News-in-Brief

East Riding of Yorkshire Council has secured a £40.6m loan from the National Wealth Fund to support construction of a major infrastructure project. The

Leicestershire County Council has earmarked £20m for its transformation programme, a provisional revenue and capital outturn report showed. The transformation programme, titled ‘Better Leicestershire

Suffolk and Norfolk councils have joined Essex in threatening legal action to thwart plans for local government reorganisation (LGR) in their areas. Michael Hadwen,

South Staffordshire Council is transferring £1.95m from its business rates reserve to a reserve supporting local government reorganisation (LGR). The figure is based on

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has set out plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen early intervention for tenants at risk of facing financial difficulty

The government must “stay the course” with its overhaul of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, the County Councils Network (CCN) has

Croydon Council has appointed Conrad Hall as its new corporate director of resources and section 151 officer. Hall joined Croydon on secondment from Newham

Tewkesbury Borough Council is bracing itself for a “challenging” savings round to address a funding gap projected to reach £3.5m by 2029/30. In its

The £13bn Tyne and Wear Pension Fund has expanded its investment team ahead of a planned scale-up of its place-based investment offering. Tyne and

Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet is being asked to approve the use of one-off funding worth £1.25m to accelerate the authority’s transformation programme. A corporate

The incoming Reform leadership at Essex County Council has threatened legal action against plans for local government reorganisation (LGR) which would see the creation

Bolsover District Council is to use its NNDR Growth Protection Reserve to compensate for the around £2m per year in funding lost as a

Harlow Council is opposing local government reorganisation (LGR) plans in Essex, with council leader Dan Swords vowing to “fight to block” the authority’s abolition.

Councillors have voted to support North Somerset Council becoming a member of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA). The decision comes after formal

The importance of collaboration and robust financial scrutiny at councils operating under no overall control or in new coalition arrangements has been emphasised by

Cumberland Council’s investment balances rose to £103.9m as at 31 December 2025, up from £78.5m on 30 September 2025, a treasury management report showed.

Windsor and Maidenhead Council has set out a plan to procure a specialist transformation partner for a contract worth £1.75m, a transformation report showed.

City of Doncaster Council has confirmed it will borrow £57m to help reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport after Reform UK dropped its opposition. The authority’s

Border to Coast has announced two appointments to its board as it evolves its governance and oversight arrangements. David Kiddie has been appointed as

Kent County Council is aiming to generate £49m of capital receipts from a three-year asset disposal programme. With the scale and frequency of disposals

Business rates avoidance is costing councils in England £300m a year through loopholes that leave councils unable to act under current law, with a

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has identified £9.9m of savings through its transformation programme. A council report updating on the programme’s progress stated that phase one

Brighton & Hove City Council has approved £54m in its council housing investment programme, an asset management plan report showed. Over the 2026/27 financial

Telford & Wrekin Council has committed a further £1.5m to its safer communities programme, a council report on building safer communities showed. ‘Building Safer

Powys County Council has reported an improved financial position at month 11 of 202/26, with an overall underspend position of £3.4m now being forecast.