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Local government news

MoD cutting staff without planning for future, says NAOThe Ministry of Defence risks losing valuable military skills by laying off more than 54,000 staff, the National Audit Office warned today. 09 February 2012
GPs will control £65bn of NHS funding if health Bill is passedDoctors and other health professionals will be given control of almost £65bn of English NHS spending from next year if the government's controversial reforms go ahead, according to Department for Health figures. 08 February 2012
Liverpool to be run by mayorElections for a mayor to run Liverpool City Council will be held in May after councillors last night backed a government deal to create the post. 08 February 2012
Councils' weekly waste collection fund launchedThe £250m fund to help councils maintain or return to weekly waste collections is now open for business, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced. 03 February 2012
DCLG announces HRA buyout paymentsThe government has finalised the amount that councils will have to pay to take control of council house rents in their area, with payments lower than originally planned. 02 February 2012
Whitehall finds surplus land for 80,000 homesThe government has so far identified enough spare public land to accommodate 80,000 homes, housing minister Grant Shapps has said. 02 February 2012
Government spending to be lower than planned, IFS findsThe government is set to underspend by £3bn this year in addition to its planned cuts, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said today. 01 February 2012
Councils are planning to pioneer pooling of benefitA group of local authorities in England have confirmed they are devising plans to pool Council Tax Benefit when it is localised in 2013/14. 01 February 2012
Almost half of councils set to agree tax freezeMore than 150 local authorities in England intend to freeze their council tax from April, with 180 yet to decide and 18 planning to put the tax up. 01 February 2012
Pembrokeshire governance 'too informal', says auditorThe Welsh auditor general has criticised a climate of informality and failure to effectively challenge decision-making at Pembrokeshire County Council. 31 January 2012
Extra cuts 'to hit councils next year'A senior local government finance officer has warned councils to prepare for additional cuts to their budgets from next year. 30 January 2012
Elderly care facing £500m funding black holeThere is a £500m shortfall in social care spending this year, according to Age UK. 30 January 2012
'Don't meddle with council tax freeze', Pickles warns FDsEric Pickles has warned local government finance officers that they risk getting involved in politics if they recommend a council tax rise in their areas. 27 January 2012
Liverpool mayor to claim Work Programme powersLiverpool council is poised to take greater control of the government's flagship back-to-work scheme in the city under moves to create a directly elected mayor. 27 January 2012
Westminster: 'Community Budget pilots in crucial phase'The chief executive of one of the councils chosen to run a whole-place Community Budget pilot has warned that the scheme involving his local authority will not go ahead unless a 'sustainable' plan can be agreed with the government. 27 January 2012