Although mutuals and co-operatives have been providing services for hundreds of years, they are suddenly being touted as the saviour of the public sector. Lucy Phillips reports
Local authorities in England and Wales are set to impose the lowest-ever council tax rise this year, according to CIPFA – although experts are warning of financial trouble ahead
The Audit Commission has called on the government to allow councils more freedom after reviewing the results of its first round of Comprehensive Area Assessments
Services run by local authority housing departments are continuing to improve with no evidence yet that rent arrears have risen during the recession, a study has shown
Local authorities facing losses following the collapse of the Icelandic banks are challenging the government’s ‘irrational’ decision to allow only some councils to spread their losses
Councils should now be approaching the final straight in their preparations for International Financial Reporting Standards. But many are falling behind and must speed up, says Bharat Shah
Cornwall Council has admitted it cannot afford to scrap a Private Finance Initiative waste scheme, which centres on a controversial incinerator that has been refused planning permission
The controversy over unitary status for Exeter and Norwich councils was stoked this week after local government leaders criticised the plans as ‘financial madness’
Only one in ten councils is making preparations for the soaring costs of providing services for an ageing population, according to the Audit Commission
The first reports from 13 pilot projects provide a wealth of data. One thing is clear: public services focus too much on symptoms and too little on causes
Northern Ireland’s 26 district councils have agreed their domestic and non-domestic rates for 2010/11, with variations in the increases imposed ranging from zero to more than 8%.
Seventeen councils are to receive £1m to train staff as part of a campaign to turn hundreds of empty private homes into social housing or sell them to first-time buyers.
The cities of Norwich and Exeter are to be run as unitary authorities after ministers announced the final decisions of the local government reorganisation in the Southwest and East Anglia
Seventeen councils are to receive £1m to train staff as part of a campaign to turn hundreds of empty private homes into social housing or sell them to first-time buyers
