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Local Elections 2026: What the Results Mean for Councils – and How Sharpe Pritchard Can Help

11 May 2026

Author: Tim Farr, Managing Partner The local elections this week have delivered a striking set of results: significant churn in council leadership, a clear trend towards multi‑party competition, and a growing number of authorities operating with no overall control. For council leaders, chief executives and monitoring officers, the politics is important—but the operational implications matter... Read more

High Court Rules on the Service of Local Authority Decision Notices by Email

29 April 2026

The High Court has confirmed that email service of statutory notices and decisions by local authorities is valid and effective on delivery, irrespective of whether the email is seen by the person concerned. Authors Chloe McQuillan, Olivia Peake, and Amy Dann explain what you need to know. Decision of Maidstone Magistrates’ Court The Magistrates’ Court... Read more

The Local Power Plan: Putting Clean Power in Communities’ Hands

16 March 2026

Great British Energy and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have unveiled the Local Power Plan — up to £1 billion in funding for what they describe as the UK’s “largest public investment in community energy”. Sophie Read explains the details.    Introduction Great British Energy (GBE) and the Department for Energy Security and... Read more

Anti-Money Laundering: Key Issues for Local Government Legal and Governance Teams

9 March 2026

Money laundering risk is often seen as a problem for banks, lawyers and accountants. But local authorities are far from immune. In a recent webinar hosted by Sharpe Pritchard, Corporate Partner Pete Collins explored how anti-money laundering (AML) laws apply to local authorities, where the risks typically arise in council transactions, and what governance teams... Read more

Arts and Culture, Community and Regeneration: The Two New Streamlined Subsidy Routes

6 March 2026

Beatrice Wood and Sophie Read explore the two new Streamlined Routes, officially introduced in February this year, to simplify the awards of certain subsidies: the Community and Regeneration route and the Arts and Culture route. This article discusses the potential impact of their introduction, along with the general background and benefits of utilising streamlined routes.... Read more

Reserve below-threshold contracts for UK or local suppliers under the 2026 Order

4 March 2026

Juli Lau and Shyann Sheehy look into the impact of the Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026, and particularly how local authorities can now reserve below-threshold contracts for UK or local suppliers.  On 4th February 2026, the Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026 (the “Order”) came into force, with... Read more

Make Europe Build Again – The EU Industrial Accelerator Act

3 March 2026

Author: Kamran Zaheer On 4th March 2026, the European Commission is expected to table a proposal titled the “Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA)”. The IAA is an EU industrial policy measure aimed at accelerating the build out of clean industrial capacity and reducing strategic dependencies in key net-zero value chains. In practice it is expected to…

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