The LGA has supported every council in England
Local government has always been strongest when councils learn from one another.
The LGA’s recently published improvement support annual report 2025/26 shows the scale of that shared effort and the difference it continues to make.
During 2025/26, every English council and strategic authority engaged with at least one form of LGA support, with more than 3,400 instances of direct support delivered.
The offer covered corporate improvement, including peer challenge, regional support, leadership, governance, finance, workforce, data and transformation.
It also provided service-specific support across children’s and adults’ services, housing and planning, culture and sport, and the public estate, alongside specialist help on communications, community cohesion, cyber and digital technology, fire and building safety, procurement and sustainability.
These figures matter, but the value of sector support goes much further than this activity alone. It gives councils access to peers who understand local government because they have led and delivered services within it.
That practical experience, combined with trusted relationships with our regional teams, means support can be tailored to local circumstances and provided early, before challenges escalate.
Peer challenge remains at the heart of this approach. In 2025/26, 116 authorities received a corporate, finance or governance peer challenge or progress review. Every respondent said that taking part in a corporate peer challenge had left them more confident in their council’s ability to deliver its priorities.
The programme also provided 1,267 days of peer challenge and support at no cost to recipient councils, avoiding at least £1.5 million in consultancy costs.
Alongside the wider economies created by national training, tools and resources, this demonstrates the significant value that a coordinated, sector-led offer provides. That value extends beyond improvement programmes.
By managing national collective bargaining arrangements covering 85 per cent of councils, the LGA ensures authorities do not each have to negotiate pay, terms and conditions separately. We estimate this shared approach saves councils at least £30 million every year.
Our support over the year continued to evolve alongside the sector.
Regional teams helped councils navigate local government reorganisation, devolution and political change, with 80 per cent of those receiving support on devolution or reorganisation reporting a positive impact.
New support included the Council Housebuilding Support Service, which engaged more than 100 councils and delivered over 50 tailored packages to help accelerate social and affordable housing; and a new programme working in partnership with the charity Belong, the cohesion and integration network, aimed at strengthening councils’ capability and capacity to deal with community cohesion challenges.
Partners in Care and Health delivered 1,114 instances of targeted support, with a 98 per cent satisfaction rating, while One Public Estate realised £64 million in financial benefits and released land for more than 3,000 homes.
This report demonstrates the practical value of councils working together through a national, sector-led offer. The LGA thanks the councillors, officers, peers, partners and LGA teams whose work makes this support possible.
The evidence is clear: when the sector supports the sector, councils are better equipped to improve, adapt and deliver for their communities.
- Read the LGA’s improvement support annual report in full.