England policy round-up: May 2025

On 2 May, there were local elections in 23 council areas in England, as well as six mayoral elections and a parliamentary by-election. The LGIU published a local elections wrap-up 2025 Local Elections in England: The results. The BBC News website provides the results searchable by postcode, council or mayoral area. The biggest gains were for Reform UK, who now control 10 county councils, and won two mayoralties in Hull and East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. The Conservatives and the Labour Party both suffered bad results.

Some believe the Labour government was punished at the ballot box for the cuts to winter fuel payments and plans to cut disability benefits. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have since announced that winter fuel payments will be restored to some pensioners from this winter, as reported by ITV News, though the details on eligibility have not yet been confirmed.

Tackling Violence against Women and Girls – Public Accounts Committee

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a serious and growing problem, affecting at least 1 in 12 women each year. The government has an ambition to halve VAWG in the next decade, as part of its ‘safer streets’ mission. This inquiry looked at cross-departmental efforts to address and prevent VAWG. It heard about the experiences of survivors seeking support, and the demands at local level, particularly how the housing crisis is making it difficult for local authorities to support victims/survivors.

The committee found that government departments do not have a complete understanding of the extent of VAWG, nor do they fully understand the work happening in local areas and the pressures on local support services. It also expressed concern about a disjointed approach to government funding for tackling VAWG and for overseeing the impact of the spending.

Anti-social behaviour case review process: survey of councils, March – April 2025 – LGA

This research was based on an online survey of heads of community safety in local authorities. It aims to inform and support anti-social behaviour policy development and explores the local authority’s threshold used to initiate a case review, the choice of case hearing chair, and the promotion of the process among the community.

The LGIU recently produced a global briefing exploring the role of local authorities in community safety entitled Enhancing local public safety for the future: innovation and inspiration examples.

Accountability matters: Securing the future of devolution – IPPR North

With power comes responsibility and accountability. As English local government undergoes major restructuring, culminating in mayoral strategic authorities throughout England, questions of mayoral accountability become increasingly critical. England’s new mayors will be highly visible, but large-scale mayoral authorities are unfamiliar in England; they will need to establish their credibility and legitimacy with the electorate.

It is often said that mayors need to be ‘accountable’ or ‘held to account’, but it is unclear what constitutes accountability or how to know when a decision-maker has been held to account. This paper sets out proposals for how to deliver improved accountability. A key idea is the introduction of mayoral authority accountability committees, which would expand and professionalise the current role of mayoral authorities’ overview and scrutiny committees.

A more collaborative way of governing? Why the UK’s Council of the Nations and Regions matters – Bennett Institute for Public Policy

One of the first acts of the Starmer government was to establish the Council of the Nations and Regions, which brings together the UK’s central government, its devolved governments and the English regional mayors. This report argues that the new Council represents an opportunity to foster better relations between the key players in the territorial government of the UK and to change the culture of how governments work in partnership to achieve shared policy goals. The report makes recommendations as to how the Council of the Nations and Regions should be developed, with relevant learning from international experience.

Re:Think: Bold ideas to remake the State – Re:State

This collection of short essays from Re:State (formerly Reform) brings together cross-party politicians, thought leaders and public figures to make the case for radical reform of the state. The essays ask questions about the shape and role of the State, the distribution of power, the future of the social contract, and the best path to reformed public services, trusted institutions and effective governance. The collection includes six essays on reimagining the local state.

The LGIU published a further briefing in its series on local government reorganisation, asking What could local government reorganisation look like?

The Turnaround: Rebuilding Britain’s Economy – Onward

Britain’s economy is stuck. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is going backwards as the economy fails to keep pace with the rising population. People in Britain are becoming poorer, and Britain’s economy is becoming weaker and more unfair. These problems are not new: productivity and average wages have barely moved since the financial crisis, and Britain lags behind its peers. Fiscal tinkering will not turn things around: the UK economy needs root-and-branch reform.

