Between October and December 2024, the LGA conducted an online survey of all councils and combined authorities in England, asking them to share views on their organisation’s use of data, including strategy, management, governance and skills development.
In July 2024, the government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, the exemption of value added tax (VAT) on fee-paying school fees will come to an end, which is to say that school fees are, from that date, subject to VAT at the rate of 20 per cent.
In preparation for the upcoming government consultation on councillor standards announced in October 2024 by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Local Government Association ran a series of focus groups to consult the sector on the issues with the current standards regime.
In February 2025, The Procurement Act (2023) will come into force, changing the way that public bodies – including local authorities – procure goods and services. In order to gauge councils’ awareness of and readiness for the procurement reforms, the Local Government Association (LGA) sent an online survey to Heads of Procurement of all 317 local authorities in England.
This research sets out to address what are the most important drivers or indicators of economic inactivity across England, and how do trends in inactivity vary across area.
In June to July 2024, the LGA distributed a survey to all councils in England and Wales which employed Soulbury officers, a special category of the local government workforce which includes a range of related roles in education and young people’s services. The aim was to collect information related to pay and grading, working status, vacancies, workforce characteristics, and recruitment difficulties for these officers.
To monitor homelessness pressures caused by the closure of bridging hotels for
Afghan nationals, in August 2023, an online survey was sent to 44 councils in England with bridging hotels in their area.
From May to June 2024, the LGA conducted an online survey of county councils, unitary councils, metropolitan districts and London boroughs regarding the impact of the youth services statutory guidance refresh. The survey was aimed to inform the LGA’s discussions with central government and outline what is needed to support councils to deliver on their statutory duty.
