Staff at Liverpool City Council will target improvements to contract management and governance, after an independent report criticised a “fragmented, overly complex and poorly understood”...
Shropshire Council must “radically change” its passive approach to ensure it can meet the financial challenges it faces, a peer review from the Local Government Association has found.
Leicester City Council is set to place three office buildings for sale or lease after the rise of hybrid working left the properties surplus to requirements.
Levelling up secretary Simon Clarke has fired a warning signal to councils that there will be “consequences” for perceived mismanagement following a series of high-profile government interventions.
The soaring cost of living combined with a decade of austerity could see up to a sixth of English councils fully deplete their reserves in 2023-24 without substantial spending cuts, experts have...
Government-appointed commissioners at Slough Borough Council have questioned the authority’s decision to purchase investment properties outside its boundaries, as it prepares to sell assets for a...
Local authorities have been urged by an external auditor to apply effective risk management to their subsidiary companies and other commercial activities to safeguard against financial risks.
Low investment and a reliance on interim staff in council finance teams will make it difficult to find “the next generation of section 151 officers”, experts at Grant Thornton have said.
The government is unlikely to hit its target for delivering affordable homes in rural areas, because wider market issues have had “a disproportionate impact” there, a senior civil servant has warned...
Proposals to give local authorities flexibility on how they spend levies charged on development projects could give councils the “easy option” to reduce local investment, MPs have warned.
Oxford City Council is set to lease its main office and move staff to its town hall, in a bid to deliver additional income and mitigate expensive maintenance costs.
The government’s energy cap is likely to lower inflation in the short term, but one expert warned that it might not yield longer-term savings on servicing the government’s large stock of interest-...
Thurrock Council could be forced to make £2m of cuts this year despite using millions of pounds from its reserves, amid a 10% drop in investment income.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has received minded approval from the government over £20m of exceptional financial support in 2022-23 amid “significant concerns” over the authority’s...
South Cambridgeshire District Council is considering plans for a three-month trial of a four-day working for desk staff, to help improve staff recruitment and retention.
Boris Johnson’s ministers rushed out a series of announcements that will impact on local government finances in the final three days of his leadership.
Government-appointed commissioners helping Slough Borough Council get its finances back on a sustainable footing have had their powers extended to cover senior officer recruitment.
External auditors for South Somerset District Council have issued a statutory recommendation after officers failed to seek legal action and make the finance director aware of an exit settlement.
Councils are shelving long-term capital projects to focus on shorter term budgetary pressures brought on by rising prices without additional funding, an expert has said.