The LGA’s new offer for councils and combined authorities
Just before this edition of first went to press, we launched the LGA’s Sector Support Offer for 2026/27.
The offer sets out the wide-ranging support that councils and combined authorities are able to access across the LGA’s improvement programmes, including practical help, peer learning and expert advice.
It is based on sector-led improvement principles, recognising the unique value of support for the sector, by the sector.
Peer-led support is at the heart of this model, drawing on the direct experience, knowledge and credibility of councillors, officers and peers who understand the realities of leading local services and responding to change. This year’s offer is informed by direct engagement with councillors and officers and shaped around the priorities and challenges local and combined authorities are facing now.
The LGA’s regional teams continue to work directly with every council and combined authority in England – providing tailored support, improvement advice and access to experienced member and officer peers to assist with all nature of challenges. Be it navigating a new role or council organisational performance challenges, a range of universal and bespoke offerings is available, including access to learning and development opportunities, mentoring and direct support across areas including governance, finance and service level issues.
Additionally, councillors can access trusted and confidential advice through their relevant LGA political group office.
“This offer draws on the direct experience, knowledge and credibility of councillors, officers and peers who understand the realities of leading local services”
A major focus of this year’s offer is helping councils navigate change.
Following the local elections, many councils are adapting to new administrations, changes in political leadership or new councillors entering leadership roles for the first time.
At the same time, devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) are moving from planning into implementation in many areas.
For authorities impacted by these changes, support is available across a range of areas including governance arrangements, political leadership, workforce planning, organisational change and service transition.
Peer-focused learning continues to play a very important role in this work, helping councils to learn directly from members and officers with direct experience of these processes. More about this support can be read on our devolution and LGR reorganisation hub, featuring our growing LGR toolkit, which brings together key resources from across the sector.
Corporate peer challenge (CPC) remains a cornerstone of our wider sector support offer, with its focus on corporate improvement, resilience and performance.
The strengthened CPC framework introduced last year continues in 2026/27, with a strong emphasis on leadership, governance, culture, performance and financial sustainability.
CPCs and progress reviews are tailored to reflect local circumstances, including adapting approaches where councils are undergoing LGR. In 2025/26, 100 per cent of councils receiving a CPC reported positive impacts for their authority.
Councils can also access wider governance, finance and organisational improvement support. Our financial improvement and sustainability advisers are current or former chief finance officers, with unique experience and knowledge to advise and support authorities with any financial challenges they may be facing.
Governance and scrutiny support is delivered with the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny, our expert partners, to help strengthen accountability, assurance and decision-making.
Councillor development remains a central aspect of this year’s offer, including our highly valued Leadership Academy, Leadership Essentials and Next Generation programmes.
In 2025/26, more than 2,500 councillors attended LGA training and development opportunities.
Officer leadership development also continues to grow. Delivered with partners including Solace, the members’ network for local government and public sector professionals, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and Lawyers in Local Government, the offer includes support for chief executives, statutory officers and middle managers, helping strengthen leadership capacity across the sector.
This year’s programme includes the development of a new Aspiring Chief Executive programme, alongside established programmes such as Springboard, Amplify, Total Leadership, Ignite and the Chief Executive Foundation programme, which are all co-designed and delivered by Solace.
There is continued emphasis on strengthening the ‘golden triangle’ relationship between chief executives, section 151 officers and monitoring officers, recognising the importance of strong governance and collective leadership during periods of change.
The LGA’s workforce and HR support has also been expanded for 2026/27, with councils and combined authorities preparing for significant employment reforms, including Make Work Pay and new employment equality legislation. The offer includes practical tools, guidance, workshops, networks and specialist help with such topics as equal pay, industrial relations, workforce planning, recruitment and retention.
The LGA’s graduate programmes continue to help build local government capacity by attracting and developing talent within the sector, including Impact: The Local Government Graduate Programme, the Impact Finance Stream, and Pathways to Planning.
The Be A Councillor campaign also continues to support councils and political groups to encourage more people from different backgrounds and communities to stand for election.
The LGA is continuing to invest in areas including digital capability, cyber resilience, research, data and performance management.
LG Inform remains an integral part of this offer, providing councils with access to benchmarking, comparative insight and local-level data in order to support evidence-led decision-making.
LG Inform now maps to the Government’s Local Outcomes Framework, where metrics are available, supporting local authorities to monitor progress and performance.
The Sector Support Offer also includes a wide range of specialist and service-specific improvement programmes.
These include help for councils to strengthen their adult social care and public health services – including support ahead of Care Quality Commission inspections – through Partners in Care and Health, delivered jointly with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
This year, the LGA introduces peer challenge offers in public health and strategic highways, helping councils strengthen leadership and service improvement across these vital areas.
Councils and combined authorities can also access targeted support across children’s services, planning, housing, culture and sport, sustainability and community cohesion.
Help is available for council-led housebuilding through the Council Housebuilding Support Service, for regeneration and public service collaboration through One Public Estate, for planning support through the Planning Advisory Service, and for helping councils progress towards local net zero and adaptation goals through the Sustainability Improvement programme.
Specialist technical support remains available, for example on digital transformation, cyber resilience and data capability, helping local government respond to an evolving technological landscape, including both the opportunities and challenges increasingly presented by artificial intelligence. In 2026/27, this offer will included an expanded range of tools and support.
Other specialist support includes the Joint Inspection Team, which provides expert fire safety advice to councils, our procurement and communications support offers, and the new Local Resilience programme, offering resilience and crisis management training for local government officers.
Across more than 1,500 survey responses evaluating LGA support in 2025/26, 99 per cent of respondents said it had had a positive impact, while 97 per cent said it improved their knowledge, understanding and skills.
The strength of the LGA’s Sector Support Offer is that it evolves hand-in-hand with the sector itself. It brings together national expertise, practical tools and direct peer experience to help councils improve services, strengthen local leadership and respond to change.
As local government continues to navigate reform and transformation, the LGA will continue to work alongside the sector to ensure councils have access to the support, learning and expertise they need to deliver for their communities.
- Find out more about how the LGA offer might support your council. For further information, please contact your LGA regional team or political group office.