The Local Government Association (LGA) has published the Total Place Handbook, developed to provide councils and partners with practical guidance on delivering more joined-up, place-based public services. The handbook sets out a framework for aligning the work of councils, the NHS, police, businesses and the voluntary sector around local priorities, rather than organisational boundaries, with the aim of improving outcomes, making better use of public resources and placing greater emphasis on prevention and early intervention. It also supports wider government reforms on integration, devolution and place-based budgeting, while recognising that approaches should be tailored to local circumstances rather than follow a single model. The handbook outlines a step-by-step process for implementing Total Place, including building shared understanding across organisations, mapping local spending and outcomes, engaging communities, co-designing services, testing and implementing change, and sharing learning. It highlights evidence that preventative, coordinated approaches can reduce long-term demand and costs, while acknowledging barriers such as fragmented funding, organisational silos, data-sharing challenges and cultural resistance.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has criticised the government's fast-track review of the Alcohol Licensing Act 2003, arguing that the proposed reforms prioritise commercial interests over public health and local democracy. The call for evidence, which closed on 6 November 2025, was driven by recommendations from a taskforce dominated by the hospitality industry. Its proposals include streamlining licensing processes, extending opening hours, and reducing the level of scrutiny for applications. The LGA warns that the introduction of a national licensing framework could strip local authorities of the flexibility needed to address community-specific requirements. It also highlighted that licensing fees have not been updated since 2005.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has published analysis showing that council spending on supporting children in care has risen by approximately £1 billion a year, from £6.6 billion in 2022–2023 to £9.5 billion in 2025–2026, an increase of 29.1% after adjusting for inflation. Councils also recorded cumulative overspending of £3.2 billion over the period. The LGA attributes rising costs to increasingly complex needs, shortages of suitable homes and difficulties commissioning placements. Ahead of the Autumn Budget, it calls for adequate long-term funding to address increasing demand and cost pressures, action to tackle shortages and systemic problems in the care market, and a cross-government strategy for children, young people and families.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has published research findings indicating that integrated services are required to achieve the national target of 75% of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development by 2028. The research, which engaged with councils, stakeholders and parents from 60 local council areas in England, identified workforce shortages and limited access to high-quality early years education as barriers to progress. The LGA found that 78 councils lack Healthy Babies funding for enhanced health programmes that would provide targeted early intervention support for perinatal mental health, parent-infant relationships and infant feeding. The research recommends extending early intervention models to children aged zero to five years beyond the current three-to-four-year focus, and emphasises that multi-agency working with data sharing enables early identification of children not accessing services.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has responded to the government's consultation on the proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge, stating that councils should not be responsible for administering the proposed national tax on homes valued above £2 million. The LGA says that although the surcharge would be set by central government, councils would be responsible for identifying liable owners, issuing bills, collecting payments, managing appeals, enforcing payment and administering deferrals, while returning all to the government. It argues that this would create a costly and complex parallel system to council tax and could leave councils out of pocket if the additional costs are not fully funded. The LGA also states that describing the surcharge as council tax could confuse residents and weaken local accountability. It calls on the government to administer the surcharge through a national system or, if councils are required to do so, to clearly identify it as a national charge, provide upfront funding and guarantee full recovery of all administrative and enforcement costs.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has published its response to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s consultation on planning powers for mayors in England, calling for safeguards to protect local democratic accountability. It says mayoral intervention should be reserved for genuinely strategic developments and suggests raising the proposed threshold from 150 to 500 homes to avoid bringing routine applications within scope. The LGA also says that an adopted Spatial Development Strategy should be in place before mayors exercise call-in powers or introduce a Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy, so that these powers support agreed regional priorities. It calls for adequate funding and capacity for local planning authorities and strategic authorities to prevent delays and implementation difficulties. The LGA raises concerns that removing the requirement for local planning authority consent before preparing and consulting on Mayoral Development Orders would weaken local accountability. It seeks clearer guidance on how mayoral and local infrastructure levies would operate together, supported by consultation and viability assessments to avoid undermining development viability, affordable housing delivery and local infrastructure funding. It welcomes proposals to allow Local Development Orders in areas containing listed buildings, provided existing heritage protections are applied robustly.