The devolution agenda in England needs to be ‘drastically accelerated’, an independent thinktank has argued.
Reform has released a report, Vive la devolution: devolved public-services commissioning, which argues that commissioners have not worked with providers to tailor service design to outcomes that matter to everyone using public services.
It argues that instead, commissioners need the power to design contracts for providers to meet local needs most effectively in healthcare, employment services, skills and offender management.

Brighton & Hove City Council is targeting parks most in need of replacement play equipment and surfacing.
Councillors agreed to divert almost £102,000 from a general budget underspend to parks and open spaces.
£82,000 will be spent on the play facilities with the remainder going on planting and general facilities.

£2.4 million is being offered to 26 projects across Wales which will improve the experience visitors have in Wales, it has been announced.

Improvements to children’s services in Gloucestershire have been ‘too slow’, a government watchdog has said.
In June, Ofsted found ‘serious and widespread failures’ in children’s services in the county, rating them inadequate.
It has since written to the county council criticising the time it has taken to implement changes.
However, it did praise the decision to remove the senior management team, which had been particularly criticised.
Ofsted’s concerns were raised in the interim letter sent to the Conservative-controlled local authority on 18 October.

South Yorkshire residents could be given an opportunity to weigh in on the future of devolution in the region.

Care providers have dismissed a government scheme to tackle a problem over back pay for overnight shift staff, as a ‘suicide note’.
The charity Mencap said the government was sacrificing the well-being of the most vulnerable people in society and putting the jobs of low-paid staff at risk.
Ministers said the scheme was designed to help ensure workers were paid what they were owed. But charities say the bill for six years of extra pay is unaffordable.

Sadiq Khan has launched two major tech initiatives to boost the sector and help harness the capital’s tech talent to make life better for Londoners.

The City of Edinburgh Council has outlined a detailed plan to deliver the first phase of the Capital Coalition’s 20,000 affordable homes over the next decade.

Over £3 million of Pothole Action Funding is to be used to fund over 250 road repair schemes across Devon.
Devon County Council has announced the roads will be repaired using its £3.192 million allocation from the government.
Most of the work will be patching, but resurfacing work will also be carried out. To ensure the funding is spent in the areas of most need, the funding allocations have been determined using pothole frequency data.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is calling on residents not to waste their waste in response to the increasing problem of contaminated recycling.