters are reportedly yet to reach settlements with the Treasury, in the run up to next week’s Spending Review. These are understood to include the Home Secretary, the Housing and Communities Secretary, and the Energy and Net-Zero Secretary.
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The Chancellor is to announce billions of pounds of investment in transport infrastructure. The money will be spent on tram, train and bus projects in mayoral authorities in the Midlands, the North and the West Country.
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The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has proposed the formation of social care partnerships between new unitary authorities following reorganisation
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Fire chiefs in England have warned that fire stations are “falling apart”, with an estimated £1 billion reduction in funding over the past decade, during which callouts have risen by 20 per cent. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has raised concerns that these pressures could undermine public and firefighter safety, as they are responding to more emergencies with fewer firefighters.
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London Councils has warned that boroughs across the capital collectively face a deficit of £500 million this year. It cites pressures in adult social care, children’s social care and the cost of providing temporary accommodation to homeless residents.
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The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has opened an investigation into alleged fraud committed against Thurrock Council by Rockfire Investment Finance Plc.
Thurrock issued a section 114 notice, effectively declaring itself bankrupt, in 2022 with its debts reaching £1.5bn after investing in solar farms.
Debt-ridden Thurrock Council has welcomed a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into a company it invested millions of pounds in for solar farms.
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The Government has revealed how much of the £7.6m grant to support the cost of local government reorganisation each region will receive.
Ministers said that the 21 areas moving towards unitarisation would ‘receive a development contribution at a flat rate of £135,000, plus an additional 20p per person based on the latest ONS population estimates'.
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Sector figures have warned that large unitaries supported by neighbourhood committees would be "insufficient" to meet the needs of communities.
In a written minsiterial statement giving an update on local government reorganisation yesterday local government minister Jim McMahon reiterated the government position that 500,000 population thresholds for new unitaries would be a “guiding principle, not a strict target”.
He added that he viewed creating neighbourhood area committees as the best way to involve communities.
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The minister has said areas should submit one document outlining proposals for local government reorganisation as it revealed how much each area will get from a £7.6m fund.
Now that all areas have been sent feedback on their interim plans the government has published a summary and further guidance.
Earlier this year some areas submitted several separate interim plans to the government and Mr McMahon has now said that final proposals should be made through one submission.
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An influential Labour backbencher has questioned the Government's approach to rolling out English devolution.
Deputy chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Clive Betts, said the emerging boundaries proposed for mayoral combined authorities outside cities may not be the most effective.
In conversation with the Centre for Cities think-tank today, the former chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee said he welcomed the Government's commitment to the concept of devolution, and that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had realised ‘we can't deliver what we want from the centre'.
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Departmental funding cuts to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will pile pressure on non-urban authorities which already stand to lose out under changes to the way council funding is distributed, the County Councils Network said.
Those authorities face a funding gap of £2.2bn next year on the back of surging demand and costs, on top of an estimated £2.7bn deficit in special educational needs provision due to hit budgets in March when the current statutory override comes to an end.
Further funding reductions will potentially trigger a wave of fresh applications for exceptional financial support as councils struggle to avoid financial collapse, the network said.
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Owen Mapley said investigations modelled on the work of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the US, which could see senior officers threatened with gross misconduct for failure to comply, posed a serious risk to governance.
Kent County Council will be the first authority to have its finances probed as part of a programme of audits being rolled out by Reform UK after a string of victories in last month’s local elections.
In a “request for co-operation” sent to senior Kent officers, party leaders said a team of investigators would be sent in to review the council’s financial management, procurement activity and associated governance arrangements.
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Parents and school leaders have expressed alarm over potential changes to England’s SEND system, and the possible reduction or removal of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in mainstream schools, it is reported.
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Just 21% of council figures say their authority is better off as a result of Labour’s actions since entering government last July, according to LGC research.
LGC’s latest Confidence Survey asked whether the government’s decisions have meant their council’s financial position is better or worse off.
Some 14% said they were ‘a lot’ worse off and 25% said they were ‘a bit’ worse off. Two fifths said they were neither better nor worse off.
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English mayors have urged the Government to allow councils to introduce visitor levies to boost regional economies, tourism and infrastructure.
In a letter signed by a coalition of English mayors, the group argued that tourism taxes would help ‘empower local places' by contributing to the growth of transport and cultural infrastructure.
The group argued English regions ‘risk being left behind' as Wales and Edinburgh introduce visitor levies of their own.
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Rachel Reeves will face “unavoidably” tough choices as the Chancellor sets out her plans in the Spending Review in just over a week, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says. The think-tank said prioritising defence and NHS funding will lead to real-terms cuts to unprotected departments, including for local government. The LGA said councils already face a funding gap of more than £8 billion by 2028/29 and they need a "significant and sustained" boost to funding so they can deliver vital services.
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Reform said it has assembled a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors, to visit each of the 10 councils the party now controls – starting with Kent today – to look at ways to save money.
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Rachel Reeves will use the Spending Review to announce a multibillion-pound investment package in the north and Midlands, it is reported. Across the country the Chancellor is likely to have up to £100 billion of capital investment to announce, having changed the fiscal rules in the Budget last year.
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A lack of support for children and young people with complex care needs and the associated spiralling care costs have been highlighted in a new report.
The new research – carried out by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) on behalf of the Local Government Association (LGA) – warns the challenge of meeting the increasing complexity of children’s needs, along with a lack of appropriate care for these children and the difficulties of commissioning those placements, is leading to a massive escalation of costs.
The report reveals the number of children’s home placements costing £10,000 or more per week – the equivalent of over £500,0000 per year – increased from 120 to 1,500 between 2018 and 2023.
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New legislation will give ministers the power to force council pension funds to merge as part of a raft of measures designed to reform the Local Government Pension Scheme.
The government today published the outcome of its consultation on the biggest overhaul of the LGPS in a generation, which aims to consolidate the fragmented scheme and increase the amount it invests in the UK economy.
