Local Government Association
Fresh calls for standards code sanctions
Fresh calls for meaningful sanctions on badly behaving councillors were made this week after the Local Government Association (LGA) unanimously approved a model code of conduct.
Councils told to return millions in business grants to Whitehall
Councils are being ordered to return millions of pounds in business grants to Whitehall even with firms shuttered in the middle of a national lockdown.
LGA pauses tourism levy calls
The Local Government Association (LGA) has agreed to pause its work gathering an evidence base for the introduction of a tourism levy.
Jenrick: I would love remote meetings to continue
Robert Jenrick has said he would ‘love’ councils to be able to continue holding remote meetings but there are no plans to change the law.
Extra scrutiny for council companies
Senior councillors will receive a confidential quarterly report on the performance of all Warrington Council companies after two external reviews into the authority’s commercial approach.
LGA to call in conspiracy theory experts
The Local Government Association (LGA) is to talk to university experts to help councils counter a rising tide of conspiracy theories.
Local leaders pile on vaccine pressure
Frustrated local government leaders have piled pressure on ministers and officials over the speed and secrecy surrounding the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
Warning over integrated care plan
Proposals to merge health bodies into larger regional integrated care systems (ICS) are ‘in danger of missing the real prize of collaborative place-based leadership,’ councils have warned.
Bah humbug!
Last year was tough and 2021 will no doubt still be a bit of a slog for councils recovering from COVID.
Sector frustration as tougher restrictions arrive
Council leaders have expressed frustration after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced tougher Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions across parts of the country the week before Christmas.
Bids to open for £100m leisure fund
Sport England has finally launched the £100m biddable fund to support English councils with outsourced public leisure centre provision.
PSAA to consider 'whopping' 120% audit fee hike
The body responsible for overseeing audit fees is poised to assess requests for a number of significant increases, including one ‘whopping’ 120% rise.
Councils allowed to delay precept rise
Local authorities will be allowed to delay big council tax increases next year ahead of elections, it has emerged.
Government pulls plug from counter-extremism group
The Government has withdrawn funding for a network that shares experiences and good practice in tackling extremists.
Spelthorne undergoes finance peer review
A council branded reckless for excessively borrowing to buy up commercial property has undergone a finance peer review from the Local Government Association (LGA).
LGA chairman steps down as leader of Central Beds
Local Government Association (LGA) chairman Cllr James Jamieson has announced he will step down as leader of Central Bedfordshire Council.
Councils key to tackling 'anti-vax mob'
Councils must act quickly to knock down the ‘anti-vax mob’ as the Government puts the sector at the heart of its strategy to tackle coronavirus, a senior public health chief has urged.
EXCLUSIVE: Stretched councils rumbled over identical financial returns
Councils have been reminded to regularly update their monthly financial returns to Whitehall after stretched teams were caught submitting the same numbers each time.
Leisure centre collapse warning
Under-pressure leisure centres will go under without further rescue funding on top of the £100m already pledged by the Government, district councils have warned.
Sector braced for more Whitehall interventions
Local government is braced for further Whitehall interventions in the wake of ministers launching reviews of two councils within days of each other.
