We have reached a low watermark for political support for councils investing resources in assets or activities that deliver revenue streams to fund vital local public services. Among stand out exemplars of unwise behaviour, poster boys for commercialism gone bad, we can number Spelthorne Borough Council’s billions of PWLB borrowing to invest in its economic […]
Although the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage across the globe stalling economies, incomes and mobility the crisis provides a chance to re-evaluate and re-imagine our collective future. Despite profound uncertainty about both the course of the pandemic and its long-term ramifications for society, decisions are being taken to address the national social and economic impacts […]
In previous years, when it came to criminal activity there was very little support available for businesses. The common view the business community was often that the police treated this as a victimless crime – so it wasn’t, in consequence, seen as a priority. In seeking to change this situation and address the underlying causes, […]
Oxford is a coherent economic entity, with an independent and unique strategic national offer and international brand. The city is a vital – and possibly unique – economic node of national significance, with the local economy contributing at least £6.75bn to the national economy per year and a set of industrial assets combined with cultural […]
Quite simply the national lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 influence pandemic has brought economic life in this country to a standstill with a speed, spread and in all-encompassing manner that has outstripped even the great depression, both world wars, the 1974 three-day week or in more recent memory the 2008 financial crisis. But local areas, […]
The effects of lockdown and the massive strain placed on public services throughout 2020 have led to a renewed focus on local response, on the resilience and ingenuity displayed on a volunteer basis across the country. However, communities in England, particularly those in deprived areas, face a multitude of challenges to and restrictions upon their […]
From the crises in elderly care and youth crime to the desperate challenge of building enough homes across the country, the need to properly fund, so as to properly deliver valued local services and infrastructure has never been clearer to the public. In this environment, the case for giving our local authorities greater powers to […]
In this essay collection Localis sets, in addition to its own analysis, twenty separate views from a wide range of individual experts and sector leading organisations asking how we might use the primacy of place to direct a return to housing growth, and with it, renewal as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. In our […]
Physical assets act as centres in community life – be they local businesses, commons or high streets serving as economic or social anchors. Individually or collectively, these assets are hubs providing vital social infrastructure to support their local communities. Local Delivery looks at how communities have adapted and protected their social infrastructure in the face […]
The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 was first presented to Parliament a decade ago, enshrining in law the duty of public sector commissioning to pay regard to economic, social and environmental wellbeing when making procurement decisions. In this time, the incorporation of a social value element into the assessment of public sector contracts has […]