A study of public sector organisations in Birmingham has found that services can be improved and costs cut through a combination of early intervention and place-based budgeting
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has praised councils that have published details of all spending above £500 three months early, and warned that the rest are failing their residents on...
Outsourcing almost all services at Suffolk County Council will not be 'a quick fix', but the leaders were left with no other option, Public Finance has been told
Auditors have called for a 'fundamental review' of special schools funding in Wales after an investigation revealed inconsistencies and weaknesses in funding arrangements
Local authorities could face a ‘landslide’ of legal claims from female workers if they fail to adequately assess the equality impacts of cutting women’s jobs, a union has warned
A website tool inviting residents to tell local authorities where cuts should be made will allow the 'most thorough and comprehensive consultation ever taken on local public spending', according to...
Decisions over benefit payments should be localised and welfare spending incorporated into pooled area-based budgets, the government has been told today
The government today confirmed that there would be no revaluation of council tax bands in England during the current Parliament, prompting criticism that the levy is becoming discredited
At least £15bn needs to be spent on school buildings over the next four years if there are to be enough places for every child, council leaders warned today.
Not all cuts have to be bad, sometimes you can get more for less – and that’s particularly the case with procurement, argues Paul O'Brien. Some councils have already found new ways
to make the most...
David Cameron's Big Society could radically change the way services are delivered, and help councils empower communities. But the bad news for the chancellor is that it's unlikely to save much money...
Communities in rural areas hoping to develop their own housing projects will need to win the support of 75% of voters, housing minister Grant Shapps has confirmed.
A decisive shift towards Total Place-style budgeting is widely expected to be included in next month’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Public Finance has learned.
Council leaders warned the government today that a combination of grant cuts and increasing demand for services could leave them with a funding gap of up to £20bn a year by 2014/15
The Local Government Association has called for radical reform of the bus subsidy system, which it said costs the public sector £1.3bn a year but gives it minimal influence over services.
