The Pride in Place Programme - announced today - has published its allocations. At first glance, I think £3.5 billion of the £5 billion is new - mooted in the Spending Review - and £1.5 billion is from the Long-Term Plan for Towns that has been previously announced. www.gov.uk/government/p...

I've written in The MJ with Patrick Diamond about London devolution. Stronger governance and more fiscal autonomy are important enablers to get London motoring, alongside more muscle to build infrastructure and homes: www.themj.co.uk/stronger-dev...

Local authorities run by Reform manage over £9.5 billion in public expenditure – delivering services for 18 per cent of people in England. They're the 5th largest party in local government with over 800 councillors. How will Reform oversee its authorities? renewal.org.uk/articles/ref...

SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: @jacktshaw.bsky.social takes a look at the new Reform-led councils, and considers how Farage's party will fare when confronted by the realities of local government renewal.org.uk/articles/ref...

According to new polling from Ipsos, there is significant cynicism - particularly among Reform UK voters - that public services are "ready to listen to complaints":

This week Shropshire and Halton have both declared warnings that they are 'at risk' of a Section 114. That may be the case, but declaring so has historically proved quite meaningless. I've written about this previously: www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/measure...

Children's services are under significant strain. According to the National Audit Office, in some authorities more than 40 per cent of placements are outside of their boundaries:

I'm surprised more attention hasn't been on Reform UK and their proposals for the Local Government Pension Scheme - which are not clear, but almost certainly will be disruptive.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance on simplifying the funding landscape for local authorities: www.gov.uk/government/p...

I've written in @TheMJcouk today about the rise in temporary accommodation - particularly in London - and what local authorities are doing in response. Emerging. innovation, though piecemeal and fragile, offers a glimpse into a 'playbook for change'. www.themj.co.uk/solutions-st...

Should Homes England be abolished? Restate believes it should, and that strategic authorities should take responsibility for its functions. The Greater London Authority did following the Localism Act 2011 - over a decade after it was established.

This morning the Deputy Leader of Reform, Richard Tice, accused the Local Government Pension Scheme of underperforming and overpaying fees to the tune of £265 million. Tice said that Reform UK will urge each Pension Committee run by Reform authorities to “urgently change course”.

According to the Times, local authorities will raise £460 million in 2025-26 from the council tax surcharge on second properties. It's not clear how many authorities have introduced the surcharge, but it was only introduced this year so I'd expect more authorities to follow suit.

In London, I hadn't appreciated that Reform UK is now represented in the London Assembly, Bromley - as a result of a recent by-election - and in Westminster, Barnet and Wandsworth because of defections.

According to YouGov, Britons are more positive about the state of their communities than the UK as a whole, but 48 per cent still hold the view that their area has got worse over the past decade:

The Local Government Association has published its briefing on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. It's calling for a codified role for authorities in supporting devolution, the return of pensions for councillors and fiscal devolution: www.local.gov.uk/parliament/b...

This is how we pay for the Bakerloo Line extension FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/bakerloo-e...

Today Labour Together and the YIMBY Alliance has published a short report on London The argument is simple. The fiscal headroom available to the Government means that it cannot finance all the infrastructure the UK needs. www.labourtogether.uk/all-reports/...

West Northamptonshire Council has published a list of the information requested by Reform UK, though the DOGE Unit has not visited the authority. It's information that will be held by the authority and is either publicly available or councillors are already entitled to request.

In much of Europe museums are free for domestic visitors but not international tourists. A Tourism Levy on hoteliers - and a new policy on museum charging - would generate income for local authorities and create headroom for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

I'd recommend reading Beyond Our Ken, which - despite the title - is an excellent account of the fight over the Greater London Council and its abolition in 1986.

According to the Times, a dozen local authorities are paying 50 per cent or more of their council tax revenue on debt interest: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the the Fair Funding Review will have - as has been widely reported - a negative effect on inner-London authorities from 2026-27:

According to The MJ, Hillingdon has confirmed that it is engaging with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about Exceptional Financial Support for 2025-26. If agreed, it'll be the eighth authority in London to do so.

This is really interesting. As part of YouGov's survey of 101 Civil Servants, 43 per cent take the view that it's "too risk averse and closed to new ideas":

On Friday the Government published its evaluation of the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund - announced in the 2020 Spending Review. It concludes that under 95 per cent "were delayed, relative to the timeline envisaged". www.gov.uk/government/p...

