Inclusive growth has gained a firm foothold within the policy lexicon over recent years. Yet, despite much valuable discussion on what it is and why it is important, there remains a lack of clarity as to how it can be distinguished from more ‘typical’ economic growth strategies. Further, there remain gaps in understanding surrounding the […]
The challenges of working with partners, complex structures, imperfect systems etc are everywhere in local government. In this blog we talk about an example we’ve been working on in health and social care. Integrating health and social care – bringing together the different staff who deal with the same local community – is a good […]
Two weeks ago, after months of hard work, we opened the doors to a brand-new cultural hub in the centre of Wigan. The hub is situated in one of our shopping centres, spread across six empty shopping units. Thinking creatively about how we make the most of our empty units to attract more visitors and […]
Happy local election day! In the unique way of our quirky local democratic traditions, a complicated collection of nearly all English metropolitan boroughs, most district councils and some unitaries are holding elections today. Across the country, pavements have been pounded by local party activists, rosettes brandished and doorstep conversations held in earnest. Meanwhile hundreds of […]
The plight of children’s services is a well-documented one, and it is in some ways a relief to see that organisations such as the Local Government Association are now listing it as the number one challenge facing local authorities. For too long, children’s services have been the ‘Cinderella’ service of the public sector: a non-priority […]
“All adults should always do what is best for you.” – Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, child-friendly version (1989) On the thirtieth anniversary of this landmark Convention, the UK Government is falling woefully short when it comes to children’s best interests. The number of children in care has […]
There are many good criticisms of the Taxpayers Alliance (TPA) but they are often not related to the fundamental raison d’etre of the organisation. It is possible, for example, to imagine a low tax campaign that isn’t opaque about its funding, doesn’t pretend to be a spontaneous grassroots uprising, avoids producing shallow, clickbait research and […]
The UK is facing a homelessness crisis; 1 in 200 people in Britain don’t have a place to call home. This shocking statistic is lived out through the stark rise in rough sleeping, widespread insecure housing, and the reality for many families of temporary accommodation becoming an almost permanent cycle. NLGN’s latest Leadership Index sheds […]
