Council tax in Scotland should be replaced by a new property tax requiring householders to pay 0.9% of the value of their home annually, the Burt committee on the future of local government finance...
Joint reviews of social services in Wales place huge demands on local authorities but are leading to improvements in services, according to an independent evaluation.
Town halls this week set out their wish list for economic devolution within the context of the sector's white paper urging ministers to establish new funding streams for sub-regional transport,...
A heated row over the future of local government in Northern Ireland broke out after the composition of the seven proposed new Northern Ireland 'super-councils' was published by the Local Government...
Local authorities, central government and parents must broaden their sights in the fight against antisocial behaviour and focus on prevention as well as punishment, Whitehall's 'respect' czar...
Council rents are expected to rise by up to 5% after the government announced that local authorities will receive an extra £132m for managing and maintaining their homes.
Despite a doubling of spending on the NHS, the public perception is one of a cash-strapped organisation in crisis. Richard Brooks explains how what should be a good news story for the government has...
In many ways, the NHS has never had it so good. But that's not what the public thinks. Public Finance and Deloitte convened a round table of health service policy makers and practitioners to explore...
Local authorities should be placed under a statutory duty to guarantee the environmental sustainability of their areas for future generations, leading green campaigners said this week.
Police authorities have reacted with anger and disappointment to the costs paid by central government following the abandonment of the police merger programme.
'We will step back and allow more freedom and flexibility at the local level. In exchange, we expect to see more accountability to local citizens, stronger local leadership, better and more efficient...
Local government needs to be bold if it is to make the most of the opportunities presented by Local Area Agreements, a senior manager in the sector said last week.
The administration of London boroughs' pension funds is inefficient and millions of pounds could be saved each year if they streamlined their processes, the Audit Commission said this week.
NHS deficits have been caused by 'systematic flaws' in the way funding is allocated across the country rather than poor local management, the Commons health select committee was told last week.
The economic case for joint working in the public sector must be clearly established before plans for shared services are implemented, leading finance officials in Scotland have advised.
Social services departments face an unrealistic funding settlement in next year's Comprehensive Spending Review because the Treasury is basing its calculations on inaccurate and inappropriate data,...
It's one thing to demand that local authorities prove they have achieved desired outcomes, but quite another to do it. Arthur Midwinter argues for a more realistic approach to performance measurement...
'The LGA's 'root and branch' review of its work needs to urge the association away from its comfort zone in the Whitehall village, argue George Jones and John Stewart. Instead it should prioritise...