Date: 07 Dec 2018
Ministers and NHS England chief at loggerheads over targets
The head of the NHS and the government are at loggerheads over how much the health service can be improved for the £20.5bn extra Theresa May has pledged to give it, the Guardian can reveal.
Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, has been having major disagreements behind the scenes in recent weeks with Downing Street, the Treasury and Department of Health and Social Care about how much the forthcoming NHS long-term plan can promise to boost care.
“Tension” and “difficulties” have emerged during detailed horsetrading between the two sides amid sharp differences of opinion over the extent of the document’s ambitions, well-placed NHS and Whitehall sources have said.
Date: 05 Dec 2018
Private firms are making big money out of children's social services
Children’s social services have been bitten hard by government-imposed financial cuts since 2010. Politically-chosen austerity has led to poor children and families moving from deprivation to destitution, and the help they might have received has been stripped away. The consequence is more concerns about the safety and welfare of children, leading to a 159% increase in child protection investigations since 2008 and the number of children in council care rising from 60,000 to more than 75,000.
Date: 05 Dec 2018
The Government Thinks No-one Will Notice Their Devastation Of Local Government – We Won’t Let That Happen
Despite unprecedented pressure and growing warnings, Councils are bracing themselves for the biggest cuts they’ve had to face since 2010. That is the prospect of the Tories’ local government settlement set to be announced.
The past eight years have seen councils forced to make cuts – but they’ve reached the end of the line, with so-called “non-essential services” being cut to the bone, leading to even deeper reductions to the services that we all rely on like street cleaning, libraries, and children’s centres, and to many of the preventative services that previously reduced the pressure on the NHS and police.
So severe and urgent is the crisis facing our councils, that the UN’s special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights mentioned it in the opening paragraph of his recent report, saying that local authorities had been “gutted by a series of government policies”.
Other Headlines
- Homeless at Christmas: 'How will Santa find us?'
Date: 05 Dec 2018
More than 130,000 children across Great Britain will spend Christmas in temporary accommodation, official figures suggest.
One in every 103 under-18s is officially homeless, a 59% rise in five years, housing charity Shelter said.
One mother-of-three said her children were preparing for Christmas in a one-room bed and breakfast for the second year running.
- Reality Check: Are these councils defying the cuts?
Date: 05 Dec 2018
Councils are in trouble - this much we know. They are cutting services, spending more than they planned and dipping into their rainy-day funds.
Perhaps the more pertinent question is not which councils are facing financial problems but are any managing to buck the trend.
Pretty much no local authority in Britain has escaped the cuts. The only councils not to have made any since 2010 are the City of London and the Isles of Scilly, which have very small populations.
- How cuts changed council spending, in seven charts
Date: 05 Dec 2018
It's widely known that since 2010, English councils have had less money to spend. But that's just half the story.
When you account for inflation - or how much more expensive everything else is getting - some councils have had to cut some areas of their spending by half.
Housing and planning budgets have been particularly hit, with only children's social care seeing rising spending.
- Northern Powerhouse needs ‘clear break’ with original vision, report says
Date: 05 Dec 2018
The Government should commit to a ‘whole North’ approach to development rather than just focusing on the Manchester region, think tank says.
A report into the Northern Powerhouse has called on northern leaders to move the agenda to a new phase, which, it argues, should involve a ‘clear break’ with former chancellor George Osborne’s original vision.
- Supported housing system ‘isn’t working’, charity warns
Date: 05 Dec 2018
People living in supported housing are being discouraged from finding work because of fears they will not be able to afford their rent, report reveals.
The charity Mayday Trust has spoken with more than 80 people who are housed in temporary or supported accommodation, as well as those who are sleeping rough and sofa-surfing, to uncover the impact of unaffordable accommodation.
- Whitehall announces £1m ‘pocket park’ fund
Date: 05 Dec 2018
Community groups can bid for a share of a £1m fund to help them develop ‘pocket parks’.
Pocket parks are small plots of land, mostly seen in urban spaces, which can help improve the physical and mental health of the communities using them.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government today announced there is up to £15,000 available to community groups wishing to build new pocket parks.
- Brexit debate delays English councils' funding announcement
Date: 05 Dec 2018
The government has postponed announcing next year's plans for funding English councils because of the marathon Brexit debate currently going in the Commons.
James Brokenshire said the statement - originally planned for Thursday - will not now happen before MPs vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal on Tuesday.
But the local government secretary said it would not affect the amount of time for councils to comment on the figures.
- Resilience index response prompts major rethink
Date: 04 Dec 2018
The Chartered Institute for Public Finance & Accountancy has postponed controversial plans to publish a “league table” of councils’ financial sustainability following uproar within the sector at the plans, LGC has learned.
The decision is one of a number of planned changes to the institute’s proposed local authority financial resilience index which was slammed by many senior local government figures when it was put out for consultation earlier this year.
Originally it was proposed the index would combine data from six indicators to produce a composite score that would then be made publicly available with a “traffic-light grading system”.
- MHCLG’s needs-based view of local government won’t endure
Date: 04 Dec 2018
Melanie Dawes caused quite a stir this week. Speaking before the Public Accounts Committee the permanent secretary of MHCLG claimed the department believed “the sector as a whole is sustainable if the amount of resources that are available to it can deliver the statutory services which it is required to do”.
This provoked a furious reaction from across the sector. Jo Miller, president of SOLACE, seemed to speak for many when she described it as “an utterly depressing, negative & deficit based view that fails to take account of the brilliant work public servants do in #localgov day in day out to ensure our places and people thrive”.
Taken in their narrowest sense Ms Dawes’ comments might simply mean the department believes councils have sufficient resource to meet their minimum legal duties between now and the next spending review and that they do not expect any councils to fail in this period. To be fair I think that is what she meant (though I also think she may be wrong), rather than offering a broader definition of what constitutes sustainability for local government (or what local government is for).
- Northants can use £70m in capital receipts to plug finance gap
Date: 03 Dec 2018
Northamptonshire CC will be allowed to use £70m in capital receipts to plug its financial black hole, local government secretary James Brokenshire has ruled.
Described by Government as ‘a significant step,’ the move – called capitalisation dispensation – will help the council to reduce its deficit and put it on a more sustainable financial footing.
The action is in response to the first Commissioners’ Report on the county, which was handed to Mr Brokenshire in early September and which was published today.
- Northamptonshire County Council: Libraries to be community managed
Date: 03 Dec 2018
A crisis-hit council that is millions of pounds overspent on its budget is to offload libraries on to the community to try to keep them open.
Northamptonshire County Council will continue to manage 14 of them and support a further five - with the remaining 17 to be community-managed.
The scheme was revealed as part of the council's budget for 2019-20.
- Northants’ budget sets out savings plans and council tax rise
Date: 03 Dec 2018
Northamptonshire County Council today set out draft budget proposals for 2019-20, which it said would deliver savings totalling £42.9m.
Council leader Matt Golby said the impact on services would be fairly modest. “There’s no big effect on front line services” he said and suggested: “If this approach had been taken three or four years ago we would not be in this place.”
Budget papers published by the council set out spending plans by the directorate and showed savings are expected to come through a wide range of often small measures.
These include improved contract management and contract rationalisation, better use of office space, and reorganisation and realignment of staff teams. A second round of voluntary redundancy will also get under way this month.
- Greater Manchester proposes radical integration of services
Date: 29 Nov 2018
Greater Manchester CA has announced it is to drive a “seismic change” in the way services are delivered across the city region through a greater emphasis on integration.
The new “Greater Manchester model” aims to increase collaboration between council departments by managing services according to locations, as opposed to policy area.
Wigan MBC chief executive Donna Hall, who is also Greater Manchester’s lead for public service reform, said: “The traditional model of public service delivery is based on age-old assumptions and processes from the turn of the century, when society was less complex, less diverse, and a lot less connected.
- Northamptonshire ‘will have to set unprecedented unbalanced budget’
Date: 29 Nov 2018
Northamptonshire County Council must take the “unprecedented” step of setting an unbalanced budget this year, according to government commissioners.
The troubled council has an estimated £35m unfunded deficit, which “must be carried forward” into the next financial year, the government-commissioned report, published today, revealed.
The findings of commissioners, who have been in place since May, said: “The requirement to find further savings to the extent necessary in order to neutralise this historic deficit represents an extraordinary challenge."
- A no-deal Brexit would shrink the UK economy ‘by 9.3%’
Date: 29 Nov 2018
Analysis from both the government and Bank of England have warned the UK economy could “suffer a severe economic shock” in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
Theresa May’s draft Brexit proposal will also leave the UK economy worse off, according to government figures released yesterday.
Leaving the EU with no deal would shrink the economy by 9.3% over the next 15 years, calculations by the Department for Exiting the European Union showed.
- Tory-run Northamptonshire county council bailed out by government
Date: 29 Nov 2018
The government has in effect bailed out Tory-run Northamptonshire county council after giving it unprecedented permission to spend up to £60m of cash received from the sale of its HQ on funding day-to-day services.
The highly unusual move – accounting rules normally prevent councils using capital receipts in this way – means the crisis-hit authority is likely to escape falling into insolvency for the third time in less than a year.
Ministers gave the go-ahead for the bailout after commissioners sent in to run the council issued a stark warning that without a cash injection, Northamptonshire would be unable to meet its legal duties to run core services such as social care.
- Northamptonshire elections postponed during consultation
Date: 29 Nov 2018
All next May's elections in cash-strapped Northamptonshire have been postponed during a consultation on a new local government structure.
Communities Secretary James Brokenshire made the announcement as he issued the first report by commissioners appointed this year to run the county council.
It confirmed a budget deficit of up to £70m and a projected overspend of £30m in 2018/19.
- Domestic abuse: 'Children are the hidden victims'
Date: 28 Nov 2018
"Whenever I go back to the area I grew up, I still feel nervous," says Daisy.
"When I see someone that looks like him, it makes me anxious. And seeing someone driving the red car that he used to drive makes my heart race."
Daisy, now 19, grew up in an environment of domestic violence, with her father abusing her mother. She says her experiences as a child has left her suffering from anxiety attacks and nightmares.
But Daisy's story is not unique, with the charity Women's Aid estimating that 160,000 children in England are living in homes where they witness domestic abuse.
- Philip Hammond and Bank of England to set out analysis of Brexit economic impact
Date: 28 Nov 2018
Chancellor Philip Hammond is due to set out the government's analysis of the economic impact of Brexit.
The Bank of England (BoE) will also deliver its assessments on Wednesday as Theresa May heads to Scotland to press the case for her agreement with Brussels.
Downing Street has said the Treasury's papers will cover a "range of scenarios".
- Philip Hammond: UK will be ‘a bit’ poorer after Brexit
Date: 28 Nov 2018
Theresa May’s Brexit deal will leave the UK worse off than staying in the EU “but not by much”, the chancellor admitted today.
Philip Hammond said that the economic impact was only part of the consideration as he urged MPs to back the prime minister’s plan in two weeks’ time.
A new Treasury forecast published later is expected to say that GDP will be between 1 and 2 per cent lower in 15 years, making the UK £40 billion poorer if Mrs May’s deal is adopted, says The Daily Telegraph. Under a no deal it estimated that the UK would be £150 billion worse off
- Complaints over social care in England nearly trebled since 2010
Date: 28 Nov 2018
Complaints and inquiries about adult social care have nearly trebled since 2010, a damning report reveals, prompting warnings that the industry is struggling to cope with funding pressures.
The local government and social care ombudsman said there were 3,106 complaints or inquiries about private or council-run adult social care in 2017/18, compared with 1,156 in 2010/11.
The proportion of complaints being upheld by the ombudsman – which deals with the final stage of grievances about adult social care in England – also increased, from 43% in 2010/11 to 62% in 2017/18. There were 1,274 recommendations for improvements in the last year.
- Why this local council has taken matters into its own hands to rejuvenate its ailing high street
Date: 28 Nov 2018
With Britain's high streets in turmoil, active local councils are taking it upon themselves to think of new ways they can stave off further decline.
Ashford Borough Council, with Gerry Clarkson at its helm, is spearheading this fightback, with various projects underway, including a £90m expansion of a shopping centre, the construction of a third motorway junction on the M20, and a pledge to build 16,000 new properties by 2030 to house the increasing number of local residents.
- Local government ‘is sustainable’, says top civil servant
Date: 28 Nov 2018
Local government is on a “sustainable footing”, at least until next year’s Spending Review, a top civil servant has told a group of MPs.
The sustainability of the sector for the next five “will depend on the Spending Review [in 2019]”, Melanie Dawes, permanent secretary at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, also told a Public Accounts Committee hearing on Monday.
