Communities in England are to be given a greater say over the siting of on-shore wind farms along with bigger incentives to ensure such developments are built, the government announced today.
English councils are to be given a £94m education refund for 2012/13 after Whitehall took too much from local authority grants to pay for services at academy schools.
London Mayor Boris Johnson has embraced the Travers commission proposals for increased financial autonomy for the capital. But will Whitehall, asks Vivienne Russell
The government is to launch a ‘rolling programme’ of Community Budgets at this month's Spending Review to give all areas a chance to join the pooled funding initiative.
Plans to establish a municipal bonds agency for local government could provide cheaper borrowing for councils than the Public Works Loan Board, an international expert has told Public Finance.
Little progress has been made on integrating health and social care services in England, which risks making services financially unsustainable in the future, senior NHS managers have warned.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has indicated the government will expand the number of ‘whole place’ Community Budgets in next month’s Spending Review.
Auditors have said that the botched Edinburgh tram project continues to present a ‘substantial’ challenge to the city council as it attempts to implement budget cuts and restore public confidence.
Planning relaxations that come into effect in England today will ‘significantly reduce’ councils' ability to decide on important developments in their area, the Local Government Association has...
The government has confirmed that Whitehall cuts agreed yesterday will not affect council funding, which is still being negotiated by the various departments.
The plan to abolish the Audit Commission is one of 89 major Whitehall projects facing significant obstacles to implementation, according to a Cabinet Office review.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is among seven Whitehall ministries that have signed up to extra funding cuts of between 8% and 10% in 2015/16, Chancellor George Osborne announced...
Councils should take a flexible and fair approach to poorer residents who get into arrears as council tax support is cut away, Citizens Advice said today.
The idea that the Local Government Association will be able to replace the Audit Commission’s improvement work is ‘illusory’, the former chair of the body has warned.
Senior officers in Scotland’s newly centralised national police force have angered council leaders by suggesting that the police merger could form a template for getting rid of many local authorities.
Local government minister Brandon Lewis has set out plans to undertake a ‘root-and-branch review’ of the Local Government Pension Scheme’s investment regulations. The possibility of merging schemes...
Council spending on children's services, elderly people and road users has fallen as the austerity programme in Scotland deepens, according to a comparison of local authority financial data.
Around £200m could be saved each year if the efficiency of England’s fire services was improved, an independent report commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government has...
Scottish councils spent a fifth less on roads maintenance in a year but still managed to improve the condition of the network, according to the Accounts Commission.
London government should have full control over council tax, stamp duty and business rates as well as power to introduce new levies, such as a tourism tax, the London Finance Commission has...
Councils are facing a financial black hole of around £15bn in 2019/20 as a result of rising demand for services, such as social care, and government funding reductions, local authority chief...
