The June Spending Review is going to slice Whitehall’s funding cake so thinly that departments will be left fighting over the crumbs. So how are public services meant to cope, asks Tony Travers
Council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been offered a ‘best possible’ 1% pay increase for the current year, local authority employers announced today.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has pledged to stop judicial reviews into government decisions being used as ‘a cheap delaying tactic’ to hold up planning applications and policy changes.
Welsh local government could be reorganised again after First Minister Carwyn Jones announced a review of the way public services in Wales are governed and held accountable.
The government is consulting on proposed changes to the Community Infrastructure Levy, including plans to make councils provide greater clarity on their charges.
Local government spending on leisure and education services could be reduced to zero as a result of Whitehall cuts, a report by the New Local Government Network has warned today.
The Local Government Association has today urged MPs to halt plans for a ‘free-for-all’ on home extensions that could have a negative impact on local communities.
Three-quarters of local government leaders say funding cuts are the most important issue facing their areas, according to an Ipsos Mori poll published today.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is consulting on measures to curb what he calls ‘political propaganda’ by English councils, including the publication of weekly newspapers and hiring of lobbyists.
Councils have consolidated the gains made under the first two years of International Financial Reporting Standards. But further challenges lie ahead, says Sarah Sheen
This month, local authorities face one of their trickiest balancing acts yet. They have to meet the twin challenges of government changes to council tax support and business rates, without losing out...
MPs today urged the Department for Work and Pensions to re-examine the impact of the ‘bedroom tax’, warning that the Housing Benefit reductions could hit divorced parents and disabled people.
Scottish councils face a continuing spending squeeze in the coming financial year and it will be a ‘tall order’ for them to maintain services, the Accounts Commission has warned.
Holyrood’s finance committee has approved in principle Scottish Government plans to replace stamp duty with a more progressive form of property transaction tax.
The National Audit Office has slammed the Department for Communities and Local Government’s management of the £1.3bn New Homes Bonus programme, warning that many councils would lose out.
