The high-profile failures of councils in Woking and Thurrock demonstrate the importance of a strong and well-understood local audit system, which has arguably been lost, two senior voices in the...
A minister has not disputed that the Treasury does not have confidence in her department’s ability to spend public money well, according to a senior MP.
The lack of sufficient data on how much local authorities received from government grants makes it impossible to scrutinise the success of funding, Clive Betts, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and...
An MP has asked the government for clarity on where ‘levelling up’ money is being distributed around the UK, suggesting the array of funding pots makes it “difficult, if not impossible” to see which...
Clive Betts, chair of Parliament's Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee has urged the government to provide additional funding to help authorities mitigate services pressures stemming from...
Clive Betts, chair of Parliament's Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, has demanded answers from communities secretary Michael Gove on how councils can administer energy rebates to...
The government must clarify how councils administer energy bill rebates to ensure that nobody misses out on payments, according to Clive Betts, chair of Parliament's Levelling Up, Housing and...
A senior MP has questioned whether the new 'system leader' for local audit proposed by the government will possess the expertise to deal with the complexities of the sector.
MPs are calling on the government to tackle the £5bn funding gap faced by local authorities, warning that services will continue to decline until it does so.
After 26 years representing his constituents in parliament, Clive Betts has become a part of the Westminster furniture, but, as PF’s Dominic Brady discovers, his passion for local government is far...
A wide-reaching parliamentary inquiry is likely to be launched into local government finances, the chair of the housing, communities and local government select committee Clive Betts has revealed to...
The £35m of funding councils in England will share to help them cope with Brexit is only half of what the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government asked for.
An urgent review of social care funding is needed as “inadequate” resources are placing people at serious risk, the communities and local government committee has warned.
Levels of homelessness have risen to the extent that a new government-wide strategy is needed, including greater monitoring of local authorities’ homelessness performance, a committee of MPs has...
Ministers have been warned that it will be “difficult” to create a council finance system to both incentivise growth and protect authorities with high levels of need once business rates...
MPs have launched an inquiry into the interventions at both Tower Hamlets and Rotherham councils to determine the effectiveness of Whitehall’s imposition of commissioners.
Greg Clark has confirmed that business rate cuts set out in last month’s Budget will not affect the four-year funding settlements for local authorities.
Local government select committee chair Clive Betts has called on Greg Clark to confirm that four-year funding deals offered to local authorities will not be affected by business rate exemptions...
