Local Government
"Local authorities and their partners…are pivotal to delivering sustainable communities"
HM Government’s Sustainable Development Strategy
On the frontline
The UK's 410 local authorities spend over £113 billion on day to day services - over a quarter of all public expenditure. They employ over 2.1 million people and deliver 700 different services. More than 20,000 Councillors represent local citizens and communities on these councils.
All of these services should contribute to improving the local quality of life. There are many excellent examples of local authorities driving forward sustainable development, but the SDC believes there is further potential for local government to deliver more long-term, sustainable solutions to local challenges. Our work in this area shows that this will require local leadership, public engagement, crossing boundaries in how public services work together, and commitment and unwavering support from central government. The SDC engages at central, regional, and local levels to enable and support the delivery of local sustainable development.
Recent work
Tracking progress
The SDC has developed proposals for a Local Sustainable Development Lens: a voluntary basket of local indicators that can be used to guide and track progress towards sustainable development at the local level.
Building capability
The Capability for Local Sustainability project highlights ways in which the capability of local government and its partners to deliver sustainable development can be improved.
Financial decision-making
Supported by CIPFA, the LGA and the IDeA, Financing Local Futures is a web-based resource designed to help those making and supporting financial decisions in local government develop their own organisations' contributions to sustainable development.
Sharing experience
A new set of case studies, co-published by the SDC and the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), demonstrate how some local authorities and their partners are tackling the challenge of putting sustainable development at the heart of local decision-making processes. The case studies were produced as part of the SDC’s Capability for Local Sustainability project.
We have 100s of other examples, including from local government, from independent contributors across the UK on our case study database.
Other Publications
» SDC Response to the Comprehensive Area Assessment consultation
» Inspiring a Sustainable Local Future: a cross-government workshop on communicating clear messages to local government on sustainable development.
» Consultation on Local Strategic Partnerships: Shaping their future - A response from the SDC
» Read our report, Seeing the Bigger Picture: Delivering Sustainable Development
Our team
If you have questions about the work of the SDC in this area or would like to contribute, please contact, Denny Gray (Local Govt Policy Analyst), Craig Myers (Team Leader) or Susan Gransden (Policy Assistant).
