Local authority round-up 23 January 2026
23rd January, 2026
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
Strategy to boost UK education abroad in major £40 billion growth drive
A new government strategy has been announced setting out a clear ambition to grow the value of education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030, backing providers to deliver UK education overseas in new and expanding markets. Education exports include UK schools, colleges and universities delivering British education overseas, international students studying in the UK, and UK qualifications, training and digital learning sold abroad.
Unlike the previous strategy released in 2019, this approach removes targets on international student numbers in the UK. While the UK will continue to welcome international students, there is a shift in focus towards growing education exports overseas by backing UK providers to expand internationally and build new partnerships to deliver UK education in new markets.
Education is one of the UK’s most valuable exports, bringing in £32 billion to the UK economy annually and it is worth more than the automotive or food and drink industries.
For more information, please click here.
£200 million landmark SEND teacher training programme
Every teacher is set to receive training to support pupils as government makes good on its promise to deliver reform. This new requirement has been announced to ensure that more children and young people with SEND needs thrive at their local nursery, school or college as the government unveils the most ambitious and comprehensive SEND training offer ever seen by the English school system.
This requirement is acting on feedback from parents shared through national conversation on SEND needs to enable children in every classroom to thrive and benefit from teachers trained in supporting a wide range of needs.
The £200 million will go towards new courses available to all teaching staff to deepen knowledge of how to adapt their teaching to meet a wide range of needs in the classroom, including visual impairments and speech and language needs.
Teachers will learn about the things that can widen access to education, such as assistive technology like speech to text dictation tools and building awareness of additional needs amongst all pupils, so every child is able to succeed.
For more information, please click here.
Health and social care
Waiting lists in 20 areas in England fall 3 times faster than the national average thanks to experts deployed by government to help accelerate NHS care
Thousands of patients across England have benefitted from the Further Faster 20 (FF20) programme, which has slashed waiting times and helped people get back to work. Teams of experts were sent to 20 hospital trusts across England with the highest levels of economic inactivity, with the aim of cutting the waiting lists and boosting growth.
The evaluation published by NHS England found that over the 12 months from October 2024 to October 2025, waiting lists in FF20 areas fell 3 times faster than the rest of the country – with a 4.2% reduction compared to the 1.4% national average. For working adults, the difference was even greater: lists fell more than 5 times faster, helping getting people treated and back to work.
South Tees created 4,000 extra appointments by optimising the way it ran outpatient clinics, while Bolton cut wasted slots by 20% through better capacity management. East Lancashire deployed AI-powered dictation for pre-operative assessments, boosting nurse productivity by 14%.
The findings of the FF20 report come as the government marks one year since the launch of the elective reform plan, where record NHS is directed towards cutting waiting times and getting patients seen on time again. Since July 2024, the waiting list has been down more than 225,000 places despite 28.4 million referrals, making a huge difference to people’s lives up and down the country.
For more information, please click here.
Upcoming events
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.
This webinar will take place on Thursday 29 January, 10:00–11:00am.
Register here to confirm your place and submit any questions for discussion in advance.
Subsidy control masterclass
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 last remaining session taking place in our Birmingham office on Wednesday 4 February 2026 from 9.30am – 11.30am. Secure your place here.
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.
