An NLGN report warns today that the government’s radical public health reforms could stall unless new Health and Wellbeing Boards are given greater legislative clout. To succeed, the new boards need to be able to influence everything from social care and planning to school immunisations and housing.

NLGNs new report urges councils to collaborate in setting up ‘Revolving Investment Funds’, which seek a commercial return from investments that drive local economic growth. By combining their borrowing power, councils can raise vitally needed finance to help make up the over £4bn drop in regional development funding since the election.

In this provocation paper setting out scenarios for future relationships between councils and the public, NLGN warns that the era of austerity could create ‘me first’ attitudes that cause people to turn away from public services and instead demand tax cuts and access to private sector services.

New research from localism think tank NLGN, based on interviews with senior finance officials, shows that the flexibility of retail bonds and the fact that local residents can buy them are both significant attractions, provided those benefits do not cost more than wholesale debt.

NLGN have published a report that revealed London’s boroughs could build a new generation of council houses, avoid disrupting the lives of poorer citizens and save money for the Exchequer in the process. This could allow them to build 9500 new homes for London and save £56m in the process.