This first report in a series on rebuilding Britain’s economy lays out the ten fundamental challenges for the UK and calls for radical change to achieve growth, security and a fair social contract.

A Nation of Innovators: How the Industrial Strategy can kick-start growth in advanced manufacturing – Civitas

Civitas has partnered with the Bessemer Society and the ERA Foundation to contribute to the forthcoming UK industrial strategy. This report identifies barriers to growth and suggests practical measures that will boost advanced manufacturing in the UK. Topics covered include access to growth capital, the role of public procurement, encouraging industrial clusters and regional specialisation, and skills training.

Women, innovation and productivity – Bennett Institute for Public Policy

As more women have joined the workforce, overall productivity has increased due to a rise in total working hours. However, the full potential of women’s contributions remains unrealised. This policy brief discusses how unlocking the full economic potential of women requires tackling systemic barriers such as biased workplace cultures and gender gaps in education, leadership and funding, through inclusive policies, early education reform and business diversity incentives.

Two recent LGIU briefings focus on local economies and regeneration. One considers how more defence spending could impact local economies. Another examines the government’s plan for neighbourhoods, which will offer 58 places in England up to £20m each over ten years to create thriving places, build stronger communities and empower people to take back control of their local areas.

Domestic Energy Efficiency Retrofit Supply Chain Final Report

The domestic building sector contributes 13% of annual carbon emissions in the UK. Retrofitting homes to install energy efficiency measures will therefore play a pivotal role in meeting the government’s net zero targets. However, there is a knowledge gap in the current retrofit supply chain’s capacity and capabilities, as well as what may be required for the future.

This report investigates the retrofit industry and the demand for energy efficiency services, mapping existing skills, exploring ways to incentivise workers to move into retrofit work, and understanding the role of the government. The main customers for the installation of retrofit measures are housing associations, local authorities, and – currently – wealthier homeowners with large or historic properties, though in the future most homeowners could be retrofit customers.

Retrofitting homes for net zero – Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Four in five homes that will be occupied in 2050 have already been built and most will need retrofitting with low carbon heating systems and energy efficiency improvements for the UK to achieve net zero emissions. However, fewer than 3% of homes are connected to a heat network and fewer than 1% have a heat pump installed.

This inquiry heard that government schemes to support home retrofit have lacked the long-term funding commitments needed to provide consumers, installers and the supply chain with confidence. The committee makes a series of recommendations on providing greater certainty about the government’s retrofit schemes, encouraging the installation of low carbon heating systems and addressing the barriers to home retrofit, which include a shortage of skilled workers, confusion about workforce accreditation and lack of confidence in consumer protections.

Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers: policy statement

The UK government plans to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers in October 2027 across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The scheme will introduce a refundable deposit on single-use drinks containers made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, steel and aluminium. The scheme aims to reduce litter, increase recycling rates and create high-quality recycled materials that drinks producers can use again. This policy statement sets out details of the UK Deposit Management Organisation Limited (DMO), its responsibilities, the role of government and regulators, and next steps.

Access to blue space in England: official statistics

These statistics describe the percentage of households that are within a 15 minute walk to blue space for small neighbourhoods in England. Blue space is broadly defined as natural and artificial water environments which can provide health and wellbeing benefits. Key messages are:

• 86% of households in England have access to blue space within a 15 minute walk, using a broad definition of blue space; however, only 28% have access to substantial blue spaces.
• Using a broad definition of blue space, a higher percentage of rural households (94%) had access to blue space compared to urban households (85%), though the opposite was true of substantial blue spaces (21% in rural areas and 30% in urban areas).

Rewilding for the future: Insights and best practice from local councils – APSE

This report explores what is meant by rewilding, an approach to nature that has grown in recent years. The aim of rewilding is generally to restore an area of land to its natural state before cultivation or other human impact. The report discusses the relevance of rewilding to local councils, drawing on a survey that asked local authorities about their rewilding awareness and activities. It presents case studies from a range of local authorities which are undertaking rewilding activities.

