CIPFA has sounded a note of caution over government plans to establish six “British Wealth Funds” by encouraging Local Government Pension Scheme funds to pool their assets and increase...
Austerity will continue and both significant public sector cuts and some radical reforms lie ahead, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said in its analysis of yesterday’s Autumn Statement and...
The school funding system is to be overhauled and sixth form colleges are to be allowed to become academies, exempting them from VAT, chancellor George Osborne has announced.
This Spending Review isn’t simply about achieving more for less. After the chancellor’s announcements today will reduce government spending by nearly a fifth, we’re now talking...
Councils will be allowed to increase council tax by up to 2% in order to fund adult social care, chancellor George Osborne announced in his Spending Review today.
Devolution of business rates to local government will create the opportunities for English councils to borrow against future revenue increases to fund development. Similar Tax Increment Financing...
Two-thirds of Scots want to replace the council tax, according to an online poll run by the cross-party Commission on Local Tax Reform set up by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish...
Half of council finance directors are less confident in the ability to deliver savings than they were a year ago, a CIPFA survey ahead of this week’s Spending Review has found.
After months of negotiations central government has reached agreement with the Liverpool City Region and West Midlands combined authorities for the devolution of powers and funding away from...
Milton Keynes is a leader in housebuilding, job creation and population growth, but these trends are not without challenges for council chief Carole Mills
Greg Clark has today indicated that local authorities will face additional funding cuts after Department for Communities and Local Government figures showed a 73% increase in the level of reserves...
Labour shadow ministers and seven council leaders have warned that cuts to local government are hitting those most in need of help and further reductions risk undermining the fabric of communities.
With today’s agreement of devolution deals for Birmingham and Liverpool city regions, it is full steam ahead for the government’s devolution project. But one question remains to be...
Chancellor George Osborne has struck devolution deals with Birmingham and Liverpool city regions, giving the areas control over infrastructure investment, transport and skills in return for the...
Children susceptible to involvement in gangs and violence can be spotted as young as seven and public services should focus on tackling risk factors, research from the Early Intervention Foundation...
There is a “clear case” for devolution to English counties but the government’s insistence on a mayoral model could cut these areas off from additional powers, an Institute for...
Local government funding cuts could be a ‘silent killer’ for small charities and leave them unable to compete with national organisations, think-tank New Philanthropy Capital has warned.
There is little disagreement with the principle of government’s plans for devolution revolution in England. But now that the chancellor has begun putting his money where his mouth is, it looks like...
The Public Accounts Committee has called for greater clarity in the government’s flagship devolution agreements after raising concerns about accountability and scrutiny arrangements in the...
Former health secretary Stephen Dorrell has called for social care and public health funding to be protected in the forthcoming Spending Review, saying to cut these budgets while increasing NHS...
