Local government faces an uncertain future. The Lyons' report has been largely rejected by ministers, there is the prospect of a messy reorganisation, and local partnerships are failing to get off...
The future of local government finance moved up the election agenda in Scotland this week as the Liberal Democrats announced their plans for a local income tax.
The British civil service has been criticised for a 'we know best' attitude and must learn from its international counterparts if it is to improve policy-making.
CIPFA will be hosting an event at its Mansell Street offices on 3 November to mark 40 years since the publication of the Layfield report into local government finance, including contributions from...
A government commission examining the barriers to becoming a councillor will consider salary hikes and accreditation for future town hall leaders, its chair has revealed.
The Department of Health's latest scheme to invite private companies to take control of GP services has been condemned as potentially destabilising and unnecessary.
Most fire and rescue authorities in England are now performing well or strongly, with 32 out of 47 in the top two categories, according to the latest ratings from the Audit Commission.
Ministers backed away from punishing breaches of the cap on council tax rises this year because they did not believe that increases above 5% were excessive.
Northern Ireland council workers take on average more than three days extra sickness absence per year than their equivalents in England and Wales, a report from the Northern Ireland Audit Office has...
Whitehall's largest trade union this week intensified its battle against the government's civil service reform agenda by asking hundreds of local councillors for their views on the controversial...
A leading public finance expert has criticised the Scottish National Party's plans for a local income tax, claiming they are based on shaky financial assumptions that would create a significant...
The Local Government Association has been warned that it urgently needs to do more to win back the affection of its grassroots members or risks alienating them further.
One of Gordon Brown's first moves as chancellor was to outsource responsibility for interest rates to the Monetary Policy Committee. So should he go further and create an independent body to oversee...
Regardless of press speculation, the Lyons report has not been consigned to the dustbin. In fact, it kickstarts the debate on reform, focusing first on the short-term decisions that ministers must...
NHS primary care trusts have hit back at local authorities, claiming that they too are the victims of 'cost-shunting' as social care cuts have increased demand for NHS services.
The government has accepted the recommendations of a review by Westminster City Council chief executive Peter Rogers of local authorities' role as regulatory enforcers.
Sir Michael Lyons and ministers this week united in an upbeat defence of local government reform in the face of widespread disappointment from town hall leaders, who fear many of Lyons' major...
Politicians suffer from myopia and tunnel vision they look only to the short term and take a blinkered view of the issue in hand. This is a sentiment with which many people would agree.
