Ministers are giving tacit backing to a Private Members’ Bill that could significantly extend the powers of councils to oversee local services and utilities
A deal might not have come out of Copenhagen, but the public sector still faces scrutiny of its CO2 emissions. Many larger public bodies are covered by the Carbon Reduction Commitment, which comes...
The chair of the Audit Commission is to launch a defence of the regulator’s new local government inspection regime, arguing it is an essential tool in making services more accountable
Deputy Prime Minister Harriet Harman has vowed to fight discrimination against elderly people, promising new rights for carers and extra obligations on public services
Local government is failing to save money by sharing back-office operations and must be forced by legislation to do so, a leading consultancy firm has said
The nation’s ever-expanding fiscal gap was examined recently in a video debate organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers and chaired by Public Finance editor Mike Thatcher – and asks, is it time to face...
Another London borough has criticised the new inspection arrangements for local services, suggesting they are inappropriate in a climate of public sector spending cuts
Councils should offer tax incentives to encourage local businesses to invest in their area, avoiding a surge in ‘ghost towns’, according to a think-tank.
The past ten years have seen the economy go from boom to bust, and the public finances spiral out of control. Tony Travers relives a decade of war, terrorism and financial
collapse – and asks, is it...
Efforts to improve the quality of social housing by the end of next year are being thwarted by councils failing to refurbish their homes fast enough, housing minister John Healey claimed this week
It’s supposed to be lighter touch but it is certainly tougher. The Audit Commission’s first area assessments were revealed this week – and put up on the Oneplace website for everyone to see. David...