She said: “Overall my judgment remains that the sector, for the remainder of this Spending Review, is on a sustainable footing.
“Of course the Spending Review will determine what happens thereafter.”
- Brexit deal 'could cut UK growth by 5.5%' by 2030
Date: 27 Nov 2018
The PM's Brexit deal could leave the economy as much as 5.5% smaller in a decade's time than it would be if the UK stayed in the EU, a study has said.
And the cost to the public finances could be as much as 1.8% of GDP, said the research by the London School of Economics, King's College and the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
It blamed the imposition of new trade barriers and a fall in immigration.
- Melanie Dawes: Sustainability is defined as 'statutory services' only
Date: 27 Nov 2018
The government’s definition of financial sustainability among councils is whether statutory services can be delivered locally, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s permanent secretary has said.
Melanie Dawes also said the government does not consider any other councils will issue a section 114 notice in the near future.
Appearing before the Commons’ public accounts committee yesterday Ms Dawes said her department’s “primary focus” is to ensure there are enough resources to enable councils to deliver statutory services.
- County chief leaves just six months after appointment
Date: 27 Nov 2018
Lincolnshire CC chief executive Keith Ireland is to leave the council six months after being appointed due to differences of opinion with leader Martin Hill (Con).
In a joint statement to staff today, Mr Ireland and Cllr Hill said: “Over the last few months, it has become clear that we do not share the same approach to a number of important issues that are facing the council, and, in these circumstances, we are agreed that a parting of the ways is the best way forward for both of us.
“Whilst unfortunately things have not worked out, we are united in wishing each other the very best for the future.”
- One in four pubs in UK have closed since financial crisis
Date: 26 Nov 2018
Birmingham has had the biggest number of pub closures since the turn of the millennium, according to official figures showing the nationwide scale of the decline of the local.
The Office for National Statistics said almost one in four UK pubs have closed in the decade since the financial crisis. Over a longer period, the number of pubs calling time has increased by more than 10,000 since 2001, with the total still in operation falling from 52,500 to 38,815 this year.
- McDonnell calls for check on council loans that will 'waste £16bn'
Date: 25 Nov 2018
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has called for a government investigation into the use of high-cost bank loans after a report found local councils stand to waste up to £16bn on interest payments over the next 40 years.
Figures compiled by the investigative cooperative Research for Action show that local governments that were saddled with complex borrowing schemes in the early 2000s could halve their annual interest payments if those debts were paid off with cash borrowed from the government’s Public Works Loan Board (PWLB).
- The recycling system is out of date and needs to be overhauled, says Environment Agency chair
Date: 23 Nov 2018
The recycling system is a throwback to last century that badly needs to be modernised, according to the head of the Environment Agency.
The system is much too complicated and inconsistent, meaning that far too little plastic and other waste is being recycled, warns Environment Agency chair Emma Howard Boyd.
“There is a real inconsistency in terms of what is suitable for recycling. We are working with producers of waste, to simplify the materials used, so there are less types of plastic going into the waste chain and to make sure they are better labelled,” said Mr Boyd.
- Selling off student loans ‘could have damaged public finances’
Date: 23 Nov 2018
An attempt to improve public finances by selling off student loans could have in fact damaged them, according to a group of MPs.
The Treasury received “too little in return” when it sold off student loans, the Public Accounts Committee concluded, in a report released yesterday.
In December 2017, the goverment sold student loans with a face value of £3.5bn for £1.7bn.
- Cycling awareness plan could lead to cheaper insurance for drivers
Date: 22 Nov 2018
Motorists should be offered cheaper insurance if they take a course to make them more aware of cyclists on the roads, the government says.
The Department for Transport also wants to give councils more powers to tackle parking in cycling lanes.
It is proposing a series of 50 measures in a bid to reduce the number of cyclists and pedestrians killed.
- More than 1,000 people become homeless every month, figures reveal
Date: 22 Nov 2018
The number of homeless people in the UK is soaring by a rate of more than 1,000 a month, according to new analysis which says that one in 200 Britons are now without a permanent place to live.
The figures, which show that 320,000 people are currently known to be sleeping on the streets or stuck in temporary accommodation, highlight the depths of the country’s housing crisis, despite repeated government pledges to get to grips with the problem.
Opposition politicians and campaigners said it was “unforgivable” that so many people had been swept up by the housing crisis and attributed the rise to spiralling rents, welfare cuts and a lack of social housing.
- Commission for Countering Extremism launches call for evidence on extremism in England and Wales
Date: 22 Nov 2018
The independent Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) has today (Thursday 22 November) called on the public to share their views, experience and evidence on extremism and its impact for a first-of-a-kind study.
The Commission, announced by the Prime Minister after the terror attacks of 2017, has launched a 10-week Call for Evidence, inviting firsthand accounts of the harms extremists inflict on individuals, communities and our society.
The evidence, which will be treated sensitively and in the strictest of confidence, will feed into a wide-ranging study of extremism to be published in spring 2019.
- Labour plea over £133m Northamptonshire council debt
Date: 22 Nov 2018
A £133m hole in a cash-strapped county council's budget will need government help to clear, a group of Labour politicians has claimed.
Ten party members in Northamptonshire have written to Communities Secretary James Brokenshire demanding money to transform the failed county council.
Northamptonshire should also be allowed to use capital receipts to help fund the deficit, the group said.
- DfE must ensure ‘academies can be trusted’
Date: 22 Nov 2018
The government must ensure academies “can be trusted to manage large amounts of public money”, the spending watchdog has urged.
Since 2010-11 nearly 7,000 maintained schools had been converted to academies at a cost of £745m since 2010-11, the National Audit Office highlighted in its overview of the Department for Education.
- It took decades for Children in Need to raise £1bn – wouldn’t it be more efficient to raise taxes?
Date: 21 Nov 2018
The 150 councils that provide children’s social care burn through £1bn in just six weeks. Thirty-eight years of off-key newsreaders, straight-to-camera appeals and baked bean baths to match just 11 per cent of the annual spending on troubled children. The money raised this year – almost £51 million – is less than the average spent by a single council in a year on children’s services.
- Northants moves to bolster confidence over council loans
Date: 21 Nov 2018
Northamptonshire County Council has tried to reassure other councils of its ability to repay loans from them.
A second quarter update to its Treasury Management Strategy 2018-19 says: “This concern is unfounded because whilst the council may have a budget difficulty, it does not have a cash shortage”.
It goes on to note the benefit its cash position has received from the sale of its headquarters at One Angel Square.
- Sector faces £12m apprenticeship hit - every month
Date: 21 Nov 2018
Local government could lose up to £12m per month from June after struggling to spend funds from the Apprenticeship Levy, initial estimates have suggested.
Councils have spent just 10% of its levy funds so far and local government is on course to meet 36% of its share of the public sector target in the first year, with no solid indications yet this will increase significantly in year two, according to a Smith Square report.
Unspent funds expire after two years and have to be returned to the Government.
- Brexit ‘stretching government to breaking point’
Date: 21 Nov 2018
The process of extracting the UK from the European Union will stretch the system of government “beyond breaking point”, a leading academic has warned.
Jim Gallagher, visiting professor at the University of Glasgow and a research fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, told the Scottish Affairs Committee that Brexit was “one of the least ordered pieces of public policy” he had witnessed.
“Brexit was always going to be an almost impossible challenge for any government and for any set of intergovernmental relations,” he said yesterday.
- Ten of the best [councils]
Date: 21 Nov 2018
Which councils are the best? It is the question that has never been answered since the demise of the Audit Commission when the then new secretary of state Eric Pickles scrapped it with a flick of his pen on entering office in 2010.
But now consultancy iMPOWER has asked just that in its latest report, which ranks local authorities by their productivity...
- Councils spent £160m on school transport for children with special needs – survey
Date: 20 Nov 2018
Councils spent more than £160m last year on taxis and private hire vehicles to transport children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to and from school, according to a survey seen exclusively by the Guardian.
England’s county councils are warning that rising demand for SEND services is “creating budget risks” for local authorities, with school transport costs for children with special needs up by as much as 45% in some areas in the last four years.
The survey by the County Councils Network (CCN) shows that total spending on transport for pupils with SEND in 2017-18 was more than £323m across 36 county authorities in England, up from just under £250m four years ago.
- Council reserves in shock rise
Date: 20 Nov 2018
Councils’ revenue account reserves rose for the first time in four years during 2017/18, according to outturn data.
Despite well-publicised struggles at a number of authorities which have dipped into their contingency funding to keep services running, the figures paint a surprising picture of a sector in relatively healthy condition, overall.
According to the 2017/18 revenue expenditure and financing final outturn, revenue reserves held by English local authorities rose by £612m to £24.3bn at 31 March 2017.
- Why it costs £73,000 to educate a child
Date: 19 Nov 2018
The amount spent on schools is a source of frequent controversy. So, where does all the money for educating the country's children go?
School spending is watched closely - as Chancellor Philip Hammond recently discovered when his announcement of £400m for teachers to spend on "little extras" was met with anger.
It is a fact that the amount spent on education is much higher than it was 20 years ago. But that's not the full picture in a country which has seen a population boom coincide with a squeeze on public finances.
- Universal credit: Amber Rudd to 'signal shift in approach'
Date: 19 Nov 2018
The new Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd is poised to signal a shift in approach on the government's controversial universal credit benefits reform, the BBC understands.
The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said sources suggested there will not be a pause in the rollout of the single benefit due next summer.
But she said there will be a change in tone and a commitment to fix problems.
- Special needs pupils 'spend years out of school'
Date: 18 Nov 2018
Julie becomes tearful when she starts talking about her autistic son's struggle to stay in school. "He has been taught that he's not worth anything," she says.
Sam, 14 - who loves animals and rebuilding computers - was temporarily excluded from secondary school in December 2015.
Julie expected her son would be back in a matter of days. But he didn't go back to school for almost two and a half years.
- Number of children being adopted from care falls
Date: 16 Nov 2018
The number of children in care who are adopted has fallen by almost 30 per cent in the past three years as social workers increasingly seek to place vulnerable children with other family members.
There were 3,820 children adopted in England last year after being in care, down from 4,370 a year earlier and from 5,360 in 2015, latest figures show.
The number has slumped since a court ruled that social workers must put greater emphasis on trying to place children with other family members, known as kinship care.
- Many home educated children ‘hidden from sight’
Date: 16 Nov 2018
It is likely that many children receiving a home education are at risk because they are ‘hidden from sight’, children’s services directors have warned.
A survey of local authorities by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) has revealed that somewhere in the region of 57,800 children and young people were home schooled in 2018 - up from 45,500 in 2017 and 37,500 in 2016.
The responses to the survey, which came from 106 councils, suggest that nearly a third of home schooled children had some contact with children’s services. An average of 11% of these were known to children’s social care.
- Number of looked after children rises to over 75,000
Date: 16 Nov 2018
The number of children looked after by local authorities has increased since last year, prompting council chiefs to warn of the ‘huge demand’ this is placing on children’s services.
New statistics from the Department for Education show that, as of 31 March 2018, there were 75,420 looked after children in England - up 4% on the previous year’s figure.
- Cumbria council mulls over plans for major ‘one-stop-shop’ local government reshuffle
Date: 16 Nov 2018
Council members at Cumbria County Council debated yesterday the possibility of abolishing their current local government structure in favour of a much larger, single unitary council in its place.
At the council meeting in Kendal yesterday, council leader Stewart Young said then-communities secretary Sajid Javid’s approval of a similar reorganisation to Buckinghamshire County Council signalled a “sea change” in the government’s approach towards unitary proposals, despite the merger being opposed by both local MPs and councillors themselves.
- Councils face £536m shortfall in Send budgets, says LGA
Date: 15 Nov 2018
The scale of the crisis gripping services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) has been laid bare by research that indicates council budgets are facing a potential funding shortfall of more than £500m.
A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) of the councils it represents in England projects a £536m funding gap this year as a result of growing demand for Send services – more than double last year’s shortfall.
The interim findings, announced on Thursday at the National Children and Adult Services conference in Manchester, come as local authorities face legal challenges over planned cuts to services.
- Councils ‘unsustainably’ spend millions of pounds more on social care
Date: 15 Nov 2018
Social care was the largest area of increased expenditure for local authorities in the last financial year, government figures have revealed.
Children’s social care spending shot up by 4.2% in 2017-18 compared to the year before – by £358m to £8.8bn
Adult social care expenditure also went up 2.8% in the last financial year compared to 2016-17 – by £416m to £15.3bn.
