In her 29 January speech outlining the Government’s ‘Plan for Growth’, chancellor Rachel Reeves argued our cities will require focus on the two key areas of infrastructure and investment if they are to realise their potential and promise, with central government bringing in a raft of institutional and policy reforms to help support the financing […]
Context Solving the puzzle of worklessness and its connection to productivity is an increasingly challenging task in cities and towns across the country, at a time where the state’s ability to intervene to raise skill levels and improve labour market access is severely limited. The impending 2025 Comprehensive Spending Review will have little option but […]
Solving the housing crisis, a stated but unrealised goal of successive recent governments, is both a generational challenge for policy and a hugely significant potential investment in place. That a crisis exists is well-rehearsed, but its hydra-like, multifaceted nature must be stressed. The housing crisis is principally one of supply, with not enough homes being […]
Elected on a platform with strong emphasis on energy security and decarbonisation, the UK Government has set a goal of ‘clean power’ by 2030 and established Great British Energy (GB Energy) to drive progress through investment in and development of clean energy projects. The Local Power Plan, a component of GB Energy, aims to support […]
The South East of England, often perceived as a beacon of affluence and economic success, presents a paradoxical challenge to policymakers. Beneath its reputation as a prosperous and “overheated” economic hub lie stark inequalities and financial pressures that are increasingly testing the resilience of local governance. A decade of austerity has eroded the capacity of […]
In English local government, the ‘golden triangle ‘of chief executive, monitoring officer and chief finance officer – who exercise their leadership responsibilities to own and champion good governance and effective financial management in local government – is a well-established model. Beyond the functional corporate responsibilities, the culture for ensuring financial sustainability across local government requires […]
The financial problems facing local government in England are well rehearsed. The deteriorating impact of shrinking budgets on public services and the state of the public realm formed an important part of the Labour Party’s platform of ‘change’ in the 2024 general election campaign. Delivery of the promise to ‘fix the foundations’ and begin national […]
In the context of an evolving public procurement landscape, local authorities in England are grappling with multiple challenges and opportunities. An increasing strategic turn in procurement is being reflected by legislative reforms, notably the pending Procurement Bill, which aims to simplify and modernise the system. However, the responsibilities of the new reforms for local authorities […]
In autumn 2021, Localis published ‘Plain Dealing – building for flood resilience’. The study took for its context the sense that development on flood risk areas sits at the intersection of the housing and climate crises. In the three years since publication 22 named storms have made impact on the UK and Ireland – In […]
The institution that is the Great British Pub holds value to the country in many different ways. At the local level, pubs are high street anchors, cultural catalysts and agents of social cohesion – nationally, they represent an important contributor to the economy and the Exchequer. Running deeper still is the place that ‘the local’ […]