The government’s approach to rural proofing 2025

Rural areas are important economically and socially. Nearly 1 in 5 people live in rural areas with over 550,000 businesses contributing over £315bn (16%) to the English economy. In around one in five rural areas, median house prices are more than 12 times average earnings. Nearly 14% of rural households are living in fuel poverty. Policies and public services that work in a town or city may be difficult to implement in a rural area and may need to be tailored to take account of smaller, more dispersed communities, an ageing society and greater travel distances.

This policy paper sets out the government’s commitment to rural proofing of financial allocations, investment decisions and service delivery across Whitehall. Rural proofing means assessing what might affect outcomes in rural areas and adjusting policies/policy delivery where appropriate and practicable.

Communities and households statistics for rural England

This part of the Statistical Digest of Rural England focuses on communities and households. It covers: deprivation; poverty; household expenditure; police recorded crime and outcomes; perceptions of local police and commercial victimisation, and; views about local communities and neighbourhoods. Key points are:

• Deprivation in rural areas tends to be dispersed but is prevalent along the east coast, in former mining communities in the north and in the south west.
• Under both the relative and absolute low income poverty measures, the proportions of individuals and households living in poverty was lower in rural areas than in urban areas in 2023/24.
• Rural households have higher average incomes than urban households, but this is more than offset by higher household expenditure, particularly on transport.
• The recorded crime rates in predominantly rural areas were generally lower than in predominantly urban areas; and the proportion of offences resulting in a charge/summons was slightly higher
• Rural residents had more confidence in the police than urban residents, and victim rates were lower for all crimes except for computer misuse.
• Proportionally more people in rural areas are satisfied with, and have a stronger attachment to, their neighbourhood than people in urban areas.

Understanding asylum seeker and asylum-route refugee vulnerabilities, needs and support (2022)

This research was commissioned by the Home Office seeking to establish how asylum seeker and refugee vulnerabilities, needs and support are understood and operationalised in the UK asylum system, including the experience at local authority level. The report identifies interrelated factors that contribute to the vulnerability of asylum seekers and refugees arriving at the borders of the UK.

While many of these factors manifest in operational challenges, the findings demonstrate that they are often symptomatic of structural and systemic issues. The report reveals the challenges faced by local authorities in supporting asylum seekers and helping them integrate into society.

Mission to the future: How and why UK politics must embrace long-termism – Fairness Foundation

Long term thinking means recognising that the current generation has obligations to those who will live with the consequences of present actions. Despite positive rhetoric about long term thinking, successive UK governments have pursued short-termist policies which have allowed inequalities to increase, made the country fragile and less resilient, and undermined intergenerational fairness.

This report outlines the costs of short-termism, the benefits of long-termism in government, the barriers to embedding long-term thinking and action into the political system, and some practical policy solutions to overcome those barriers. The UK government should learn from the Welsh Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015. The report sets out two recommendations for immediate action: a future generations commissioner and a national dialogue on the future.

Evaluation of Skills Bootcamps 2022–23 (Wave 3) completions and outcomes report

Skills bootcamps were introduced to support adults to upskill and retrain in priority high-growth sectors with skills shortages. Skills bootcamps are free, flexible training courses that are co-designed with employers, lasting up to 16 weeks, for adults aged 19 or above in England. Skills bootcamps are typically equivalent to level 3–5 qualifications.

This evaluation report covers Wave 3 skills bootcamps, which were started during the 2022/2023 financial year. Of the 42,340 Wave 3 starts there were 27,730 completions (a 65% completion rate). There were 15,570 positive outcomes, representing 56% of those who completed their training and 37% of those who started a skills bootcamp. Completion and outcome rates differed between certain demographic groups, but the overall results suggest that skills bootcamps did have a positive impact on participants compared to those who did not start the bootcamp.

