The Local Government Association (LGA) has called on high street coffee chains to go further in developing recyclable paper cups and to work with councils to produce a system for collecting and recycling empty cartons.

In a report, the Joint Committee on Human Rights has said there is currently no useable legal definition of extremism.

Calderdale Council has introduced a 24-hour instant messaging (IM) service for customers.

Blackburn and Darwen Council has approved a plan to 500 jobs over the next three years, in a bid to generate £13 million in savings.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has overspent by more than £865,000 on using agency workers to cover illness and maternity in the children’s social work sector.

A review published by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has praised Lewisham Council for overcoming its gender pay and position inequality.

A new report has claimed that devolution is being ‘underpowered’ and is failing under the current ‘austerity cosh’.
A joint study from the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute and Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), entitled ‘The Real Deal, Pushing the parameters of devolution deals’, has said that the government’s intentions to distribute powers locally had been ‘underpowered’ and ‘too constrained by the Treasury’s economic and social model’, leaving the authors ‘disappointed by the present agenda’.

Sheffield City Council has agreed an investment deal with a Chinese company which promises the city millions of pounds worth of funding.
The Council announced the 60 year partnership with Sichuan Guodong Construction Group, which is to be the largest Chinese investment deal outside of London.
The first portion of funding is set to be worth £220 million and will fund number of city centre projects in Sheffield by 2019.

Leeds City Council has warned that 2,000 jobs are at risk as a result of funding cuts, with the council needing to save around £110 million.

North East leaders have requested that the new government confirms its commitment to the region's devolution deal.