LGA restructure ‘to empower local leadership’
As first was going to press, the LGA was launching a consultation with staff on restructuring the organisation.
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Child poverty strategy published
The Government’s new UK-wide ‘Tackling Child Poverty’ strategy aims to lift more than half a million children out of poverty through measures including expanding childcare for families on Universal Credit, cost savings on baby formula, and ending the long-term placement of families in B&B accommodation.
Budget ‘doesn’t address pressures on council finances’
Local government finances remain “under severe pressure”, the LGA has warned, after last week’s Budget failed to provide significant increased funding.
Government ‘to fund SEND’
The Government has pledged to fund the full cost of provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from 2028/29.
Children in care ‘up 18 per cent’
The number of looked-after children in England is almost 18 per cent higher than 10 years ago, with 81,770 in the care of councils as of 31 March 2025.
Temporary accommodation funding gap ‘to hit £3bn’
The cumulative cost to councils in England of the temporary accommodation subsidy gap could reach £3 billion by the end of the decade, according to new LGA analysis.
New crisis and resilience fund ‘falls short’
Only 2 per cent of councils believe funding for the new Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) will be sufficient to meet local welfare needs ‘to a great extent’, according to an LGA survey.
Reforms proposed to councillor standards
Councils will have new powers to suspend elected members for serious misconduct for up to six months, and withhold allowances, under proposals for reforming the current councillors’ standards regime.
Local experience ‘must inform pandemic planning’
The LGA has called for local government’s experience of COVID-19 to inform future national planning and decision-making.
New funding formulae published
The Government has set out how councils in England will be funded from 2026/27, with new funding formulae based on 2025 indices of deprivation, population projections and service demand.