Local government ministers' attempts to help councils rationalise their assets and join up services continue to be hampered by other Whitehall agencies, Public Finance has learnt.
On the surface, the government's planned Community Right to Buy seems to be an admirable example of localism. But it runs the real risk of turning into nothing more than extra red tape for councils,...
All the coalition talk might be about contracting out services but for many councils, the opposite is looking more attractive. Bringing services back in-house allows better control of costs and...
The Audit Commission is to be split into two - one stand-alone audit company to bid for contracts against other market players and a residual body to oversee contracts and appointments.
Although the previous government's Total Place scheme looks set to continue, albeit in a watered-down form, the route ahead is a challenging one. Lucy Phillips examines the obstacles that are...
The government confirmed that it plans to introduce a presumption in favour of sustainable developments as it launched its new national planning policy.
Councils can generate significant energy savings for their residents if they adopt a model of bulk purchasing, according to the New Local Government Network.
The government’s system for repatriating business rates could put public services in poorer areas at further risk, while richer local authorities may lack the necessary incentives for growth, Public...
Councils will be able to retain their business rate income and borrow against future growth from 2013/14, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced.
Councils across England could save tens of millions of pounds from sharing their property, according to early results from a Local Government Association pilot.
Upper-tier councils in England will take over responsibility for providing access to sexual health services, the national child measurement programme and the NHS's health check assessments, ministers...
English councils should be allowed to retain between 40% and 60% of their business rate growth indefinitely in the government’s shake-up of local government finance, according to a think-tank.
Local authority chiefs in England do not feel well-prepared for the government’s changes to their audit arrangements, according to a survey published today.
Scotland's local authority accounting advisory body has published a handbook to help councillors and other public body governors navigate their way through long and complex financial documents.
Public service ombudsmen are to be given expanded roles as part of the government's public service reforms for England, Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.
