The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that the delivery of the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) programme poses significant challenges for councils, with its Chair, Cllr Eamonn O'Brien, urging the government to review the programme to address concerns about timescales, funding, workforce capacity and service continuity. O'Brien states that councils support the objectives of LGR but warns that the programme's scale and pace could affect the delivery of statutory services, including adult social care, children's services, planning, housing and infrastructure, unless councils' practical experience is reflected in government decision-making and implementation of the programme.

The Local Government Association (LGA), Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE), and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability (CIPFA) have jointly issued a report calling for immediate and comprehensive reform of England's local government funding system. In the report, titled 'Reforming the local government funding system in England', the organisations argue that the current model, largely unchanged since 2013, is 'complex' and 'outdated', undermining councils' financial resilience. They advocate for urgent interventions, including the introduction of timely, multi-year financial settlements and increased clarity on system reform. The report also recommends a full-scale, cross-party government review to address systemic issues, with particular focus on the future of council tax and business rates retention. This proposed overhaul aims to enhance local services, drive economic growth, and strengthen communities across England.

The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) has published a report examining the changing landscape of risk management in UK local authorities. Based on in-depth interviews with risk managers, the study highlights the increasing complexity of challenges faced by councils, including financial pressures, cybersecurity threats, climate change, and public health crises. The report emphasises the growing need for proactive and strategic approaches to risk management in local government. It explores the evolving role of risk managers and provides recommendations to foster a healthy and dynamic risk management culture across the sector. This research, supported by Browne Jacobson and ALARM, aims to enhance understanding of current risk management practices and challenges in local authorities.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) has reported on Ealing Council wrongly turning away a pregnant woman. The woman had suffered domestic abuse and harassment at the hands of her former partner. Despite the police, her midwife and an independent domestic violence advisor raising concerns about the risk to the woman and her unborn child, the Ealing Council decided that she did not meet its criteria for help. After calls for LGO to investigate, it was found that the Ealing council used an outdated, narrow definition of domestic abuse, limiting it to physical attacks. This is contrary to the legal definition that includes non-physical abuse, including psychological abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour, which came into force in 2021.

Local government pension scheme. This public sector defined benefit (funded) scheme moved to a career average basis as of April 2014.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Advisory Board has written to Local Government Minister Jim McMahon OBE MP seeking an urgent meeting on whether LGPS administering authorities (AAs) must have regard to international human rights law when making investment decisions linked to the conflict in Gaza. This question arose after many LGPS funds received legal advice from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in August 2025, arguing that funds should have regard to conventional international law when exercising their investment functions. In response, the Board wrote to the government in October 2025 seeking clarification and the government replied in May 2026, arguing that decisions relating to boycotts, divestment and sanctions are matters of UK foreign policy and 'for central government, not local authorities'. The government said it would therefore be inappropriate for local authorities to adopt investment policies that go beyond or differ from UK government sanctions or foreign policy positions.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Advisory Board has published its response to the government’s consultation on access and protections. The Board endorses much of the Local Government Pensions Committee’s (LGPC) submission but differs on the Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA), emphasising the need for protections for existing scheme members. It supports the introduction of a Protected Pension Age (PPA) to allow early access to benefits, while also backing proposals to raise the NMPA to 57 for members without a PPA. The Board also supports measures to extend LGPS access to mayors and councillors, strengthen Fair Deal protections, and restrict the use of broadly comparable schemes to exceptional circumstances. It raises concerns about the proposed April 2026 implementation timetable and the absence of New Burdens funding. On academy transfers, the Board called for clear legislative criteria, safeguards to prevent contribution rate shopping, and greater consideration of scheme member experience.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)Advisory Board has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the LGPS Code of Transparency. The Code, introduced in May 2017, sets out the obligations on signatories to provide consistent data to LGPS funds and pools regarding investment management fees and costs. In 2018, the Board established the Cost Transparency Initiative (CTI), followed by the launch of a centralised data system in 2020 to collect CTI templates and monitor compliance. The Board is now considering replacing this system with a framework approach and reviewing the Code to ensure it continues to meet its objectives. The consultation, which is open to LGPS funds and pools as clients and signatories to the Code, closes at 17:00 on 15 August 2025.

The Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) of the Local Government Pensions Scheme (LGPS) has published Counsel’s opinion from Nigel Giffin KC to help administering authorities to assess and respond to the allegation that funds might face future criminal liability as a result of holding investments in companies which have been linked to the conflict in the Middle East. The advice is limited to the question of whether any specific criminal liability attaches to the holding of these investments, and not whether it is appropriate for funds to choose to divest. The Secretariat advises that funds should still seek their own legal advice in relation to their specific circumstances and investments.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Advisory Board for England and Wales (the Board) has submitted its response to the closed consultation undertaken by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on draft statutory guidance accompanying the draft The Local Government Pension Scheme (Pooling, Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 2026 and draft The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2026. The response provides technical input on the draft guidance document, which covers fund governance, pooling arrangements, and investment strategy statement,  and highlights the broader implementation challenges resulting from the cumulative impact of multiple government reforms.  While the MHCLG consultation was conducted on a closed basis, the Board’s response has been published in the interests of transparency for LGPS stakeholders.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Advisory Board has issued a statement following the government’s decision letters on pension pooling proposals sent to pools and administering authorities. The LGPS Advisory Board Chair, Councillor Roger Phillips, met with HM Treasury and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) officials to discuss the decisions. The LGPS Advisory Board highlighted implementation challenges, particularly for Access Pool and Brunel Pension Partnership, and called for MHCLG to release its full Fit for the Future consultation response. A virtual meeting with Pension Committee Chairs is scheduled for 13 May 2025.

The Scheme Advisory Board for the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) has published a statement following the government’s review of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) plans and its request that implementation decisions be paused.