Local authority round-up 12 December 2025
12th December, 2025
Our Local Authority round up provides brief summaries of topical information on a weekly basis, to keep you aware of the changes and updates relevant to you.
Education
50,000 more young people to benefit from apprenticeships as Government unveils new skill reforms
The government has unveiled a £725 million package of reforms to the apprenticeship system to help tackle youth unemployment and drive economic growth. It is hoped that thousands more young people will benefit from this over the next three years.
This latest package of funding includes an £140 million pilot scheme where Mayors will be able to connect young people – especially those not in education, employment or training with thousands of apprenticeship opportunities at local employers. The scheme will partner with regional leaders who best understand their local economies and ensure young people can access training that meets the needs of their local area.
The government has also removed the 5% co-investment rate for SME’s, meaning that training costs for all eligible under 25 apprenticeships are fully funded. This will make it easier for young people to find opportunities and it will also majorly benefit businesses from a boost in flexibility as new short courses in areas such as AI and engineering will begin rolling out from April 2026.
For more information, please click here.
Councils to have new legal duty to notify schools, health visitors and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation.
The Department for Education has announced the introduction of a new legal duty for when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, as part of its Child Poverty Strategy. The Government have said this legal duty will be delivered through an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and it will enable health and education providers to deliver a more ‘joined up approach’ in supporting children experiencing homelessness.
To support this, the government is investing £8 million in Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots in 20 local authorities that have the biggest use of Bed and Breakfasts for homeless families – continuing the programme for the next three years.
In addition to this strategy, the government have also announced plans to provide £950 million through the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund from April 2026, to delver up to 5,000 homes for better temporary accommodation by 2030.
For more information, please click here.
Housing
New online appeals service now available to all Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in England
The Planning inspectorate has completed the national rollout of its new digital appeals service, enabling all local planning authorities to manage planning appeals online.
As part of this new online appeals service all LPAs can now use the service to manage Householder (HAS), Planning (S78) and Listed Building (S20) appeals. In the coming months, the following will be added to the online appeals service: Commercial Adverts, Advertisements, Enforcement, Enforcement Listed Building and Lawful Development Certificate.
This new online appeals process provides several key improvements for LPAs. For example, there is now a more streamlined submission process to reduce the administration burden, consequently making the appeal process faster. It is also a user-friendly dashboard to make reviewing and monitoring cases easier as well as providing better communication between all parties with less reliance on paper-based processes.
For more information, please click here.
Upcoming events
Subsidy control masterclass series
Subsidy control is one of the first considerations in public funded initiatives – but it can also be a significant cause of uncertainty and delay. This course will cut through those concerns by equipping attendees with the expertise to spot potential issues and to manage these within the law, noting recent case law and guidance. It will cover the basics, working up to a level of detail that will be useful to the most experienced practitioners.
This masterclass series is presented by Ward Hadaway Partner Alexander Rose – recognised as a national expert in this area of law – with the following dates remaining across our offices:
- Teesside: Wednesday 17 December 2025, 10am – 12pm
- Leeds: Wednesday 14 January 2026, 1pm – 3pm
- Manchester: Thursday 22 January 2026, 1pm – 3pm
- Birmingham: Wednesday 4 February 2026, 9.30am – 11.30am
Book your place at any of these sessions here.
Legal Services Forum: Transgender guidance
In the wake of the UK Supreme Court ruling For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, which confirmed that the word “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex, we have found ourselves in a state of flux, and without any guidance as to the practical implications of such a ruling.
As both a public-facing service provider and an employer, where does this leave NHS Trusts when considering single-sex facilities and in-patient accommodation?
Register here to join Caroline Shafar and Chloe Middleton between 10:00am – 11:00am on Tuesday 16 December 2025 as they provide guidance and answer your questions/topics for discussion, which you are welcome to submit ahead of this meeting.
Legal Services Forum: Hillsborough Law
On 16 September 2025, the Government laid before Parliament the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, commonly known as Hillsborough Law. The Bill introduces a duty of candour and assistance on public authorities and officials in relation to their involvement with public inquiries and inquests.
It ensures that families of victims in state-related deaths are able to access non-means-tested legal assistance and advocacy at inquests and inquiries where public authorities are interested persons. If enacted in full, the Bill is likely to have a significant impact on public inquiries and a large number of inquests.
We are pleased to invite Austin Welch, Counsel from Lincoln House Chambers to talk us through the main features of the Bill and its implications. Register here to save your place on Thursday 29 January between 10:00am – 11:00am submit and submit any questions/topics for discussion ahead of the meeting.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
This page may contain links that direct you to third party websites. We have no control over and are not responsible for the content, use by you or availability of those third party websites, for any products or services you buy through those sites or for the treatment of any personal information you provide to the third party.
