Nation's roads face weather peril

Transport

19 June 2013
Swathes of Britain's local road network could become unusable should there be more flooding or another severe winter this year, highways bosses are warning.

LGA briefing: Local Audit and Accountability Bill

18 June 2013
The Local Government Association has published a briefing paper on the future of local audit and the role of the National Audit Office, ahead of these issues being debated during the Committee stage of the Local Audit and Accountability Bill.

Councils: pioneers of recyclable waste

Environment

15 June 2013
To mark the tenth annual National Recycling Week (17 to 23 June), the LGA has pulled together a list of 10 common but previously unrecyclable household items.

Councils recover criminals' ill-gotten gains

Community safety

13 June 2013
Criminals, rogue traders and fraudsters are being forced to pay back their illegal profits with more than £13 million recovered by councils in the first year alone.

Criteria for planning performance

Planning

13 June 2013
The Growth and Infrastructure Act sets out provisions which enable the Secretary of State to designate a local planning authority (LPA) as 'poorly performing' on the basis of its performance on major applications. Read the LGA's response to the Government's response to the consultation on this measure.

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Media

Local government reputation

05 June 2013
The LGA has been working with colleagues in SOLACE and LGcommunications to develop the next stage of the highly-regarded reputation campaign. Access our guidance information on the consultation and send us your views.

Environment

Britain's bins: untapped potential

04 June 2013
The nation's rubbish is a gold mine which could earn local authorities and their residents an extra £1 billion by 2020 to help reduce the burden on local taxpayers.

Councillor's Guide 2013/14

22 May 2013
The LGA knows how hard councillors work and how time precious you are. That's why we've created a new look Councillor's Guide for 2013/14. This handy guidance provides all newly-elected members with tips and advice on how to thrive in this demanding and varied role. Access it now.

Recent news on:

The council role in school improvement

LGA and SOLACE have published a case study report showcasing the work being done by councils up and down the country to support school improvement. It is intended to coincide with the new Ofsted inspection regime for council school improvement support.

Barnado's and councils issue joint warning over Government's adoption reforms

11 June 2013

Children's charity Barnado's and the Local Government Association have issued a joint warning that government reforms of the adoption system could adversely impact on children and parents and jeopardise recent improvements.

Bright futures: local children, local approaches

The plethora of case studies in this publication shows how councils up and down the country are using children's centres to help deliver early intervention through integrated health provision and getting children school-ready, to a more formal community budget approach.

Radical reform for looked-after children

9 May 2013

Read Councillor David Simmonds response to the Care Leavers Coalition's report ‘Still our children'.

Councils need powers to tackle anti-social behaviour by private tenants

17 June 2013

Councils could tackle anti-social behaviour by tenants in privately rented accommodation by being given greater powers to force landlords to crackdown on tenants causing problems.

LGA responds to Food Standards Agency report on local authority horsemeat testing

13 June 2013

Cllr Mehboob Khan, Chair of the Local Government Association's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, responds to the Food Standards Agency's report on the local authority testing programme of beef products for horse DNA.

Millions recovered from criminals, rogue traders and fraudsters

13 June 2013

Criminals, rogue traders and fraudsters are being forced to pay back their illegal profits with more than £13 million recovered by councils in the first year alone.

Protecting the public from scams

30 May 2013

Councils are helping to protect the public against a relentless barrage of scams, the LGA said as ‘Scams awareness month' drew to a close this week. The LGA has now published a list of common cons and how to avoid them.

LGA responds to HSE National Enforcement Code launch

29 May 2013

Councillor Mehboob Khan, Chair of the Local Government Association's Safer and Stronger Communities Board, today responded to the statutory National Enforcement Code for local authorities.

Fighting the fraudsters – councils embrace Scams Awareness Month

27 May 2013

Dodgy doorstep sellers, fake prize draws, relentless PPI claim calls, false invoices and rogue traders are just some of the scams being targeted by councils as they fight back against fraudsters.

Campaign for Better Transport's bus service warning – LGA response

4 June 2013

Councillor Peter Box, Chairman of the Local Government Association's Economy and Transport Board has responded to the Campaign for Better Transport's warning of bus networks "facing collapse".

New permitted development rules could drain the life from high streets

29 May 2013

Councils are warning that the Government's attempt to breathe new life into empty buildings by removing safeguards on how commercial properties are used risks doing the opposite. The LGA is calling for the Government to let local areas decide for themselves where it would be beneficial to relax planning rules.