- Councils face £500m bill after ATM business rates ruling
Date: 15 Nov 2018
Councils face an estimated combined bill of up to £500m to refund supermarkets after the Court of Appeal ruled that cash machines should not be assessed separately for business rates.
Retailers Tesco, Sainsbury’s and The Cooperative Group, along with ATM operator Cardtronics Europe have won their challenge to a 2010 decision by the Valuation Office Agency to create separate entries for the sites of supermarket cash machines.
Property consultancy firm Altus estimates that the backdated bill which businesses will be due via rebates at £382m, while property consultancy Colliers put the figure at £496m.
- £536m funding shortfall for SEND children, says LGA
Date: 15 Nov 2018
Increased demand from children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) means that councils face a funding shortfall of £536m this year in providing services for the group.
The estimate is included in a new report produced by the Local Government Association, based on a survey of 73 authorities – half of those with SEND duties.
The association said that results mean councils are at risk of failing to meet their statutory duties, and that children with SEND could miss out on mainstream education.
- Government must raise taxes to plug £3.6bn social care funding shortfall, councils say
Date: 14 Nov 2018
Tax rises are urgently needed to plug a yawning hole in funding the care of the elderly and adults with disabilities and must be put forward by government in its delayed social care green paper, councils have said.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has drawn up its own blueprint for reforming the sector and says that income tax or national insurance increases should be urgently considered.
Successive governments have kicked the issue of funding the rising cost of care in the UK “into the long grass”, but after eight years of austerity and cuts to council budgets, the LGA says the issues is at crisis point.
- Cipfa past president to lose job as county seeks £35m savings
Date: 14 Nov 2018
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy’s past president Andy Burns is set to lose his job at Staffordshire CC as the county seeks to close a £35m budget shortfall next year.
Mr Burns’ director of finance and resources role is to be eliminated as part of a reduction to the senior management team.
The role of director of strategy, governance and change, held by John Tradewell, will also be eliminated.
- Children’s services commissioner set to be sent into Northants
Date: 14 Nov 2018
An additional commissioner is likely to be sent into troubled Northamptonshire County Council after Ofsted found children’s services have “significantly declined”.
A written statement from communities secretary James Brokenshire said he and education secretary Damian Hinds had agreed to “act swiftly to strengthen the focus on children in the current intervention, by appointing a new commissioner,” after a damning Ofsted letter.
Hinds said he was “minded to appoint” a children’s services commissioner for the county using powers contained in the 1996 Education Act,
- LGA survey suggests support for national adult social care levy
Date: 14 Nov 2018
Significantly more members of the public would support a national tax increase over council tax rises to bridge the adult social care funding gap, according to a new poll.
The survey was carried out by the Local Government Association (LGA) as part of its submission to the government’s consultation on its green paper, which was launched after the government delayed its own proposals.
It found that 56% of people would support a 1% increase on National Insurance payments, 51% favour a social insurance payment and 49% are behind a 1% increase in income tax.
- Back to basics: What’s the point of accounting for depreciation?
Date: 14 Nov 2018
Local authorities, just like private businesses, have to account for the depreciation of their assets. Conrad Hall asks whether the current rules dictate inappropriate financial reporting.
What (with apologies to Monty Python) has accounting for depreciation ever done for local government?
Not much, one might argue.
- Fare freezes ‘adding to Transport for London finance woes’
Date: 14 Nov 2018
Transport for London fare freezes risk sending the authority further into the “financial doldrums”, a committee has warned.
TfL estimates that Mayor Sadiq Khan’s fares freeze policy will cost around £640m over the four-year mayoral term, adding to the current deficit of £1bn for 2018-19, according to a report by the London Assembly budget and performance committee.
The report found that five modes of transport in London – buses, street maintenance, the Elizabeth line [Crossrail], TfL rail and other services like river services – run at a loss.
- Shares in outsourcing giant Interserve hit 30-year low
Date: 14 Nov 2018
Fresh concerns have been raised over the future of outsourcing giant Interserve following a huge drop in its share price.
Shares in the UK-based global construction and support services company, which has several contracts with local authorities, hit a 30-year low on Monday amid speculation it may not be able to raise the cash it needs to continue operating.
They have rallied slightly since but continue to be volatile and far below their historical value.
- Gambling rebellion looks set to pay off
Date: 13 Nov 2018
Philip Hammond is facing almost certain defeat over his budget plan to delay a crackdown on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs).
Amendments designed to force ministers to bring forward a cut in the maximum stake from £100 to £2 have been signed by 21 Conservative MPs, including 12 former ministers, and four Democratic Unionist Party MPs. Boris Johnson, David Davis, Priti Patel and Justine Greening all support the cross-party push.
Labour also said that it would support both amendments, meaning that without a climbdown the government faces almost certain defeat.
- Northamptonshire County Council slashes deficit by £10m, but services in ‘significant decline’
Date: 13 Nov 2018
Savings made by the financially-challenged Northamptonshire County Council have reduced the local authority’s overall deficit by more than £10m since a section 114 notice was issued to the council in July this year.
Council board papers due to be discussed today found that £1.3m of proposals introduced in Northamptonshire CC’s stabilisation plan in October have already been delivered, and a remaining £10.7m will bring down the council’s overall deficit to £53.4m on the year.
In July, a potential budget deficit of between £60m-£70m pushed the director of the council’s finances to issue an unprecedented second section 114 notice, banning all spending until further notice. In May government-appointed commissioners were sent in to run Northamptonshire’s finances to create further savings.
- Councils forced to close nearly 350 playgrounds in past four years
Date: 12 Nov 2018
Councils have been forced to close 347 playgrounds across England since 2014, new research has revealed.
A freedom of information request by the Association of Play Industries (API) found 70 playgrounds have been closed in 2017/18 alone.
Local authorities are also spending £13m less each year on playgrounds on average.
- City council to cut 100 jobs to balance budget
Date: 12 Nov 2018
Newcastle City Council has announced the job loses as part of a series of measures to save £60m over the next three years.
The authority has calculated that it has been forced to find £327m in savings since 2010 as a result of the Government’s austerity programme.
On Friday the city council published proposals for saving £20m next year as well as broad plans covering the following two years.
- Whitehall confirms £22m for domestic abuse survivors
Date: 12 Nov 2018
Over 60 projects are set to receive a multi-million pound injection of cash in order to help survivors of domestic abuse, the Government has confirmed.
The £22m in funding, announced on Saturday, will go to 63 projects across England which will be delivered by councils working alongside other organisations.
The money will provide over 2,200 new beds in refuges and other safe accommodation, access to education, and tailored employment and life skills guidance to help abuse survivors.
- 'Are councils sitting on a goldmine of untapped data?'
Date: 12 Nov 2018
The last favourable digital experience a citizen has had will become the benchmark for every future one, including those with the public sector. Local authorities face a growing expectation to modernise public administration, only achievable through true transformation. Coupled with this is the reality that the future will see limited additional financial resources.
Authorities have traditionally looked to the back office to create efficiencies and savings. The public is now becoming the best tool to drive transformation. The key is ensuring services can be provided in a simple, accessible, cost-efficient way.
Gathering data and analytics from multiple sources across customer service operations can help create organisation-wide change. Sharing information with parts of the business that do not interact directly with customers allows them to visualise the impact their daily decisions have on customer experience.
- 'Tax on age' to pay for social care being considered for the over-40s
Date: 10 Nov 2018
A new levy targeted at the over-40s is being considered by ministers to help solve the social care funding crisis.
Matt Hancock, the Health and Social Care Secretary, told the Telegraph he was “attracted to” a cross-party plan for a compulsory premium deducted from the earnings of the middle-aged and over-65s to fund the cost of their care in later life.
The proposals, set out by two Commons committees, are based on the system in Germany under which all workers over 40 pay 2.5 per cent of their wages into a pot formally earmarked for social care.
- Vulnerable children are being auctioned online by councils inviting private firms to bid for up to £7,000-a-week for their care
Date: 10 Nov 2018
Children in care are being 'treated like cattle', as councils have invited companies to compete in online bidding wars for contracts worth up to £7,000-a-week.
A new report found some councils in England and Wales are putting personal details of vulnerable children in adverts online - including if they were sexually abused or involved in gangs - while inviting bids from private firms for their care.
Children's care homes are under pressure as private companies are taking over and charging councils more than £7,000 a week - more than £360,000-a-year per child - for residential placements.
- ‘Devastating’ cuts hit special educational needs
Date: 10 Nov 2018
A crisis in funding for children with special educational needs is plunging councils across the country deeper into the red and forcing parents into lengthy legal battles to secure support, according to an Observer investigation that reveals a system at breaking point.
Council overspending on children’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has trebled in just three years and is continuing to increase, with councils having to raid hundreds of millions from their overall schools budget to cope. 40 councils that have either cut special needs funding this year, are considering making cuts or are raiding other education budgets to cope next year.
- Councils warn of £3bn child services black hole as thousands more children require protection
Date: 09 Nov 2018
Social workers drew up 29 more child protection plans every day last year than they did five years ago, figures reveal, as council leaders warned stretched children’s services are facing a £3bn funding black hole.
Some 10,000 more children were subject to protection plans - arrangements drawn up by local authorities setting out how keep vulnerable minors safe and assist their families - by the end of 2017-18 as compared to five years prior.
Government figures showed that, overall, 404,710 children referred to authorities across England were deemed to require the support of social services at the end of March this year.
- Retailers shut 2,700 shops in first half of the year
Date: 09 Nov 2018
About 14 shops are closing every day as UK High Streets face their toughest trading climate in five years, a report has found.
A net 1,123 stores disappeared from Britain's top 500 high streets in the first six months of the year, according to the accountancy firm PwC.
It said fashion and electrical stores had suffered most as customers did more shopping online.
- Let’s celebrate a win for councils
Date: 09 Nov 2018
Ministers are finally listening to local government and last week’s Budget represented a series of strategic victories for the sector, says James Maker of the County Councils Network.
At the start of October, the County Councils Network chair Paul Carter remarked that the local government sector was feeling ‘unloved’.
His comment is important context for any post-Budget analysis on the impact of the announcements on the sector.
- Ministers pledge £2m to help English councils tackle rogue landlords
Date: 08 Nov 2018
The government is to create a £2m fund to help English councils tackle rogue landlords, after a Guardian and ITV News investigation revealed how convicted property owners are continuing to collect rents – often funded by the taxpayer – despite being ruled unfit to let out property.
- Owners of holiday homes could soon pay council tax
Date: 08 Nov 2018
Second homeowners who declare their properties as ‘holiday lets’ may be required to pay council tax following a government consultation.
Properties available to let as ‘holiday accommodation’ for 140 days or more a year are liable for business rates rather than council tax. Around 47,000 properties are in England are currently liable for business rates.
But the vast majority of these (96%) qualify for 100% Small Business Rates Relief as they have a rateable value of less than £12,000 a year. Consequently, they pay no property tax at all, while owners are not obliged to demonstrate that the property is actually being commercially let.
- Council tax "loophole" that saves wealthy homeowners thousands to be closed
Date: 07 Nov 2018
A business rates "loophole" in England surrounding second home owners who claim their properties are predominantly being used as holiday lets is to be reviewed by Government ministers.
The Government said it is aware of concerns that current arrangements do not provide strong enough protections against some second home owners abusing the system.
It said the loophole could be costing councils across England millions of pounds in lost council tax.
- Can the government deliver on radical care reform?
Date: 07 Nov 2018
Another week, another sign that the care system in England is in dire trouble.
News that Allied Healthcare - one of the biggest providers of home care in the country - is at risk of going under, sent shockwaves around the sector.
The 13,000 vulnerable people who rely on its staff for washing, dressing and help with eating now face an anxious wait to see if bosses can get the finances together to keep services going.
But Allied is not alone. The UK Homecare Association, the body which represents the firms providing care, warned only last month that providers were refusing to sign up to council contracts because of the low fees being offered.
- Children's services: What do we know about the children most in need?
Date: 06 Nov 2018
More families struggling, more children needing protection, difficulties recruiting enough social workers and tighter budgets are all factors in what councils in England say is a crisis facing children's services.
The latest figures show demand for support rising steeply and this summer council leaders warned they would have to overspend next year to meet demand.
So why are services designed to protect the most vulnerable children in society under so much pressure?
- Inquiry into the funding of children’s services launched
Date: 06 Nov 2018
An inquiry into the funding and provision of children’s services has been launched as local authorities struggle to cope with the impact of rising demand combined with funding cuts.
The real-terms spending on local children’s services fell by 7% between 2010/11 and 2016/17 due to cuts for discretionary services. This was despite a 3.2% increase in spending on statutory children’s services during the same period.