The Fit for the Future consultation set a March 2026 deadline to “complete” the decade-long pooling programme, which sees the assets of the 87 LGPS pension funds in England and Wales transferred to pooling organisations to invest on their behalf.
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Next month’s spending review could "make or break" county and unitary authority budgets without an injection of funding, the County Councils Network has warned.
With councils already facing a £2.2bn funding black hole – alongside billions in Send deficits – local authority chiefs fear any further reductions in funding could cripple local services and trigger a wave of councils applying for exceptional financial support to avoid them declaring bankruptcy.
In a survey of 38 county and rural unitary councils by the County Councils Network (CCN) and the Society of County Treasurers (SCT), which sets out the stark financial challenges facing England’s largest councils, 60% of councils say they’re “not confident” of setting a balanced budget without new funding.
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Barnet LBC is lobbying for adult social care costs to be adequately reflected in the Government's upcoming fair funding review.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has vowed to ‘fix the foundations of local government by creating a fairer system', with the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities arguing deprivation should be a key factor in the review, which is due to be implemented from 2026-27.
However, Barnet chief executive Cath Shaw said: ‘People have a perception of deprivation being a driver of cost. Deprivation isn't actually a big cost driver. It's adult social care.'
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SCT member Aidan Dunn has been recommended as Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council’s new chief executive. The appointment is subject to approval by council on 3 June.
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The International Monetary Fund projected GDP growth of 1.2% this year, up marginally on the 1.1% predicted last month, before rising to 1.4% in 2026 as the economic recovery takes hold.
Monetary easing, positive wealth effects and an uptick in confidence were bolstering private consumption, while the boost to public spending in the October Budget would also help support growth, the body said.
However, global trade uncertainty could weigh on UK growth by weakening global economic activity and disrupting supply chains, it warned.
The government’s fiscal strategy for the next five years supported growth while safeguarding fiscal sustainability, the IMF said, but chancellor Rachel Reeves must “stay the course” and reduce fiscal deficits as planned over the medium term.
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The Government has announced a raft of reforms aimed at easing planning regulations and environmental protections to support smaller housebuilders in England.
Under the proposals, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements will be relaxed for smaller developments of up to nine homes and medium-sized sites of between 10 and 49 homes.
The Government argues the move will make the BNG rules simpler for small- and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders, making it easier for SMEs to deliver habitats for wildlife on their sites.
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The number of people in council tax debt has soared by 1.2 million in a year, The i Paper can reveal, as the Government considers banning the use of bailiffs.
Around 4.4 million people missed a council tax payment in the past 12 months, according to new research carried out by campaigners Debt Justice.
This is up from 3.2m just a year before and demonstrates that council tax debt is “spiralling rapidly as household budgets are stretched to breaking point” amid the cost of living crisis, according to Heidi Chow, executive director of Debt Justice.
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Rachel Reeves will put £113bn of new capital investment at the forefront of the spending review and argue that the billions of investment in homes, transport and energy would only have happened under Labour.
The billions unlocked by the change to the fiscal rules, which will be spent over the next parliament, will be at the centre of the government’s narrative in a fortnight’s time in an acknowledgment that Labour MPs need a better economic story to address rising discontent among the public.
The chancellor will champion the investment despite warnings about government borrowing after it reached £20.2bn in April.
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Councils could gain powers to fine developers for unbuilt homes, under new rules planned by the government.
Documents set to be published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) propose that developers will have to commit to delivery timeframes before they can get planning permission for new homes, and submit annual returns to councils showing their progress.
Councils have long argued that developers 'land-banking' is a problem.
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A joint statement from 100 organisations in the social care sector, coordinated by the LGA, has warned that, without extra funding in the Spending Review, services for people who draw on care will face “the most difficult [circumstances] we’ve seen in recent years”. It said: “In the past, governments have looked for savings and efficiencies to help plug immediate gaps. The scope for those is now extremely limited and the clear reality is that current funding levels are insufficient to tackle the challenges facing the sector, such as inflation, demography, workforce recruitment and retention, the inability to invest in prevention, and provider instability.?Without significant new funding in the Spending Review, the coming months will likely be the most difficult we’ve seen in recent years for all parts of the sector and – most important of all – for people who draw on care and support.” The LGA’s call – also backed by a range of organisations, including Carers UK, British Association of Social Workers, Social Care Future, Age UK, Care England, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the National Care Forum - comes just weeks after the release of the Terms of Reference of the Casey Commission, which will look at reforming social care.
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Teachers and doctors in England will receive a four per cent pay rise after the Government accepted salary recommendations from pay review bodies. Unions for both sectors criticised the deal, saying that the increase has not been fully funded, raising the prospect of strikes, it is reported.
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More children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are to be educated alongside mainstream pupils under planned reforms by the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. The Government’s white paper on SEND comes months after it set up an expert group on school inclusion and appointed a strategic adviser.
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A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that Sure Start centres provided £2 of savings for every £1 in costs, prompting calls for the Government to look at such services as potentially paying for themselves.
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Reform UK has renamed several key positions and departments in Durham County Council to remove references to climate change, equality and inclusion.
A number of departments and cabinet titles have been renamed, including the neighbourhood and climate change position, which is now neighbourhoods and environment, and equality and inclusion which has been changed to stronger communities and belonging.
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The Government is continuing to issue feedback letters responding to interim reorganisation plans, with a fresh flurry released over the last few days.
All the letters had been expected to be sent by the end of tomorrow but The MJ understands the process will now extend into next week.
Some in the sector have expressed annoyance at Whitehall's handling, with the letters coming with little warning and after the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) failed to meet its initial April deadline.
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The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged councils not to respond to a request from a private inquiry into grooming gangs as it considers the implications.
More than £600,000 has been raised to fund the non-statutory inquiry planned by former Reform UK-turned-independent MP Rupert Lowe, according to its Crowdfunder page, which was launched earlier this year.
