Welcome to the Local Government Association (LGA) Analysis and Research Bulletin. 

This comprehensive monthly publication keeps you informed about key issues and developments in research impacting on local government.

The bulletin brings together the work of the LGA and also features relevant publications from the wider research community. The information in this bulletin is grouped under themed areas. This publication is produced by LGA Research and Information and we provide high-quality analysis and research across all aspects of local government.

A new archive providing back-dated copies of this bulletin is now available.

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LGA social care reports:

The LGA has recently published a series of social care reports

Earlier action and support: The case for prevention in adult social care and beyond

This joint publication makes the case for a shift towards taking action and offering support earlier, so that more people can live the lives they want.

LGA survey report on youth services

Thissurvey of directors of children’s services focused on the impact of the refreshed statutory guidance for youth services found that around two thirds of councils had not increased spending on youth services in the past five years, which was attributed to lack of available funding.

Girls involved in youth violence: Key findings and recommendations

This LGA report explores the situation facing local councils and partners around girls and young women involved in youth violence .

Monthly statistics for adult social care, England: October 2024

These Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) adult social care statistics provide information on a range of topics including infection control measures, COVID-19 vaccinations, flu vaccinations and testing for COVID-19 in adult social care settings in October 2024 in England.

Poverty and financial hardship of unpaid carers in the UK

This report from Carers UK considers the issue of poverty amongst unpaid carers in the UK and what can be done to tackle it.

Local authority dashboard - England

The Health Foundation local authority dashboard provides insights about health and health inequalities across England and has been updated with the latest information on work, money and resources, housing and transport.

Health and wellbeing statistics for rural England – November 2024

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ‘Statistical digest of rural England’ is a collection of statistics on a range of social and economic topics and provides broad comparisons between Rural and Urban areas in England. The latest report on health and wellbeing is now available.

Unsung Britain

The Resolution Foundation has launched its ‘ Unsung Britain’ research project, aimed at understanding the changing circumstances of Britain’s low-to-middle income families. The research has found these families more likely to suffer from ill health, or be caring for adults than in the mid-1990s, are more likely to be in work, but less likely to own their home.

NHS and life sciences industry partnerships – collaborating to improve care

This Kings Fund report on NHS and life science industry partnership collaboration  explores four case studies of collaborative working projects between NHS organisations and pharmaceutical companies. 

Health trends in England

This Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) health trends report presents trends in data on the health of people in England, including risk factors, disease prevalence and outcomes. 

The false economy of big food - UK

This report on the UK’s current food system from the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, considers how much our current food system costs the nation in terms of health and how much it would cost to ensure a healthy diet for everyone. 

Older people and essential skills - England

This report from the Learning and Work Institute explores the prevalence and impact of low essential skills among people aged 50+ and identifies recommendations for policy and practice to support more older people to improve their skills.

Kinship care practice guide

This ‘Kinship care practice guide’ from the What Works Centre for Children and Families has been produced to support senior leaders and commissioners

in local areas to commission and develop effective services to support kinship families. 

The effects of youth clubs on education and crime

This Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) paper uses quasi-experimental variation from austerity-related cuts, to provide causal estimates of youth clubs' effects on education and crime.

Children in need: Year ending 31 March 2024 - England

These Department for Education (DfE) ‘Children in need’ statistics provide information children referred to and assessed by children's social services for the year ending 31 March 2024. 

Adult participation in learning survey 2024 - UK

The ‘Adult participation in learning survey’ from The Learning and Work Institute provides insights into adult learning across the UK. It adopts a deliberately broad definition of learning, reflecting the fact that learning is about much more than formal courses and qualifications.

Further education and skills: 2023 - 2024 Academic year

These DfE statistics provide information on learner participation and achievements in England for the 2023 to 2024 academic year, including apprenticeships and adult further education.

Education and training statistics for the UK: 2024

These DfE statistics provide information on schools, attainment, qualifications gained, education expenditure, further education and higher education in the UK in 2024. 

