High service demand, rising costs and the large ringfencing of budgets could see 24% of Scottish councils issue Section 114 notices next year, the Local Government Information Unit has said.
A lack of auditor capacity and complex accounting requirements worsened the local audit crisis and meant the Financial Reporting Council could only inspect four financial statements in 2022-23.
A widening budget gap at Slough Borough Council means it must make “significant reductions” to avoid exceeding its exceptional government support this year, its finance director has warned.
A forecast £57m gap in 2025-26 has forced Hampshire County Council to look at making huge cuts – even ones that “do not necessarily make sense” – to ensure the authority passes the “commissioner test...
What’s the cost of sending a judge to Rwanda? We may know this week. The PM has Covid-19 questions to answer, a watchdog is under pressure and climate change is still with us.
The recent Section 114 at Nottingham City Council was due to “13 years of Conservative decline and failure” and not poor leadership, the authority’s leader has said following criticism from levelling...
Approval of a new combined authority in the East Midlands will give power over £4bn of funding and “bring lasting benefits” to the region, local leaders have said.
The continued expectation that councils will simply use their declining reserves to balance their budgets shows the government does not understand why authorities hold them, a finance director has...
The financial fallout from an equal pay dispute and the botched implementation of an IT system will lead Birmingham City Council to ask the government for permission to hike council tax above the...
Some councils have been overstating their financial woes, levelling up secretary Michael Gove has claimed, as authorities deal with rising demand and high costs.
To build more homes, councils don’t need false limits and a Kafkaesque sting set by central government, writes Cllr Diarmaid Ward, Islington Council’s deputy leader.
Pressure on council finances has led to instances of aggressive action to recover council tax arrears, prompting MPs to urge the government to clarify regulations to prevent unnecessary distress.
Councils still do not know what upcoming waste collection reforms will mean for them, delaying investment and teeing up a procurement rush once details are announced, the Public Accounts Committee...