Lowe has asked councils to nominate an officer to ‘engage formally' with his inquiry and to commit to ‘expedite data subject access requests made by survivors'.
[ more...]
The government’s ambition to reorganise all two-tier areas into unitary councils can be delivered during this parliament, the local government minister has told LGC.
Speaking to LGC at UKREiiF conference in Leeds today, Jim McMahon said: “We certainly have the capacity to deliver LGR during the course of this parliament and remain fully committed and confident to achieve this.”
[ more...]
Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister, is locked in a fierce battle with the Treasury to secure cash for local services, amid claims that the climax of a multiyear spending review has turned into a “chaotic bunfight”.
Rayner and Yvette Cooper, home secretary, are said by multiple officials to be involved in the toughest fight with chancellor Rachel Reeves, as the Treasury nails down departmental budgets for the rest of the parliament.
[ more...]
The rate of Consumer Prices Index inflation rose to 3.5 per cent in April from 2.6 per cent in March, the Office for National Statistics said. The rise is blamed on increased household bills.
[ more...]
Reform UK's ambitions to shake up local government could be stymied by legal hurdles, an expert warned this week.
Party leaders have criticised councils with Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) posts, vowed to scrap Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and suggested legal challenges to housing for asylum seekers.
But head of local government at law firm Weightmans, Simon Goacher, suggested Reform would face implementation challenges.
He said: ‘It's a steep learning curve for most councillors taking control for the first time and transitions of political control are not necessarily always smooth or easy for anybody.'
[ more...]
Two weeks ago, joyous celebrations erupted among Reform UK members as the party celebrated its most successful ever elections.
Its surging performance – which one leading Reform councillor described it as ‘a tsunami’ - saw the party winning control of ten councils, two mayoralties and over 670 council seats, as well as the Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary by-election.
But as the memories and celebrations from that night fade, the true realities kick in, and the party must begin facing up to the enormous challenges that local government poses.
[ more...]
Unite has launched a campaign calling for an overhaul of how local authorities are funded to prevent further bankruptcies and job and public service cuts.
The public sector union warned that local government debt, which has doubled since 2010 to £122bn, is ‘spiralling out of control’ and called for council funding to be ‘urgently restructured.’
[ more...]
A think tank has urged the Government to boost social care funding by £1.5bn to support a £2,000 pay rise for care workers.
A new report by the Fabian Society describes the ‘low pay and poor conditions’ of England’s 1.6 million social care workers as a ‘national scandal’.
[ more...]
Data obtained by the TaxPayers Alliance suggests 8 in 10 councils which introduced the second homes council tax premium did not complete an economic impact assessment beforehand. An LGA spokesperson said the premium is a way of “encouraging owners to bring these properties back into permanent use”, adding: “However, we remain clear that council tax itself has never been the solution to meeting the long-term pressures.”
[ more...]
It is reported the Department for Education is considering restricting Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) to children in special schools. Speaking at the Schools and Academies Show in London, Dame Christine Lenehan, the Government’s strategic advisor on SEND, said the structure around EHCPs would “probably” change because it was “not fit for purpose”, but insisted any new system would “still be able to recognise and support children’s needs”.
[ more...]
The UK's economy grew by more than expected in the first three months of the year, according to the latest official figures. The economy expanded by 0.7 per cent in January to March, stronger than the 0.6 per cent that analysts had forecast, which the Office for National Statistics said was largely driven by the UK services sector.
[ more...]
A blueprint document detailing changes to Integrated Care Board (ICB) functions has sparked concerns across local government.
The document advises ICBs to streamline and reduce headcount, with a number of functions to be transferred to neighbourhood providers and NHS regions.
ICBs have been asked to submit plans by 30 May on how they intend to achieve a £18.76 per head of population operating cost envelope.
The concerned chief executive of the Local Government Association (LGA), Joanna Killian, said: ‘I know from conversations with many colleagues across the sector that both the way that the plan has been communicated, as well as its content, is unsettling and has created many questions.
[ more...]
Liberal Democrats are set to run Gloucestershire and Devon CCs as minority administrations after becoming the largest party in both authorities, but falling short of overall majorities in this month’s local council elections.
In Gloucestershire, where 28 seats are needed for a majority, the Lib Dems have 27 and plan to work informally with Labour and Green councillors, who have ten seats between them.
Lisa Spivey, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, told LGC: “With 27 seats we’re in quite a strong position, but not an overall majority.
[ more...]
Two companies that receive taxpayers’ money to house asylum-seekers in hotels have said they will give back some of their profits to the Home Office.
[ more...]
The Government has reportedly put together proposals for a renewed “plan for neighbourhoods” to invest in regenerating council estates and tower blocks. The plan is based on the findings of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods, which has drawn up a list of more than 600 areas in England which are furthest from reaching the Government’s five missions. The government fund is set to form part of the Spending Review in June.
[ more...]
The £392bn invested in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) could be used to plough necessary funds into social and affordable homes, a think-tank has suggested.
[ more...]
A significant increase of Right to Buy (RTB) applications could jeopardise the Government’s pledge to boost the number of affordable homes available in Britain, it is reported. The LGA said reductions to the discounts that tenants who buy their council homes through RTB receive would have a positive impact in the “longer term” but that the “spike in sales” of “desperately needed homes” would “exacerbate the homelessness challenges that councils are working hard to address”.
[ more...]
Cllr Amos said the priority was addressing the projected financial deficit. He said: “We need to get the financial situation sorted out. I know technically a council can’t go bankrupt, but we are, we’re £35m short and projected £55m short next year. We’re also not happy that the council has spent lots of money on things which the public quite simply have no interest in at all.
“We want an audit showing how money has been spent and how money can go rampant and get out of control. For example, the home bus transport service was 50% over its budget in just one year. How can this be allowed to happen?
[ more...]
The Government should plough £100m into preventing homelessness over a decade as part of a wide-ranging move away from the current reactive system, a paper has urged.
