The right support for councillors
It’s a breath of fresh air to have a government take our role seriously and value councillors’ work – sometimes, anyway!
It’s a breath of fresh air to have a government take our role seriously and value councillors’ work – sometimes, anyway!
As I reach the 100-day milestone, I feel humbled and privileged to have been entrusted to represent you as Leader of the LGA’s Independent Group.
September marked the formal establishment of the Reform UK Group Office at the LGA. That milestone was about presence – ensuring our councillors had a seat at the table. The next stage is about influence.
Sir Ron Watson CBE (Con, Sefton), 80, has been a councillor since 1969 and helped establish the LGA
Teenage pregnancy rates are rising for the first time in 14 years, prompting an LGA call for renewed action, including a national sexual health strategy.
While recent reforms of Right to Buy (RTB) led to a sharp increase in applications from people wanting to buy their council houses, local authorities in England see long-term benefits from them for boosting their stock of social housing, a new LGA survey has found.
In July 2025, the doors of Clay Cross Active, a revolutionary new leisure and wellbeing hub, opened for the first time in Derbyshire. The £26.3m project acts as a blueprint for local authorities wishing to embrace the co-location of health, social, and wellbeing services, and is set to transform the lives of the local community it has been tailored to serve.
A new report has called for care experienced children and young people to have better access to physical activity.