Councils’ ability to contribute to the government’s climate ambitions is being hampered by “piecemeal” funding and a lack of clarity around their role, according to the National Audit Office.
A worst case scenario with repeated lockdowns and a slow economic recovery would leave a county council in southern England with a shortfall of £220.3m from next year until 2024-25, the...
The size of quantitative easing undertaken in response to Covid-19 could test the Bank of England’s independence from ministers, according to a Parliamentary committee.
Prime minister Boris Johnson today hinted the government could allow more county devolution deals and extend agreements to towns – but warned powers would be decided on a case-by-case basis by...
A unitary authority has unveiled plans to spend more than £100m on slashing its office space by three quarters, enabled by a rise in home working following Covid-19.
Whitehall's oversight of local government audit has become “increasingly complacent” and the proposed solution involves treating public audit as “an afterthought”, MPs have said.
A Home Counties council is set to close of two of its offices and pay staff working from home a bonus of £150 a year under plans expected to save it up to £200,000 a year.
A Scottish local authority has adopted a checklist for assessing prospective loans to other councils after receiving negative publicity over lending to the struggling London Borough of Croydon.
A London council says that it could face a shortfall of up to £50m between its Covid-19 spending and the money from central government to pay for the pandemic response
Covid-19 and work overruns will mean Crossrail will exceed its current funding envelope, the government spending watchdog said in a report released today.
Members at some larger local authorities are keen for staff to return to office working to help mitigate losses to regional economies, CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman told delegates to his...
UK government schemes to help with energy efficiency in homes need long-term commitment to allow the supply chain to respond, a procurement expert said.
Finance professionals have a key role in developing public sector sustainability reporting standards – but need to be develop new skills to do so effectively, according to CIPFA research.
Proposed health and social care integration in the Health and Care Bill will not improve people’s lives unless structural issues including underfunding are addressed, according to a...
Councils need to stop waiting for rules from central government and start working innovatively to transform their services and adapt to the future, a Public Finance Live 2021 panel heard.
More auditor interventions through statutory recommendations and public interest reports to local authorities are likely to occur in coming years, an audit expert has warned.
The government is set to reduce the amount of funding pots allocated to councils through competitive bidding, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has promised.
Local authority net zero objectives are being hampered by a lack of funding, relevant skills and supportive government framework, delegates to the opening session of Public Finance Live 2021 heard...
The government’s Health and Care Bill will give more power for the health secretary to intervene in the running of health services in England and less local oversight, according...
A massive increase in the cost to the public purse of rail services has not been matched by the transparency necessary to scrutinise the sector, according to MPs.
A lack of engagement by Westminster with the Scottish Government on the replacement for European Union structural funding has left the devolved employment minister “beyond disappointed”.
The government has failed to budget for £30bn of additional costs resulting from Covid-19 over the next three years, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