Local authority spending on homelessness services has more than doubled in 14 years – from £1.3bn in 2010-11 to £3.1bn in 2023-24 – and the number of people living in temporary accommodation has reached a record 127,890 households, an increase of 13.6% on the previous year.
The report by the Institute for Government (IfG) think-tank and Centre for Homelessness Impact charity said a £100m endowment fund ‘offers a powerful mechanism to drive transformative change'.
[ more...]
Trade union Unison has joined GMB and Unite in recommending their members reject the pay offer from council employers.
Unison and GMB's consultative ballots will both run until 20 June while dates for Unite's ballot have yet to be confirmed.
Employers tabled a ‘full and final' offer of a 3.2% pay increase for 2025-26 last month.
[ more...]
Multi-billion pound debts remain a point of contention in reorganisation negotiations as the deadline passed for the first of the final plans to be submitted.
Two rival proposals for Surrey submitted to the Government on Friday both hinged on Woking BC's stranded debt being written off, but doubt continues over whether ministers will agree to such a move.
A three-unitary model put forward by eight borough councils said stranded debt ‘must be written off' while Surrey CC-led proposals for two unitary councils insisted the write-off was ‘essential to the success' of reorganisation.
[ more...]
New measures to tackle immigration will be announced by Sir Keir Starmer this morning ahead of the publication of the Government’s Immigration White Paper. It will include plans for migrants to have to live in the UK for a decade – up from five years - before they can apply for citizenship under plans to reduce reliance on foreign workers. New English language requirements will also be introduced across every visa route, which will extend to adult dependents for the first time.
[ more...]
Unions and care providers have warned plans to restrict the overseas care worker visa route will put services at risk. They say the care sector is already stretched to breaking point and still relies heavily on international staff to keep services running.
[ more...]
Some councils on the high needs deficit safety valve scheme have said government delays in opening new special schools are undermining their plans to reduce huge deficits. Nine councils – nearly a quarter of those on the scheme – have flagged delays. Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board. “We would encourage the Department for Education to act swiftly on progressing special free school decisions to ensure children with special educational needs and disabilities get the support they need.”
[ more...]
Crawley and Reigate & Banstead BCs have submitted a proposal to form a new cross border unitary centred around Gatwick airport for the government to consider as part of local government reorganisaiton in Surrey.
The leaders of Crawley in West Sussex and Reigate & Banstead in Surrey which together form a £13bn plus economy – the largest economy in the sub-region centred around Gatwick airport – fear the creation of a hard boundary between the two authorities would be detrimental to the government’s growth agenda.
[ more...]
The Conservatives will retain the chairmanship of the County Councils Network, but with a significantly reduced share as Reform surged into second place.
After last week's elections, which saw the Conservative party lose around two thirds of the seats it was defending, the new political balance for CCN has been calculated. The Conservatives have 32.5%, down from 60% in 2023, when it was last calculated.
Reform, which did not have any councillors in 2023, has 26%, followed by the Liberal Democrats on 21.4%, up from 15.5% in 2023.
[ more...]
Councils collected nearly £360 million in parking charges from resident-only schemes last year, it is reported, research by the Independent newspaper reveals. Cllr Adam Hug, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils work with residents to introduce parking schemes. Residential parking schemes benefit local people, offering better parking management, reducing congestion and traffic flow in an area and improving road safety.”
[ more...]
The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates today, with further falls expected later this year, it is reported.
[ more...]
The LGA’s political proportionality following this month’s local elections is Labour 35.9 per cent, Conservative 24.1 per cent, Liberal Democrat 17 per cent, Independent 10.2 per cent, Reform 7.8 per cent, Green 4.6 per cent and Plaid Cymru 0.4 per cent. Labour remains as the largest group and will retain the chair of the LGA.
[ more...]
Reform looks set to form a minority administration at Leicestershire CC, which the Conservatives lost to no overall control last week, after other parties ruled out working together and admitted Reform will be "in charge".
With 25 seats on the newly-elected council, Reform fell just short of the 28 needed for an overall majority. The Conservatives have 15 seats and Liberal Democrats are on 11. There are two Labour councillors, one Green, and a single independent.
[ more...]
The Financial Reporting Council has effectively banned Sean Clark, a former chief finance officer at Thurrock Council, following an investigation by the regulator for accountants.
Announcing the sanctions today, the FRC said Mr Clark would be excluded from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants for five years and given a "severe reprimand". This means he could not be appointed as a chief financial officer at any other local authority.
This is the first time that the FRC has imposed sanctions on anyone working in local government finance.
[ more...]
The government is set to breach its main fiscal rule by almost £60bn, making tax rises more likely in the autumn, according to an influential analyst.
[ more...]
Updated government feedback for some two-tier areas working on local government reorganisation has removed a suggestion they benchmark proposals against a 500,000 population option.
LGC understands that three areas have this week received a revised feedback letter, just a week after an initial letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government in response to the councils' LGR proposals.
The revised letter came after officials engaged with councils about their progress.
[ more...]
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has vowed councils controlled by the party would launch legal action against the Government to close migrant hotels if necessary.
The threat comes despite previous attempts by councils to use the courts to block asylum hotels proving unsuccessful.
But Yusuf said: ‘Reform-controlled councils will launch the resistance to the dispersal of illegal immigrants into their communities within their first 100 days. A lot of these hotels, when you suddenly turn them into something else, which is a hostel, that falls foul of a number of regulations and that is what our team of lawyers is looking at at the moment.'
[ more...]
Trade union GMB has recommended its members reject the pay offer from council employers.
A consultative ballot, including a commitment to industrial action, will run from Monday until 20 June.
Employers tabled a ‘full and final' offer of a 3.2% pay increase for 2025-26 last month.
GMB hopes the ballot of 150,000 council and schools workers will help them to secure an improved offer.
The union's national officer Kevin Brandstatter said: ‘Local Government and schools workers across England and Wales have suffered years of real terms pay cuts.
[ more...]
