Resource Type: Tool
UPDATED – 29 July 2026 – Greenhouse Gas Accounting Tool
The Greenhouse Gas Accounting Tool has been developed by Local Partnerships in collaboration with the Local Government Association (LGA) to provide councils with a straightforward and consistent approach for calculating their carbon baseline and annual emissions reporting.
For assistance and feedback, please email ghgaccounting@localpartnerships.gov.uk
In addition to our Climate Adaptation Toolkit for Local Authorities,the first of our sector specific accompanying guidance is the Strategic Resilience and Adaptation Guidance for Local Highways Authorities
This guidance suite has been produced by Local Partnerships alongside associated guidance developed by the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (Operational Framework Guidance, and Operational Checklists Responding to climate disruption).
The content has been co-created with the sector and draws on a range of key sources including the Department for Transport’s Transport Hazard Summaries, outputs from the UK Roads Liaison Group’s 2025 regional resilience workshops, and an expert review workshop held at CIHT on 8 June 2026.
This guidance follows the approach in the Climate Adaptation Toolkit for Local Authorities, and is best used alongside this toolkit, the CIHT operation guidance and the Met Office Local Authority Climate Service (LACS)
The “Safe & Legal: Preparing for LGR and Vesting Day” Tool helps councils undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) identify the essential actions needed to ensure a new unitary authority is ready to operate from day one.
The tool provides a practical framework covering the key governance, legal, financial, workforce, ICT and service continuity requirements needed to ensure statutory services continue, legal obligations are met and the new council can operate safely and effectively on Vesting Day.
Designed for use by implementation bodies throughout the transition period, the tool helps councils assess readiness, identify gaps and prioritise action to ensure a smooth and compliant transition.
As the energy landscape evolves, battery energy storage is emerging as a key solution for organisations looking to enhance their energy efficiency, reduce costs and participate in new revenue opportunities.
Ynni Cymru has developed a new Wales Energy Storage Tool designed specifically to help Wales to explore the feasibility of installing a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
This innovative tool allows users to assess whether battery storage makes financial sense for their site, estimate the potential return on investment and understand how much revenue they could earn from participating in key energy market streams. Whether you already have renewable generation or are planning new installations, this tool can provide the insights you need to make informed decisions about integrating battery storage into your energy plans.
The Net Zero Scenario Planner, commissioned by WLGA and Welsh Government, supports councils to calculate approximate costs and carbon emissions of decarbonising their buildings estates at portfolio-level across three incremental scenarios towards a whole building approach.
Developed by Local Partnerships, this decision-making aid also considers Street Lighting and Fleet scenarios and provides timelines to the 2030 aspiration for a net zero public sector.
The Planner supports Audit Wales’ recommendation for costed decarbonisation action plans and assists the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’ recommendation for climate resilience in the buildings of public bodies (see links below for further information).
Every council has been issued with a personalised Planner and guidance document based on their specific data (from a ‘point in time’ perspective).
This PMO guide is for local authorities interested in establishing a programme management office (PMO) or review their project management arrangements.
Included is a Project Threshold Tool to support in assessing the scale of the project in terms of finance, risk and complexity. This is aimed at helping evaluating the level of management, assurance and support needed for a project.
The guidance has been informed by local authorities who operate a PMO and by the support provided in forming project management arrangements. Many thanks to contributing authorities of South Cambridgeshire, Watford, Walsall and Wolverhampton with particular thanks to Sandwell Council for their time to shape the research into delivery.
Part of the LGA’s Sector Support Improvement programme funded by UK Government.
A template ‘Temporary accommodation model’ for demonstrating the financial case for investing capital to reduce the revenue costs of temporary accommodation.
Government figures released in July 2023 show that, nationally, over 100,000 households were found to be living in temporary accommodation – up 10 per cent from 12 months previously and again the highest figure on record.
The purpose of the model is to:
- provide councils with an order of magnitude assessment of the likely future profile, over a defined time period, of household types and numbers that will require temporary accommodation, and the consequential cost to the council’s revenue budget
- set the counterfactual position for ‘invest to save’ propositions and allow their impact to be estimated and subsequently evaluated
- enable changes in some of the main contributory factors to rising temporary accommodation spend (i.e., housing affordability, housing demand and housing supply), to be monitored and evaluated as well as help with budget management.
We would be very happy to chat through how this could be used in your area too: please don’t hesitate to contact us via the form on this page or contact martin.walker@localpartnerships.gov.uk . We’d be delighted to help.
Local Partnerships was commissioned by Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) to produce this ‘Energy Supply guidance’ under the ‘Unlocking Clean Energy in Greater Manchester’ (UCEGM) project.
UCEGM is a pioneering scheme designed to deliver a number of renewable energy projects across the Greater Manchester City Region and create a blueprint that can be replicated in other regions across the UK aiming for Net Zero carbon emissions.
The guidance addresses challenges faced by local authorities, such as rising energy costs and the need for effective energy management policies. It emphasises the importance of forecasting, developing energy management policies, and understanding energy purchasing strategies. Use our forecasting tool to assist energy managers in predicting future energy consumption. The document highlights the impact of global events on energy prices, the significance of energy security, and the shift towards renewable energy to meet net zero targets. Funding options for energy efficiency projects are discussed, including recommendations from the Mission Zero initiative.
UPDATED – 29 July 2026 – The Waste Emissions Calculator
The Waste Emissions Calculator provides Waste Disposal Authorities with a comprehensive tool for carbon emissions reporting across a range of waste treatment processes. It was originally developed by Cambridgeshire County Council and University College London (UCL) through the Net Zero Innovation Programme, a collaboration between the Local Government Association (LGA) and University College London (UCL).
The calculator is now hosted and updated by Local Partnerships.
We worked with the LGA and Leeds and Cornwall councils during 2022 to understand what approaches have worked in homelessness prevention, how much they cost, costs that can have been avoided, and some of the benefits accrued by their implementation. From this, we produced homelessness prevention report and tool, containing some simple cost benefit models which are free to use on our website.
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