Councils will compete to process planning applications and be able to offer fast track application services, like those available for getting a passport, in a shake up of the planning process under proposals out to consultation. Ministers want the pilots to tackle the lack of incentive for councils to improve and speed up their planning […]

Liverpool and London business leaders gathered at the prestigious Mansion House to discuss unlocking private sector investment in the Northern Powerhouse. Guest of honour Lord Heseltine addressed more than 120 dignitaries and businesses, hailing Liverpool as one of the ‘leading lights’ in the Northern Powerhouse and the gateway to the Atlantic. Liverpool saw a record […]

A new £136m EU-backed fund to give businesses in Wales access to finance to help drive their productivity and the growth of the Welsh economy has been launched by First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones. Managed by Finance Wales, the Wales Business Fund will support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to accelerate their expansion […]

A new agreement will see Scotland and the north of England agree to work closer together to improve transport connectivity. Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown led a delegation of political, civic and transport chiefs in Newcastle where a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to enable a shared approach to achieving a transport network which will help […]

The government has published new guidance that aims to stop inappropriate procurement boycotts by public authorities. The guidance makes clear that procurement boycotts by public authorities are inappropriate, outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions have been put in place by the government. Town hall boycotts undermine good community relations, poisoning and polarising debate, […]

Local authority leaders in Cardiff are calling on the UK Government to contribute £580m of funding as part of its City Deal bid. The bid for the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) has been finalised and will be presented to UK and Welsh government ministers and officials in the coming weeks. The Welsh government has agreed […]

The Glasgow City Region City Deal Cabinet has approved £3.17million of funding towards the next stage of the delivery of the £46million Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Plan (MGSDP), the creation of its full business case. The MGSDP – seen as an exemplar project in and beyond the UK through its partnership working on urban flooding […]

Track improvements to rail links between London, Cambridge and Stansted Airport would bring tens of thousands of new homes and jobs, and provide a real boost to economic growth. That was the message from the West Anglia Taskforce as they held a meeting with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to highlight the weight of demand […]

Councils across England are forecasting a record-breaking £23.5 billion income from business rates next year despite many small businesses paying no rates at all. Local Government Minister Marcus Jones said the increase – some £400 million – was down to rise in the number of new business across the country. In future councils that lead […]