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13 Jun 13
The Treasury has launched an initiative to cut costs in projects built using the controversial Private Finance Initiative by urging private operators of hospitals and schools to agree to a code of...
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10 Jun 13
A year on from the start of housing self-financing and most elements are working well. But the move to full depreciation accounting needs a bit more time
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6 Jun 13
Cabinet Office minister Chloë Smith has urged local authorities to share more property as part of efficiency efforts across the public sector.
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29 May 13
Planning relaxations that come into effect in England today will ‘significantly reduce’ councils' ability to decide on important developments in their area, the Local Government Association has...
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5 Apr 13
The Department for Communities and Local Government is to leave its Eland House headquarters to share office space with the Home Office, in a move expected to save £24m a year.
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27 Mar 13
Holyrood’s finance committee has approved in principle Scottish Government plans to replace stamp duty with a more progressive form of property transaction tax.
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25 Mar 13
Housing professionals have warned that government-backed homebuyer loans could stoke a house price bubble
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13 Mar 13
Sales of government property and land have raised more than £1bn since the coalition came to power in May 2010, according to figures released by the Cabinet Office today.
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26 Feb 13
Council borrowing rules should be changed to allow town halls to invest more in new homes, housing professionals said today.
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8 Feb 13
London’s economy has received a £3.5bn boost because of better property management by Whitehall, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said today.
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1 Feb 13
Energy minister Greg Barker has urged councils to become ‘agents’ for energy efficiency following the launch of the government’s landmark Green Deal programme.
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25 Jan 13
Ministers will later today announce a change to planning rules to allow free schools to establish themselves in offices, warehouses or other premises without applying for planning permission first.
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17 Dec 12
Councils have welcomed fresh guidance on the use of the Community Infrastructure Levy but urged ministers to refrain from making any more changes.
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28 Nov 12
More local government pension schemes will back housebuilding projects once investment limits are doubled, a senior councillor has told Public Finance.
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26 Nov 12
Bidding has today opened for a £300m funding pot designed to get empty homes in England back into use.
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15 Nov 12
The executive director of the Government Property Unit has said the costs of Whitehall’s Private Finance Initiative buildings ‘stick in my throat’ and he hopes to reopen the...
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12 Oct 12
Ministers should scrap proposals to relax planning restrictions on house extensions, loft conversions and conservatories, the Local Government Association has said.
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11 Oct 12
Housing minister Mark Prisk has announced the first allocations from the £280m extension to the FirstBuy scheme, which helps people get on the property ladder.
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2 Oct 12
Councils could have to find an extra £5m to fund the Community Right to Bid, despite ministerial promises that any new burdens would be centrally financed, Unison has claimed.
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31 Aug 12
The Treasury has been criticised for failing to provide funding for a cross-government initiative to make more efficient use of the public sector estate.
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8 Aug 12
Government departments saved more than £5.5bn in 2011/12, including £1.5bn in staff costs, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude revealed today.
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14 May 12
The Local Government Association has launched a fund to help councils make better use of their property.
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1 May 12
The Public Accounts Committee today called for an end to the routine use of the Private Finance Initiative to pay for public infrastructure, saying some of the private sector profits were ‘difficult...
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1 Mar 12
Whitehall needs to adopt a more collaborative approach to property management, the National Audit Office said today.
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22 Feb 12
Finance directors’ fears are mounting over how their councils will be able to run services effectively and balance their books in the medium term, a CIPFA survey reveals.