Q&As

Q&As

These Q&As seek to address briefly common questions faced when dealing with Local Government matters.

The Q&As supplement and link to other more detailed content within Lexis+® UK, but are intentionally short. It is anticipated that a brief Q&A will be most helpful when you need a quick overview of an issue and its likely impact. This might arise, for example, for lawyers needing to provide advice or training at short notice. The Q&A content on Lexis+® UK is date stamped. This date is the publish date and states the law

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Latest Local Government News

EHRC guidance on single-sex spaces is lawful—R (Good Law Project) v Equality and Human Rights Commission

Public Law analysis: The Administrative Court has dismissed a judicial review brought by the Good Law Project and three individuals challenging the interim update issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers. The interim update warned that the provision of multi-user single-sex facilities and services on anything other than a biological sex basis could amount to direct and indirect discrimination and was likely unlawful. The update also warned that failure to provide suitable alternative accommodation for transgender people could amount to unlawful discrimination and encouraged service providers and employers to, where possible, provide an alternative mixed-sex option. The Good Law Project challenged this guidance on the grounds that it misstated the law and would give rise to breaches of the Article 8 rights of transgender people. Mr Justice Swift dismissed the challenge, upholding the interim update in its entirety. Written by Michael Foran, Associate Professor of Law, University of Oxford.

Government confirms LGPS access for mayors and councillors from May 2026

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a partial response to its October 2025 consultation on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), addressing the policy area relating to access for elected members (which include all mayors and deputy mayors in England, all councillors at principal authorities in England, and all London Assembly members). The partial response to one of the four policy areas consulted on, confirms that the government will proceed with its proposals to grant mayors and councillors in England access to the LGPS following significant support to the measure from respondents. The MHCLG intends to lay a statutory instrument in March 2026, with a coming into force date of 11 May 2026 (the first Monday after the local elections), enabling elected members to join the scheme for the 2026–27 LGPS year. A second government response, covering the remaining consultation policy proposals, including those on the normal minimum pension age, academies in the LGPS and new Fair Deal proposals, is expected later in 2026.

DfE announces SEND reforms and school trust restructuring in white paper speech

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced comprehensive reforms to special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision and school governance structures through Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson's speech on the schools white paper delivered on 23 February 2026. The reforms establish new statutory rights for children with SEND to be included in local mainstream schools with equivalent standards and expectations as other pupils. The government will invest billions of pounds to adapt mainstream school infrastructure, classrooms and teacher training to accommodate SEND pupils. The support framework will comprise universal provision, targeted Individual Support Plans, collaborative school groups for greater needs, and specialist provision where required, while Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) will be retained for the most complex cases under nationally defined Specialist Provision Packages. Additionally, £200m will be invested in Best Start Family Hubs to provide dedicated SEND practitioners. All schools will be required to join or form high-quality school trusts, including those operated by local authorities. The DfE has launched a consultation on these proposals and will publish quarterly progress updates from mid-2025.

MHCLG grants Exceptional Financial Support to 37 councils for 2026-27

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has granted Exceptional Financial Support to 37 local authorities for the 2026-27 financial year, with amounts ranging from £5m to £121m. The support, totalling over £1.5bn, allows councils to use capital funding including receipts from sales and borrowing to cover day-to-day costs, subject to rigorous conditions including complete financial assessments. Notable recipients include Shropshire (£121m), Croydon (£119m), and Warrington (£92m). The City of London receives separate £2.65m support for its Housing Revenue Account. Six councils remain under statutory intervention: Birmingham, Croydon, Slough, Thurrock, Woking, and Warrington. Birmingham's support profile for previous financial years has been revised, with 2024-25 support reduced from £491.1m to £405.7m and 2025-26 support reduced from £180m to £36.7m. The Exceptional Financial Support process, established in 2020, enables councils facing financial failure to set balanced budgets through capitalisation directions that will be formally issued once final amounts are confirmed.

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