David Cameron's Big Society could radically change the way services are delivered, and help councils empower communities. But the bad news for the chancellor is that it's unlikely to save much money...
Communities in rural areas hoping to develop their own housing projects will need to win the support of 75% of voters, housing minister Grant Shapps has confirmed.
A decisive shift towards Total Place-style budgeting is widely expected to be included in next month’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Public Finance has learned.
Council leaders warned the government today that a combination of grant cuts and increasing demand for services could leave them with a funding gap of up to £20bn a year by 2014/15
The Local Government Association has called for radical reform of the bus subsidy system, which it said costs the public sector £1.3bn a year but gives it minimal influence over services.
The government's data-sharing revolution has begun and armchair auditors have an array of website weapons to choose from. This is not a threat to the public sector but an opportunity for greater...
Few fire and rescue services could deploy sophisticated equipment for responding to natural disasters or terrorist incidents at all times, the Audit Commission has found.
The government will review local government finance 'this time next year', Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles told an influential group of MPs this week.
The government has been managing expectations of next month’s Comprehensive Spending Review since June’s emergency Budget, and voters now know to expect incredibly harsh settlements for the services...
The education watchdog Ofsted today exposed serious flaws in provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities, calling for 'a shift in direction'
The Unite union has told Prime Minister David Cameron that councils have already axed vital services such as meals on wheels and social care provision for elderly people as they prepare for spending...
The Welsh Local Government Association has warned that the public sector cuts to be announced next month put Wales at greater risk of returning to recession.
The local government secretary’s decision to transfer the Audit Commission’s value-for-money work to the National Audit Office was ‘taken in haste’ and not thought through, local government select...
Local government minister Bob Neill has claimed there is not ‘a shred of evidence’ that this week’s collapse of social housing maintenance firm Connaught was linked to the scale and pace of...
Charity leaders have questioned whether the government’s Big Society plan can work in practice, as spending cuts start to hit the organisations needed to make it happen.