Apprenticeships in England by industry characteristics

This publication presents statistics on apprenticeship starts and achievements by the industry characteristics of their employer within the 2022/23 academic year, providing further breakdowns of existing data by:

• Learner characteristics – age, gender, disability/learning difficulty, ethnicity and whether they live in a relatively deprived area.
• Apprenticeship information – level, standard/framework, subject studied, geography of workplace and whether they were supported by levy funds from an apprenticeship service account.
• Employer enterprise characteristics – industry sector, size and legal status.

The Opportunity Index – Sutton Trust

Opportunity is not evenly spread across the country. A young person’s socio-economic background – including family income, parental education and family wealth – all play a critical role in shaping their future, but where they grow up can have as much, if not more, impact. This report examines the geography of opportunity and social mobility in England. An interactive map contains data on outcomes by constituency on measures from school attainment to earnings, for young people eligible for free school meals (FSM) at secondary school. Key findings are:

• Opportunities for the poorest young people in London far outstrip the rest of England. Only 8 of the top 50 constituencies for opportunity are outside the capital.
• The north east and north west are overrepresented in the lowest ranked areas, but the south east has the biggest gaps between areas.
• East Ham in London is the top constituency for opportunity, with Newcastle Upon Tyne Central and West the lowest. Despite having similar levels of FSM eligibility (37% and 35% respectively) there are big differences in social mobility.

The case for Total Place 2.0: What can the government learn from Total Place? – IfG

There is a mismatch between the way that the government funds and delivers public services and the way that citizens use them. The government typically allocates money through departments, which fund specific services such as the NHS, schools or local authorities. Each service then spends money to meet the needs of its users – pupils, patients and benefit claimants, among others. This does not reflect people’s real lives.

In 2009 Gordon Brown’s government launched an initiative called Total Place, which encouraged agencies within a place to count how much they collectively spent on services, identify duplication and redesign services around the needs of the users. Total Place was short lived but showed promise. This paper makes the case for this government to use its first spending review to launch a revitalised ‘Total Place 2.0’

The gender pay gap in English local authorities 2024/25 – LGA

This report summarises the data submitted by English local authorities for the year 2024/2025. Women in English local authorities were paid 3% less than men according to mean pay and 1.6% less than men according to the median pay in 2024/25. The gender pay gap has fallen since the previous financial year (2023/24) when it was 3.5% and 1.7% respectively. The pay gap has fallen even further when compared with 2018/19 when the mean pay gap was 6.1% and the median pay gap was 4%.

According to median pay, in 2024/25 women were paid less than men in 160 local authorities, in 25 authorities the pay gap was zero and in 108 authorities women were paid more than men. Local authorities had a much smaller gender pay gap on median pay than the NHS and UK civil service.

Local government reorganisation: Cyber, digital, data and technology considerations – LGA

Based on interviews with officers in 17 councils, including eight of the nine unitary authorities created since 2019, this report outlines how effective cyber, digital, data and technology functions are vital in periods of organisational shift. Such functions help ensure the safe and reliable transition of services and help to realise digital transformation opportunities to enable organisations to deliver in new and different ways, producing long-term benefits.

Governing in the age of AI: Reimagining local government – TBI

This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI) could help reimagine local government and tackle the many challenges it faces. TBI partnered with one local government to map tasks carried out by its staff to the TBI’s database of 19,000 tasks ranked according to the potential impact of AI. This showed that AI could automate or improve at least 26% of tasks. This could save annual time worth £8bn across local authorities in England and Wales, equivalent to 380 million hours and £325 per household.

Councils could use these savings to improve services, reduce pressures on the workforce, bring services back in house or move towards a more preventative service model. However, most councils currently lack the confidence, capabilities and infrastructure required to unleash this innovation. The paper proposes a new Devolved AI Service, to provide vision and governance for local innovation, build local AI tools and services, scale up innovation and improve local capabilities.

