A dispute has broken out between the Scottish government and the Treasury over whether ministers in Edinburgh have the power to levy a nationally set local income tax.
Local government minister John Healey has announced a change in the budgeting rules for councils' capital projects, which he says will encourage self-regulation.
Children's centres and extended schools are improving the lives of children and their families - but local authorities have little evidence that they provide value for money, education inspectorate...
Town hall leaders have hit back angrily after ministers pledged this week to 'bust red tape' and 'weed out bureaucracy' to speed up the sluggish planning regime.
Leading public finance officials have told the Scottish government that it has failed to provide any information showing that its plans to replace Private Finance Initiative funding will be less...
Despite the billions of pounds spent on low-income neighbourhoods, inequality continues to rise, according to a report by the New Economics Foundation.
Households living in new eco-towns will be subject to strict transport rules with no more than half permitted to own a car, the government confirmed this week.
Many large councils will soon be involved in carbon trading schemes as part of efforts to combat climate change. But they will need to raise awareness and improve communications if the initiative is...
A Lords ruling has relaxed the strict time limits on damages claims for sexual abuse, allowing many adults who were assaulted as children to go to court. And that has important implications for local...
Twenty-five years on from the birth of the Audit Commission, is it time for a radical rethink on public sector inspection and regulation, asks David Walker
The finances of Aberdeen City Council are 'precarious', according to the public spending watchdog responsible for the audit of Scottish local authorities.
The legal framework for flood risk management is 'a mess', with gaps that make it hard to establish who is responsible for what, Sir Michael Pitt, who is carrying out a review of last summer's floods...
Local authorities are set to be given more powers to crack down on cowboy builders. At the same time, they will have to spend less time regulating firms that provide a good service.
Doctors and patients have cast doubts on the value of the government's extended Patient Choice scheme as ministers did their best to advertise its virtues in advance of an April 1 roll-out.
John Swinney has insisted that the Scottish government's local income tax plans are 'robust' and can be delivered, despite the flood of criticism that greeted the publication of his consultation...
Northern Ireland's 26 district councils are to merge into 11 new councils. A decision of the Northern Ireland Executive was opposed only by the two Ulster Unionist ministers after intensive...