An end to ‘public shaming' of councils has helped stem the tide of section 114s, local government minister Jim McMahon has claimed.
He believes a new approach of engaging with councils in financial difficulty has given the sector more confidence in approaching the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) before reaching crisis point.
McMahon told the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee: ‘Having that reset has gone quite a long way to reducing the number of section 114 notices.
[ more...]
Almost 265,000 dwellings across England are long-term vacant, with close to 3 per cent of homes empty in some parts of the country, according to analysis. Housing experts say converting these vacant dwellings would help thousands of families who are trying to find an affordable home to rent or buy, and help tackle the soaring numbers in temporary accommodation. The LGA said councils must be given more power to reduce the number of empty homes. Housing spokesperson Cllr Adam Hug said: “Long-term empty homes represent a missed opportunity to provide housing for those in need and those on housing waiting lists. Councils share a collective national ambition to tackle local housing challenges. However, they must be sufficiently empowered and funded to carry out work on this area.” The LGA also said the qualifying period for Empty Dwelling Management Orders needs to be reduced to six months.
[ more...]
A cross-party group of MPs has warned attempts to reform adult social care will fail unless ministers accept major investment is needed to overhaul a “broken” system that was failing millions of people. The Health and Social Care select committee said the costs of inaction included 2 million people aged 65 and over and 1.5 million people of working-age not getting get the care they need, millions more getting poor care and huge avoidable financial pressures placed on the NHS and local authorities.
[ more...]
Reform UK plans to hire “taskforces” of auditors to cut council waste, but one council leader who lost his seat warned that this would be difficult to achieve.
At last week’s council elections Reform won a majority on 10 councils and are the largest party on four councils that are now under no overall control, including Cornwall.
The Conservatives lost control of all the councils they were defending at this election and the Liberal Democrats gained overall control of three councils.
[ more...]
An organisation that pools the assets of 11 council pension funds has warned that government plans to force them to move to a new home could breach their fundamental duty to their members.
The government is seeking to consolidate the £400bn Local Government Pension Scheme, which is currently split between 87 individual pension funds and eight pools that invest their assets, in order to reduce costs and increase their UK investments.
All pools were told to submit business plans outlining how they would meet new minimum requirements by March 2026, and last month ministers rejected the proposals of Access and Brunel, telling their funds to find move to another pool.
[ more...]
The government has confirmed that support with Woking BC's debt will be provided for any new authorities as part of local government reorganisation in Surrey.
Woking issued a section 114 in June 2023 and commissioners were appointed in December. The district had a debt of £1.9bn, while its revenue budget was just £16m.
Woking BC's papers confirmed that the government is "committed to providing an initial tranche of financial support for debt repayment for Woking in 2026-27, ahead of the implementation of re-organisation in Surrey".
[ more...]
At least five Conservative county leaders lost their seats as the party was wiped out across the shires following Thursday’s elections.
By Friday afternoon, with some results still to be declared, the party had lost more than half of the 996 seats it was defending as well as control of 12 of the 16 councils.
Among the high profile casualties were Izzi Seccombe, the Conservative leader of Warwickshire CC for the past 12 years and former leader of the Conservative group at the Local Government Association, who lost her seat to the Liberal Democrats.
[ more...]
Some of the first recommendations from the Casey Commission into adult social care in England might not be implemented until 2036. The independent commission formally began this week with its terms of reference published today. The LGA urged the Government to “revisit” the current timescales “to reflect the urgency of the situation, and the reality that people and organisations have already waited long enough for real change”.
[ more...]
Local authorities across England are allowed to sell off playing fields to help close budget gaps, Angela Rayner says.
Following recent government guidance, councils have been advised to use their discretion in determining whether to sell school land they don’t need.
[ more...]
Surrey's councils have published proposals for local government reorganisation, defying the Government's hope for unity on final proposals.
While Surrey CC has submitted a proposal for two unitary councils, eight out of the eleven districts have requested a three unitary model, outlining benefits including boosted local economies and strengthened democracy.
Separately, Reigate & Banstead BC has published a joint proposal with West Sussex's Crawley BC to create a unitary with a population of 276,000 and a £13bn economy centred around Gatwick Airport, which is seeking to expand.
[ more...]
The Government is looking to hand all councils an extra duty to involve community groups in their decision-making, The MJ has learnt.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) documents revealed a potential proposal for a new duty on community decision-making, which was presented to charities, civil servants and local authority representatives at a round table meeting last month.
[ more...]
The freshly-appointed president of the Society of County Treasurers has called on the Government to give councils certainty over Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) deficits.
In an interview with The MJ this week, Rob Powell called for ‘clarity' over deficits of £6bn for services for children with SEND.
Ministers have yet to give any indication of what will happen when the statutory override keeping the deficits off council accounts ends in March.
[ more...]
Wage pressures are contributing to the local government funding gap of £1.9 billion in 2025/26, councils across England have warned as unions consider a 3.2 per cent pay increase offer. The LGA has cited wage pressures, along with inflation and growing demand and complexity of need, as contributing to the sector's funding gap, which is estimated to reach £8.4 billon by 2028/29.
[ more...]
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the body responsible for setting council tax and business rates values, is to close.
HM Revenue and Customs will take over the arm's-length body's responsibilities in a move the Government claimed move would ‘increase efficiency, business experience and ministerial accountability'.
The process is expected to be completed by April and is expected to make 5% to 10% of savings in administrative costs by 2028-29.
[ more...]
The Government should prioritise investment in affordable housing, according to research published today.
The Resolution Foundation think-tank argued such a strategy would boost both social economic infrastructure and make the most of the dwindling funds available.
Targeted investment in affordable housing in areas with the highest demand for temporary accommodation – often urban areas with high productivity potential – could boost growth by attracting firms and high-skilled workers.
[ more...]
Reform UK’s mayoral candidates for the new mayoralties in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire have clear leads over other parties, according to YouGov polling published today.