On top of this, local authorities have had to cope with significant increases in demand. The National Audit Office calculated that the number of looked-after children grew by 10.9% during this six year period.
- Older people could become ‘victim of a broken system’ as one of England’s largest care home providers faces closure
Date: 06 Nov 2018
Concerns have been raised that one of the biggest care providers in the UK might not be able to continue to operate in a matter of days.
Allied Homes, which looks after care services across 84 councils for around 9,300 people could cease to operate as of 30 November. ‘
The authority that looks after care homes, the quality care commission, said it has written to 84 English local authorities who commission some sort of care services through Allied Healthcare to notify them of its concerns.
- Child protection services near crisis as demand rises
Date: 06 Nov 2018
A steep rise in vulnerable children needing protection over the past 10 years is pushing council children's services in England into crisis, suggests research to be published tomorrow.
There has been a substantial increase in calls from the public and professionals worried about a child, according to a study for the Association of Directors of Children's Services.
Over the past year, almost 2.4 million people contacted children's services because they were worried about a child - a 78% increase on 10 years ago, while serious investigations over concerns of significant harm are up from just under 77,000 in 2008 to almost 200,000 last year - a rise of 159%.
- Firms cash in on psychiatric care crisis
Date: 05 Nov 2018
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Companies and charities are making millions of pounds by treating NHS patients in psychiatric hospitals that are sometimes substandard and fail to provide adequate or safe care, an investigation has found.
Thousands of patients are detained, sometimes against their will and in other cases for many years, in wards and units that inspectors say do not meet required standards of care.
- Education Secretary Damian Hinds calls for billions more investment after Chancellor promised more cash for potholes than schools in his Budget
Date: 05 Nov 2018
The Education Secretary is demanding billions more for schools following a Budget in which the Chancellor lavished more money on potholes than classrooms.
Damian Hinds said education spending was a ‘special case’ that deserved more than the real-terms freeze currently on offer to all departments outside the NHS in next year’s spending review.
Philip Hammond warned last week that a huge increase in health spending meant other departments would be left with an average zero per cent real-terms settlement in the three-year review.
- 'Audit culture' causing staff burnout in schools, report finds
Date: 05 Nov 2018
The Department for Education has pledged to ease pressures on teachers in England, after it accepted the recommendations of a new report that said an “audit culture” in schools was causing anxiety and staff burnout without improving results.
The report by the DfE’s teacher workload advisory group says teachers have to waste time producing data on their pupils, with the recording, monitoring and analysing of data being demanded by multiple sources, including local and central government, Ofsted school inspectors and multiple tiers of school management.
In some cases teachers are expected to report on up to 30 different elements of data for 30 children in a class, which the report described as an attempt to provide “spurious precision” in tracking pupil attainment.
- People must take responsibility for own health, says Matt Hancock
Date: 05 Nov 2018
Matt Hancock has triggered a row after urging people to take greater responsibility for their own health to tackle the rising toll of illness from diseases such as cancer and obesity.
In a speech on Monday the health and social care secretary will call for a big increase in people making healthier lifestyle choices, such as reducing the amount of alcohol and junk food they consume.
Speaking ahead of the speech Hancock said “We need to do far more to personally take responsibility for our own health.”
- Theresa May's flagship policy to solve housing crisis will deliver no new homes in half of England
Date: 05 Nov 2018
Theresa May’s flagship policy for sparking a revival in council housebuilding will not deliver a single new home in more than half of the local authorities in England.
Some of the most deprived towns and cities with the greatest need for new homes, including Liverpool, Bolton and Wakefield, are among areas that will miss out as a result of changes that will only benefit some councils.
The prime minister used her speech to the Conservatives’ annual conference last month to announce a major change that will see the government scrap restrictions on how much councils can borrow to fund housing.
- Bus firms pay fat cats £1.5 billion - while prices go up 55% and routes are axed
Date: 05 Nov 2018
Bus firms have paid shareholders £1.5billion in dividends in the past 10 years, while fares have soared and services have been axed.
Fares have gone up 55% on average since 2008, far outstripping pay growth. Some passengers have even been hit by increases of 100% and bus use is at a 12-year low.
Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead, National Express and Stagecoach carry 70% of all bus passengers and have paid an average £149million a year in dividends in the past 10 years.
- East Sussex council's basic services 'not sustainable'
Date: 05 Nov 2018
A cash-strapped council has warned it will not be able to afford to provide basic services unless it receives more government money.
Conservative-led East Sussex County Council (ESCC) said it needed to save more than £45m by 2021-22.
In its Core Offer document the council sets out a list of services it could provide as a "bare minimum".
However, the chief executive said it was "unlikely" that even this reduced level of services could be sustained.
- Littering out of your car could now land you up to £450 fine
Date: 05 Nov 2018
Drivers caught littering could in certain circumstances land up to £450 fines and costs in the UK.
In the UK, anyone caught littering from their vehicle could be handed an on-the-spot fine of £80.
However, a recent case involving a driver from Ipswich revealed how these fees could soar.
- Education spending now 'skewed' to poor following 'remarkable shift'
Date: 01 Nov 2018
There has been a "remarkable shift" in poorer children now receiving a bigger share of education spending in England, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The independent financial researchers say in previous generations children from richer families were the main beneficiaries, as they were likely to stay longer in education.
But this pattern has been reversed by policies deliberately "skewed" to give more funding towards the deprived and with more poorer youngsters going to sixth form and university, it says.
- Rural areas 'least socially mobile'
Date: 31 Oct 2018
People living in England's rural and coastal counties are having their life chances held back by a "false perception of affluence", MPs say.
Their report said vital services like public transport, youth centres and childcare were being "hampered" by an "inequitable" council funding model that benefits urban areas.
They said rural areas were among the country's least "socially mobile".
- Millions underestimating cost of care - Which?
Date: 31 Oct 2018
Millions of people are underestimating the cost of paying for a care home by an average of £12,000 a year, a survey suggests.
Which? found that 55% of people estimated a figure for the cost of a private nursing home place in their area that fell short of the average cost.
On average, people underestimated the true cost of a care home place in England by £237 per week – the equivalent of £12,000 a year.
- Lord Porter: We need a big, bold move to put social care on a firm financial footing
Date: 31 Oct 2018
I am sure that many House readers have heard plenty about the Local Government Association’s (LGA) adult social care green paper which we launched in the summer. Sadly, this issue has not been resolved by successive governments and, with people living longer, increases in costs and decreases in funding, the system is at breaking point.
Over recent years, councils have protected adult social care relative to other services to try and stave off the most challenging consequences of the crisis. But the scale of the overall funding picture for local government as a whole means adult social care services still face a £3.5bn funding gap by 2025, just to maintain existing standards of care.
The likely consequences of this are more and more people being unable to get good quality, reliable care and support which enables them to live more fulfilling lives; more providers exiting the market, and greater strain on the care workforce and unpaid family carers.
- Hammond v McDonnell on Budget 'end of austerity' claim
Date: 30 Oct 2018
Labour have dismissed the government's Budget claim to be ending austerity.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said welfare cuts were continuing and public services could face a further squeeze.
But Chancellor Philip Hammond, who announced tax cuts as well as more money for the NHS and universal credit, said more spending was on its way.
- Anger over chancellor's £400m 'little extras' for schools
Date: 30 Oct 2018
eachers and parents have reacted with anger to an announcement in the Budget that schools are to receive a one-off payment of £400m for "little extras".
Schools in England will receive the sum to "buy the little extras they need", Chancellor Philip Hammond said.
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said Mr Hammond's choice of language was "utterly insulting to parents and teachers".
- Why did the council 'house' me in a tent?
Date: 30 Oct 2018
Theo had just turned 17 when he became homeless. He turned to the council for help - but was given only a one-man tent, writes the BBC's Emma Forde.
- Budget 2018: Philip Hammond hails better borrowing figures
Date: 30 Oct 2018
Chancellor Philip Hammond has used the Budget to ease the government spending squeeze as he declared that austerity was "finally coming to an end".
Against a backdrop of stronger tax receipts, Mr Hammond said borrowing this year would be £11.6bn lower than projected in March, at £25.5bn.
Borrowing is expected to fall over the next five years.
- Budget income tax cuts 'to overwhelmingly benefit the rich'
Date: 30 Oct 2018
Income tax cuts for millions of workers announced in Philip Hammond’s budget will “overwhelmingly benefit richer households”, analysis has found, with almost half set to go to the top 10% of households.
The analysis by the Resolution Foundation thinktank found that welfare cuts would continue to affect the poorest households, despite Hammond’s announcement that austerity was coming to an end.
Three-quarters of the £12bn in welfare cuts announced after the 2015 election remain government policy.
- Hammond no longer on track to balance budget, says OBR
Date: 30 Oct 2018
Philip Hammond will allow the government’s spending deficit to rise next year as he seeks to pay for the first round of extra NHS spending and a series of measures that will “bring an end to the era of austerity”.
The chancellor sanctioned a rise from 1.2% to 1.4% in the annual deficit between this year and 2019/20 as he sought to honour promises made by the prime minister to boost spending on health, local authority housing and a freeze on fuel duty.
Over the next five years, Hammond has authorised £30bn of extra spending and tax cuts that he might have kept aside for a rainy day, according to the Treasury’s independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
- Budget 2018: A bit of a gamble, says IFS
Date: 30 Oct 2018
The Budget has been branded "a bit of a gamble" by a respected economic research group.
The chancellor was able to promise more spending in his budget after forecasts for tax collection were raised, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.
But those forecasts could easily change for the worse, leaving the chancellor in a tight spot, the IFS said.
The think tank also warned that many public services will continue to feel squeezed for some time to come.
- School places crisis is worse than ever with half of children in some areas expected to miss out on their chosen secondary
Date: 30 Oct 2018
Parents are today scrambling to get their child into a top secondary school in the most competitive year ever.
Applications must be submitted by midnight tonight but even those making the deadline may well miss out on their favourite school.
A baby boom fuelled by migration a decade ago has caused a surge in applications – with a predicted record high of 607,000 pupils vying to find a place.
- Philip Hammond prepares last Budget before Brexit
Date: 29 Oct 2018
Philip Hammond is preparing to present the last Budget before Brexit.
The chancellor is expected to announce a rise in spending on mental health in England and has also hinted at cash for universal credit welfare reforms.
He has admitted a change of approach, including an entirely new economic plan, will be needed if the UK and the EU cannot agree a deal by 29 March.
Labour is calling for more investment in public services to put an end to years of "failed austerity".
- 2018 Budget Preview
Date: 29 Oct 2018
The BBC's live coverage of the budget
- Budget 2018: £2billion annual boost for mental health services to be announced
Date: 29 Oct 2018
An additional £2billion each year is expected to be allocated for mental health crisis services in the upcoming budget announcement.
Philip Hammond will use the Budget, to be outlined on Monday, to set out the start of a long-term plan to achieve "parity of care" between physical and mental health.
This extra money is set to pay for the provision of "comprehensive" mental health support in every major NHS A&E department.
- Budget 2018: Mental health ambulances promised in drive for more dedicated treatment
Date: 29 Oct 2018
Mental health services will get a cash injection of £2bn a year, as Philip Hammond promises more dedicated support in Monday's budget.
Special ambulances to treat people with conditions like depression, anxiety and PTSD are part of the new measures to ensure mental illnesses are treated as seriously as physical ones.
The vehicles look like normal cars and are designed to reduce stigma.
- Philip Hammond: No-deal Brexit would require new Budget
Date: 28 Oct 2018
The government will set a new Budget if it is unable to reach a Brexit deal with the EU, the chancellor has said.
Philip Hammond said a no-deal Brexit would require a "different response", with "fiscal buffers" being maintained to provide support for the economy.
Mr Hammond was speaking on the eve of his Budget, which he will present to the Commons on Monday.
- More children in England at risk of abuse or neglect
Date: 26 Oct 2018
An average of 188 children a day in England are being put on protection plans because they are at risk of abuse or neglect, official figures reveal.
Councils started 68,770 child protection plans during 2017-18, a rise of 2,360 in a year.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said councils were "pushed to the brink by unprecedented demand".
- MPs demand policing is a Budget priority
Date: 26 Oct 2018
Policing “urgently” needs more funding in the Budget to avoid “dire consequences” for public safety, MPs have warned.
Neighbourhood policing has been cut by more than 20% since 2010 and some forces have lost more than two-thirds of neighbourhood officers, the home affairs select committee has noted in a report out yesterday.
On average forces in England and Wales have experienced a 35% reduction in the number of neighbourhood officers between 2009-10 and 2017-18 with the biggest cuts coming in Northamptonshire (71%), West Yorkshire (69%) and the City of London (69%).
