Accountants have warned that progress on local audit reforms will stall without further improvements to the audit market and capacity in council finance teams.
A dozen English councils risk failing to meet their statutory duties in the coming months, which researchers said underlines the need for drastic reforms to local government funding.
Councils will be unable to meet the swelling demand for social care without additional funding to help alleviate the ongoing crisis in recruitment and retention, experts have said.
Large increases to planning fees could give an “essential boost to over-stretched planners” and help them get through lengthy case backlogs and speed up development, experts have said in reaction to...
Capital spending restrictions imposed on the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will hamper local authority investment and harm the government’s flagship policy, experts have warned.
Already-stretched councils have found it much more difficult to manage their support for Ukrainian refugees than they should have, because of the government’s uncertainty and lack of direction over...
The Scottish Government has outlined plans to increase taxes on high earners and provide more funding to local authorities next year to help manage pressures stemming from the cost-of-living crisis.
Two counties have been offered separate devolution deals worth more than £1bn over the next 30 years, alongside new powers over education and regional development.
Local authorities should have more power to build homes to support people most in need, and ministers must avoid targets that focus purely on the number of properties built, MPs have said.
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.
Councils in England could receive grants to offset landfill tax costs when redeveloping brownfield and contaminated land, in a move the government hopes could help transform underused and derelict...
Whether local enterprise partnerships are integrated into local authorities immediately or in the future, post-levelling-up, a seamless transition will be essential, says Mark Bretton.
A lack of funding for staff development and challenges around the recruitment of new officers is preventing the internal audit function from reaching its full potential, according to a CIPFA report.
The Northern Irish government is set to increase focus on healthcare spending in the 2022-23 draft budget, impacting on other departmental funding, including local government.
The Competition Markets Authority says a proposed merger between two waste management companies could inflate costs, reduce competition and lower the quality of local authority services.
The government’s proposals to scrap a £50m school improvement grant has been criticised by local authorities, with educations budgets already stretched.
The government’s 'levelling-up' agenda aims to invest in new houses, retrofitting of old homes and more powers to local government, according to senior ministers.
The decision to rebrand the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has been criticised by the sector, with one expert calling it a misstep.
Some funding streams available to help local authorities in England fund energy-efficient initiatives are actively working against reducing emissions, a local government network organisation said.