Sector Support Offer quick reference guide

The Local Government Association (LGA) provides practical support to councils and combined authorities, and individual councillors and officers across England through its Sector Support Offer, which delivers unrivalled value for money.

This support brings together the experience of councillors and officers from across local government to provide tailored advice, peer-led support and wider learning and development opportunities, helping councils strengthen governance, improve services and respond to complex local challenges and opportunities.

Much of this support is funded by government and free for councils to access, ensuring authorities of all sizes, and regardless of financial pressures, can benefit from expert support and shared learning from across the sector.

Support is accessible cross-party, including support for opposition groups.

Sector-led improvement is based on a set of principles:

• local authorities are responsible for their own performance
• local authorities are accountable locally, not nationally
• there is a sense of collective responsibility for the performance of the sector.

This means authorities helping others to improve through peer support, challenge, learning and shared experience.

Peer-led support is a unique strength of the offer and central to this approach. Councillor and officer peers understand the realities of local government and can offer practical insight, trusted advice and constructive challenge based on first-hand experience.

The LGA connects councils, councillors and officers with people, expertise and programmes most relevant to their needs.

Our programmes span corporate improvement and assurance, service-specific support, and wider specialist offers. These include:

• Peer led support
  Corporate, finance and service-specific peer challenges, bespoke peer support, and access to experienced member and officer peers with wide ranging experience across services and portfolio areas.
• Regional support and improvement advice
  Engagement and support from LGA principal advisers and regional teams—underpinned by peers and political group offices—including tailored advice and signposting to wider offers.
• Leadership development and workforce support
  Councillor and officer development, leadership programmes, workforce and HR support, and programmes to help attract new talent, including graduate schemes and support standing for election.
• Governance, finance and organisational improvement
  Support for corporate services and navigating change, including guidance, tools and bespoke support on governance, assurance, finance, transformation, procurement and organisational resilience.
• Service-specific improvement support
  Targeted support for key service areas such as children’s services, adult social care and public health, planning, housing, culture and sport.
• Digital, data and cyber support
  Support to strengthen digital capability, cyber resilience and research and data functions, including benchmarking through LG Inform.
• Place-based and system-wide programmes
  Support for local government reorganisation and devolution, sustainability and net zero, housing and cross-public sector collaboration through programmes, such as One Public Estate.
• Other technical and specialist support
  Specialist programmes include fire safety inspection (Joint Inspection Team), planning, communications and cohesion.

This support can be tailored to local circumstances, and many LGA programmes provide cross-cutting support across several of these themes.

Each year the LGA works with authorities across the country to provide practical improvement support.

Collectively, LGA programmes are open to—and reach—100 per cent of councils and combined authorities each year.

The LGA has a strong track record of delivering high impact, low-cost programmes. The Sector Support programme saves the sector tens of millions of pounds annually, delivering significant economies of scale, using a peer-based approach. In 2025/26:

• 99 per cent of authorities said support from the LGA had a positive impact.
• 100 per cent of councils receiving a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) in 2025/26 reported positive impacts for their authority. 
• 100 per cent of councils receiving a CPC reported positive impacts for their authority.
• 97 per cent of councillors and officers said support improved their knowledge, understanding and/or skills.

The LGA’s sector-led approach helps authorities improve efficiency and services, innovate, and deliver better value for money.  It avoids the high costs associated with inspection and intervention regimes, sharing knowledge and expertise across local government.

Preventative support saves costs in the longer term.

LGA support is trusted and valued by the sector:

“The LGA’s Sector Support programme is vital in supporting councils to respond to the toughest challenges facing local government, delivering highly impactful programmes at low cost for both central and local government.”
(Council Leader)

“A peer challenge uses the expertise and experience of fellow local government officers and members to be a critical friend. It provides constructive challenge and practical advice that helps councils improve.”
(Council Leader)

“The peer challenge process helped us step back, reflect on our priorities and strengthen how we deliver for our communities.”
(Council Chief Executive)

Councils and combined authorities can find out more about the LGA’s Sector Support Offer by visiting the LGA website or speaking with the relevant contact for their region or political group office, who can help identify appropriate support, whatever the challenge faced.