Sheffield City Council is working to reduce long waits for callers to its council tax helpline, which has been plagued by delays of up to an hour. Councillor Mohammed Mahroof reported that some callers have given up after being on the phone for 45 minutes or more before the line drops out. The council acknowledged that improving the service is a key priority and promised that improvements will start to be seen later this year.

Corby MP Lee Barron criticized North Northamptonshire Council for demanding £5,000 in legal fees from residents who took the council to court over a planning error. The council failed to consult people living close to a proposed warehouse site, and only consulted the wrong street. The residents applied for a judicial review, which was dismissed due to a delay in filing. However, the judge criticized the council's handling of the planning application. Despite this, the council is pursuing legal fees from the residents, who feel it is unfair given the council's own errors.

Tahir Ali, Labour MP for Hall Green and Moseley, faced a backlash for prioritizing an airport in Pakistan's Mirpur district over Birmingham's bin strike crisis. Despite criticism last month, Ali attended a press conference to lobby for the airport's construction and even gave a speech in the Mirpuri Punjabi dialect, boasting about the attention the controversy had generated, citing views on his Twitter video as evidence of its impact.

Cumberland councillor Joseph Ghayouba is frustrated with the neglect of empty shops in Whitehaven's town centre, calling on landlords to take action to stop properties from falling into disrepair. He is working with Cumberland Council to identify and engage with landlords to get them to tidy up their shops, citing poor conditions that deter potential tenants. While acknowledging that some landlords may struggle to let out the properties, Ghayouba believes many are left in a bad state that would require significant upfront costs for renovation.