The value of local government outsourcing contracts in the UK dropped considerably in the first half of this year compared to same period in 2017, analysis has revealed.
Northamptonshire Council has proposed “radical service reductions” in areas including care for vulnerable people as a response to its second 114 notice.
Local authority borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board has reached a seven-year high as cash-strapped councils increasingly invest in capital projects.
Central government will not financially abandon local authorities – even as grants are phased out in favour of business rate revenue, local government minister Rishi Sunak has promised PF.
Reducing maximum betting stakes - as the government did last week with Fixed Odds Betting Terminals - is not a panacea but it’s a good start, says the LGA’s Simon Blackburn.
Whitehall must provide certainty for councils to stop changes to business rates costing them ‘considerable sums’, according to local government groups.
Brexit is likely to hamper much-needed local government reform over the next 10 years, CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman has told a conference this morning.
More than £1bn is to be invested annually in early learning and childcare across Scotland under a landmark deal struck between councils and the Scottish Government.
With austerity likely to continue, organisations need to be strong enough to build savings and stay ambitious. So they must prepare, not just patch up the piggy bank, says CIPFA’S Don Peebles.
All colleagues in the public sector need to get involved in harnessing the benefits technology for a positive change, says CIPFA’s president Andrew Burns.
Northamptonshire County Council has accepted the findings of a government-commissioned report that it should be split up and two new unitary councils created.
Many councils are returning to a direct role in local housing provision. This means grappling with planning issues and new forms of local authority ownership, says Janice Morphet.