In February 2018, Mark McLaughlin became the first section 151 officer in almost 20 years to issue a section 114 notice. Writing exclusively for PF, Northamptonshire’s former finance director makes a...
The monthly financial impact of Covid-19 on councils in England has fallen below £1bn for the first time since the start of the crisis, running at 60% of the £1.5bn peaks in April and May.
“Essential” support for companies and workers in the UK must continue if the economy is to recover from Covid-19 and meet the challenges of leaving the EU customs union and single market, the IMF has...
Many of the recommendations in the Redmond Review can be carried out in the short-term without the need for new legislation, Sir Tony Redmond has told the PF Live conference.
The Treasury has confirmed the Comprehensive Spending Review will only set departmental budgets for next year, due to the economic disruption caused by Covid-19.
Financial data for April to June shows councils’ revenue spending up 19% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. The figures will have made sombre reading in Whitehall and town...
Business rates retention and other council funding mechanisms aimed at incentivising growth should be scrapped to focus on post-Covid recovery, according to the interest group representing urban...
Luton Borough Council has agreed a “horrendous” package of spending cuts after the airport operator it owns declared it could not make an expected £16m dividend payment due to Covid-19.
The government may need to rethink its fiscal policy strategy to account for economic shocks happening more frequently than previously assumed, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Specialist spend management systems, comprising Travel, Expense and Invoice management, are still a novelty in many parts of the public sector, but activity continues to grow.
The government has announced it will quadruple the size of loans available through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme from £50m to £200m.
Directors of resources and Section 151 officers have an even more crucial role to play as the pandemic plays out, argues director at Impower Ebony Hughes.
Low funding and dwindling reserves mean a local authority in Derbyshire risks considering an unbalanced budget by 2021-22, councillors have been warned.
Coronavirus could push a number of nations into a recession under a worst case scenario outlined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Asking ministers to find departmental savings worth 5% was not unexpected or unprecedented, but it may be difficult to achieve and is unlikely to free up enough money to meet the government’s other...
The latest CIPFA/IfG Performance Tracker report highlights a ‘turning point’ in the public sector’s life under austerity but warns that government spending decisions remain short-term. ...
Both Labour and the Conservatives are not being honest with the electorate over tax and spend pledges in their manifestos, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said.
Whichever party wins the election, they will have to make trade-offs in order to maintain public service standards, writes the Institute for Government’s Graham Atkins.
Investment might be flowing into local areas but poverty and inequality persist. ‘New municipalism’ is a term that has emerged as an answer to improving local economic development. Dominic Brady...
