Government plans to overhaul the administration of council tax have not been properly thought through and risk leaving local authorities out of pocket, finance experts have warned.
Fractured relationships between senior officers and councillors at Wrexham County Borough Council continue to jeopardise the authority’s decision-making, governance and reputation, auditors have...
Council tax debt in England has risen by almost half since the eve of the pandemic as cost-of-living pressures push families into arrears over priority bills, according to research.
The drive for public service reform in Scotland is being hindered by uncertain and inflexible local authority funding, according to council chief executives.
Research has suggested that although last year’s reforms to the Right to Buy scheme led to a short term uptick in applications, the changes should begin to deliver long-term benefits soon.
Government plans for local government reorganisation have been described as a “blatant power grab” which would fail to address the financial challenges facing the sector.
Exit packages worth over £1m paid to senior staff at Glasgow City Council – including the former chief executive – were subject to a “deeply concerning” lack of scrutiny, according to the watchdog...
Scrutiny of local government finances is being hindered by a lack of understanding among officers and elected members and the absence of standardised reporting requirements, according to a new study.
The government has been urged to scrap permitted development rights in the wake of new research showing that thousands of affordable homes have been lost to office-to-residential conversions.
A major shake-up of council funding designed to shift resources towards areas in greater need could founder on a flawed methodology for measuring deprivation, the government has been warned.
Councils should be given an expanded “right of first refusal” to buy back homes disposed of under Right to Buy as part of a major drive to boost the availability of social housing, a report has...
A contractor jointly owned by Glasgow City Council has undergone an overhaul of its internal controls after a probe by auditors uncovered significant concerns over its governance.
Plans to overhaul the funding of local government fail to address the extreme financial pressure under which the sector is operating, the government has been warned.
Administrating authorities risk being overloaded by proposals to tackle inequality and discrimination in the Local Government Pension Scheme, the government has been warned.
Four local authority pension funds left homeless under plans to consolidate the Local Government Pension Scheme have announced their new preferred pool.
A report on local authority procurement practices has claimed that despite its huge role in supporting business through procurement, local government can – and should – do more to generate greater...
Stronger safeguards are needed to protect accountability as the government moves ahead with plans to introduce powerful local mayors across England, experts have warned.
Proposals to split Suffolk into three new unitaries as part of the reorganisation of English local government have been called “costly and unworkable” by the county council, which prefers a different...
Seven local authority pension funds seeking a new home under plans to consolidate the Local Government Pension scheme have announced Border to Coast Pensions Partnership as their preferred pool.
Councils should be given the power to levy taxes on visitors as part of a radical shift towards a locally controlled tourism industry, according to a study.
Inner London boroughs will be the biggest losers under plans to shake up the distribution of local government funding, with the worst hit facing real-terms cuts of up to 12% over the next three years...
Scottish councils have been told to make urgent improvements to their workforce planning as concerns over financial sustainability intensify and sickness absence rates reach a record high.