Pupil attendance in schools 9 September to 8 November 2024 - England

These DfE pupil attendance statistics provide information on the levels of attendance and overall, authorised and unauthorised absence in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools for the period 9 September 2024 to 8 November 2024 in England. 

Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: Autumn term 2023 

These DfE statistics provide information on levels of suspension and permanent exclusion in the autumn term 2023 in England by school type, and include reasons for exclusions and suspensions.

E-cycles rapid evidence assessment report - UK

This Department for Transport (DfT) evidence assessment report reviews evidence from initiatives that aim to increase e-cycling and e-cargo use in the UK.

Transport behaviours, traffic forecasting and long-term impacts of COVID-19 – International literature review

This DfT report examines how international travel behaviour has changed following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Daily domestic transport use by mode from November 2023  Great Britain

These DfT statistics provide information on the daily usage of selected domestic transport by mode for Great Britain.

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics

These statistics from DfT and the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) provide information on ‘Electric vehicle charging infrastructure statistics’, including publicly available devices and grants provided by the OZEV.

Reported road casualties in Great Britain, provisional estimates: year ending June 2024 

These DfT road casualty statistics provide information on personal injury accident and casualties on public roads in Great Britain for the year ending June 2024.

Annual bus statistics: year ending March 2024 - England

These DfT annual statistics provide information about local buses in Great Britain for the year ending March 2024.

Public and business attitudes to the environment and climate change, Great Britain: October 2024

This Office for National Statistics (ONS) report provides information on social and business attitudes towards climate change and the environment in October 2024 using data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) and Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS).

Estimates of quarterly greenhouse gas emissions (residence basis), UK: Quarter 2 (Apr to Jun) 2024

These ONS statistics provide estimates of greenhouse gas emissions  in the UK between April and June 2024. 

Metrics added to LG Inform this month include:

Vehicle statistics - England

Licensed vehicle quarterly figures from DfT have been added to LG Inform. In England for Q2 2024, the number of licensed vehicles (thousands) was 35,183.4, up from 34,740.1 in Q2 2023. Of these 82.2 per cent were registered as licensed private vehicles. There are 1.2 licensed private vehicles per household. The current proportion of vehicles in England by fuel is as follows: Petrol 50.9 per cent, Diesel 39.1 per cent, Hybrid electric (petrol) 4.6 per cent, and Other fuels 5.4 per cent. 

Total number of licensed plug-in vehicles in England for Q2 2024 was 1,636,437 an increase from 1,206,332 in Q2 2023. While the number of licensed ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) was 1,675,306 compared to 1,229,762 a year earlier. 

Please note these figures include cars, motorcycles, light and heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches, and other vehicles. 

Available Geographies: Country – Region – County – London borough – Metropolitan District – Unitary – District

Healthier working lives

The ‘Healthier working lives’ report from the Learning and Work Institute informs local government on the actions they can take to improve the working health of their residents. 

UK labour market November 2024

These ONS labour market statistics provide estimates of employment, unemployment, inactivity, average weekly earnings, vacancies and other labour market related statistics for the UK.

Characteristics of hybrid workers, Great Britain

This ONS article looks at the groups of people most likely to follow a hybrid working pattern (part travelling to work, and part at home), by age, parental status, qualification level and occupation (based on data from April to June 2024) and industry (December 2023) in Great Britain.

The employment of disabled people  - annual data mostly to March 2024 and quarterly data to June 2024 in the UK.

These DWP statistics provide analysis and breakdowns of the number of disabled people in employment in the UK.

Working lives of teachers and leaders: wave 3 – January to May 2024, England

This DfE summary report provides early findings from the third wave of the ‘Working lives of teachers and leaders survey’.

Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 7 November 2024

This ONS data provides information on the impact of challenges facing the UK economy and other events on UK businesses as at 7 November 2024.

Statutory homelessness in England: April to June 2024

These Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) statistics provide information on homelessness and rough sleeping in England between April and June 2024.

