HMRC has been accused of deliberately poor customer service as well as failure to chase up debts effectively and to do enough to tackle abuse of the tax system.
Top tier councils spend over three-quarters of their net revenue expenditure on social care, according to analysis highlighting the intense strain on authorities in the face of surging demand and...
Ministerial envoys are to be sent into Tower Hamlets Council after concerns were raised about a “toxic” culture within the borough and serious concerns over leadership and governance.
Barnet Council has been forced to issue a Section 114 notice after an accounting error saw it make two unlawful transactions in relation to its pension scheme.
Tenants are rushing to buy their homes following the Right to Buy changes announced in the last Budget, according to the Local Government Association (LGA), with the LGA calling on the Government to...
A shortfall in digital and procurement expertise across government has led to taxpayers’ money being wasted and progress on transformation losing pace, according to the National Audit Office.
The government faces a warning that its plans for greater consolidation of LGPS assets risk weakening returns, as well potentially creating conflicts of interest and undermining democratic...
The crisis in support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) risks creating a “lost generation” as well as posing an existential financial threat for local authorities,...
Rural and coastal authorities are grappling with a major demographic divergence which has seen the widening of the age gap between the country’s youngest and oldest populations, according to new...
Local authorities must learn from failings that allowed a £1m fraud to go undetected for almost two decades, Scotland’s public spending watchdog has said.
Wirral Council is seeking an emergency government bailout after auditors warned that a deficit of over £26m and scant reserves place the authority in a “critical” financial situation.
Soaring costs for special needs provision are set to wipe out any potential for school savings on the back of declining pupil numbers, according to a report.
Councils with ideas for approaching their finances “more flexibly” this year should feel able to speak with the government, secretary of state Angela Rayner has said, vowing to work collaboratively...
Bus provision was cut between 2011 and 2023 at a rate 10 times higher in the most deprived areas of England compared with the least deprived, according to the IPPR North think-tank.
The government has set up a cross-party review of adult social care to propose ways to transform the sector, which has faced years of failed or unpopular proposals, and deal with one of the UK’s most...
The UK spending watchdog has raised concerns about the Government Property Agency’s accounting, leading to it qualifying its opinion on the Cabinet Office’s accounts for 2023-24.
