The big news for May in English local government was the local elections, of course. As usual LGIU had you covered. After the elections are when the real work begins and we shared our essential resources for new councillors including our essential reading list for that’s great for anyone who wants to get up to scratch quickly with key policy areas.

• With the impacts of climate change worsening with every passing year, local authorities hold a vital role in both cutting emissions and in developing more resilient places. Discover more of our work.
• Communities are what local government is all about. We all want to make a positive difference to the lives of people in their community. Find out what really works.

Each week we bring you a deep dive into the issues with a new look at local solutions to global challenges.

In May we delved into:

• Tourism for heritage, sustainability and economic development A look at funding, regulating and developing local tourism to achieve key objectives for your communities.
• Trauma informed services – understanding how local government can develop services to take account of the needs of people who have suffered trauma as well as supporting victims directly.
• Poverty and child prospects – How local governments can tackle child poverty and mitigate the impacts to improve children’s life chances.
• Health and social care integration – how councils are developing ways of bringing services together to meet people’s fundamental needs.
• Water conservation: How local authorities can tackle water scarcity and manage demand during droughts.

•  Ports and local authorities: understanding the complexity of new and enduring agendas: This briefing looks at the UK’s port sector and the major pressures it faces to adapt to environmental challenges. Overall, ports are key players in their cities and communities as they often play a part in defining the area’s identity and culture.
• Do emissions-controlled zones work? A review of the results  For the first time, emissions-controlled zones have been floated as a possibility in New South Wales, however, they are not a novel idea and have been implemented elsewhere for over two decades. This briefing explores the evidence from other countries, particularly the UK, and the various pros and cons they offer to factors like health, environment and economy.
• Economic inactivity – who are the UK’s missing workers? Nearly nine million people in the UK are economically inactive. Attention has focused on the ‘great retirement’ during the pandemic, however, the data reveal a more nuanced picture, with different factors in play across age, gender and geography. High rates of inactivity are bad for individuals and the economy, as this briefing explores.
• Das ist interessant! Lessons from Germany on levelling up Germany is often held up as an example of a successful regional policy. This briefing focuses on reports from Compass and the Fabian Societ which argue that when faced with similar challenges to the UK, Germany’s decentralised government structures and long-term, collaborative approach have been more effective in ‘levelling up’ and reducing regional disparities.