local authorities
23 Feb 2026
May 2026 Local Elections Confirmed to Proceed
Following legal advice, the Secretary of State has withdrawn his original decision to postpone 30 local elections due to take place in May 2026. He has written to council leaders and key stakeholders to confirm this...
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16 Feb 2026
Final Local Government Settlement: Key Questions Remain For Rural Services
The Government has published the Final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026–27 to 2028–29. The settlement sets out how much funding local authorities will receive over the next three years...
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16 Feb 2026
Final Settlement Debate
The parliamentary debate for the Final Local Government Finance Settlement took place on 12th February. Realistically it was less of a ‘debate’ and more of a rebuttal by Government to...
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10 Feb 2026
RSN Initial Response: Final Local Government Finance Settlement Published
The Government has yesterday (9th February) published the Final Settlement for Local Government Finance ahead of the debate tomorrow in Parliament. You can find out more about the final settlement...
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27 Jan 2026
Councils Granted Election Delays To Complete Reorganisation
The government has confirmed it will bring forward legislation to postpone local elections for a number of councils undergoing local government reorganisation, citing the need to free up capacity to...
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19 Jan 2026
Children’s Care System Under Strain As Councils Face Rising Costs
A new report from the Public Accounts Committee has warned that England’s children’s residential care system is failing vulnerable children and placing growing, unsustainable pressure on local authorities. The Committee...
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13 Jan 2026
RSN Voices Serious Concerns Over ‘Fairness’ Of Settlement
The Rural Services Network has serious concerns over the new ‘fair and transparent’ Local Government Funding formula. Our analysis shows that in 2026-2027, the most urban councils will receive 41%...
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15 Dec 2025
Local Government Finance Settlement Due
Local Authorities across the country are waiting for the Provisional local Government Finance Settlement, due to be published this week. This will be the first settlement following changes made to...
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15 Dec 2025
A force for local growth
The Local Government Association last week published a report entitled ‘A force for growth: Spotlighting the role of councils in enabling inclusive economic growth’. Produced in partnership with the Future...
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19 Aug 2025
Fair Funding: RSN Makes The Case For Rural Local Authorities
The Rural Services Network (RSN) has submitted its response to the Government’s Fair Funding 2.0 consultation, which closed on 15 August. The RSN is the only national body dedicated to...
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