- Budget to offer business rates relief for small shops
Date: 26 Oct 2018
The chancellor will cut business rates bills by a third for almost half a million small high street shops in a £1.5bn spending pledge to fight the threat posed by Amazon and other online retailers.
In next week’s budget, Philip Hammond will order £900m of immediate business rates relief for small retailers in an effort to combat shuttered shops on the high street, where small businesses have been threatened by high rates and the rapid rise of online shopping.
Small retailers will be the focus of the business rates relief. A Sheffield pub with an estimated rental value of £37,750 would be likely to save £6,178 on business rates next year. A Birmingham newsagent would save £1,749 with a rental rate of £14,250.
- Budget 2018: Labour urges Hammond to 'stump up cash'
Date: 25 Oct 2018
Labour is calling for concrete action by the chancellor in Monday's Budget to end austerity not just "financial conjuring tricks" and "vague promises".
Philip Hammond must "stump up the cash" for schools, councils and social care, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said.
Theresa May has pledged that almost a decade of budget cuts, pay restraint and benefit freezes are nearing an end.
Labour has calculated that £30bn in extra spending would be required by 2023 to make this a reality.
- Councils buying care 'on the cheap'
Date: 25 Oct 2018
Councils across the UK are buying vital home help for elderly people on the cheap, the firms providing care say.
Thousands of vulnerable older people rely on councils to organise support for them for daily tasks such as washing, dressing and feeding.
But research by the UK Homecare Association found only one in seven was paying a fair price for care.
It said this meant visits were being cut short, but councils said they had insufficient money to pay more.
- Lancs appoints combined CEO/151 amid harsh criticism of council’s governance
Date: 25 Oct 2018
Lancashire County Council has voted to appoint Angie Ridgwell to its controversial permanent role of chief executive and section 151 officer.
In a bitter meeting of the full council last week, Conservative councillors voted through the appointment, after opposition councillors abstained.
Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors complained that combining the role of chief executive and section 151 officer was contrary to good governance practice.
- Arlingclose launches system for rating local authority creditworthiness
Date: 25 Oct 2018
Treasury adviser Arlingclose will next month launch a new rating system to rank the financial strength of local authorities, which it says will complement a similar initiative launched by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
The firm will award gold, silver and bronze rankings to authorities, based on a series of indicators, namely level of indebtedness, interest cost burden, income flexibility, the level and rate of use of revenue reserves, and budgetary control.
However, unlike CIPFA’s “traffic light” financial resilience rankings, plans for which were revealed earlier this year, Arlingclose’s will only be available to councils lending to other authorities through its online platform.
- 'Grave concerns' about future of council-run nurseries and support for special needs pupils as Tories refuse to guarantee vital funding
Date: 24 Oct 2018
Thousands of children with special needs could miss out on vital support if the government doesn't extend nursery funding.
Some facilities could even be forced to close their doors without the extra money.
Labour have said the schools are “crying out for more funding” as they pile pressure on the Tories ahead of the budget.
Council-run nurseries will lose almost £60m a year from 2020.
- Councils sitting on £431m of infrastructure funds
Date: 24 Oct 2018
Local authorities in England and Wales are sitting on £431m that should be invested in local infrastructure, a freedom of information request has revealed.
FOIs sent out by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) show that nearly two fifths (39%) of the receipts from a levy on property developers meant for local infrastructure improvements remains unspent by councils.
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) was introduced in 2010 to help local authorities meet the impact of property developments in their areas. The revenue raised enables them to, for example, build transport links or new schools.
- Local government finance settlement date confirmed in government response to Hudson review
Date: 24 Oct 2018
Local authorities will have more certainty to plan their budgets as government confirms it will aim for set dates each year for the provisional and final local government finance settlements, the Minister for Local Government Rishi Sunak MP confirmed today (24 October 2018).
The minister outlined the move in a response to an independent review into the department’s oversight of the business rates system.
- The money messages may be getting back to the centre
Date: 24 Oct 2018
Local government often opines it is seldom listened to by central government – an accusation with some merit. However the last few weeks have seen several key announcements that do suggest perhaps some of the messages from our member councils are cutting through after all.
The County Councils’ Network (CCN) has received coverage across the national news highlighting the state of local government funding, and illustrating that our member authorities will need to outline £1bn more in new savings and cuts next year to balance their budgets, on top of eight years of austerity.
Local government often opines it is seldom listened to by central government – an accusation with some merit. However the last few weeks have seen several key announcements that do suggest perhaps some of the messages from our member councils are cutting through after all.
- Children's services are at breaking point, experts say
Date: 23 Oct 2018
Children’s services from Sure Start to schools and NHS mental health are at breaking point, according to a coalition of 120 organisations that have called on the chancellor to invest in young people in the budget next week.
An open letter to Philip Hammond and Theresa May from a group of charities, teaching unions and medical colleges accuses the government of ignoring children and young people in its spending plans.
Local authorities backed the call, saying council-run children’s services were fast approaching a tipping point as they struggled to maintain services in the face of a funding gap estimated to reach £3bn by 2025.
- LGA responds to children's organisations call for Government to fund children's services
Date: 23 Oct 2018
Responding to a call by a group of children’s organisations for the Government to improve funding for children’s services, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said:
“This is a compelling demonstration of the grave concerns shared across the sector as funding cuts increasingly leave services struggling to provide the care and support that thousands of children and families rely on.
“Councils have long-called for the Government to recognise the urgency of the funding crisis facing children’s services, which are fast approaching a tipping point and face a funding gap of £3 billion by 2025 just to keep services running at current levels.
“The Autumn Budget presents the perfect opportunity for the Government to take action and give councils the funding they need to keep children safe from harm and enable them to live the happy and fulfilling lives they deserve.”
- Social care crisis: Councils receive 5,100 new requests for adult care every day amid soaring demand
Date: 23 Oct 2018
Councils in England are being swamped with 5,100 new requests for adult social care every day, figures have revealed.
Local authorities last year spent £17.9billion on caring for adults – £402million (2.3 per cent) more than the year before.
While the total number of people relying on long-term care is going down, 1.3million people contacted their local council for help in 2017-18.
Experts say the system is at 'breaking point' and the number of people receiving care is only going down because councils are rationing it.
- Councils affected by China's waste ban
Date: 22 Oct 2018
A fifth of councils have been directly affected by China’s ban on imported waste over the past year, according to a new survey.
The poll, conducted by the Local Government Association, found China’s restrictions on imports of mixed paper and certain types of plastic have increased recycling costs for some councils by as much as £500,000.
The fee charged to councils to process materials collected from kerbside collection at a materials recovery facility (MRF) is said to have increased from £15 to £22 per tonne over the last year.
- Whitehall announces £5m fund to fight knife crime
Date: 22 Oct 2018
Local authorities are being given the opportunity to bid for funding to tackle youth and gang crime in high-risk areas.
The Supporting Families Against Youth Crime fund will support frontline professionals working with children and young people to intervene earlier to help keep them away from gangs.
It will also support more in-depth work with parents and carers to help them fully understand the risk factors and dangers of their children becoming drawn into gang crime.
- We need to stop local services becoming dependent on property prices [opinion]
Date: 22 Oct 2018
Cash-strapped councils increasingly borrowing to invest in commercial properties risk local services - which are often for vulnerable people - being at the mercy of the property market, says CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman...
- PAC calls for costed 10-year social care plan
Date: 19 Oct 2018
The integration of health and care will not progress while local authority finances are squeezed, MPs have warned today.
[The] adult social care sector is in a “precarious state because of long-term underfunding” and needs a long-term funding plan, a Public Accounts Committee report has urged.
“With local authorities squeezed there is no realistic prospect of progress” on health and care integration, the report said. [It said that] the Department of Health and Social Care should provide a costed 10-year plan for social care to run alongside that for the NHS.
- SOLACE Summit: Councils are at back of austerity queue
Date: 17 Oct 2018
Councils are at the ‘end of the queue’ when it comes to receiving funding from the Treasury, the chief executive of Brighton & Hove Council has said.
Speaking weeks after prime minister Theresa May declared the age of austerity over with a message to voters that there are ‘better days ahead,’ Geoff Raw was sceptical that it would mean a cash bonanza for local authorities.
Welcoming delegates to the Society of Local Authority Chief Executive’s annual summit in Brighton today, Mr Raw, said the sector would have to wait to discover the impact of Mrs May’s announcement.
- Somerset County Council: Protesters gather to challenge £14m cuts
Date: 17 Oct 2018
Protesters gathered outside a council to challenge councillors about £14m of extra cuts agreed last month.
Opposition councillors called the meeting to ask Somerset County Council's Conservative leadership to explain what would happen if the savings cannot be achieved.
Liberal Democrat Liz Leyshon said February's budget would not have been approved if they had the full picture. The Conservatives say they will update councillors about finances more often.
- Gloucestershire council 'in crisis' as fourth director quits
Date: 17 Oct 2018
Leadership at Gloucestershire County Council has been described as being in "crisis" after the resignation of its fourth director in a year.
Strategic director for finance, Jo Walker has quit to become chief executive at North Somerset Council.
Lib-Dem opposition leader Paul Hodgkinson said her departure reflected a "crisis of leadership". But the ruling Conservatives said Ms Walker's move endorsed "the high calibre of staff at the council".
- PAC chair seeking ways to beef up local government spending scrutiny
Date: 17 Oct 2018
The Public Accounts Committee chair has been speaking “behind the scenes to persuade various players” to enhance the scrutiny of local government spending.
Meg Hillier [has said that] how local government is spending money needs to be more “transparent” for an increasingly “savvy” British public.
“I think the British public are much more savvy about things - they don’t trust the authority to spend things well,” she said.
- Chiefs warning to May if austerity not lifted
Date: 16 Oct 2018
More councils face scaling back services to a minimum statutory offer if prime minister Theresa May reneges on her promise of ‘better times ahead,’ local authority chief executives have warned.
Pressure on the Government to boost public sector spending in chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget later this month is growing after eight years of austerity, which has led to a number of councils rapidly moving to a core statutory offer.
One in three council bosses have now used a survey by The MJ and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) to warn their organisation will have to reduce to a minimum statutory offer if the cuts fail to come to an end.
- LGA improvement cash could be slashed
Date: 16 Oct 2018
Smith Square’s top-slice funding could be slashed under plans being considered by Whitehall over fears the sector-led improvement regime is not delivering good value.
The Local Government Association (LGA) was given £20m to fund a range of training and improvement services in 2019/20.
However, The MJ understands that only £10m has been agreed for next year, with further funding hanging in the balance.
A Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities (MHCLG) source told The MJ there were fears over the efficiency and transparency of the peer review process, and questions over whether it was delivering good value.
- East Sussex council leader plays down service cuts report
Date: 16 Oct 2018
A report laying out how county council services in East Sussex could be severely reduced was not intended as a "budget-setting paper", the authority's leader has said.
Councillor Keith Glazier made the comments at a meeting on Tuesday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
The East Sussex County Council leader told councillors the aim of the report had been to "prompt discussion".
- Local government fraud cases rise, says CIPFA survey
Date: 16 Oct 2018
The number of cases of fraud committed against local authorities went up in 2017-18 and the value prevented is a little lower, CIPFA has revealed.
In its annual fraud tracker, out today, the institute showed this type of crime remains a “major financial threat” to councils with housing fraud being the most common type.
The total value of fraud prevented is down from last year’s CIPFA estimates - from £336m to £302m – while the prevalence of fraud has increased from 75,000 cases to 80,000 this year.
- Durham County Council adds £49k security after threats
Date: 16 Oct 2018
A council has spent £49,000 on new security after a spate of cases of staff being threatened and intimidated.
One incident saw a member of the public climb over a helpdesk to confront workers, Durham County Council said.
The new security doors have been fitted at County Hall in Durham despite the council progressing with plans to demolish the building and move to new offices.
- Council hit by cyber attack reveals £2m cost
Date: 11 Oct 2018
A Cumbrian council has said it will "never know" whether it was the target of a cyber attack because it is host to the Sellafield nuclear waste plant.
Copeland Borough Council has revealed that an attack on its systems in August 2017 has cost it about £2m.
The hack locked staff out of a number of council services, including payroll, planning and environmental health.
- Public faces 'care injustice' as NHS struggles
Date: 11 Oct 2018
The public is facing a growing "care injustice" as people are finding it more difficult to get help in England, the regulator is warning.
The Care Quality Commission highlighted growing hospital waiting lists, delays at A&E and record dissatisfaction levels with GPs in its annual report.
Mental health and old-age care were also becoming harder to access.