Inclusive Transport Strategy evaluation

This report presents the finding from an independent evaluation of the then government’s inclusive transport strategy, carried out from 2020 to 2024. The inclusive transport strategy aimed to improve disabled people’s access to the transport system.

Although many disabled people already travel regularly and easily, there are substantial differences between disabled and non-disabled people. In 2021, disabled people took seven trips on average for every ten trips taken by non-disabled people. For those of working age, this gap was largely because disabled people were less likely to be in work and, therefore, less likely to be commuters. Disabled people tended to use buses and taxis more often than non-disabled people but used trains much less often. The research shows clearly that many disabled people used taxis due to difficulties using other modes, despite the cost. Disabled people were less confident travellers than non-disabled people, across all modes.

Transport and transport technology: public attitudes tracker

The autumn 2024 wave of the Department for Transport’s transport technology tracker series asked a representative sample of individuals aged 16+ questions about their attitudes towards electric vehicles (EVs), e-scooters and e-bikes. The main findings are:

• Across all three technologies, awareness and self-reported knowledge were generally high. EVs had the highest levels of both awareness and self-reported knowledge, followed by e-scooters and e-cycles.
• Car purchase intentions were high, with 68% of people saying they would buy, lease or replace a car or van in the future. Of those 10% would choose an EV.
• E-scooters had low ownership and usage rates (2% and 4% respectively). Only 2% of people saying they would be ‘very likely’ or ‘fairly likely’ to purchase an e-scooter in the next 12 months.
• E-cycle usage was also low at 9%. Purchase intention was also low at 3%, while 12% said they were likely to use e-cycle share schemes.
• When asked about the potential advantages and disadvantages of each transport technology, all three were seen to have environmental benefits but also some specific disadvantages. Cost and charging concerns were key issues for EVs. Safety and regulatory issues were more prominent for e-scooters and e-cycles.

Northern Appraisal Playbook: Strengthening business cases in the North – TfN

Historically, investment in the north of England has been constrained by a Treasury ‘green book’ appraisal process that does not fully reflect wider social, economic and environmental benefits of investment. In response, TfN has developed a northern appraisal playbook. The playbook identifies challenges in the existing appraisal system and provides practical advice and tools to help transport planners strengthen their business cases for investment in northern transport projects.

Transport related social exclusion – a case for investment in the north – TfN

Poorly performing, inadequate and unaffordable transport choices have a negative impact on people’s lives. This research focuses on transport-related social exclusion (TRSE) in the north of England. Coastal communities, rural towns and communities on the fringes of the region’s largest cities are especially at risk of TRSE. The areas with the highest risk have high car-dependency, coupled with a lack of viable public transport and active travel options for everyday journeys.

TfN has also provided a data tool that can be used by mayoral combined authorities, local authorities, transport providers and researchers. It provides local insights into the accessibility of everyday destinations across different modes and times of day, and on the vulnerability of the population to social exclusion. The data can support the case for investment in areas and communities affected by TRSE.

Improving highways maintenance productivity: a councillor’s guide – LGA

Highways are vital to the functioning of communities, providing critical connections for residents, businesses and public services. Accounting for 98% of the total network in England, local roads are of particular importance to residents. This guide aims to increase awareness among councillors of best and emerging practices related to preventative maintenance, reactive maintenance, and the use of technology and AI in highways maintenance. It also seeks to explain the opportunity of these practices and some of the key factors that councillors and councils should consider as part of decision making in this area.

Fraud and error in the benefit system, financial year ending (FYE) 2025

This statistical report estimates how much money the department incorrectly pays, either by paying people too much benefit (overpayments) or by not paying enough benefit (underpayments). This is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of benefit paid by the department (expenditure).

