From March 1976, Local Government Bulletin appears to have metamorphosed into Local Government Brief, retaining the same typescript format and was monthly in frequency. From issue no. 15 (November 1977) it was printed for the first time, but following issue no. 48 (April 1981) it reverted to a single, double-sided sheet of typescript A4: 'This is the last issue of Local Government Brief which will appear in its present form. In future a simple typed news sheet will be sent to the Leader of the Conservative Group of each council in England and Wales, with the request that sufficient copies for every Conservative member of the Group be reproduced locally….We very much regret that we are obliged to do this, but, in common with others, Central Office must exercise maximum economy over expenditure. The present publication has become too expensive to maintain within our budget.'

No copies survive after issue no. 55 (April 1982) and it likely that the series was discontinued at that time. From December 1984 a new Briefs service was begun with a new format. Publication was now prepared by the Conservative Research Department on behalf of the Local Government Department. The new Local Government Brief took the form of each entire issue being dedicated to a specific topic, such as water rates, local authority capital expenditure, etc, rather than being a newsletter, and came out as required, but not less than monthly. As part of this same series, briefs were also prepared in support of the local election campaign. These election briefs have been catalogued separately with other publications relating specifically to the local election campaigns [see catalogue CPA PUB K: Conservative Party Local Election Publications].

From October 1988 a 'New Series' began, with a new format, but with the same purpose.