Local Government News

1 week ago | localgov.co.uk | Lee Peart

Leader of the Government’s social care review of social care, Baroness Casey, has scrapped plans for cross-party talks, it has been reported. The Telegraph said Baroness Casey would instead seek one-to-one meetings with representatives of opposition parties.

1 week ago | localgov.co.uk | Joe Lepper

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has offered a 4% pay rise for 2025-26 and an increase of 3.5% the year after. It comes after a 3% offer in April, which trade union Unison had described as 'pitiful' and a 'thinly veiled pay cut'. Visit The MJ (£) to continue reading.

1 week ago | localgov.co.uk | William Eichler

Seven members of a Rochdale grooming gang have been found guilty of charges including rape and indecency with a child. The men were convicted at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court of a total of 50 offences that occurred between 2001 and 2006. The conviction follows a four-month long trial which included testimony from two survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE) who were ‘abused, degraded, and discarded’, according to Greater Manchester Police.

1 week ago | localgov.co.uk | William Eichler

Nottinghamshire County Council, which is led by Reform UK, is set to carry out an ‘efficiency review’ in an attempt to find savings. A council report said the review aims to 'provide assurance to Nottinghamshire residents about the extent to which financial management is robust, efficient, and provides value for money for the taxpayer.’ Council leader Mick Barton told the BBC the move was not connected to the national party’s Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team.

1 week ago | localgov.co.uk | William Eichler

The Government’s efforts to boost the supply of affordable housing could be derailed if the shortage of planning officers in England is not addressed, UNISON warns. Freedom of information data collected by the trade union shows just one in five (21%) planning departments in England are currently fully staffed. UNISON estimates that 884 vacancies nationally and one in nine (11%) planning posts were unfilled.