The Local Government Association (LGA) has launched its Sector Support offer for 2025/26.
The support is funded by the UK government and offers wide-ranging support programmes. The offer has been updated to reflect the current challenges and opportunities for local authorities across the country.

The Local Government Association (LGA) and techUK have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen digital innovation in local government.
The new partnership is designed to foster stronger collaboration between local government and the technology industry, with a shared mission to promote the secure, inclusive, and effective use of digital technologies for the benefit of citizens and local communities.

Although London boroughs are committed to reaching net zero targets, there are significant barriers in their way.

Wales have launched their first employment-boosting scheme to tackle economic activity, which is backed by £10 million government investment.

Council employees have been offered a pay increase of 3.2 per cent from 1 April.
Those on the lowest pay, currently £23,656, the offer means their pay will have increased by more than £6,000 since April 2021.
The new offer also includes a proposal to delete the bottom pay point (SCP2) from the national pay spine on 1 April 2026.

750 schools have opened their breakfast clubs today, with parents being able to benefit from up to 95 hours of free childcare and save £450 each year if their child attends every day.

A new AI tool is being developed to modernise council planning by replacing outdated paper systems with high-quality digital data, and therefore, enable faster, smarter decisions.
Many councils still use paper documents and scanned PDFs, which results in backlogs, inefficiencies, and wasted resources.
To help tackle these problems, a new programme will develop AI that provides higher quality data, in turn helping councils make faster, smarter planning decisions.

According to research from the LGA, around 1,700 children are being referred to children’s social care services every day in England.
There were 621,880 referrals to children’s social care in the year ending 31 March 2024.
Last year, 224,520 investigations were carried out to determine whether a child was suffering, or at risk of, significant harm. More than half of assessed children had abuse or neglect identified as their primary need, with factors around domestic abuse and mental health playing a significant role.

The Mayor of London has announced £27 million of funding for a skills programme to help Londoners get good jobs and boost economic growth across the capital.
The Skills bootcamps are flexible courses from two weeks to three months that support Londoners aged 19+ to get quality jobs in sectors key to London’s long-term economic success.
The initiative also helps employers to recruit diverse talent and fill skills gaps in their existing workforce.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has confirmed plans to deliver 284 new, net zero homes in north London. All of these homes are set to be affordable.
Having purchased the North Middlesex University Hospital site in 2019 and 22, the London mayor will work with Vistry Group and The Hyde Group to develop the land into a liveable community space. Plans include 1,500msq of new green space for the local community, a nursery, community café to connect residents with the hospital campus, as well as a new office building.