- Warrington doubles down on solar farm investments
Date: 11 Oct 2018
Warrington Borough Council has bought two more solar farms to raise an estimated £150m in revenue over the next 30 years.
The council, which has previously bought another solar farm and launched a solar bond, this week approved £58.7m of Public Works Loan Board borrowing to build the two farms – near York and Hull – through separate special purchase vehicles.
The business plan for the developments predicts rates of return of 8.21% and 11% respectively from selling energy to the National Grid.
- UK economy grows faster than expected in three months to August
Date: 10 Oct 2018
UK GDP growth was stronger than expected in the three months to August thanks to the summer heatwave, official data on Wednesday showed.
The economy expanded by 0.7 per cent over the three months, according to the latest estimate from the Office for National Statistics.
That was higher than the 0.6 per cent consensus among City analysts.
- UK public finances are among weakest in the world, IMF says
Date: 10 Oct 2018
Britain’s public finances are among the weakest in the world following the 2008 financial crash, according to a fresh assessment of government assets and liabilities by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Washington-based lender said a health check on the wealth of 31 nations found almost £1tn had been wiped off the wealth of the UK’s public sector – equivalent to 50% of GDP – putting it in the second weakest position, with only Portugal in a worse state.
- Councils turning against outsourcing, survey reveals
Date: 10 Oct 2018
Local authorities are losing their appetite for outsourcing and rethinking their relationship with the private sector, a new survey has revealed.
The survey of local government leaders, chief executives and mayors, published by the New Local Government Network (NLGN), found that 39% say they will outsource less over the next two years.
It also showed that only 15% say they intend to outsource more over the next two years, while 46% indicate no change from current levels.
- Councils turning against outsourcing, survey reveals
Date: 10 Oct 2018
Local authorities are losing their appetite for outsourcing and rethinking their relationship with the private sector, a new survey has revealed.
The survey of local government leaders, chief executives and mayors, published by the New Local Government Network (NLGN), found that 39% say they will outsource less over the next two years.
It also showed that only 15% say they intend to outsource more over the next two years, while 46% indicate no change from current levels.
- DUP 'could vote against the Budget' over Brexit deal
Date: 10 Oct 2018
The Democratic Unionist Party's 10 Westminster MPs are planning to vote down the Budget later this month if they are unhappy about the government's Brexit plans, the BBC understands.
Theresa May relies on DUP support in key votes because she does not have a majority in the House of Commons.
But the DUP could abandon this deal if Brexit means new barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, Newsnight's Nick Watt said.
- 'Territorial injustice' may rise in England due to council cuts – study
Date: 09 Oct 2018
Disproportionately harsh spending cuts to local public services in England’s poorest areas are likely to intensify perceived “territorial injustice” between deprived and wealthy parts of the country, a study has shown.
Post-industrial cities in the north of England, together with some inner-city London boroughs, have been hit by the deepest cuts to local government spending since the start of austerity in 2010, says the research by the University of Cambridge.
- Councils' concern over Universal Support withdrawal
Date: 09 Oct 2018
Councils have reacted with dismay after the Government handed support for the Universal Credit (UC) rollout to the charity sector.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced last week that Citizens’ Advice had been awarded a £39m contract to deliver Universal Support, which helps claimants adapt to the new system.
Director general of UC, Neil Couling, explained to chief executives in a letter that the ‘service as currently configured is not providing consistent support nationwide’.
- English councils undergoing harshest spending cuts
Date: 09 Oct 2018
English councils have been hit twice as hard by spending cuts compared to their Scottish and Welsh counterparts, according to a study published today.
A separate survey also released today has found almost two-thirds of the public want more spending - even if it means tax hikes.
The University of Cambridge, using council-level spending figures compiled by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, found that councils in England had suffered an average service spending fall of almost 24% since 2010 - compared to 12% in Wales and 11.5% in Scotland.
- Northamptonshire County Council: £65m of cuts agreed
Date: 09 Oct 2018
A cash-strapped county council which had commissioners appointed after it faced a financial crisis has agreed a £65m package of cuts.
Northamptonshire County Council's cabinet backed a so-called "stabilisation plan".
Planned spending cuts on agency staff and highways services are among the main proposed savings.
- Warrington Council to invest £59m in solar farms in Yorkshire
Date: 09 Oct 2018
Warrington Borough Council has agreed to invest £58.7m in two solar energy farms more than 90 miles away in a bid to reduce its electricity bill.
The local authority has approved plans to purchase the plants in Hull and York.
The solar farms will supply electricity to the council in a move forecast to save £1m per year.
- Schools will be asked to track children's happiness amid fears about growing mental health epidemic
Date: 09 Oct 2018
Schools will be asked to monitor children's happiness and mental health in a bid to tackle growing levels of anxiety among young people, the Prime Minister will announce today.
The new measures are part of a wider mental health strategy which will see thousands of therapists sent into classrooms, and annual publication of a ‘happiness index’ tracking the state of the nation’s youth.
Theresa May will also appoint the UK’s first minister for suicide prevention and £1.8m funding for the Samaritans, as she pledges to “end the stigma that has forced too many to suffer in silence”.
- Fears for the future of music lessons in schools
Date: 09 Oct 2018
Music lessons in England schools could be under threat unless central government covers the cost of a pay rise for teachers, councils claim.
In July, the government agreed to fund a 3.5% rise for lower-paid teachers and 1.5% and 2% for higher-paid teachers, senior staff and head teachers.
But councils say this does not cover centrally employed teachers, most of whom offer music lessons in schools.
The government says it is putting £400m into arts and music over four years.
- Number of children referred to mental health services in England rises by a quarter
Date: 08 Oct 2018
The number of children referred to mental health services in England has risen by more than a quarter in the last five years – but one in four are being denied support, according to new report.
At least 55,800 children were denied access to child and adolescent mental health services in England despite being referred last year amid cuts to services, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) says.
- Local government funding to be slashed by a further £1.3bn
Date: 08 Oct 2018
Council budgets will be cut by a third next year, causing 'dramatic' reductions in services, local government leaders have warned.
The Local Government Association (LGA) says a further £1.3bn will be cut in 2019/20 under current plans. This amounts to 36% of their budgets.
- Should we be forced to pay £30,000 for old-age care?
Date: 08 Oct 2018
It was hardly mentioned at the Conservative Party conference, but behind the scenes it is an issue which is causing much angst in Westminster: what to do about paying for care in later life in England.
The Tories have already had their fingers burnt by the problem - last year's election campaign was nearly derailed by the so-called "dementia tax", forcing the prime minister into a U-turn only days after announcing the policy.
Ministers took the sting out of the issue by promising to publish new plans by the summer.
- Metro mayors call for post-Brexit fiscal devolution
Date: 08 Oct 2018
Four of England’s metro mayors are demanding control over the cash set to replace Brussels funding in the wake of Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Labour’s Andy Burnham of Greater Manchester, Steve Rotheram of Liverpool city region, and Dan Jarvis of Sheffield city region have written to the Financial Times, with the Conservative mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, calling for more fiscal devolution after Brexit.
- Whitehall announces £24m scheme to ‘boost’ social mobility in North East
Date: 08 Oct 2018
The education secretary will today launch a multi-million pound programme to boost social mobility and raise aspirations for children in the North East.
Secondary school performance in the area is significantly below other regions, and fewer 18-year-olds attend the country’s top universities than those from other parts of the country.
The North East also has one of the highest proportions of young people not in education, employment or training after year 11.
- North's elected mayors call for post-EU spending powers
Date: 08 Oct 2018
Elected mayors in the North of England want devolved powers to spend a share of the money which will replace £2.4bn per year of EU funding from 2020.
The mayors said controlling funds to tackle regional inequality from London amounted to a "Whitehall power grab".
The Conservative Party pledged last year to replace economic aid which the EU has paid since 2000 with a new fund.
- Stamp it out. Council tax and stamp duty should be scrapped and replaced by a new tax on homeowners, says Left-wing think-tank
Date: 08 Oct 2018
It argued the move would help reduce wealth inequality between those who own a home and those who don’t.
The think tank claimed housing is currently “undertaxed” relative to other assets, distorting investment behaviour and contributing to inequality between homeowners and renters.
A property tax rate of 0.5 per cent would mean an annual tax bill of £1,243 for the owner of an averagely priced UK home valued at £248,611, the IPPR said.
- Teacher crisis hits London as nearly half quit within five years
Date: 05 Oct 2018
London schools are in the throes of a growing crisis in teacher retention, with figures revealing that more than four out of 10 quit the profession within five years of qualifying.
Schools across England say they are struggling to recruit and retain staff, but the problem is most acute in inner London where just 57% of teachers who qualified in 2012 were still working in the classroom by 2017.
According to new analysis of government figures by Labour MP Matthew Pennycook, of the 35,000 newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who started teaching in the capital since the Conservatives took power in 2010, more than 11,000 have already left.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45740427
Date: 04 Oct 2018
Theresa May's claim that austerity is coming to an end is as likely as her winning Strictly Come Dancing, Labour has said.
The prime minister told the Conservative Party conference that, after a decade of economic sacrifices, the end was in sight.
But shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the words "lacked credibility".
He said children's services faced a £2bn budget shortfall while councils had a £4bn hole in their finances.
- The social care system is collapsing. So why the government inaction? [opinion]
Date: 03 Oct 2018
Future history students will enjoy speculating about the Brexit deal (or no deal) and what might have happened if this historic agreement had concluded differently. However, these studies are unlikely to consider the impact of the time and energy lost to discussions and discord on Brexit over the past two years...
- UK's rejection of child refugees under Dubs scheme unlawful, court rules
Date: 03 Oct 2018
The government’s treatment of unaccompanied child refugees who were denied residence in the UK has been ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal.
Lord Justice Hickinbottom said children were given “patently inadequate” reasons for being refused entry under the Dubs Amendment - an act that required the government to relocate a number of unaccompanied children to the UK.
But a 480 cap on places for unaccompanied child refugees will remain in place after the court rejected an argument that the government had not properly justified the upper limit.
- Councils will be allowed to borrow billions more to build new affordable homes for millennials struggling to get on the housing ladder
Date: 03 Oct 2018
Councils will be allowed to borrow more money to build new homes, Theresa May announced today.
The PM said councils would no longer be capped on how much they can borrow against their Housing Revenue Account assets – effectively loaning against their property to free up cash to build homes.
Local government leaders welcomed the move today and signalled it would unlock a new wave of housebuilding in the UK.
- Whitehall 'neglecting' smaller cities and towns, report warns
Date: 03 Oct 2018
The Government’s focus on major cities ‘neglects’ the contribution that smaller cities, towns and communities can make to economic growth, according to a new study.
The report, published by Centre for Towns, Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Industrial Communities Alliance, Key Cities Group, argues that national policymaking is ‘preoccupied’ with London and the main regional cities because of an assumption the wealth created in these areas will trickle down to the rest of the country.
- Northamptonshire County Council plan to cut £65m unveiled
Date: 02 Oct 2018
A council plans to cut spending on agency staff and highways services, while boosting tax receipts, to tackle a £65m funding shortfall.
The "stabilisation plan" published by Northamptonshire County Council aims to save an additional £20m in 2018-19, on top of £45m in cuts already planned.
Government-appointed commissioners have been brought in to oversee the council, which has twice banned new spending.
- Matt Hancock: ‘Emergency social care funding will free up vital hospital beds'
Date: 02 Oct 2018
An emergency £240m will be pumped into the social care system to try and avoid yet another NHS “winter crisis”, the Health and Social Care Secretary has announced.
Matt Hancock told the Conservative Party conference action was needed to stop hospital beds being used by people who could be better cared for in their homes – so-called “bed blockers”. The extra money will be allocated to councils to spend on measures including housing adaptations and care packages.
“We will use this money to get people who don’t need to be in hospital, but do need care, back home, back into their communities, so we can free up those vital hospital beds,”Mr Hancock said in Birmingham. “And help people who really need it get the hospital care they need.”
- English councils brace for biggest government cuts since 2010 despite 'unprecedented' budget pressures
Date: 01 Oct 2018
Councils are facing the biggest cuts to government funding since 2010 despite unprecedented pressure and demand, which could risk “tipping many over the edge”, local authorities have warned.
Figures show that the revenue support grant – the main source of government funding for local services – will be cut by 36 per cent next year, marking the largest annual deduction in almost a decade.
It comes despite repeated warnings that continuing cuts to vital local authority provisions mean vulnerable people, such as the elderly, at-risk children and homeless people, are being left to “fend for themselves”.
- Teachers to be given extra volleyball and zumba coaching - as they're told to get pupils fit
Date: 01 Oct 2018
Around 17,000 teachers will receive extra coaching to help get children fit in a new blitz on school sport.