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has reviewed the Sentencing Bill 2025 and its potential implications for the disqualification of elected members. While the Bill introduces reforms such as a presumption against short custodial sentences and changes to sentencing for serious offences, it does not amend existing disqualification legislation under the Local Government Act 1972, the Local Government (Disqualification) Act 2022, and the Elections Act 2022. Disqualification remains applicable for custodial sentences of three months or more, including suspended sentences, and other criteria such as bankruptcy and sexual offence notifications. The LGA notes that although the legal framework remains unchanged, increased use of suspended sentences may lead to confusion among candidates, councils, and the public regarding eligibility for office, particularly when combined with community orders not referenced in current legislation.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has conducted a survey of 113 councils in England to assess views on the proposed £842m-a-year Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), which is set to replace the Household Support Fund (HSF) and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) from April 2026. The majority of councils expressed concern over the adequacy of the funding, with only 2% believing it would sufficiently meet local welfare needs. While councils welcomed the government’s intention to consolidate welfare support and improve financial resilience, they highlighted challenges including tight implementation timelines, administrative complexity, and the need to retain effective elements of existing schemes. Only 15% of councils felt confident the CRF would be ready by the proposed date. The LGA emphasised the importance of councils playing a central role in commissioning and delivering services to ensure integration with local systems and improve health and wellbeing outcomes.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has written to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, ahead of the 3 March Spring Statement, urging further action to stabilise council finances amid sustained cost and demand pressures. It warned that, despite recent funding growth and a multi‑year settlement that has improved certainty, councils remain in their weakest financial position, with underfunding leading to reduced neighbourhood services, constrained preventative work and increased pressure on vulnerable residents. The LGA highlighted that 35 councils have required exceptional financial support for 2026–27, with 22% of social care authorities relying on temporary measures such as capitalising day‑to‑day spending or raising council tax above referendum thresholds. It reported that capitalisation directions have reached £6.9bn since 2020–21 and that councils have delivered £27.9bn in savings and efficiencies since 2010–11, but stated that continued reliance on asset sales and borrowing to sustain essential services is unsustainable and called for further resources and long‑term reform to support service protection and forward planning

The Local Government Association (LGA) has submitted a consultation response warning that the proposed adult social care Fair Pay Agreement model is unworkable without adequate funding and local government involvement in the negotiating body. It stated that councils already spend £26.7bn, or 40% of their budgets, on adult social care and cannot take on further unfunded pressures. The LGA noted that the government’s £500m allocation for 2028 is unlikely to cover an agreement that could apply to 1.6 million workers. It called for full central government funding for all implementation and legal costs, as well as formal local government representation within the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body. It also requested a full Equality Impact Assessment and recognition of the administrative burdens the proposals would create. The LGA emphasised that improving pay is important but must not place care provision or council finances at risk.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has published its response to the Government's consultation on the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, warning that 10.5% of social care councils and 67.1% of shire district councils face real-terms funding cuts in 2026/27. The LGA projects that 14.5% of social care councils will experience real-terms cuts over the three-year period to 2028/29, rising to 70.1% for shire district councils. The organisation anticipates increased applications for Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) arrangements to help councils set budgets for 2026/27, expressing concerns that EFS agreements could burden struggling councils with additional debt or undermine capital programmes. The LGA has called for additional government funding to protect councils from real-terms cuts and deeper long-term reform of local government finance, including a cross-party review of council tax, business rates retention and other funding sources.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has reported that most English councils face a high risk of insolvency as a result of escalating deficits associated with supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and called on the government to take urgent financial and structural action. It said a survey of councils found that eight in ten expect to be unable to set a balanced budget in 2028 –29 when the current statutory override, which allows high needs Dedicated Schools Grant deficits to be kept off councils’ main balance sheets, is due to end. The LGA identified rising demand as the primary driver of cost pressures, noting that there were almost 640,000 Education, Health and Care Plans in place by January 2025, with numbers increasing every year since 2014.