Local authorities’ “opaque and often ideological” resistance to outsourcing children’s services can be counter-productive to improving outcomes for young people, according to...
An evaluation of the government’s Troubled Families programme has found the flagship scheme has failed to have any significant impact on key areas where it was meant to help, such as employment and...
Reading council – the only local authority in England and Wales never to settle an equal pay claim – will today face a court challenge from more than 60 women who say they are owed over £1.5m because...
The government has reported significant progress towards meeting transparency targets laid out in its open government action plan, according to an examination of progress.
Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer has said the Brexit vote must lead to a “massive profound change” in the way that public services are organised to make them more responsive to the needs of...
Actions taken by the Department for Education since 2010 to improve the quality of local child protection services have been “extremely disappointing”, the National Audit Office said...
Half of all councils in England are now part of the government’s One Public Estate programme following the latest expansion of the property sharing scheme, the Cabinet Office has announced.
The West Midlands is set to join the areas across England that will pilot full business rates retention ahead of the national rollout of the scheme in 2020, after Birmingham City Council indicated...
Plans for local government bond issuances could be “supercharged” if the Treasury provides backing to municipal authorities as part of efforts to boost investment, the leader of England’s largest...
The UK’s vote to leave the European Union and the subsequent change in Downing Street is likely to alter the role of devolution in government policy. Here are some assumptions about Theresa May’s...
Council pension funds can do more to help promote ethical behaviour in the companies they invest in, which would benefit members as well as local residents.
The Local Government Association has criticised Sajid Javid’s decision to overrule a local planning decision to give the go ahead to a horizontal fracking scheme in Lancashire.
Theresa May’s new government has had almost nothing to say about the flagship local government policies of devolution and finance reform. We need some clarity
CIPFA and Aon Hewitt have issued guidance on investment pooling governance arrangements for the authorities administering the Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales.
The chair of the Local Government Association has warned that a “pause” in devolution following Theresa May’s arrival in Downing Street could derail the process across the country.
Failure to tackle persistent poverty and inequalities erode the country’s social and economic productivity. Theresa May must embrace inclusive growth if she is to achieve her goal of a country that...
Councils could face financial uncertainty from a renewed round of appeals against business rate bills following revaluation next April, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said.
Government plans for business rate localisation imply a major redistribution of resources on the first day of the scheme that could create financial uncertainty for councils in the rest of the decade...
Any organisation can find opportunities for improvement if it looks for them. Redmond adopted CIPFA’s Financial Management Model to test how well it was doing in various areas and plan improvements...
Jeremy Corbyn has pledged that a Labour government would lift the housing borrowing cap on councils as part of what he called “municipal socialism for the 21st century”.
Housing benefit overpayments are more likely to be identified when residents receive a separate communication written in clear language, a study conducted by five English councils and Capita suggests.
A Labour government would guarantee regional development scheme spending levels in line with European structural fund allocations over the next decade, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has...
