Local authorities should monitor and act on signs that community cohesion is breaking down to ensure Britain remains fair and inclusive, according to Dame Louise Casey.
Local government minister Marcus Jones has issued a final warning to three authorities to cease the publication of council freesheet newspapers more than four times a year or he will need to...
The Welsh local government minister has told Public Finance he is “open minded” about how funding might change to accommodate planned reforms to the sector that would pool some services at a regional...
Local authorities are bound by law to balance the books. If NHS trusts were charged with the same expectation, dependency on government handouts could be eliminated
Scotland’s municipal spending watchdog has praised the financial management of the country’s local authorities over the past year, but warned them of a bleak future of shrinking budgets...
As rents rise and benefits fall, more people face losing their home. A bill aims to stop people from becoming homeless by giving English councils specific duties to help everyone at an earlier stage
Council and NHS leaders have lamented today’s Autumn Statement as a ‘missed opportunity’ to allay the burgeoning health and social care funding crisis.
Combined authorities led by mayors are to be given borrowing powers and councils will have access to new low-cost loans under proposals set out today in the Autumn Statement to boost local growth.
Philip Hammond’s announcements on housing and mayoral borrowing powers represent a welcome shift in policy. But social care’s absence from the chancellor’s speech is more worrying.
The UK government has scored highly on an international fiscal transparency measure published by the International Monetary Fund, in which it was advised to consider scrapping the Autumn Statement.
The increasing scale of commercial activity carried out by local authorities could put council finances at risk, and town halls might lack the necessary skills for such projects, the Public Accounts...
Failure to prevent damaging social problems such as domestic violence, abuse, unemployment and youth crime costs the public sector around £17bn a year in England and Wales, according to the Early...
As many plans for council restructures are considered, the evidence shows basing plans on county boundaries would bring the greatest savings and support public sector reform
Local government leaders from across the UK have today united in a call for further devolution across the country following Brexit, including greater fiscal autonomy for councils.
The government has been urged to set out a plan for more independent local government following the Brexit vote, with clear powers and a vision for the role of councils in driving prosperity.
Senior local government finance figures in Scotland have raised concerns that the Scottish Government’s public service reform plan is placing too much focus on governance changes, to the...
Vulnerable older people are being denied regular showers and visits to the toilet because of cuts to social care budgets, a report by trade union Unison has said.
A member of the landmark Layfield inquiry into local government finance has said the government’s devolution drive is unlikely to succeed because not enough fiscal powers have been localised.
Nearly every council has signed up for a four-year funding settlement by filing an efficiency plan with the Department for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid has revealed.
