The Local Authority Podcast

Councils are increasingly recognising the value of involving communities in the design of services meanwhile financial pressures have seen the delivery of services such as libraries outsourced to community groups. And though new technology has provided more ways for councils to engage with their residents and businesses, misinformation through social media platforms can often undermine trust.  In...

Children’s services are frequently cited as the biggest current pressure on council budgets, with costs having spiralled in recent years. But despite huge increases in spending there is concern children are often not getting the care and support they need, with shortages of placements meaning young people can often find themselves placed many miles away from the people and places they know. Furthe...

The UK is one of the most centralised countries in the world and local authorities enjoy few revenue raising powers when compared with their counterparts in other developed nations. In recent years calls have been growing for local authorities to be given the power to set new taxes or take control of elements of the existing tax base. However, central government has so far resisted these calls. In...

Spiralling inflation has pushed up the cost of borrowing while the high-profile failure of some councils that took on large amounts of debt has increased scrutiny of council investments. In this episode of The Local Authority, the podcast from Local Government Chronicle, we want to explore how councils are approaching funding of regeneration in this environment and whether attitudes to commerciali...

For the past decade, the government’s preferred model of devolution has been to combined authorities with directly elected mayors. However, more than five years on from the election of the first metro mayors, there is ongoing resistance from councils to adopting this model. In this episode of The Local Authority, a podcast from Local Government Chronicle, we explore what is behind this resistance...

Many officers start their careers as specialists in their field, such as finance, law, social care or planning, but the nature of their job changes as they are promoted to roles that see them working closely with elected politicians and facing public scrutiny. In this episode of The Local Authority, a podcast from Local Government Chronicle, we explore how the sector can better support officers mo...

May’s elections saw more than 80 councils change political control with an increase in the number of councils under no overall control. Often this can mean the councillors involved in forming an administration are doing so for the first time; sometimes they can also be relatively new councillors who are still getting to grips with how the council works or forming a coalition with political opponen...

 For the fourth year in a row the government has handed councils a single year finance settlement, albeit with some indication of what to expect for the following year. After more than a decade of funding restraint and in the face of high inflation, the uncertainty of single year budgets adds to councils’ challenges in planning services. In this episode of The Local Authority, LGC, along with our...

More councils are struggling than ever before: in the past two years eight councils have been subject to formal government intervention or only narrowly avoided it, compared to five in the 12 years prior to that. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities recently advertised for inspectors and commissioners, suggesting there may be more interventions to come. In this episode of The Loc...

Joining Sarah this month is Robin Tuddenham, chief executive at Calderdale MBC; Sarah McClinton, president of ADASS and director of health & adult services at Greenwich RBC; Miriam Deakin, deputy chief executive, NHS Providers; Sam Raffell, partner at TPXimpact.  The issue of delayed discharges and hospital capacity has dominated the headlines of late, with social care often bearing the brunt of t...

Across society, businesses and other organisations have woken up to the importance of diversity in the workforce and the improvements it can bring to decision making. In local government it is even more important that councils reflect the communities they serve, amongst both officers and members, yet too often, especially at senior levels, this is not the case. In the next edition of The Local Aut...

The workforce crisis facing local government has been well documented: from planners and finance teams to social workers and housing officers, councils are struggling to recruit the staff they need. What impact are high levels of vacancies having on how councils operate? What actions can councils take now to improve retention and recruitment? How can local government better market itself as an emp...

The Local Authority Podcast goes live! Joining our chair, Thomas Kohut, Principal Consultant at TPXimpact this month is Kersten England, chief executive at City of Bradford Council; Deven Ghelani, director at Policy in Practice; Paul Frainer, partner at TPXimpact and Local Government Chronicle's editor, Sarah Calkin.  Recorded with a live audience at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, the panel disc...

On Monday 5 September the next prime minister of the United Kingdom was announced, followed by the appointment of a new cabinet and set of junior ministers. In the latest edition of The Local Authority podcast LGC, along with our partners TPXimpact, consider what the new administration will mean for local government and key policies affecting the sector. What should councils expect from the new PM...

It is widely accepted that the 2014 reforms to the provision of services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities were poorly implemented and insufficiently funded. More than half of councils are significantly overspending on their high needs budgets and yet parents feel it is a battle to get the support their child needs and, worst of all, outcomes for childre...

More than a million households are currently on the waiting list for social housing and councils are struggling to build new homes to meet this demand. Meanwhile the expanded role for the Regulator of Social Housing in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy means councils are facing greater oversight of their existing provision. In this edition of The Local Authority podcast LGC, along with our pa...

This episode of The Local Authority podcast features panellists Peter Stanyon, chief executive at AEA Elections; Darren Hughes, chief executive at Electoral Reform Society and Claire Hazelgrove, community and political engagement director at TPXimpact. The panel look at all aspects of how elections administered by local government could change, including how can councils encourage more people to v...

Joining Local Government Chronicle editor, Nick Golding this month is: Jill Colbert, Chief Executive at Together For Children and Defence Children's Services; Steve Crocker, President for Association of Directors of Children's Services and David Ayre, Partner, Local Government at TPXimpact.  On this episode the panel discuss the rising demand and cost for children and young people's services.  How...

In this new episode of The Local Authority, editor of Local Government Chronicle, Nick Golding speaks to the panellists about 'The Squeeze'.  What can councils do to support their local population during the cost-of-living crisis, including the rise in energy bills to unprecedented levels – even before the invasion of Ukraine.  How councils can work to reduce poverty, both among those in and not i...

This exciting new episode of The Local Authority podcast explores devolution. Following the publication of the government’s flagship ‘Levelling Up White Paper’, our panel discuss if councils can seize the moment and take the initiative. This requires radical reform, but do councils have the tools to do it? Joining Nick Golding, editor of Local Government Chronicle to discuss is: Amanda Hopgood, Le...

Ring in the new year with a brand-new episode of the Local Authority Podcast.  Joining Nick Golding, editor of Local Government Chronicle this month is:  Sally Warren, Director of Policy, The King’s Fund; Rob Walsh, Chief Executive, North East Lincolnshire Council, and NHS North East Lincolnshire CCG; and David Ayre, Partner - Local Government, TPXimpact. Health and social care integration has bee...

Joining LGC editor Nick Golding this month is; David Simmonds, Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner; Jessica Studdert, deputy chief executive, New Local; and Claire Hazelgrove, organising and political engagement director at FutureGov becoming TPXimpact. The panel discuss the ways in which Michael Gove can drive change within local government in his new role as levelling up secretary....

The October episode of The Local Authority will explore the relationship between climate change and local government, ahead of the upcoming COP26 event in Glasgow this year.  Joining the editor of Local Government Chronicle, Nick Golding, is; Rebecca Willis, professor in energy & climate governance at Lancaster University; Kevin Frea, cabinet member for climate action, Lancaster City Council and f...

September brings with it a brand new episode of The Local Authority Podcast as Nick Golding, the editor of LGC leads a conversation about 'Levelling Up'. What is it, what does it mean, and what would we like it to mean? Joining Nick this month is the chief executive of St Helen's Council, Kath O'Dwyer, the leader of the council at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and FutureGov's princi...

In this month’s episode of The Local Authority, editor of Local Government Chronicle Nick Golding speaks to panellists about the ‘New Normal’. What have we learned from the pandemic and how will that inform the future? How will councils manage the impact of rapidly changing restrictions and ‘waves’ of lockdown.  How do councils best deal with lengthy periods of turbulence in our ‘new normal’ world...