YouGov’s poll, conducted between 9 and 23 April, also found that he Green Party’s candidate is in the lead for the West of England mayoralty.
[ more...]
The latest borrowing figures show the “clear risk” run by the government in adhering to its fiscal rules despite the uncertainty of official forecasts, analysts have warned.
[ more...]
The Emissions Trading Scheme could end up costing councils up to £6.5bn by 2036, the Local Government Association has warned.
Councils are urging the government to look again at plans to extend the scheme ahead of the spending review with the potential cost to councils of £747m in 2028, rising to £1.1bn by 2036 and totalling £6.5bn over that period.
The Emissions Trading Scheme puts a market price on carbon emissions and currently applies to the aviation industry but is expected to be extended to waste incineration from 2028.
[ more...]
Salford City Council is returning the delivery of some adult social care services for more than 800 residents back in house.
The services have been delivered by community interest company Aspire for Intelligent Care and Support for the past decade with around 350 staff providing 744,000 hours of care a year for adults with care needs including learning disabilities, dementia and care for older people.
[ more...]
Councils are being overcharged by private landlords and hotels for accommodation to house people who are at risk of becoming homeless, with charges 60 per cent over market rates, it is reported.
[ more...]
The independent pay review body representing teachers and NHS staff has recommended a higher pay deal than the Government has budgeted for, potentially increasing the risk of strikes in the public sector, it is reported
[ more...]
Public sector trade union Unite has advised its members to reject this year’s local government pay offer and threatened industrial action this summer.
The National Employers for local government services last week offered council employees a 3.2% pay increase from 1 April 2025.
[ more...]
The body representing senior local authority officers has welcomed the 3.2% pay increase offered to its members by employers.
The Association of Local Authority Chief Executive and Senior Managers believes the settlement recognises the important role senior officers play within local authorities.
Responding to the pay offer, Alace chair Tracey Lee said: “The pressures facing heads of paid service continue unabated. Their experience, judgement and impartiality has arguably never been more important.
[ more...]
London Councils has warned the capital's ‘homelessness emergency' represents the ‘single biggest risk' to council finances and is pushing boroughs towards bankruptcy.
Skyrocketing homelessness and spiralling temporary accommodation costs have meant London's councils were forced to overspend on their homelessness budgets by at least £330m in the last financial year, according to the umbrella body.
It also highlighted the ‘growing mismatch' between temporary accommodation costs and government subsidy. This, the organisation claimed, rose to £140m in 2024-25 – a 45% increase on the previous year.
[ more...]
Councils facing reorganisation face being ‘fleeced' by consultants keen to profit from the process, a former Northamptonshire CC commissioner has claimed.
Theresa Grant, who oversaw the bankrupt authority and its districts' transition into two unitaries has warned councils to ‘beware of experts'.
She said: ‘I'm very worried about local authorities that they are going to get fleeced and they're not going to get what they need.'
[ more...]
A strong performance from Reform UK at next week's local elections will potentially transform local government, experts believe.
On 1 May Nigel Farage's party will be optimistic of dramatically increasing its England wide tally of 123 councillors. More in Common's analysis of opinion polling this week put Reform ahead of both Labour and the Conservatives.
‘If Reform UK performs strongly in the 2025 local elections, taking control of councils or establishing itself as the main opposition in certain areas, the consequences for local government could be significant both practically and politically,' said University of the West of England senior politics lecturer Thom Oliver.
[ more...]
The Environment Agency is consulting on a “polluter pays” levy on water companies for sewage discharges to recover the costs of its enforcement activities.
[ more...]
Local authorities are backing government moves to ban the public sector from making ransomware payments but want to see stronger obligations imposed on suppliers.
[ more...]
Council employees have been offered a 3.2% pay increase from 1 April 2025.
The ‘full and final’ offer would mean the pay of the lowest paid employees, who are currently earning £23,656, would have increased by 33% since April 2021.
The offer also includes a proposal to delete the bottom pay point from the national pay spine on 1 April 2026.
[ more...]
Nearly two-thirds of the public are not engaged with local government reorganisation, a new poll commissioned ahead of the local elections has revealed.
The Ipsos research commissioned by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) found that 63% were not following closely or at all the Government’s overhaul of local government.
[ more...]
Pothole-related breakdowns have increased by nearly 20% compared to the same period last year, according to the RAC.
The RAC Pothole Index data reveals that 9,439 pothole-related breakdowns occurred between January and March of 2025, a figure which has doubled since the end of 2024.
[ more...]
Leaders in Surrey have ruled out a county-wide unitary despite a suggestion from the government to include the option in final proposals as a benchmarking measure.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government told chief executives in 11-page feedback letter, seen by LGC, that the inclusion of a single unitary option as a "benchmark" would be “helpful” to “consider the potential net savings from two and three unitary options”.
[ more...]
The assault on second home owners is being pushed through by “dishonest” councils with thousands of empty properties on their books, Telegraph analysis has revealed.
Councils in England were given the power to charge a 100pc council tax premium from April 1 under laws passed by the previous Conservative government to ease housing pressures.
But government figures show there are 34,000 council-owned homes lying empty around England, plus a further 55,000 run by social housing associations.
[ more...]
The Washington-based organisation said there were a string of threats to UK and global output, not least from the impact of the Trump administration's evolving trade war.
[ more...]
Councils across England and Wales have lost almost a third of their staff over the past decade, according to new research by the GMB. The union said that 13 years ago, local authorities employed 1,894,700 workers, but by 2024 the number had fallen to 1,295,300. The figures were released as the GMB and other unions begin talks with the LGA over council workers’ pay claim for 2025/26. The LGA said working in local government has never been more valued or important, given the hundreds of essential services provided every day by councils and combined authorities to keep communities running. An LGA spokesperson said: “Significant staff shortages in local government risk having a serious impact on councils’ capacity to deliver services and help government meet key pledges. Government investment in local government and its workforce is key to ensure services are protected and also to delivering its own policy agenda.”