Proven reoffending statistics: October to December 2022 – England and Wales

These Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics provide information on the reoffending of offenders who were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction, or a caution between October and December 2022 in England and Wales.

Knife and offensive weapon sentencing statistics: April to June 2024

These MoJ statistics provide information on trends in cautioning and sentencing of knife and offensive weapon offences between April and June 2024 in England and Wales.

Criminal justice system statistics quarterly: June 2024

These MoJ criminal justice statistics provide an overview of trends in the use of out of court disposals, defendants prosecuted, offenders convicted, remand and sentencing decisions in England and Wales in June 2024.

Offender management statistics quarterly: April to June 2024

These MoJ and HM Prison and Probation Service quarterly offender management  statistics provide information on offenders in custody (including offence groups, sentence lengths and nationalities), and quarterly statistics on prison receptions, prison releases, adjudications, licence recalls and offenders under probation supervision.

Social Research Association (SRA) training courses

The SRA is currently offering a range of online training courses using Zoom. 

SRA - Social Research Practice journal

The latest issue of the SRA's free e-journal is now available.

The Curiosity Partnership

The Curiosity Partnership aims to build the infrastructure for councils and academics, working together with citizens and local communities, to develop and use research 

The Rees Centre newsletter 

The Rees Centre newsletter is published every two months giving an update on their fostering related research activities and events along with a book review and a section on young voices. 

Changing Populations newsletter

The latest newsletter from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre for Population Change is now available.

Child Welfare Inequalities Project (CWIP) news

The CWIP at Coventry University studies the links between deprivation and children’s chances of being unable to live safely within their birth families and also aims to establish child welfare inequalities as a core concept in policy making, practice and research. Information about current CWIP projects is available on the website.

NIHR School for Public Health Research

Sign-up to receive the latest news and updates from the NIHR School for Public Research including publications, funding opportunities, upcoming events and more. Sign-up here. Read the latest newsletter here.

Centre for Evaluation newsletter

The Centre for Evaluation develops interventions, systems and strategies to improve public health using rigorous evaluation methods. Visit the website to sign up for the Centre for Evaluation newsletter.

What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth newsletter

This regular newsletter from the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth provides the latest resources and evidence. Visit the website to sign up for the newsletter.

The Centre for Youth Impact newsletter

The Centre for Youth Impact is a community of organisations that work together to progress thinking and practice around impact measurement in youth work and services for young people. The latest Centre for Youth Impact newsletter is now available.

Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Newsletter

The CSA newsletter brings together the most up-to-date research into an accessible overview for frontline professionals and commissioners. Visit the website to sign up for the CSA newsletter.

National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Direct

This regular NFER newsletter provides research, industry insights and free resources and events. Sign up for the newsletter here.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) Centre for Evaluation

The Centre for Evaluation aims to improve the design and conduct of evaluations of complex public health interventions through the development, application and dissemination of rigorous methods, and facilitate the use of robust evidence to inform policy and practice decisions. The Centre produce a termly newsletter.

Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) newsletter

WCPP works to address key economic and societal challenges through the use of evidence and produce a regular newsletter.

Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) news alert

EEF news alerts provide information about teaching and learning toolkits, project evaluation reports, grant funding rounds and news and events.

NESTA

NESTA is an innovation foundation which aims to tackle society’s big challenges. They produce a regular newsletter.

Research and Economic Analysis for the Long Term (REAL) Centre

The Health Foundation’s REAL Centre was set up to support long-term decision making in health and social care. Visit the website to sign up for regular updates.

Policy Bristol Newsletter

The Policy Bristol Newsletter provides regular policy updates and the latest policy research and events news.

ActEarly monthly bulletin

The AntennAE monthly e-bulletin provides the latest news and developments from Act Early.

The Health Foundation newsletter

This monthly newsletter from The Health Foundation provides details about funding opportunities, latest publications and blogs, and the latest news from the world of UK health care.

The Learning and Work Institute newsletter

This monthly newsletter from the Learning and Work Institute provides news updates, latest publications and blogs.