Planning minister Brandon Lewis has raised the prospect of bringing in new laws to require councils to use standard processes for reaching section 106 agreements, including setting time limits for...
The 24 enterprise zones in England have created more than 15,000 jobs since being formed in April 2012, communities secretary Eric Pickles has revealed.
Additional powers granted to councils to allow them to crack down on metal thefts have helped cut instances of the crime by almost one-third, the Local Government Association has said.
The Scottish Government has revealed the membership of a 13-strong commission that will examine alternatives to the council tax, with members including Cosla president David O’Neill and head of CIPFA...
The Scottish Parliament has agreed to write-off nearly £500m of unpaid poll tax debts, in spite of Conservative claims that the precedent it establishes amounts to a tax-dodgers’ charter.
Smart technologies can make our cities work better. But to face the challenges ahead, including population growth and transport, we also need our towns and villages to become ‘smart communities’
Another 100 areas are to be given greater control over public spending through an expansion of the government’s neighbourhood community budgets programme.
Public Health England now distributes the £2.8bn grant to councils as they work to improve the health of the people. Everything from planning to parks, and education to employment, can play a role.
Groups of local authorities should be given complete control over council tax, including the value of bands and the timing of revaluations, the Independent Commission on Local Government Finance has...
Public audit needs to shape up and become more interventionist, writes Sir Derek Myers. The economic climate demands that it’s in the front seat, driving change
As the Audit Commission finally shuts its doors, there are a host of outstanding questions about practicality, cost and the value of public audit, writes Marcine Waterman
A £500m infrastructure fund being created by two local government pension schemes could expand to form a multi- billion pound investment vehicle across the sector, a key figure in its formation has...
A rift between ministers and councils over the Scottish Government’s pledge to maintain pupil-teacher ratios has widened, after the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said it was considering a...
Recent reports of ineffective local government scrutiny reflect a hard if disappointing reality. But it’s important that councils invest in an enhanced scrutiny function – it will pay for...
Councils have been warned that plans to integrate health and care spending will place additional pressures on ‘ineffective’ local authority scrutiny arrangements.
Chancellor George Osborne has pledged to devolve skills funding to combined authorities in the Midlands as part of a 15-year plan to make the region ‘an engine for growth’.
Making more and better use of digital services could save councils in England more than £5bn over the course of the next decade, a government report has found.
Over two-fifths of respondents to a survey on the effectiveness of local authority governance have warned that scrutiny committees are not doing enough to challenge the way that councils operate.
Ten of the UK’s largest cities have today launched a ‘freedom charter’ setting out demands for devolution that they said would drive national prosperity and boost local economies.
Brighton & Hove City Council could be the first council in England to hold a referendum on a council tax increase after proposing it rise by 5.9% for 2015/16.
Commissioners are to be sent in to run all the executive functions of Rotherham Borough Council following a damning report into the authority’s governance.
