What should concern Communities and Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles - and his attacker (or defender) in chief, Grant Shapps - is the simmering revolt among senior Tories in local government...
Politics is an endlessly fascinating business. Just occasionally, however, it does have a tendency to veer self-destructively into the territory of a 'plague on all their houses'
This week saw the first meeting of the government's new cadre of Lead Non-Executive Directors. Charged with the task of bringing to fruition ministers' reform plans for Whitehall boards, they face a...
Treasury plans to increase public sector workers contributions by 3% over the next three years could destroy the Local Government Pensions Scheme ahead of Lord Hutton's final report
The coalition has set out its spending plans. Now ministers must focus on economic growth - to boost the economy's 'top line' or revenue. This should be occupying hearts and minds across Whitehall
Look at the explosion of press coverage, as Liverpool pulls out of the government's vanguard programme, the Citizens' Advice Bureau warns of major cuts and volunteering centres face closure.
It is...
Complete transparency about anything Eric Pickles can think of that will grab a headline is the order of the day for local government. The Communities Secretary's latest wheeze is that any town hall...
Calls for executive leaders and executive mayors in councils, if pursued, will alter the nature of local accountability. Service delivery may be weakened and the political authority of political...
As contracts come up for renewal. central government must look to efficiencies it has gained through specialist relationships and consider how these could be applied to other areas Quite rightly,...
Councils must be careful not to fall into the trap of making knee-jerk cuts which might prove a step too far and even hinder critical services in the months or years to come
One aspect of the coalition government's education white paper that has passed with little comment is the proposed new approach to permanent exclusions in schools
The Communities Secretary has a strong argument when it comes to salary levels in local government. Successive studies suggest that the governance of council pay has gone Awol
The Treasury should use self-financing to get council housing and its debt off the government's books. Ministers must be brave and reclassify housing in the national accounts
A report published today suggested that councils could free up 30% of their office space and save billions of pounds a year. These are big figures, but are they actually achievable?
The coalition government is meant to be revolutionising everything in its sights. But when it comes to ancient constitutional convention, little is changing
As Scotland looks ahead to Holyrood elections in May and the possibility of a new party in power, many are asking whether it is time Labour and the SNP recognised their similarities
The new housing finance policy is not about making councils 'self-financing', so much as 'self-financing subject to a government limit on borrowing'. Much more needs to be done to move to true...
It is useful to compare the performance of developing nations with the rising economic stars of China and India. In both countries there has been sustained state support for accounting as a...
Just before David Cameron moved into Number Ten, he was asked what would happen if his ministers proposed cuts that involved frontline reductions. 'They'll be sent straight back to their departments...
Evidence is mounting that many local authorities and other public agencies are disproportionably cutting grants and contracted funding to the community, voluntary and wider third sectors