Sport England is spending up to £13.5million on a teacher training programme – the first ‘significant’ investment in secondary school PE since 2008.
The move comes as Education Secretary Damian Hinds this weekend revealed he is launching a fresh drive to boost competitive sport in the country’s schools.
- Chancellor Philip Hammond announces u-turn on apprentices tax in a bid to build bridges with businesses
Date: 01 Oct 2018
The Chancellor’s review of the Apprenticeship Levy – a flagship policy of his predecessor George Osborne – is one of a series of pro-enterprise moves that he will unveil in his conference speech.
The olive branch comes after bitter fallouts with the Government over attack on boardrooms and Brexit.
The Government also suffered a withering attack on its own conference stage from TV business celebrity and former Labour minister Lord Jones.
- Number of new-builds falls short of pre-crash level
Date: 28 Sep 2018
England is building 21 per cent fewer homes than during a peak in 2007 as the government struggles to reach its target of 300,000 homes a year.
Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government showed that housebuilders started work on 38,730 homes in England on a seasonally adjusted basis in the three months to the end of June. This is down from 48,920 in the first three months of 2007. However, it was 126 per cent higher than a low of 17,120 in the first quarter of 2009, in the depth of the financial crisis.
Conversions — for example, turning an office block into flats — also count toward the 300,000 target. When these are included, the figures show that there were 217,350 “additional dwellings” in England in 2016-17, a ten-year high. However, the number of housing starts for new homes is still declining, suggesting that a higher total figure may not be achieved this year. Compared with the previous quarter, the number of housing starts fell by 3.7 per cent from 40,200 in the three months to March and by 4.1 per cent from a year earlier.
- Head teachers protest at Downing Street funding rally
Date: 28 Sep 2018
Hundreds of head teachers from England and Wales are due to attend a rally in central London later, to demand extra funding for schools.
They will meet in Parliament Square before delivering a letter to No 11 Downing Street, amid concerns over work conditions and overcrowded classrooms.
The heads quote the Institute of Fiscal Studies' claim that per pupil funding has fallen 8% in real terms since 2010.
- Government spending on children at risk of neglect or abuse slashed by more than a quarter in five years, figures show
Date: 28 Sep 2018
Government spending on children at risk of neglect or abuse has been slashed by 26 per cent over the past five years, new figures show, leading campaigners to claim they were being left to “fend for themselves”.
Budgets for “early intervention” children’s services, designed to help stop family problems such as abuse and neglect spiralling out of control, have dropped by £743m in the last five years, data from the Department for Education shows.
Over the same period, government spending on children’s centres, such as Sure Start and other universal family services, has dropped by £450m - a decrease of 42 per cent.
- Government spending on children at risk of neglect or abuse slashed by more than a quarter in five years, figures show
Date: 28 Sep 2018
Government spending on children at risk of neglect or abuse has been slashed by 26 per cent over the past five years, new figures show, leading campaigners to claim they were being left to “fend for themselves”.
Budgets for “early intervention” children’s services, designed to help stop family problems such as abuse and neglect spiralling out of control, have dropped by £743m in the last five years, data from the Department for Education shows.
Over the same period, government spending on children’s centres, such as Sure Start and other universal family services, has dropped by £450m - a decrease of 42 per cent.
- Labour Plans Dramatic £4.8bn Expansion Of Free Childcare Policy
Date: 26 Sep 2018
A massive expansion of free childcare and “Sure Start plus for the 21st Century” will be central pillars of Labour’s offer to voters, Jeremy Corbyn will confirm.
Under new £4.8bn plans from the party, 30 hours of free childcare will be available to all two, three and four-year-olds, and all means-testing will be scrapped.
The poorest families will also be eligible for more free hours over and above the 30-hour threshold, while more well-off families needing extra childcare will be charged a maximum of £4-an-hour.
- Labour leaders refuse to back Corbyn's illegal budget comments
Date: 26 Sep 2018
A number of Labour council leaders have refused to endorse comments made by the party’s leader in support of councils that refuse to set legal budgets.
Jeremy Corbyn said he understood why councils might choose to break the law in order to make a political point about a lack of money.
“I absolutely understand it,” Mr Corbyn told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday. “I represent an inner city area, Islington, as you know, and we were very angry in the 1980s at the way in which our council expenditure were cut, and I’m very angry now when I see local authorities trying their best to deliver good quality services and the whole time the government is either cutting – is cutting the central government grant and saying they can keep some of their rate income, but of course that’s not fair across the country.”
- Chancellor calls early Budget to fit round Brexit talks
Date: 26 Sep 2018
This year's Budget is to be earlier than usual to avoid clashing with the final stage of Brexit negotiations in November.
The date of the Budget, 29 October, also fits in with ministers' availability and official data releases, a Treasury spokesman said.
The Budget will also be a week after a high profile Brussels Brexit summit.
- Parents in England seek legal action over special needs funding cuts
Date: 26 Sep 2018
Parents are initiating legal action against the government over multimillion-pound cuts to special needs funding in England, amid warnings of “a national crisis” affecting thousands of children with disabilities across the country.
Two families from East Sussex and North Yorkshire with children with special educational needs are the latest to launch a crowdfunding appeal to bring a legal challenge to cuts.
Earlier this year, families in Surrey, Bristol and the London borough of Hackney began legal action against their local authorities after they announced substantial cuts to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) budgets.
- Labour would scrap ATM charges in bid to 'save high streets'
Date: 25 Sep 2018
Charges to withdraw money from cash machines would be scrapped under a Labour government to "save Britain's high streets".
Attempts to stop their "slow agonising death" were announced by shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey with a range of measures - including stopping Post Office closures.
Labour would also draw up a register of landlords of empty shops in every local authority.
- Union Worker Who 'Stopped Girl Walking Into The Sea' Makes Plea For Better Youth Services
Date: 25 Sep 2018
ONS figures released at the end of 2017 revealed that while overall suicide rates were at a 20-year low, the number of women aged 20-24 who died by suicide in 2016 (118) was 76% higher than in 2006 (67).
“The feeling of not being able to cope experienced by that young woman is a national and a growing trend,” Jacobs said, slamming budget cuts that have “decimated” youth services.
Quoting Local Government Association figures, she [Jesse Jacobs] added: “By 2020, authorities will receive £15.7bn less than they were in 2010.
- Heads told school pension contributions to rise by over 40% from 2019
Date: 25 Sep 2018
Headteachers have been told contributions schools pay towards teachers’ pensions are set to rise by more than 40 per cent.
An email sent to headteachers states the estimated contribution rate for schools under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme will rise to 23.6 per cent from September next year.
The current employer contribution rate is 16.48 per cent.
- Adult social care vacancies are soaring, according to the sector’s key training organisation.
Date: 24 Sep 2018
Skills for Care says that there are around 110,000 vacancies in the sector – 22,000 up on last year. That represents an estimated 8% vacancy rate, compared to 6.6% in 2017.
Nearly one in three people working in the sector changed jobs over the last year. The organisation also highlighted a significant pay gap between local government care workers and those in the private sector, with council staff earning on average £9.80 per hour – compared to an average of £8.12 paid by private firms.
The figures come as Local Government Association (LGA) is urging the government to provide more support for England’s 5.7 million unpaid carers.
- Call a halt to fiscal gerrymandering, says SIGOMA
Date: 24 Sep 2018
Council finances have been skewed by the Government directing more cash towards wealthier authorities, a coalition of urban councils has claimed.
SIGOMA is calling on the Government to drop plans to allocate £153m to some of the country’s wealthiest authorities in this year’s Local Government Finance Settlement through the negative revenue support grant.
It warned that deprived councils outside of London will have lost £1bn since 2010 due to this proposal and other similar policy decisions.
- Labour conference: No new free schools or academies, Angela Rayner pledges
Date: 24 Sep 2018
Labour would "immediately" end the government's academy and free schools programme in England, the shadow education secretary has said.
Angela Rayner told the party conference in Liverpool the current system is "simply not fit for purpose".
The two thirds of secondary schools and fifth of primaries already out of local authority control will not be affected.
But Labour says powers over school admissions and building new schools should be returned to councils.
- Labour leaders demand radical council tax reform
Date: 24 Sep 2018
Labour local authority leaders have called for the council tax system to be scrapped in a direct appeal to the Prime Minister.
An open letter to Theresa May signed by 23 mayors and council leaders and 12 Labour opposition leaders demands powers for local authorities to set local taxes, a movement away from ring-fenced grant funding and a reversal of business rates retention.
The letter blames austerity for increases in crime, foodbank usage and homelessness and a reduction in life expectancy. It adds: ‘We therefore call on government to reverse the disastrous policy of austerity that has dominated thinking in the Treasury since 2010 and has been disproportionately weighted against local authorities.’
However, the campaigners have yet to form details of what would replace the council tax system.
- Public ‘tiring of austerity’ as major survey reveals support for tax and spend
Date: 21 Sep 2018
A majority of British people now believe the Government should increase levels of tax and public spending, a major annual survey has found.
Around 60% of those surveyed agreed that taxing and spending more should be Government policy — up from 49% in 2016 and 31% in 2010.
The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) has been running the survey every year since 1983, with questions repeated periodically to assess how opinions change over time.
- Government borrowing jumps to £6.8bn in August
Date: 21 Sep 2018
Government borrowing rose by more than expected last month following subdued tax receipts and an increase in expenditure.
Borrowing jumped to £6.75bn last month from £4.35bn a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said.
It was the first year-on-year rise in borrowing in August for three years.
- Council misses accounts deadline
Date: 21 Sep 2018
The wait for Reading Council’s 2016/17 accounts to be signed off is expected to stretch on for at least another month.
Reading’s 2016/17 accounts should have been signed off by the end of September last year but the council has now missed several self-imposed targets for completing the process with its auditors, EY.
The accounting giant’s fees for its work are now expected to reach more than £400,000 - quadruple the indicative fee quoted in April 2016.
Delays to the sign off period will also have a knock-on effect on the 2017/18 accounts, which are now expected to be signed off in late November.
- '£1bn in unpalatable county council cuts' ahead in England
Date: 20 Sep 2018
Council bosses in England say the "worst is yet to come" in cuts to services, as the government further reduces local authority funding. The County Council Network predicts "unpalatable cutbacks" next year as the councils identify at least £1bn savings to plug a £1.5bn shortfall by 2020. It also warns the risk of some councils stripping their services back to a minimum 'core offer' is growing.
The government said councils will get a real term funding increase in 2018-19. It insists its approach strikes the right balance between relieving pressure on local government and ensuring taxpayers do not face excessive bills.
- Potholes: How engineers are working to fill in the gaps
Date: 20 Sep 2018
Potholes are a perennial problem. They are dangerous to road users and the damage they cause to vehicles can be hugely expensive. The cost of repairing them is also vast. But still they appear, and reappear, in countless places.
Why do these pesky crevices pose such a difficult challenge? And is there any light at the end of this unevenly-surfaced tunnel?
Potholes often begin as imperceptible microscopic cracks in the road surface. Bad weather, poor drainage and heavy traffic can all cause the surface to loosen and wear away. In 2017, more than 2 million potholes were repaired on UK roads, at a cost of some £120m.
- Somerset spending cuts delay new school buildings
Date: 20 Sep 2018
Plans to build 24 new and replacement schools in Somerset have been delayed by council funding cuts.
Somerset County Council recently voted to approve £15m of cuts to more than 70 different services.
The council had planned to spend £140m on building new schools in the next four years, with £116m of that being paid for by council borrowing.
- Counties likely to slash frontline services next year to balance budgets
Date: 20 Sep 2018
With central government funding for councils due to fall again in 2019-20, increasing numbers of county councils may have to strip services back to a ‘core offer’ or be unable to balance their budgets, the County Councils Network said today.
The umbrella-organisation estimated councils will have to make savings of £685m along with a further £233m of ‘unplanned’ frontline service cuts, in its response to the consultation for next year’s local government settlement.
- James Brokenshire accused of 'putting up barriers' to Yorks devo
Date: 20 Sep 2018
The housing and communities secretary has been criticised for his intransigence on discussing devolution plans with Yorkshire leaders.
The leader of Leeds City Council Judith Blake (Lab) told LGC that many council leaders were “incredibly disappointed” in James Brokenshire as he was “clearly” putting up barriers to the ‘One Yorkshire’ devolution proposal.
Cllr Blake said: “The council leaders who have come together to support the One Yorkshire proposal were incredibly disappointed that James Brokenshire has declined to meet with us to discuss the proposal we have.”