Roadworks taskforce focuses on quality and compensation

24 May 2013

A new roadworks taskforce – comprising councillors and representatives from utilities, business and local government – met for the first time this week at the Local Government Association.

Report highlights contribution of arts to the economy

Arts Council England's report is the first comprehensive analysis to determine the value to the modern economy on a national scale and reinforces many of the messages in the LGA's recent report highlighting the economic impact of local investment in the arts.

Criteria for planning performance

The Growth and Infrastructure Act sets out provisions which enable the Secretary of State to designate a local planning authority (LPA) as 'poorly performing' on the basis of its performance on major applications. Read the LGA's response to the Government's response to the consultation on this measure.

Britain's bins contain millions of pounds of untapped riches, say council bosses

4 June 2013

The nation's rubbish is a gold mine which could earn local authorities and their residents an extra £1 billion by 2020 to help reduce the burden on local taxpayers.

LGA response to Government consultation on changes to CIL regulation

The LGA shares the Government's ambition for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to contribute effectively to the provision of vital infrastructure in a way that provides certainty and clarity for developers, councils and local communities.

New permitted development rules could drain the life from high streets

29 May 2013

Probity in planning for councillors and officers

New guidance document for councillors and officers, reflecting changes in the Localism Act.

LGA response to the 'de minimis' state aid consultation

LGA calls for a raising of the ‘de minimis' threshold to help councils fund vital local projects.

Regional Aid 2014-20: LGA response

The LGA has responded strongly to EU moves to ban investment aid to large companies.

LGA calls for devolution urgency after EU funding cuts to England

2 April 2013

Vital European Union funds are being taken away from English councils and their business partners in a blow to local growth projects.

LGA secures EU funding powers for councils

21 March 2013

Councils and businesses will have a greater say in how the next round of EU will be spent in the UK, giving them the power to create jobs, boost local growth and help speed up the economic recovery. For the first time, the EU is set to recognise that local authorities must be closely involved in the preparation of the UK's spending plan for the next round of EU funding for 2014-2020.

Local Audit and Accountability Bill

The Local Government Association has published a briefing paper on the future of local audit and the role of the National Audit Office, ahead of these issues being debated during the Committee Stage of the Local Audit and Accountability Bill.

Bailiffs 'option of absolute last resort' for collecting council tax

24 May 2013

Councillor Sir Merrick Cockell responds to the council tax benefit reforms.

Government cuts risk 'failing communities'

9 May 2013

Millions of people are living in areas where their council will have to close children's centres, libraries, museums and sports centres, as well as slash pothole fixing budgets, increase bus fares and switch off streetlights between midnight and dawn, if significant new cuts to local government funding are made in the 2015/16 public spending round.

Radical public sector reform can save billions and improve services

25 March 2013

A report published today shows how a radical transformation of the public sector can save billions of pounds while helping the elderly stay in their own homes for longer, improving employment prospects for school leavers, reducing re-offending and better supporting victims of domestic violence.

LGA statement on council tax levels for 2013/14

27 March 2013

LGA Chairman, Sir Merrick Cockell responds to today's publication of council tax levels for 2013/14.

Health and wellbeing peer challenge - invitation to submit an expression of interest

From 1 April 2013, responsibility for public health and other health services was given to local agencies, including councils and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs); and the responsibility for determining local health priorities and strategic direction to local health and wellbeing boards. These changes give local authorities, particularly through their local health and wellbeing board, a much stronger role in shaping and holding services to account.

Joint health and local government support launched for health and wellbeing services

16 May 2013

Councils and their local health partners have been awarded £1.8 million by the Department of Health (DH) to help to find new and better ways to improve health services for local residents.

LGA response to launch of integrated health and social care framework

14 May 2013

Read the comments of LGA Chairman Sir Merrick Cockell as he responds to the announcement from the Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb on health and social care. Also access the LGA's co-produced 'Integrated Care and Support: our shared commitment' – a framework document on integration.

Social care funding outlook getting bleaker

7 May 2013

Responding to the ADASS annual survey, ‘Social care funding: a bleak outlook is getting bleaker', Cllr Zoe Patrick, Chair of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board, said: "Local authorities are already facing an estimated £1.89 billion reduction in funding to provide support for vulnerable residents. Taking a further £800 million out of the system threatens to severely impact on the vital support many older and disabled people rely on in their day-to-day lives.