[ more...]
The government’s reforms will provide a strengthened early warning system for councils facing financial difficulties, writes the local government minister.
[ more...]
Politicians in Cumbria have said any devolution deal must include adequate funding to address years of underinvestment.
In its response to the consultation on creating a strategic mayoral authority in Cumbria Westmorland & Furness Council has said the government must recognise rural deprivation.
Andrew Jarvis (Lib Dem), deputy leader of Westmorland & Furness, said: “We need government to recognise there are significant pockets of deprivation within our area and there are real issues of rural deprivation.
[ more...]
Portsmouth City Council has called on ministers to leave it out of reorganisation plans, arguing claims it is too small don't stack up with London boroughs and northern mets remaining.
In a letter to local government minister Jim McMahon, Portsmouth leader Steve Pitt argued the city was already a sustainable organisation and reorganisation was mainly aimed at two-tier areas or failing authorities, adding that the council was concerned at inheriting other authorities' budget deficits.
‘The Government is arguing we are too small and can be more financially stable through local government reorganisation (LGR) but there is no evidence for that,' he said.
[ more...]
Councils and charities have joined forces to call on the Government to provide additional funding for children’s social care in the forthcoming Spending Review. It comes as latest government figures show there were 621,880 referrals to children’s social care in the year to March 31, 2024 – equivalent to 1,704 a day. Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said support for children and young people was “central to the delivery of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity”. She said: “The Spending Review is an opportunity for long-term, sustainable funding for children’s social care and the services children and families rely on.”
[ more...]
Councils hitting second home owners with double tax bills are spending as little as 9p in every £1 generated from the raid on affordable housing, Telegraph analysis shows.
Local authorities have been accused of treating the policy as a “cash cow to prop up day-to-day spending”, with some using the funds to implement 20mph speed limits and issue environmental grants.
Senior politicians and campaigners are now calling on officials to come clean about where the money is being spent amid concerns the funds have not been appropriately ring-fenced.
[ more...]
Council chiefs have urged the Government to invest more into early intervention to support the children’s social care system and to prevent struggling children from ‘reaching crisis point’.
Inadequate funding is causing councils severe difficulty in providing children’s social care services, which receive referrals for roughly 1,700 children each day, many of which require additional support for complex needs.
[ more...]
Cabinet ministers have been warned of an end to flexible deadlines for agreeing policy. Under the current system, departments back or raise concerns about policy proposals from No 10 and other parts of Whitehall under a procedure called “write round”. However, departments have been told that they need to “engage or get timed out” from the process and warned that delays were no longer acceptable.
[ more...]
UK inflation has fallen to 2.6 per cent. This represents a second consecutive dip after inflation eased by more than expected to 2.8 per cent in February.
[ more...]
The number of empty homes has increased to 719,470, up from 635,127 since an empty homes tax was first introduced in 2013, it is reported. Anti-tax campaigners say the rise shows why recent introduction of the council tax premium on second homes will be ineffective. The LGA said: “Charging a council tax premium, for long-term empty and second homes, is one way of encouraging owners to bring these properties back into permanent use. However, we remain clear that council tax itself has never been the solution to meeting the long-term pressures facing local services, and councils need the powers and resources to build more affordable homes.”
[ more...]
Analysis by the Local Government Information Unit has found that reorganisation proposals submitted by English councils would result in average populations for new unitaries of approximately 544,000, though actual sizes would vary between areas.
[ more...]
Two local authority pension pools, ACCESS and Brunel, have been told to merge with other pools after their plans to meet new standards were rejected by ministers.
[ more...]
Former local government secretary Michael Gove has been appointed to the House of Lords.
Now editor of the Sectator magazine having left the House of Commons, Gove was granted a peerage as part of Rishi Sunak's resignation honours list.
He was first elected as an MP in 2005 until standing down at last year's General Election.
[ more...]
Local authorities in Wales are raising council tax by an average of 7.2% in 2025/26 - the second largest rise for more than 20 years, though down slightly on last year’s rise of 7.7%.
[ more...]
Local authorities in Wales are raising council tax by an average of 7.2% in 2025/26 - the second largest rise for more than 20 years, though down slightly on last year’s rise of 7.7%.
[ more...]
Lancashire County Council has hit back at claims by Nigel Farage that it is on the brink of bankruptcy.
The Reform UK leader made the allegation on Wednesday while campaigning ahead of next month's local elections.
[ more...]
Almost £40m has been set aside by councils in two-tier areas to prepare local government reorganisations proposals this year.
In a new analysis of interim plans submitted to the government last month, the Local Government Information Unit revealed that £38.4m has been set aside to prepare proposals and that the average transition cost will be £31.1m per two-tier region.
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The Local Audit Office will not be able to force councils to amend their accounts in response to auditor concerns, the government has confirmed following fears over the body’s independence and potential overreach.
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Essex County Council has told the Government that it cannot support the proposal for devolution in Greater Essex ‘in its current form’.
Council leader Kevin Bentley welcomed reorganisation as a ‘huge opportunity’ but objected to the voting arrangements for the board of the proposed Mayoral Combined County Authority.
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The wait for family-size social housing has risen to more than 100 years in parts of England, which charities have condemned as “ludicrous” and a “national scandal”.
Analysis from the National Housing Federation (NHF), Crisis and Shelter found that in 32 local authority areas across England, the wait for a home with at least three bedrooms was longer than 18 years – the duration of an entire childhood.
The worst three councils, all of which are in London, have waiting lists exceeding 100 years, while nine local authorities have waiting lists of more than 50 years.
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Using exceptional financial support to address recurring overspends “can't be a sustainable solution” but writing off debt for Woking BC would be a “moral hazard”, the National Audit Office’s comptroller Gareth Davies told MPs today.
Mr Davies was appearing before the Commons' housing, communities and local government committee for its inquiry into financial sustainability.