- Ministers ditch plans to sell off most valuable council properties to fund new social housing Save
Date: 19 Sep 2018
Ministers have reversed plans to sell off the most valuable council houses to pay for cheaper social housing after admitting the policy was a bad idea.
James Brokenshire, the Housing Secretary, said the Government would no longer “take forward” the plan announced under David Cameron in 2015, as officials admitted it was acting as a brake on development.
It comes after Theresa May signalled a major shift in housing policy by saying people should feel “proud” to live in a state-owned home in a departure from the Tories’ traditional emphasis on right to buy.
- Social care pressures ‘result of funding issues - not European migration’
Date: 19 Sep 2018
Problems affecting the social care sector are not related to European migration but rather reflect the lack of a sustainable funding model, an expert report commissioned by the government has concluded.
Yesterday, the Migration Advisory Committee published its finance report on the impact of migration from the European Economic Area, including the effects on public services and public finances.
The document, commissioned by then home secretary Amber Rudd in July 2017, concluded that EEA migrants pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits.
- Britain is on the brink of ‘social collapse,’ Labour council leaders warn
Date: 19 Sep 2018
Britain is on the brink of “social collapse” after “eight years of uninterrupted austerity” caused by brutal Tory spending cuts, Labour council leaders warned today.
Twenty-six leaders of Labour-controlled councils have signed an open letter calling on the government to “recognise the catastrophic impact” that austerity has had on local authorities across Britain.
The statement, released under the banner of Councils Against Austerity, says budgets have been squeezed by direct government cuts and other pressures.
- Councils overwhelmingly back IFRS9 statutory override for the long term
Date: 19 Sep 2018
The government should not time-limit a proposed statutory override for accounting changes to their pooled investments introduced by IFRS9, according to seven in every ten local government council treasurers.
In July, the government launched a consultation on introducing a temporary override to the accounting standard, which requires council treasurers to book some investments at fair value through profit and loss rather than “other comprehensive income”.
This year’s Room151 Treasury Investment Survey found overwhelming support for the proposed override, with 80.4% of those surveyed supporting the principle.
- Government ‘should borrow more to protect public services’
Date: 19 Sep 2018
The government should borrow tens of billions of pounds more a year to protect public services, a think-tank has suggested.
Services such as prisons and public health could face real terms cuts of 2.1% or 4.1% per capita in the first half of the 2020s if the government fails to provide them with more money, the New Economics Foundation has claimed.
Even with the government’s announcement of an extra £20.5bn for the NHS earlier this year by 2023/24, this would amount to “no average increase at all”, in Austerity by Stealth?, the first in a series of work looking at the future of public services in the 2020s.
- The scandal of councils in affluent areas getting a better deal [opinion]
Date: 18 Sep 2018
Owen Jones (A quiet crisis? No, we’re just not listening, 13 September) is right that Brexit is overshadowing the issue of crippling government cuts to council funding. This is a national scandal that is having and will continue to have an impact on people’s lives at least as significant as Brexit. Eight years of austerity has seen Nottingham’s main government funding slashed from £127m to £25m, despite the city council serving some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country. Councils serving affluent areas are not only getting a better deal under the government’s unfair funding formula, but have also benefited from extra government handouts over the last few years...
- Bedblocking by elderly patients cost NHS England the equivalent of 130,000 days of care in just one month
Date: 18 Sep 2018
The number of older people left stuck in hospital beds is rising as a result of the social care crisis, figures reveal.
In July almost 130,000 days of care were lost in hospitals because staff were unable to move patients to another part of the NHS or to council care.
The figure – 4,000 higher than the previous month – follows a long period where so-called bedblocking was going down.
Labour said the increase was particularly worrying because it comes at the height of summer, when pressures on the NHS are traditionally much lower.
- Westminster ‘ignoring’ councils because of Brexit, says Bob Kerslake
Date: 17 Sep 2018
Westminster is “shamefully” ignoring local government because it is “submerged by the Brexit debate”, former head of the civil service Bob Kerslake has claimed.
At a time when local authorities are under increasing pressure, central government is not properly considering issues such as the growing demand on social services, Kerslake told a conference of councillors.
Speaking at CIPFA’s inaugural councillor conference in Parliament on Thursday last week, the cross-bench peer told delegates that the strain on local government finance has been “shamefully not recognised by much of central government”.
- Radical pension system-type plans considered to solve social care crisis, Health Secretary reveals
Date: 17 Sep 2018
A radical new system of insurance to fund care of the elderly is being considered by ministers as they try to get a grip on the issue that almost lost the Conservatives the last election.
The Health Secretary told The Telegraph the “opt-out proposal” modelled on the pensions scheme would mean every adult in England was expected to pay into a national fund to cover their care in later life.
The disclosure – which is expected to be part of a forthcoming Green Paper on social care – is the first indication of the Government’s position on the matter.
- Somerset blames ‘broken’ funding system for major cuts
Date: 17 Sep 2018
Somerset County Council has announced a raft of cuts to services, saying the local authority funding system is “broken”. Savings of £13m over the remainder of this financial year and £15m in total in 2019-20 are expected to be made through the plans, ratified by the council last Monday.
Council leader David Fothergill said: “This is not the biggest set of savings Somerset has faced. But it is absolutely the most difficult set of decisions we have had to consider... The government model for funding local authorities is broken. Rural councils like ours don’t get the funding they need or deserve."
- Elderly care timebomb: Shock report says people needing help will double to 1.2m costing £18b a year by 2040
Date: 16 Sep 2018
With stretched councils starved of cash by the Tories and the elderly living longer, the social care system in Britain is careering towards collapse, experts have warned.
The number of pensioners who will be looked after is to rise from 657,000 in 2015 to 1.2 million by 2040 and the bill by 159%, from £7.2billion to £18.7billion.
But with Theresa May refusing to end austerity, councils are facing a £3.5billion funding gap by 2025.
- 'Lost for words': Somerset cuts £28m of help for most vulnerable
Date: 14 Sep 2018
On Wednesday the eight-person cabinet of Somerset county council voted through £28m of spending cuts, spread over the next two years. Over the previous six months, speculation had raged about whether Somerset would become the next Conservative-run council to join Northamptonshire in effectively going bankrupt and to call in government commissioners to sort out its mess.
And here was the answer, delivered at not much more than a week’s notice. To avoid a final disastrous plunge into the red, there would be a hacking down of help for vulnerable families and children with special educational needs, youth services, road gritting, flood prevention and much more.
The proceedings took place at Shire Hall, a mock-Gothic Victorian edifice in Taunton, Somerset’s county town. An hour before they started, around 80 people had gathered to protest, chanting a slogan apparently dreamed up by the local branch of the public sector union Unison: “Don’t let the eight decide our fate.”
- Public sector audit appointment body names new head
Date: 14 Sep 2018
Public Sector Audit Appointments has named Tony Crawley as its new chief executive.
Crawley has a background in district audit and is currently a director at KPMG, focusing on local public audit. He will join PSAA in mid-October.
As chief executive, Crawley will lead PSAA’s work as the “appointing person” responsible for auditor appointments for nearly 500 local authorities and police bodies.
“I am very much looking forward to working with PSAA's Board, staff and partners to help promote the importance of local audit as we move into a new phase for the company,” he said.
- LGA in last-ditch warning over rule changes
Date: 14 Sep 2018
Smith Square has warned that planned accounting rule changes could force councils to unnecessarily cut services or raise council tax.
IFRS 9, which has caused concern across the sector ahead of its expected implementation by local authorities in England from April, will force councils to make an adjustment to their revenue account every year to reflect changes in the value of certain investments, even when these changes are on paper only because the investment is not being sold.
Whitehall has offered a three-year statutory override of the new rules but the Local Government Association (LGA) has launched a last-ditch plea for the override to be made permanent.
- Deprived areas ‘bearing brunt’ of local authority cuts
Date: 13 Sep 2018
Councils in the most deprived areas of England have shouldered 97% of total cuts in spending on services for people in need, according to analysis.
Services for vulnerable people have become a “post-code lottery” with northern metropolitan councils typically suffering the most, a report by the New Policy Institute think-tank, on behalf of charitable trust Lloyds Bank Foundation, has found.
Looking at Whitehall data on local government from 2011-12 to 2016-17, researchers estimated that 97% of total cuts in spending in areas like adult social care, child social care and housing have fallen on the poorest 20% of councils. This is despite those areas also having a higher number of people in need.
- Treasury slammed for ‘lacking grasp of real world’
Date: 13 Sep 2018
The Treasury is increasingly cut off from local public service leaders and is staffed by young, inexperienced civil servants, a think-tank has warned.
As next year’s spending review will be done under the most ‘challenging’ circumstances for years, the department – the most powerful in Whitehall – must tackle its “recurrent failings”, the Institute for Government said in a report out today.
The think-tank also said that the Treasury’s spending plans were “not credible”, suggesting the department relied too much on “flattering accounting adjustments” – effectively ‘putting it on the credit card’ – and “optimism bias”, such as understating the likely costs and timescales of projects.
- Cash-strapped schools relying on donations from affluent parents
Date: 13 Sep 2018
Government budget cuts are forcing many schools to rely more heavily on extra financial contributions from parents, a charity focusing on social mobility finds.
A new report from The Sutton Trust has found that two in five (39%) of school leaders say that extra financial contributions requested by their school have increased in the last two years.
Based on a survey conducted by YouGov, Parent Power 2018 also found that nearly half of parents (49%) say their school has asked them for an extra financial contribution in the last twelve months.
- Councils should ‘step back’ from service provision, think tank says
Date: 13 Sep 2018
Local authorities should shift their focus away from direct service provision and focus more on enabling communities to ‘step up’, new study argues.
A report from the think tank New Local Government Network (NLGN) says that financial pressures and rising demand means that the relationship between councils and communities will have to change.
Published by the charity Local Trust, Rebalancing the Power suggests the current, top-down relationship between councils and their residents is ‘no longer effective or sustainable.’
- Government ranks areas on health/social care interface
Date: 12 Sep 2018
A league table rating performance on patient flow between the boundaries of health and social care has been published, as the Care Quality Commission announces it will continue local area reviews ahead of possible inspections of council commissioning.
The ‘NHS social care dashboard’ provides rankings on six “key indicators” of performance, including emergency admissions levels for over 65s (April 2017- March 2018), the percentage who receive rehabilitation (2016-17) and delayed days in hospital (April 2017-March 2018), which is given the highest weight in calculations.
The dashboard was updated last week but some councils have claimed the data does not reflect current performance, particularly on delayed days since March.
- Councils urged to offer staff low interest loans
Date: 12 Sep 2018
ocal authorities should offer staff low interest loans that could be paid back through their payroll system, according to a new report by ResPublica.
The report, published by the think tank, reveals that poor credit ratings are disproportionally concentrated in the most deprived communities. Blackpool has the worst credit score in the UK at just 312.54, with 143 local authority districts having a credit score below the median of 353.
It calls on local authorities to take a place-based approach to improving the credit scores of their residents and initiate salary-linked lending schemes.
- Councils under the most financial strain
Date: 07 Sep 2018
Away from the permutations of Brexit negotiations, ongoing leadership jostling and racism rows a less discussed debate continues a lot closer to home: the future of local government finances.
As English councils strive to balance their yearly budgets, keep reserves stocked and plan future savings any service that can be cut is at risk.
It has meant fewer bin collections, fewer libraries and - come the next Beast from the East - fewer roads that will be gritted.
- Leicestershire district leaders urge county council to halt ‘unreasonable’ merger proposals
Date: 07 Sep 2018
Leaders of Leicestershire’s seven district councils have urged Leicestershire County Council’s proposals to merge the authorities into a unitary body to be dropped, labelling the plans “unreasonable.”
In a letter to Leicestershire County Council leader Cllr Nick Rushton, who threw his support behind the plans in June, leaders noted that it was “regrettable” that the district authorities were not shown details of the county’s proposals other than those which were outlined in a public report to the Cabinet on the 6 July.
The plans would replace the current two-tier structure of the county council and district councils and replace them with a singular unitary model, which, Cllr Rushton argued, would save the area £30m a year, simplify and improve services.
- Deal secured between PCC and Hertfordshire County Council as fire services debate dropped
Date: 07 Sep 2018
A deal has been agreed between a south east county council and the police and crime commissioner (PCC) after he dropped his business case to take over the running of the fire service.
In an announcement yesterday, an agreement was made to set up the Hertfordshire Emergency Services Collaboration Board, which will ensure the collaboration agreements can be delivered by all partners.
PCC David Lloyd had previously submitted his business case to the Home Office over the summer to potentially close fire stations in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, and move them into a joint station at the police offices in Welwyn Garden City.
- