On behalf of its membership, the cross-party LGA regularly submits to Government
consultations, briefs parliamentarians and responds to a wide range of parliamentary inquiries. Our recent
responses to government consultations and parliamentary briefings can be found here.
The complexity of local authority accounts has contributed significantly to problems with local audit. In addition, the reform of local audit will only be successful if financial reporting is simplified in order for the scale and size of audits to become more proportionate.
The areas identified in the consultation questions are mostly suggested minor improvements or clarifications. In our opinion, they do not warrant a full scale revision and re-issuing of either code. Instead, there are alternative ways of improving guidance and supporting good practice, such as by the provision of more training.
Whilst we welcome the Government’s recognition that it needs to work with councils to achieve nationally for local people and communities, the list of outcomes and outputs within the framework is ultimately a top-down approach. In future, in the spirit of partnership, we would like to see government working with the sector to identify and unblock barriers to the achievement of the outcomes; to resource councils to deliver those; and to review and refresh the outcomes in due course.
The Sentencing Bill enacts several of the recommendations of the Independent Sentencing Review (ISR) that require legislation. The Bill makes significant changes to the sentencing framework, the way in which offenders are managed and serve sentences in the community, and also aims to create a justice system that better serves victims.
The Sentencing Bill proposes significant reforms to custodial and community sentencing, including a presumption against short custodial sentences. These measures aim to reduce prison overcrowding and improve public safety; however, they may also have an impact on how criminal behaviour by an elected member is dealt with.
The government held a consultation on reform to the Decent Homes Standard which currently applies to social housing. The new standard will also apply to privately rented housing. It was open from 2nd July to 12th September 2025. This consultation seeks to update the Decent Homes Standard implemented in 2001.
The Government held a consultation on improving the energy efficiency of socially rented homes in England through the introduction of a Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard of EPC Band C to tackle fuel poverty and lower carbon emissions. This consultation was open from 2 July to 12 September 2025.
We look forward to working with the Government on an approach that enables councils to invest in council tax collection practices that effectively balances the collection of vital revenues with measures that help those struggling to pay.