Committee chair Florence Eshalomi (Lab) asked: "Do you think it's fair for local taxpayers who will pay their council tax and business rates on time for councils that may have run into financial difficulties and haven't produced audits for many years, and in some cases, are in receipt of EFS?"
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Just 3% of England’s council-run road network received any form of road maintenance during the last financial year, a new analysis of Government data has revealed.
RAC found that nearly 4,900 miles – out of 183,000 miles – of all road types were strengthened, resurfaced or preserved in 2023/24.
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Spending on early intervention children's services has plummeted by more than 40% since the onset of austerity, research has found.
Analysis of English council spending by the Pro Bono Economics (PBE) think-tank found intervention funding fell by £2bn in real terms between 2010-11 and 2023-24, a decrease of 42%.
In the most deprived local authority areas of England the reduction amounted to 53% compared to 30% in the least-deprived areas.
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Radical short-term fixes followed by changes in policy are required to shore-up local government finances, MPs have been told.
Levying council tax on unbuilt homes, lifting the referendum cap, and flexibility on discounts were put forward as options to explore by CIPFA chief executive Owen Mapley as he appeared before the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.
He said there was a pressing need for immediate action over longer-term reform that ‘could prove distracting'.
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Artificial intelligence sensors that can send an alert if a vulnerable person has fallen at home or missed a meal are to form a major part of the plan for social care, Wes Streeting will suggest when he announces a new training programme for staff.
A qualification for social care workers, on using the cutting-edge technology, is to be unveiled by the Health Secretary on Wednesday.
He will argue that increased reliance on such tech could free up care workers’ time, relieve workforce shortages, and keep elderly people in their homes for longer.
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Council tax bills will soar by nearly 30pc under Labour, with residents in 28 areas hit with £3,000 average bills, analysis shows.
Campaigners said the figures poured cold water on promises made by Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, last week that households would be £500 a year better off thanks to this Government.
Figures, compiled by the Taxpayers’ Alliance on behalf of Telegraph Money, revealed a typical Band D house will be paying £2,750 a year by 2030, the end of Labour’s first term. It amounts to a 27pc hike from 2024.
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The first day of April was a bleak one for household budgets. Water, energy, broadband, and rail fares have shot up for us all.
But for Phil Mandeville, a pensioner from Hampshire, the new financial year has been especially brutal.
Mr Mandeville is one of thousands facing a double council tax surcharge on his second home meaning he now has to pay an extra £2,000 per year on a second home he owns in Bradford, Yorkshire.
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Healthcare workers will be sent from house to house in an NHS scheme to reduce the number of people who are signed off work on sick leave.
The programme is part of efforts to fix problems such as unemployment, debt and bereavement that are adding to pressures on the state sector. It will be rolled out in 25 areas in England.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said early versions of the scheme showed “really encouraging signs” in cutting the number of heavy users of services, whom he called “frequent flyers”, filling up A&E departments.
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Quangos that offer ministers advice on migration, policing, drugs, housing and environmental policy could be abolished or merged as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to announce dozens for the axe as early as this week.
Pat McFadden, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is drafting legislation that could shut down a swathe of quangos in a single act of parliament rather than requiring individual laws to abolish each one.
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A senior MHCLG civil servant has defended the Government’s reforms for local government while speaking at the Public Accounts Committee, arguing that concerns around council finances were “too pessimistic.” The article cites recent LGA research that nearly three-quarters of councils feel it will be difficult to set a balanced budget for 2025/26, and that councils will face a funding gap of £8 billion by 2028/29.
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East Riding of Yorkshire Council has alerted drivers that they will be switching off street lights along two main roads as part of an energy-saving pilot.
The council was awarded £3.3m to study more environmentally friendly ways of lighting main roads, as more efficient car headlights could make some lampposts redundant.
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Councils are being ‘pushed to breaking point' by the ballooning cost of homelessness support, charities, housing experts, MPs and sector leaders warned this week.
Ministers are coming under growing pressure to tackle the increasing housing budget blackhole councils are facing, including by removing the cap on local housing allowance that local authorities can claim on the cost of temporary accommodation, which has been frozen at 2011 rates.
On Tuesday it was revealed that only 2.5% of private rented homes in England were affordable for people on housing benefit last year – a significant drop from 12% in 2021-22.
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The Government is to set out how it will tackle the £6bn special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deficit crisis later this year.
The statutory override keeping the deficits off council balance sheets is to end in March 2026.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said details will be announced as part of the Spending Review in June and in the local government finance settlement, which they aim to publish in late November.
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The County Councils' Network (CCN) and Rural Services' Network (RSN) will not financially support legal action over ministers' axing of the £100m Rural Services Delivery Grant, The MJ understands.
CCN has warned the grant's removal will ‘further exacerbate the financial challenges faced by county and rural authorities' but neither it nor RSN are expected to join planned legal action by North Yorkshire Council.
Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire, which is a member of both CCN and RSN, said he believed the ‘rationality' and equality impact of ministers' decision was ‘worth challenging'.
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The government received at least 40 separate local government reorganisation interim plan submissions, LGC analysis has found.
Across these documents at least 53 separate LGR options have been outlined for the 21 remaining two tier areas, with no area yet to have agreed a final geography for new unitary councils.
Experts have told LGC about concerns over local government capacity to deliver and called for “open dialogue” with the government to avoid wasting time.
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Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) is “bad government”; local government reorganisation will be a “distraction”; and the upcoming Spending Review offers no grounds for optimism.
Those were some of the opinions offered by Professor Tony Travers, professor in practice and Associate Dean at the LSE School of Public Policy during a Public Accounts Committee inquiry on local government financial sustainability today (3 April).
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Revamped recycling rules are set to be introduced for households and businesses across England, the Government has announced. Householders across the country will have to separate paper and card from waste like metal and plastic and dispose of it in a new recycling bin from 31 March 2026. Households in England dumped 5.6 million tonnes of packaging in 2023, according to analysis commissioned by the LGA, County Councils Network, and District Councils’ Network.
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