Improvement and innovation bulletin

November 2025

Sector support offers

LGA sector support survey 2025

Our wide-ranging sector support programme continues to be shaped through direct engagement with the sector – ensuring that all types of authorities have the support they most need to respond to a wide range of challenges and opportunities.

Please complete our short survey to let us know how you and your council are engaging with the improvement support we offer, and to help us identify any gaps.

Local government reorganisation and devolution

We are working with organisations across the sector to keep our LGR and Devo Hub up-to-date with resources and information. The FAQs are updated regularly by MHCLG to ensure that councils are receiving consistent information on key areas, while the resources page has a wealth of tools, information and guidance.

In addition, we are setting up free monthly webinars which you can sign up for online. These are advertised on our LGR and devo webinars page, which also includes recordings, presentations and summaries from past webinars.

Corporate Peer Challenge

Our Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) programme provides robust, strategic and credible challenge and support to councils, bringing together political and managerial leadership, through the use of member and officer peers. CPCs continue to be a hugely valued part of our sector support offer, with 95 per cent of councils saying this support has had a positive impact for their council. CPCs, as well as finance and governance peer challenges, can also be tailored to focus on Local Government Reorganisation to help navigate changes following the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and they can also be offered to Combined Authorities. Please do contact your Principal Adviser if you are interested in finding out more.

LGA Transformation Peer Support

As part of the LGA’s transformation programme, our peer support offers officers and councillors the opportunity to access additional capacity and support from peers who have successfully led transformation in their own organisations. This bespoke support is focused on increasing your council’s transformation capability, sharing learning, and applying practical support that delivers real impact. Support is available throughout 2025 and is free of charge for councils to access.
If you would like to find out how your council could access this support, then please complete and submit an expression of interest form or contact transformation@local.gov.uk

West Midlands Pilot Campaign Showcases Local Government Careers to Young People

As part of the national Make a Difference, Work for Your Local Council initiative, a new pilot campaign in the West Midlands is raising awareness of career opportunities in local government among young people. Launched at the WMJobs Public Sector Career Expo in Birmingham on 2 October, the campaign was developed by the LGA in collaboration with regional partners. It features inspiring stories from apprentices and graduates and highlights varied career pathways into local government. The new campaign video is available to view, and can also be found on the local council jobs website. The materials have been shared with councils in the pilot region and will be available as part of the national campaign toolkit ahead of the campaign’s launch in early 2026.

Sign up for Impact: Cohort 28

Councils are now able to sign up to Impact and participate in Cohort 28 recruitment for an autumn 2026 intake. Impact is the LGA’s flagship graduate programme and matches high-calibre graduate trainees with local authorities across England and Wales, providing a cost-effective solution to workforce and capacity challenges. In addition to the information about Impact on our website, you can get in touch with the team via impact@local.gov.uk.

Pathways to Planning

Applications for councils to take part in Pathways to Planning are now open. Since 2023, Pathways to Planning has placed over 200 graduates into more than 100 local planning authorities. For the first time this year, we are expanding our programme to recruit not only Planners but also Surveyors. Councils benefit from top graduates through a national campaign and assessment process and graduates study accredited degrees while working. In addition to the information on Pathways to Planning on our website, you can get in touch with the team via pathways.planning@local.gov.uk.

Webinars and events

Devolution support: insights from strategic authorities

Thursday 13 November 2025, 10.00am-11.15am

This virtual event will be an opportunity to hear about the devolution process, how strategic authorities operate, and the opportunities afforded by the development of strategic authorities. It will feature insights into how strategic authorities work and deliver for residents across a region, considering the views of both an existing combined authority and constituent councils. The session will feature presentations, and time will be allocated for questions and discussion.

Book now: Devolution support: insights from strategic authorities

Building effective member and officer relationships

Tuesday 18 November 2025, 2.00pm – 3.30pm

This virtual masterclass for elected members and senior officers will explore new LGA guidance designed to support effective member/officer working relationships. Informed by good practice, the event will focus on the development, use and embedding of protocols as a catalyst for improvement.

