Will NLGN policy victory mean a new ‘Dig for Victory’?
Posted by Nick Hope, Senior Researcher, NLGN on March 11th, 2010
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Last week, with very little fanfare, John Denham and Hilary Benn implemented our proposals and announced a new national community land bank, which will act as a broker between both public and private land-holders and community groups who want somewhere to grow food. This is a big step forward and it could potentially help thousands more people grow their own fruit and veg. Nick Hope

Grassroots action in Lambeth that’s tackling climate change
Posted by Steve Reed, Leader of the Council, Lambeth Council on March 1st, 2010
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Lambeth set up a Green Community Champions programme to support local people who want to take action against climate change. As part of that, we launched the Big Difference Fund in January 2010. The fund offers up to £500 per bid to kickstart small projects.

Working with the Third Sector
Posted by Richard Corden, Chief Executive, Commission for the Compact on February 23rd, 2010
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Just before Christmas, we published the refreshed national Compact – the partnership working agreement between the government and the third sector. It sets out commitments on both sides to improve the way in which the public and third sectors work together. We called it a “refresh” because we wanted to emphasise that we were preserving what was sound and enduring from the original 1998 Compact.

Shifting Silicon
Posted by James Kirkland, Corporate Networks Manager on January 20th, 2010
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Local leaders must be shrewd in assessing the claims made for IT as a panacea, a trap many Ministers seem to find hard to avoid. Better implementation of IT is vital to transforming services and finding efficiencies but it must be planned carefully and always with an eye on the prize of achievable and measurable benefits to the service user.

We Can Work It Out
Posted by Nick Hope, Senior Researcher, NLGN on January 12th, 2010
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The economy has been dealt a severe body blow. It will not be easy to get our country back on its feet and, when we do, it must be stronger and more competitive if we are to compete with the ever-stronger global heavy weights. To achieve this will require nothing less than a transformation of our employment and skills system.

The Pre-budget report sends mixed messages
Posted by Cllr Geoff Driver, Lancashire County Council on December 14th, 2009
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The Pre-budget report sends mixed messages. On one hand, the Chancellor identified health and education as top priorities – which is helpful as these services represent more than two-thirds of public expenditure in Lancashire. On the other, the scale of predicted spending cuts means other services will face a massive financial challenge. That’s clearly bad news for local government but it’s especially chilling for second tier authorities. Councils need to work together now like never before if we have any hope of minimizing the impact of these budgetary measures on the people of Lancashire – particularly the most vulnerable among us.

While councils watched their flocks by night
Posted by Nirmalee Wanduragala, NLGN on December 14th, 2009
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Seeing a recent news article on Brighton and Hove Council’s flock of sheep prompted discussion in NLGN offices, with me advocating the case for more councils to have sheep – and other livestock.