Publications
All LGiU publications are available to download for free. The LGiU’s C’llr magazine is also available as a PDF.
The Big Lunch: Feeding Community Spirit
LGiU has been assessing the social impact of The Big Lunch every year since it launched in 2009. This report looks back over the past four Big Lunches, summarises our findings and presents the case for why we think The Big Lunch is important for a wide range of public policy goals. More…
Author: Laura Wilkes and Jonathan Carr-West; Date published: 18 April 2013
Localism at Risk: Is the NPPF delivering planning for people?
This report from the LGiU, in association with the National Trust, is based on new LGiU research which looks at what impact local government politicians and officials think that the National Planning Policy Framework is having on their ability to deliver a Local Plan that reflects local needs and priorities. More…
Author: Laurie Thraves; Date published: 27 March
A Dose of Localism: The Role of Councils in Public Health
This report, published with Westminster City Council, examines the role of councils in promoting public health and highlights the need for councils to incentivise people to exercise. More…
Author: Laurie Thraves; Date published: 3rd January 2013
A Good Death: the role of the local authority in end of life care
This report from the LGiU, supported by Home Group looks at the role of local authorities in end of life care and how councils can develop their part in this important service provision. More…
Author: Lauren Lucas; Date published: 30 November 2012
Outcomes Matter: effective commissioning in domiciliary care
With growing pressure on adult social care resources, the goal of promoting efficient, outcome-focused services has never been more important. Outcomes Matter, an LGiU report supported by homecare provider Mears, examines the issue. More…
Authors: Lauren Lucas and Jonathan Carr-West; Publication date: 24 October 2012
Should we shed the middle tier?
This report, based on LGiU research conducted in partnership with the NUT and Unison, looks at the future of education governance in light of the fact that more than half of secondary schools are now academies or free schools: independent of local authorities and accountable to the Secretary of State. More
Authors: Laurie Thraves, John Fowler, Jonathan Carr-West; Publication Date: 25 September 2012
Public notices. The case for radical reform: part 1
This report looks at the current system that requires councils to publish public notices in local newspapers – at an annual cost of up to £67.85m. More.
Author: Rob Dale; Publication Date: 11 September 2012
The 2011 Summer Riots: one year on
This report draws on research carried out by LGiU to examine the local government response to the summer riots of 2011, and gives a snapshot of how prepared local authorities are to respond to future riots. More.
Author: Laura Wilkes; Publication Date: 06 August 2012
Care Now and for the Future
This is the final report of an inquiry carried out by the cross-party All Party Parliamentary Local Government Group. The inquiry looked at the future of adult social care and the report makes four key recommendations on what can be done between now and 2015 to reform the care system and meet current funding challenges. More.
Authors: Laurie Thraves, Janet Sillett, Jonathan Carr-West, Andy Sawford; Date published: 16 July 2012
Future Service Partnerships
This report from the LGiU, with support from John Laing, draws on new research carried out by the LGiU to examine current local authority partnership arrangements, identify barriers to community investment at a local level and highlight innovative examples of current partnership working. More
To access the local authority case studies highlighted in the report, please click here.
Authors: Lauren Lucas and Jonathan Carr-West; Publication date: 27/06/12
Making Social Care Personal and Local: moving from mass production to co-production
This joint publication from Governance International and the LGiU brings together contributors from councils, health and social care providers, the voluntary sector and universities. More
Editors: Elke Loeffler, David Taylor-Gooby, Tony Bovaird, Frankie Hine-Hughes, Laura Wilkes; Publication Date: 25/06/12
Primary Justice Reloaded: a model for localised probation services
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is consulting on plans to reform the Probation Service and community sentencing. These proposals are contained in two consultations: Punishment and Reform: Effective Probation Services and Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Services. This paper from the LGiU, in association from Unison, is divided into four sections: the first explores why the Government is proposing reform; the second summarises the two consultations and explains what the plans are; the third considers the issues these reforms raise; the fourth examines the case for an expanded role for local authorities focusing on investments in primary justice.
Author: Glyn Gaskarth; Date: 11/06/12
In It Together: In Practice
In It Together: In Practice is the culmination of an extended piece of joint research by the LGiU and the Children’s Services Development Group (CSDG) – gathering senior representatives from local government and service providers together. The report is the third in CSDG’s In It Together series, which has sought to demonstrate how strategic partnership working and excellence in commissioning can deliver the best outcomes for children with complex needs, at the best price.
Authors: Simon Derby and Gemma Stockwood (Children’s Services Development Garden); Publication date: 01/03/12
Promoting Independence: the future of housing related support
The reduction of the Supporting People grant and the removal of the ring-fence mean that the future of housing related support is now in question in some areas of the country. This report draws together previous studies on the social and financial outcomes of the Supporting People programme and new LGiU research. More
Authors: Lauren Lucas and Jonathan Carr-West; Publication Date: 26/11/11
Risk and Reward: local government and risk in the new public realm
There has never been a greater need for innovation in local government service delivery. This involves working in partnership with other organisations and community groups to maintain the public services that people expect. This report from the LGiU, supported by Zurich Municipal, draws on original research to look at councils’ preparedness for working in this way. It recommends councils to adopt an eight-point risk manifesto for a more flexible approach to risk in order to maximise the potential involvement of community groups and other in delivering services. More
Authors: Lauren Lucas, Laurie Thraves and Jonathan Carr-West; Date published: 12/10/11
Going where the eyeballs are: how email is connecting councils with their communities
LGiU research, with the support of Govdelivery, attempts in this report to give shape to what the use of digital technology to communicate with people means in practice for government. The report makes recommendations on how authorities can assess the ‘digital ecology’ of their communities they serve in order to construct the most effective digital communications strategies. More
Authors: Rob Dale and Jonathan Carr-West; Publication date: 12/10/11
The Future of Local Government’s Role in the School System
In partnership with the NUT and Unison, the LGiU conducted a survey of 80 local government children’s services leaders, focusing on the future of local government’s role in the changing education system. More…
Authors: Laurie Thraves and John Fowler; Date published: 21/09/11
Local Authorities, Big Society and Adaptation to Climate Change
This is the final report of a project that looked at existing toolkits to support community involvement in, and ownership of, local adaptation and how these tools can help build a strategy or plan to take forward big society work in promoting adaptation to climate change. More
Authors: Dr Andy Johnston and Laura Wilkes; Date published: 05/09/11
The 10 Pillars of Local Energy Security
Successfully delivering safe, secure low-carbon energy will be one of the main challenges facing public sector organisations in the next decade. The choices are bewildering and the stakes very high. In response to this challenge the LGiU has published this guide to help local authorities and other public sector organisations to navigate their way through the policy choices and financial considerations. The result is a set of key factors: The 10 Pillars of Local Energy Security.
