Current Research Programme

A guide for councillors and local government officers.

This report outlines how local authorities must not only be aware of how their actions can influence and improve the way we look after the UK’s plants and trees, but also provides examples of best practice in meeting this responsibility.

The latest findings from APSE Performance Networks.

Survation were asked by APSE to provide a public opinion survey of attitudes to local neighbourhood services in 2023, covering the range of council services that would appear in their local area. Survation also polled Councillors in Great Britain, to gauge their opinion on levels of funding, financial health of councils and their priorities for protecting services.

A new report by APSE has delved into the dynamics behind the working relationships of councillors and officers.

The report, a collaboration between the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) and Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation (Socitm), makes five recommendations on how local council frontline services can benefit from better adoption and use of digital, data and technological capabilities.

This report, conducted by APSE on behalf of NACC, shows vital Meals on Wheels services on the brink of collapse. 

This report contains both useful case studies on practical approaches to making space for nature in our burial grounds, but also puts the historical context of the link between cemeteries and the natural world in perspective.

This report builds on previous APSE-TCPA reports and continues to track the housing crisis. But it also considers the role local councils can play and are playing through their planning and housing responsibilities to support the delivery of complete, compact and connected communities.

APSE and CLES have designed a toolkit for maximising impact in local economies

Explore barriers to, and opportunities for, greening the RCV fleet. 

Results of the 2021/2022 survey data sets

Survation's latest public opinion survey for APSE finds that local councils remain the most trusted to deliver essential services in people’s local areas.

To enable more urgent action at the local level for this critical yet neglected service, a new report by APSE titled ‘Local authority education catering service: More than just a service’ makes five recommendations for national governments.

The School Food Report was conducted by APSE on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on School Food.

Designed in the wake of the late 2021 HGV driver shortage crisis, the aim of this survey of APSE’s member authority refuse teams was to gather accurate real time data on the pay rates of refuse workers: HGV drivers, non-HGV drivers and loaders. The survey also includes questions and analysis on retention and recruitment issues in the sector. 

A report by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), researched and written by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), considers the important role of local councils in tackling climate change, with an emphasis on their responsibilities in relation to housing and planning.

Lessons from Scotland and implications for the rest of the UK

APSE Performance Networks therefore made a decision to track these impacts to provide a robust data analysis. Following the reports produced in 2020 this latest report, a summary of data collated across frontline services in 2021, provides some explicability to changes in costs, quality and productivity. 

This APSE discussion paper provides an analysis of the workforce challenges facing local government, considers its wider role in employment on an economy wide basis, and explores the findings of the APSE ‘Big Workforce Survey’.

APSE has conducted research in the holiday provision that local authorities are providing across the UK and the lead that councils are taking to tackle the issue of food insecurity in their communities. This briefing provides an overview of the research, outlines the key findings and provides case study examples.

A new report,  published by APSE using data from CFP, finds that from 2010 onwards parks budgets have reduced by £690 million, leading to industry calls to stem this decline and leverage new investment in these valuable local community assets.

A new report, lead by APSE in partnership with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association (CLOA), examines how we can ensure the survival of public sport and leisure services.

The final report of the APSE Local Government Commission 2030, set up to explore what the next decade could hold for a revitalised local government, has called for a system reset and at its heart a new constitutional settlement for local councils.   

APSE and CIPFA's latest report considers the challenges and opportunities for local authority property and assets in supporting local economy recovery.

This new report from APSE brings together the results of the most recent street cleanliness survey data drawn from APSE Performance Networks data, now enhanced through the use of APSE’s Land Audit Management System (LAMS). This new level of reporting compliments existing datasets and relies upon more than 33,000 transect inspections on street cleanliness, exploring levels of litter, detritus, graffiti and fly-posting. This report therefore provides an invaluable source of data to local councils in England and provides a robust analysis for use by Government and public administrations.

This new report from APSE brings together the results of the most recent street cleanliness survey data drawn from APSE Performance Networks data, now enhanced through the use of APSE’s Land Audit Management System (LAMS). This new level of reporting compliments existing datasets and relies upon near to 37,000 transect inspections on street cleanliness, exploring levels of litter, detritus, graffiti and fly-posting. This report therefore provides an invaluable source of data to local councils in England and provides a robust analysis for use by Government and public administrations.

A new APSE Actions Paper, written in close collaboration with NILGA, sets out the challenges and opportunities for Northern Ireland councils in the wake of the UK’s exit from the EU.

The report finds, that the role of local councils in directly providing new homes has been systematically undermined for decades, leaving housing supply to a failing market system. 

This APSE report, researched and written by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), is calling for a national enabling strategy to place local government at the heart of a post-pandemic recovery, suggesting that its role in place making will be the core driver to a green recovery.

This new e-publication explores the value of green urban spaces and the benefits brought to communities throughout the health pandemic.

APSE introduced a new quarterly data collection exercise to assess the impact of Covid-19 on a range of front-line services.  This report relates to the first quarter of 2020 (April – June) and shows the averages for individual services from participating authorities.

A new public opinion poll, conducted by leading polling company Survation for APSE, has reinforced support for councils, councillors and council workers who have responded to Covid-19.

This report published by APSE, researched and written by the TCPA, is calling on the Government to put public health at the heart of housing delivery; empowering local decision-makers to create healthy and high-quality places.

A new report published by APSE sets out the steps that UK councils need to consider in translating climate emergency declarations into positive actions to address climate change.

A new report by APSE Scotland  - written and researched with the New Policy Institute (NPI) - examines what has happened to spending on parks and open spaces by Scottish local authorities.

APSE’s latest research - written in collaboration with CIPFA - looks at the position regarding the provision of a selection of discretionary support services to schools by local authorities.

APSE’s latest report with the TCPA exposes the impact of permitted development rights as a potential threat to the health and wellbeing of residents.

You can download a summary report of a new APSE Energy research paper ‘Local authority climate emergency declarations’ as featured in the Guardian which provides an understanding of what declaring a climate emergency can do, when to use it and how it can be used in the context of local councils. 

In this new report published by APSE and written by the New Policy Institute we find that over the nine years from 2009/10 resources devoted to neighbourhood services across Britain fell 27 per cent representing a total of £8.9bn in 2017/18 prices. 

APSE’s latest report examines how chief officers in local authorities are experiencing the shifting landscape of local government and how they are making sense of its leadership challenges

This research explores the growing phenomenon of ‘Insourcing’; bringing back ‘in-house’ the delivery of services. It takes a particular focus on UK local government services and questions the drivers for this increase in insourcing.

This new report from APSE brings together the results of the most recent street cleanliness survey data drawn from APSE Performance Networks data, now enhanced through the use of APSE’s Land Audit Management System (LAMS). 

Increasingly Welsh councils are looking at a more commercial approach to service delivery. This guide explores powers, best practice and the culture shift needed to embrace a commercial culture in local government.

This latest report from APSE and the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) explores the current landscape around commercialisation and provides a toolkit and guide for councils to help build their own bespoke, locally-relevant governance and scrutiny systems for commercial activity. 

This report is based on a range of robust data sources to inform Street Cleanliness, drawing upon representative samples, as well as analysis against deprivation scores and Street Cleanliness. The findings incorporate 42 local authorities in England and are supported by near to 40,000 transects that have been inspected to arrive at this important analysis. The inspections included assessment of a range of factors including litter, detritus, surface weeds, dog fouling, bins and bin structure and other factors to arrive at the scores and analysis. The results from this publication will also contribute towards Defra’s Litter Dashboard.

In collaboration with the New Policy Institute (NPI), APSE's latest report considers the propspects for the 'neighbourhood services' provided by local government.