#unitary-authorities

#unitary-authorities

Prof Stephen Cushion stated that news reporting failing to differentiate between the UK's devolved governments neglects audiences' constitutional needs. He emphasized that issues like housing and healthcare are governed differently in Wales, which is often invisible in UK-wide news.

Keep state as close as possible to where it's actually used. Lift it when multiple components need it or you need to coordinate behavior between components.

Brent is one of the most ethnically diverse local authorities in the UK, with a mix of urban districts in the east and suburban neighbourhoods in the west.

Local authorities can increase council tax by as much as 4.99% year on year without the need for a referendum of residents. Seven authorities were this year given permission by the Government to raise council tax by more than 4.99%: Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (by as much as 6.74%); North Somerset (8.99%); Shropshire (8.99%); Trafford (7.49%); Warrington (7.49%); Windsor & Maidenhead (7.49%); and Worcestershire (8.99%).

I was alarmed and made a point to the board that the review refers to Microsoft Copilot as being used to evaluate the returns. I don't think you can rely on artificial intelligence to do that. It's just wrong.

The five unitary model creates sensible geographies that will empower each new council to deliver new housing in line with local needs.

Members of Kent County Council voted 45 in favor of a 3.8% increase in allowances, with 22 against and five abstentions, despite concerns over timing and optics.

Selina Hales has a thing about pineapples. She is talking in a quiet office, set aside from the bustle of Refuweegee, the charity she founded 10 years ago, and the walls are festooned with tissue paper cutouts of the fruit, which is an international symbol of hospitality. Refuweegee its name a combination of the words refugee and Weegee, local slang for Glaswegian has expanded exponentially over the decade into an operation that supports hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees in the city every day.

These powers could cover "governance, financial management and recruitment" at the Aspirerun authority but should be used "only where necessary".

A leading think tank has recommended a number of organisational changes to local governments in order to reinvigorate democracy across the country. A report from Re:State recommends a major change to the number of London boroughs, as well as electing an official opposition mayor. The report, informed by interviews with a host of senior political figures, proposes that the existing 32 boroughs be drastically cut to between 10 to 12 local authorities.

Around 5,000 seats across 136 local councils will now be up for grabs, following the government's U-turn on council election delays. Ministers had granted 30 authorities permission to delay elections until May 2027 - including five areas where polls had already been put back from May 2025. But in February, the government said those elections would go ahead in May this year, following legal advice in the wake of a challenge from Reform UK.