The government’s localism drive came too late to help councils mitigate the impact of budget cuts, leading Big Society advocate Phillip Blond has told MPs.
Poor communities will bear the brunt of the government’s decision to reduce funding for council tax relief by £500m when it is localised from next year, the Local Government Association has warned...
Every eligible local authority in England has agreed to take part in the government's plan to turn round the lives of 120,000 problem families by 2015, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced...
Councils have urged the government to drop proposals that would allow property developers to renegotiate infrastructure commitments made in planning deals.
Scotland has not made much progress in decentralising power to localities but has little to learn from the English localism model, leading academics told a gathering of public policy specialists in...
The government is seeking a new chair of the Audit Commission to oversee its abolition and replace Michael O’Higgins, who steps down at the end of September.
After dominating television for more than 30 years, Phil Redmond is creating some live dramas of his own in his home city of Liverpool. He talks to PF about culture, cohesion and council bureaucracy
Three council ‘spin-off’ mutuals are the first to receive government cash to help them access professional support and win contracts, the Cabinet Office announced today.
Councils, trade unions and the government have today struck a deal over changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme, confirming that employees will not face a blanket increase in contributions.
Local authorities face a ‘tough challenge’ in taking control of Council Tax Benefit at the same time as it is being cut by 10%, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned today.
As economic crisis turns to political crisis across Europe, what are the lessons for local democracy here? The May 3 elections sent out some strong messages on mayors, majorities and political...
Councils will be able to compare their residents’ satisfaction levels against those living in other authorities from this autumn, the Local Government Association has revealed.
Scotland’s 32 unitary authorities should be merged into just 19, given full control over their own finances and encouraged to install directly elected mayors, according to Reform Scotland.
Whitehall’s decision to claw back half of the localised business rates collected by English councils ‘falls well short’ of giving them freedom and lacks ambition, according to town halls.
The Scottish Care Inspectorate is to spearhead a strategic assessment of care services for children over the coming year, under plans published today in the latest local government inspection...
The Audit Commission is calling for government departments to be required to join its National Fraud Initiative, which has saved £1bn elsewhere in the public sector since it began in 1996.
Plans to monitor the spending of public money in academy schools are weak and might not be able to ensure accountability, the Public Accounts Committee has warned.
