The cuts imposed on councils are too steep, happening too fast and unfairly distributed. There needs to be real-terms growth in the resources given to local government and distribution according to...
Around £100 could be shaved off council tax bills by 2020 as local government becomes more innovative and entrepreneurial, the Localis think-tank has predicted.
The next government should create an independent City Devolution Commission to devolve power over public services and some taxes to every major UK conurbation by the end of the parliament, the RSA...
The chair of public services at the RSA talks to Public Finance about the need for devolution to boost public services and how to drive more powers to cities across the country
A majority of people would support an increase in council tax if the additional funding was used to make local services more responsive and tailored to individual needs, a poll has found.
Over half of total council tax revenue will be used to pay for social care by the end of the decade, the latest analysis of the future of council finance by the Local Government Association has...
International evidence has shown that devolution of welfare-to-work schemes to local authorities can improve services – if funding and accountability challenges can be overcome.
Sir Derek Myers speaks to Public Finance about the recommendations of the Service Transformation Challenge Panel, how to spread reforms across the public sector, and his priorities as lead...
Councils in Greater Manchester and around Cambridge are to be allowed to retain all additional business rate growth from next month, Chancellor George Osborne announced in the Budget as he urged...
A senior council leader has warned that local authorities will face legal challenges over failure to provide statutory services during the next parliament if funding cuts persist.
Scotland’s continuing obsession with wresting powers from Westminster is in danger of hijacking the ‘more pressing’ need to devolve power down from Holyrood to local authority level...
The most deprived areas of England have suffered the deepest cuts in government funding during this Parliament, which has broken the historic link between local deprivation levels and spending, an...
Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said today that he was ‘ending the war’ on motorists by giving drivers a 10-minute grace period for being late back to their vehicle.
Council spending in England has been cut by almost a quarter on a per person basis since 2009/10, according to an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Billions of pounds should be devolved to the North of England to rebalance the economy and revitalise the region’s creaking transport network, according to IPPR North.
Unprecedented pressures lie ahead for Scottish local government finances, and councils need effective long-term plans to prepare for them, the Accounts Commission for Scotland warns today in its...
The government’s council tax freeze has saved households in England £168 a year, but cost public services around £2.8bn, CIPFA’s annual survey and analysis has found.
Extending devolution to England’s non-metropolitan areas is vital to expanding economic growth and tackling skills shortages, an expert commission has concluded.
English counties are today calling for the devolution of health and social care systems, warning that centralised NHS structures are causing barriers between services.
Devolution in England could add £144bn a year to the UK economy by 2020 by handing powers and funds to local enterprise partnerships, according to a report from Localis.
New planning rules freeing builders from the requirement to build social homes have taken effect. In return, ministers are expecting builders to slash their usual sale prices by 20% in bid to help...
