The Liberal Democrats would reform council funding by giving local authorities more powers over revenue and spending and a new right to demand devolution from Whitehall.
David Cameron has set out plans to extend the government’s Right-to-Buy scheme to social housing tenants, to be funded by forcing local authorities to sell off high-value council homes.
There are strong reasons for profit capping and sharing in outsourcing deals, including bolstering moves to introduce universal accounting standards for all public service contracts. However, there...
Local authorities faced some unenviable choices when Council Tax Benefit was devolved to town halls. Evidence is now emerging of the impact of the reforms.
Major local government reorganisation is coming in Wales, with plans to reduce the number of principal authorities from 22 to 12. It needs adequate funding and realistic timescales if it is to...
Councils should be able to cut the discount available under the government’s Right to Buy scheme in order to raise funds to replace homes that are sold, housing organisations have said.
The next government should establish unitary councils in current two-tier areas of England as part of measures to create the structures needed for devolution from Whitehall, parish councils have said.
A quarter of a million low-income households in England will pay more in council tax from this month following cuts in the support schemes run by town halls, a report has concluded.
Promises from political parties to devolve power to local areas could double the turnout among young people in next month’s general election, a poll published by the Local Government...
Directors of adult social services have warned that a funding deal is not yet in place to implement the government’s flagship reforms to care provision, despite new duties coming into force today.
The head of the company formed by the Local Government Association to manage local public sector audit contracts has said it will maintain a rigorous audit regime once the Audit Commission shuts its...
Three-quarters of outgoing MPs support the ringfencing of adult social care funding in the next parliament, a poll by the Local Government Association has found.
Ministers have removed independent protections for council Section 151 officers and those holding other senior posts in local government after concluding the current regime was costly to councils.
Day-to-day spending on schools has been ‘remarkably’ well protected under the coalition government, but regardless of who wins the next election cuts of 7% or more are possible, the...
Councils should create local versions of the government’s so-called ‘nudge unit’ in a bid to cut the demand for services amid a spending squeeze on town halls, a report has claimed...
Just one in ten local government bosses are confident that their council can protect frontline services in the face of continued austerity over the next five years, a PwC poll has found.
County councils have today warned there are signs of a possible slowdown in economic growth that must be tackled through devolution of powers to boost productivity.
The cuts imposed on councils are too steep, happening too fast and unfairly distributed. There needs to be real-terms growth in the resources given to local government and distribution according to...
Around £100 could be shaved off council tax bills by 2020 as local government becomes more innovative and entrepreneurial, the Localis think-tank has predicted.
The next government should create an independent City Devolution Commission to devolve power over public services and some taxes to every major UK conurbation by the end of the parliament, the RSA...
The chair of public services at the RSA talks to Public Finance about the need for devolution to boost public services and how to drive more powers to cities across the country
A majority of people would support an increase in council tax if the additional funding was used to make local services more responsive and tailored to individual needs, a poll has found.
Over half of total council tax revenue will be used to pay for social care by the end of the decade, the latest analysis of the future of council finance by the Local Government Association has...