Author: Dr Andy Johnston; Date published: 20/07/11
Honouring the Armed Service Community
This report, supported by the Royal British Legion, draws on research carried out by the LGiU which looked at how local authorities provide for armed service communities living in their areas. It highlights best practice and makes a series of recommendations that local authorities could adopt in order to improve access to public services for veterans, Armed Forces and their dependants.
Author: Glyn Gaskarth; Publication date: 02/03/11
Independent Ageing: council support for care self-funders
This LGiU report, produced in association with Partnership, draws on original research to look at the cost to local councils of those who begin by funding their own care but fall back on state funding. It makes recommendations and highlights current innovative practice to help support those self-funders. More
Authors: Laurie Thraves and Jonathan Carr-West; Publication Date: 01/03/11
All’s Well That Ends Well? Local government leading on health improvement
The LGiU was commissioned by the Department of Health to carry out an independent study of the role of local government in supporting health improvement and tackling health inequalities, and to analyse the structure of support needed locally to deliver effective action for communities. More
Author: Janet Sillett; Date published: 01/11/10
People Places Power: how localism and strategic planning can work together
This discussion pamphlet explores how localism and strategic planning can work together. We know the future of local government over the next few years will be shaped by two forces: a drive towards localism and the need to achieve efficiencies and cut spending in a challenging financial context. In this pamphlet, LGiU argues that if we are to prevent these drivers from pulling us in opposing directions we will need a fundamental shift in the way we think about local service delivery and the relationship between people, places and power.
Author: Jonathan Carr-West; Date published: 07/07/10
Paying for It: the future of local government finance
This collection of essays, published by the LGiU and sponsored by ACCA, tackles one of the thorniest issues in public service – how to fund local government. These essays put forward ideas, questions and areas for discussion that should frame any review of how local government is financed. More
Editors: Laura Wilkes and Jonathan Carr-West; Date published: 01/07/10
Local Work: empowering local government to tackle worklessness
In this discussion document, the arguments for a radical and rapid devolution to local government of resources and responsibilities for tackling worklessness are set out. The many reasons why local government is ideally placed to tackle this country’s problems of entrenched worklessness are dealt with, but a key element of the argument concerns the proposed financing mechanism. More
Author: Andrew Jones; Date published: 25/03/10
Local SONAR
This paper calls for a new settlement between communities, local government, national government and its agencies to improve the stewardship of local natural resources, which the LGiU has named ‘Local SONAR’. This paper suggests that the best place to address sustainability challenges is where the environmental, social and economic come together naturally – people and places. Only at the local level can the complex and unique interdependencies of individual communities be properly understood and local government is central to delivery as it is the main body with the necessary wide remit and direct accountability. More
Author: Dr Andy Johnston; Date published: 22/03/10
Once and For All: funding the improvement gap in existing council housing
This report was written by the LGiU for the London Borough of Southwark. It suggests proposals for dealing with the shortfall in council house funding and raising money needed to bring housing stock up to scratch without simply asking central government for more money. More
Author: Amelia Walker; Date: 20/01/10
Room to Move
The LGiU was commissioned by Westminster Council to carry out research in to the growing problem of overcrowding and look at possible long-term solutions. Room to Move is the report of that research.
The report recommends an an overhaul of current legislation to bring about fundamental changes to local government finance and to loosen the constraints on councils, enabling them to build more social housing and tackle the complex conditions that lead to overcrowding.
Authors: Janet Sillett and Amelia Walker; Date: 07/09/09
Primary Justice: an inquiry into justice in communities
This is the final report of the All Party Parliamentary Local Government Group’s 2009 inquiry into justice in communities.
The panel of inquiry was chaired by Labour’s Clive Betts MP, with the Conservative and Lib Dem Home Office frontbenchers David Burrowes MP and David Howarth MP, along with Baroness Stern, a world expert in criminal justice, and Baroness Henig, President of the Association of Police Authorities. In a series of evidence-taking sessions the panel heard from experts, including Jonathan Aitken, Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, Louise Casey, Lord Ramsbotham and Derbyshire Chief Constable Mick Creedon. More
Authors: Glyn Gaskarth, Amelia Walker with contributions from Shema Begum; Date: 20/07/09
Local Government 3.0: how councils can respond to the new web agenda
This paper from the LGiU dicusses how councils can use new web technologies to inform all of their interactions with communities. Four essays look at: a short history of government and the internet; how the internet is transforming public services; the internet and local sustainability; how can social networking sites help engage young people in democratic renewal?
Authors: Jonathan Carr-West, Dr Andy Johnston, Janet Sillett, Jasmine Ali, Amelia Walker; Publication date: 01/07/09