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee has published its report on local government finance. In it, it recommends that the Government should publish its vision for local government by the end of 2025:

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed that the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2025 will be published in October or November. It has been suggested that it'll be included in the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Plymouth votes against a city Mayor - narrowly. They will stick with the Leader and Cabinet model. There was a 19.1 per cent turnout and 52 per cent supported the status quo while 48 per cent supported a new Mayor.

The Government has issued a Best Value Notice to Dudley Council:

An 'Innovation Squad' will be sent into nine local authorities as part of the Cabinet Office Test, Learn and Grow Programme. Could the principle of the Power to Innovate enshrined in the Education Act be an alternative for authorities navigating difficult policy challenges?

There are now 108 local authorities where Reform have Councillors - equivalent to 34 per cent of all authorities in England.

One to watch: the Commissioners model is under scrutiny as residents in Birmingham are taking legal action against the authoriry after Commissioners allegedly blocked Councillors from 'calling in' a decision to close facilities for vulnerable adults. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The Productivity Institute's new publication on UK productivity is worth reading. I enjoyed being a discussant to Tim Leunig's chapter recently on why we should invest in roads. Unsuprisingly I think we should priorities public transport in our second cities. www.productivity.ac.uk/research/joi...

Want to understand the difference between Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities and Mayoral Strategic Authorities? Or Combined Foundation Strategic Authorities and Single Foundation Strategic Authorities? See this explainer of the Devolution Framework: www.gov.uk/government/p...

The Guidance is more accessible if you don't fancy trying to read the small print on the beach, as I am - not very successfully. www.gov.uk/government/p...

One significant change in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is that Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners will be elected via Supplementary Vote. That was the case until May 2024, when the Conservatives changed it to FPTP in the Elections Act in 2022.

The English Devolution and Comminity Empowerment Bill has been published: bills.parliament.uk/bills/4002

The Senedd approved the Visitor Accommodation Bill this week, meaning that Welsh local authorities are entitled to raise revenue of up to £1.30 per person per night from 2027. The rate is set by the Senedd. The UK Government should follow suit: www.gov.wales/VisitorLevy

That a majority of Brits hold the view that Britain never left or is returning to austerity highlights the scale of the challenge facing the Government. Its focus on the structural challenges is the right one, but the public are seeking a better tomorrow:

Ministerial Envoys have been sent into Warrington in light of its ~£1.8 billion debt. Warrington is the second authority to welcome Envoys after Tower Hamlets in January. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-stat...

Given it has been mooted that the Government will review the statutory duties of local authorities - which last took place in 2011 - what would you remove?

In the event of a non-payment, 23(3) of the Council Tax Regulations 1992 allow authorities to charge the full amount - in effect, the council tax required for that financial year. The Government is consulting on whether authorities should pursue less "aggressive" recovery action:

Over in the US the Mayor of New York may be 33-year-old outsider Zohran Mamdani. He's advocating for municipal-owned supermarkets and, according to pollster Frank Luntz, Democrats are demanding "a more ideological, confrontational approach to policy and politics".

The Government has announced today that it will standardise the Cabinet and Leader Model in local authorities, which is sensible. The existing Mayors in England that represent local authorities will continue, but no more will be created:

Extending the Statutory Overside until 2027-28 is sensible to prevent ~12 authorities from issuing Section 114 notices. The Safety Valve Programme wasn't successful, but it isn't sustainable to write-off the £5 billion shortfall either - as some authorities have suggested.

Good to speak to the Guardian about the Government's Fair Funding Review and changes to council taxes. It's long overdue and puts councils on a path toward financial sustainability, but after more than a decade of service reductions it'll take some time to fix. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

In a Ministerial Statement today, the Government confirms that it'll be consulting on re-organisation in Surrey, with two proposals under consideration. Some authorities want to create a strategic authority around the Gatwick Diamond, which isn't being ruled out either:

We don't know enough about out-of-borough temporary accommodation in part because of how data is collected and presented. It's a small detail, but if we're not measuring it we can't address it. Welcome news that the Government is looking at the issue:

The Government announces 25 new Trailblazer Neighbourhoods, which will receive £20 million over the next decade. It builds on the Government's Plan for Neighbourhoods and, before that, the Long-Term Plan for Towns: www.gov.uk/government/p...