Members of the GMB union in local government have voted to accept the two-year pay deal from council employers, the only one of the three main unions in the sector to do so.
There needs to be clarity on how reforms to take small firms out of business rates will affect councils. There is a risk the link between economic growth and increased local revenues will be broken.
Staffordshire County Council has improved key outcomes for its public and achieved £150m of savings by transforming itself from a provider of services to a commissioner of outcomes, delegates to the...
The “vast majority” of schools will be part of multi-academy trusts by 2022, education secretary Nicky Morgan said today as she set out the government’s reform plans.
George Osborne’s Budget set a good direction on devolution and prevention through the sugar tax, but there are too many surprises and uncertainties for top marks.
Small businesses are to be exempt from business rates from next April in a move that will reduce the revenue raised – which is 50% retained by councils – by £6.7bn over the next...
Chancellor George Osborne has announced he will be imposing further spending cuts in an effort to make additional savings of £3.5bn by 2019/20, as part of today’s Budget.
The governments in Cardiff and Westminster have struck a £1.2bn city deal for the Welsh capital, expected to provide up to 25,000 new jobs and attract £4bn in private investment.
Councils could make as much £14.7bn in savings through greater digitisation of services, a review by the Public Service Transformation Network and the think-tank Nesta has found.
London’s deputy mayor for policy and planning has called on ministers to “move as quickly as possible” on the localisation of business rates to local government, which he said would...
Councils have urged George Osborne to impose no further cuts on local government in this week’s Budget statement following warnings from the chancellor that public spending might be cut further.
The chancellor’s statement next week must be focused on making the most of the UK’s cities if the country is to weather the tough economic climate ahead
Council tax in England is set to rise by an average of 3.1% next year, according to an analysis by CIPFA, but residents in London will only see a 0.6% average increase.
Innovations in local finance, collaboration and a reshaping of local governance are among the key ingredients required to make devolution work, according to EY.
The Local Government Association and Solace have slammed Ofsted for locking councils into inadequate ratings for their children’s services, and said proposed changes don’t go far enough...
Government proposals to fully devolve business rates risk creating a “widening chasm” between local service demands and council revenues to pay for them, a senior council leader has...
The government should develop an economic strategy to support England’s fastest growing cities, including financial powers to boost housebuilding and maintain higher levels of productivity,...
English local government has a “predictable and supportive” institutional framework that means the sector is transparent and stable, according to an analysis by the credit ratings agency...
Education secretary Nicky Morgan has set out more details of reforms to the funding formula for schools, which will remove local authorities from any role in the distribution of resources.
An independent commission led by Lord Kerslake has called for a major package of fiscal devolution to local authorities in London as part of an effort to double the supply of homes in the capital.
