Many parts of England could face a shortage of care home beds in future years due to closures triggered by council funding cuts, according to an analysis for upper-tier local authorities.
Auditors have concluded that North Dorset District Council acted unlawfully by increasing parking charges in 2012/13 in an attempt to raise revenue to fund general services.
George Osborne has been warned that making elected mayors a precondition for city devolution presents an ‘impossibly high hurdle’ in some areas and could even derail his Northern Powerhouse plans.
A £200m inflation-linked bond issued by the Greater London Authority last week could provide a template for other local authorities looking to borrow from investors, according to a senior figure in...
Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire county councils are to form a groundbreaking alliance to seek devolved powers to boost economic growth.
Chancellor George Osborne has set out plans for a process of devolution to cities across England, but will insist on the creation of elected mayors before Whitehall hands powers to councils.
Ten of the UK’s largest cities have today launched a ‘devolution declaration’ setting out demands for the new government to deliver on city devolution.
The Local Government Association is preparing to offer a ‘devolution deal’ to the next government after a study of public service integration initiatives found they would not be fully effective...
Directors of adult social services have warned that a funding deal is not yet in place to implement the government’s flagship reforms to care provision, despite new duties coming into force today.
Ministers have removed independent protections for council Section 151 officers and those holding other senior posts in local government after concluding the current regime was costly to councils.
Councils should create local versions of the government’s so-called ‘nudge unit’ in a bid to cut the demand for services amid a spending squeeze on town halls, a report has claimed...
English counties are today calling for the devolution of health and social care systems, warning that centralised NHS structures are causing barriers between services.
New planning rules freeing builders from the requirement to build social homes have taken effect. In return, ministers are expecting builders to slash their usual sale prices by 20% in bid to help...
A deal to devolve £6bn of NHS funding to Greater Manchester’s combined authority has been sealed, with the groundbreaking pact set to devolve all health spending in an effort to improve...
Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has appointed Sir Derek Myers, former chief executive of Hammersmith and Fulham and the Kensington and Chelsea London boroughs, to lead the government’s...
Nine out of ten senior council executives are worried about the impact of cuts on frontline services, according to a recent poll carried out by the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and...
Changes made to the Better Care Fund, which allowed some pooled money to be used to provide NHS services, nearly led councils to walk away from the scheme, it has been revealed.
The Greater Manchester combined authority is to be given complete control over all health spending in the city region in a groundbreaking devolution deal to be announced later this week.
The next government must give local authorities long-term financial settlements focused on providing enough funding for services such as adult social care to ensure they are sustainable, a group of...
Planning minister Brandon Lewis has raised the prospect of bringing in new laws to require councils to use standard processes for reaching section 106 agreements, including setting time limits for...
The 24 enterprise zones in England have created more than 15,000 jobs since being formed in April 2012, communities secretary Eric Pickles has revealed.
Additional powers granted to councils to allow them to crack down on metal thefts have helped cut instances of the crime by almost one-third, the Local Government Association has said.
The Scottish Parliament has agreed to write-off nearly £500m of unpaid poll tax debts, in spite of Conservative claims that the precedent it establishes amounts to a tax-dodgers’ charter.
Councils are embracing a fundraising scheme that could save them nearly £1.5bn over 30 years even if they only refinance half their debt. Richard Johnstone on the first ever municipal bond issue