Book now: Building effective member and officer relationships

Safe and sound: A masterclass in the principles of effective decision-making 

Wednesday 19 November 2025, 2:00pm – 3:30pm  

This virtual masterclass for elected members will explore how to make confident, clear and accountable decisions which help to deliver members’ priorities for local communities. With insights from an experienced member and practical tools, the session will help you consider all the relevant implications, ask the right questions and involve the right people in your council’s decision making to get the best results. 

Book now: Safe and sound: A masterclass in the principles of effective decision-making

Better mental health with residents: Using council powers and influence to create mentally healthier communities

Monday 1 December 2025, 2.00pm-3.30pm

Following our first webinar ’Better mental health for councillors: Looking after your own wellbeing as an elected member in stressful times’, this webinar explores mental health with residents by using council powers and influence to create mentally healthier communities. This will examine how councillors can use their powers, skills, and influence to improve both their own wellbeing and mental health as well as those of their communities and residents. It will look at some of the social determinants of mental health (poverty, discrimination etc) and how to use your powers as a councillor to address these for your residents.

Book now: Better mental health with residents

Leading good governance and assurance as a senior councillor

Tuesday 2 December 2025, 2:00pm-4:00pm  

This interactive virtual masterclass for senior councillors will provide a grounding in what governance and assurance mean, explore principles and good practice, key councillor leadership roles and approaches which will support councils to identify and manage risks related to governance and assurance. 

Book now: Leading good governance and assurance as a senior councillor

Transformation Action Learning Workshops

• Workshop 2: Thursday 27 November 2025, 9.30am-12.00pm (FULL) 
• Workshop 3: Tuesday 9 December 2025, 9.30am-        12.00 pm (1 Place) 

The LGA transformation action learning workshops are half-day development opportunities for councillors and officers to explore possible solutions in an action learning based environment to work through shared obstacles in their transformation programmes. You will be matched with councils with similar challenges to collaborate and benefit from enhanced networking and cross-sector learning. For further information, please visit the LGA website https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/transformation/transformation-action-learning-workshops or email tom.denman@local.gov.uk. 

Book now: Transformation Action Learning Workshops

Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) annual conference

The CfGS annual conference will take place on Thursday 12 March 2026 in Birmingham. The event will enable members and officers to share insight and expertise on delivering excellence in governance and scrutiny and explore how to respond to the changing landscape of local democracy.  Bookings before 31 December secure a 20% discount. 

Book Now: CfGS annual conference

Additionally, you might be interested in...

Civility in Public Life programme

Through the LGA civility in public life hub, members can find a range of guidance and resources on handling abuse and intimidation in person and online, as well as information on our personal and online safety national events and workshops. Guidance, case studies, and top tips for officers wishing to enhance their safety and wellbeing support for councillors is available on the Debate Not Hate campaign hub (including our ending abuse in public life for councillors good practice guidance and ending abuse self-assessment toolkit) 

Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (ASCNB) consultation

The consultation on the ASCNB is now live. Councils are encouraged to engage with and respond to this important consultation by the 16 January deadline. Read the LGA’s information on the key issues for councils to consider in the consultation. The recording and slides of the LGA’s webinar with a DHSC speaker is also available.

LG Inform and LG Inform Plus

New LG Inform Report: Centre for Ageing Better: Understanding Ageing in Your Area

This report, delivered in collaboration with the Centre for Ageing Better,  provides a snapshot of key data available at the local authority level to help local councils to better understand their ageing population and support better planning and service delivery.

Our older population is growing across the country. All of us deserve the best possible lives as we grow older, and our whole society reaps the rewards when people can age well. Millions more of us are living into our seventies, eighties, nineties and beyond, in good health, working for longer and supporting our communities through volunteering and caring. 

This report is intended to help build the local evidence base and support better local decision making on ageing and issues affecting older people. It is set up to support authorities to better understand the needs of local older populations, design and deliver services more effectively, focus public and political attention on demographic change and the issues impacting on older people.

For information on LG Inform contact us at lginform@local.gov.uk, or to take advantage of the benefits of subscribing to LG Inform Plus contact lginformplus@local.gov.uk

first magazine

first is the LGA's membership magazine, distributed to around 18,000 councillors and local authority chief executives in England and Wales.

In this issue:

• LGA Budget submission

Yours faithfully,

Cllr Jane Scullion
Chair of the LGA Improvement Committee