• The total rate of benefit expenditure overpaid in FYE 2025 was 3.3% (£9.5bn), compared with 3.6% (£9.7bn) in FYE 2024.
• The total rate of benefit expenditure underpaid remained at 0.4% in FYE 2025 (£1.2bn), the same as in FYE 2024 (£1.1bn).
• Overpayments happen because of fraud, claimant error and official error – processing errors or delays by DWP, a local authority, or His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Underpayments happen because of official error.
• A separate statistical release looks at ‘unfulfilled eligibility rate’ (how much extra money benefit claimants in Great Britain could be getting if they told DWP accurately about their circumstances). The unfulfilled eligibility rate in FYE 2025 was 1.3% (£3.7 bn) of total benefit expenditure, compared with 1.2% (£3.1 bn) in FYE 2024.

Triggers to claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

PIP can help with extra living costs for people with both a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of the condition. This report details the findings of a qualitative research study of people claiming PIP. The research was done by DWP researchers to investigate a rise in claims for PIP. It outlines the financial and health-related factors as well as signposting referrals that determined people’s decisions to apply.

Regarding which conditions PIP claimants declare, most people cite multiple health conditions, often both mental and physical conditions. Most claimants heard about PIP through contact with formal services (including Jobcentre Plus), friends and family, rather than the media/social media. The main triggers for a PIP claim were health deterioration, financial hardship and employment concerns. People generally intended to spend the PIP on travel, daily living, utilities and household costs.

Three policies to reduce child poverty this Parliament – JRF

The government has committed to delivering an enduring reduction in child poverty, with a strategy that also prioritises children facing the most severe and acute poverty. 3.6 million children in the UK are growing up in below average-income families and going without at least one of the following: enough food, a warm home or keeping up with bills.

This briefing sets out three policy changes that could reduce the number of children in poverty by 500,000 by 2029/30 and reduce the depth of poverty for a further one million children. These are:

• Removing the two-child limit which restricts benefit entitlement.
• Introducing a ‘protected minimum floor’ in universal credit (UC).
• Stopping the planned cuts to disability and health-related benefits, and involving disabled people in reforms.

No workaround: Assessing the impact of the Spring 2025 disability and incapacity benefit reforms on employment – Resolution Foundation

In March 2025, the government released its Pathways to Work green paper, setting out reforms that will reduce net spending on welfare by £4.8bn by 2029/30. At the same time, there will be an increase in employment support worth £1.9bn between 2026/27 and 2029/30, over half of which will not come until the final year. The government believes that its reforms will get more people into work.

This analysis finds that any increases in employment achieved by the end of the decade will be too small to fully offset the hit to family incomes. Even after employment increases are accounted for, low-income families will suffer income losses, and the reforms will cause higher poverty rates. Given this, the authors call on the government to accelerate the improvements in employment support; provide six months’ notice for those losing PIP; and protect existing recipients of the health-related element of UC so they do not face reassessment and lower future benefits if they move into work.

Renew and improve: Setting up the Household Support Fund for the future – Resolution Foundation

Household Support Fund (HSF) is the largest form of discretionary crisis support in England. First introduced as a temporary post-Covid initiative, HSF has been renewed six times and will have provided an estimated 80 million awards by March 2026, worth £3.7bn. This briefing note argues that HSF needs reform as well as renewal at the upcoming spending review. Key findings include:

• The real-terms value of the HSF fell by 27% between 2021/22 and 2025/26.
• Short-term bursts of funding and a lack of funding to cover administrative costs have created problems for local authorities delivering the scheme.
• There is wide variation between local authorities in how HSF funding has been spent. HSF is often used to top up inadequate incomes or fill gaps in provision of free school meals, for instance, rather than as genuine crisis support.

Arts, culture and sports round-up: May 2025

Early childhood education round-up: 2024

England policy round up: April 2025

Health, public health and social care round-up: March-April 2025

Housing and planning round-up: May 2025

Northern Ireland Programme for Government – Insights for local government

Parliamentary update: April 2025

Scotland Programme for Government 2025/26 — Insights for local government

Young people and youth services round-up: May 2025