Failed commercial investments have prompted Thurrock Council to request £182m of exceptional financial support from the government to help it balance its 2023-24 budget.
A senior local government official has revealed the commissioners appointed to Thurrock Council will get additional powers to help turn the authority around.
Senior ministers have defended the allocation of regeneration funds, amid concerns that projects in the southeast and London received preferential treatment.
Reserves nearly tripling at the Greater London Authority as it repeatedly raised council tax has prompted calls to ensure the funds are “used more effectively” in next year’s budget to avoid putting...
Police funding issues cannot be solved by relying on police and crime commissioners raising council tax, and experts have warned that the system creates a postcode lottery of services that threatens...
Concerns over additional borrowing have prompted Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council to reduce the number of new homes it plans to build in a regeneration scheme.
Two struggling local authorities are set to request the government’s permission to raise council tax rate by more than the normal limit without triggering a local referendum.
Sustained long-term investment in community and social care is the key to managing NHS pressures, despite new government funding to speed up hospital discharging, experts have warned.
Public sector workers need pay rises similar to their private sector counterparts if services are to maintain motivated, experienced staff, the Treasury has said – but without promising new money for...
Making maths lessons compulsory until the age of 18 could exacerbate already-troublesome teaching shortages, and it is important the plan is based on solid evidence rather than being Rishi Sunak’s “...
The shift to hybrid working has left North Somerset Council’s primary office mostly empty, and the authority is considering demolishing the building to make way for a new housing development.
The failure to replace outdated IT systems is hindering the government’s ability to reduce the costs of managing its extensive estate, MPs have warned.
Local authority reserves collectively rose again last year, as many councils diverted funding to build up their buffers in the absence of a long-term funding settlement, CIPFA has said.
Thurrock Council’s decision to issue a section 114 notice is a necessary step to ensuring exceptional government support, commissioners appointed to turn around the authority have said.
Scottish ministers have overstated the level of funding in the 2023-24 draft budget, after falling to account for top-ups in this year’s budget, economists have claimed.
Ministers are set to raise the revenue support grant for local authorities in line with inflation next year, as part of the upcoming local government settlement.
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...
The financially restrictive devolution settlement is holding back Wales’s ability to plan for the long term, an independent commission looking at the country’s future has argued.
