A government-owned business can be entrepreneurial if it changes its philosophy and encourages ambition and risk-taking, the head of Scotland’s principal ferry operator told delegates to the CIPFA...
Devolution deals that are transforming public services in Greater Manchester would not have happened without Scottish devolution showing the way, former CIPFA president and Bury Council chief...
The collapse in oil prices helped drive up the notional deficit in Scotland’s public finances to almost twice the UK level in 2014/15, according to the annual Government Expenditure...
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced plans to make the council tax in Scotland more progressive and to end the nine-year rate freeze if the Scottish National Party returns to government after...
Scotland is to have its own benefits agency to deliver the new welfare powers devolved under the 2016 Scotland Bill, and to ensure the creation of a distinctive Scottish benefits culture based on...
Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned that it is “highly doubtful” that the Westminster government would replace European social protections if the UK voted to leave the bloc...
Scottish secretary David Mundell today urged politicians to shift political debate towards the best use of Holyrood’s new fiscal powers, after finance secretary John Swinney acknowledged that...
Senior ministers from both the Scottish and UK governments have been warned to come armed with good explanations for their difficulties in agreeing a fiscal framework for Scotland’s new...
Scotland is to have a nationwide council tax freeze in 2016/17 for the ninth successive year, after all 32 local authorities accepted finance secretary John Swinney’s £10.3bn funding deal...
In the face of a tight spending settlement, Scottish councils are preparing plans for service cuts and council tax rises. The future of local government funding is therefore set to be one of the big...
Chief secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands is expected to table fresh proposals to break the deadlock over funding arrangements for Scotland’s new devolved tax powers at a meeting in London today...
CIPFA has urged Scotland’s political parties to put the reform of local government finance at the top of their policy agendas for May’s Holyrood election and beyond, in the wake of a cross-party...
Finance Secretary John Swinney has set Scotland’s 32 local authorities a deadline of 2 February to decide whether or not to accept a financial settlement he hopes will underpin a further year of the...
Scotland’s new devolved tax powers should be used to boost competitiveness, incentivise growth and stimulate enterprise, according to the report today from a commission set up by the Conservatives.
The remit of the Scottish Fiscal Commission should be expanded to include independent forecasts of devolved tax revenues and examinations of the Scottish Government’s performance against its...
Scottish finance secretary John Swinney has shunned his first opportunity to set a different income tax for Scotland from that of the rest of the UK, but made clear his intention to do so if and when...
Scotland’s council tax system should be replaced with a new levy designed to be fairer, more progressive and which gives greater powers to local communities, a landmark report has concluded.
Plans to integrate health and social care provision in Scotland face significant risks that must be addressed if the reform is to improve how services are delivered, a report has found.
Implementing the Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT) will cost up to £35m and 2.6 million people will be liable to pay it, the National Audit Office has revealed.
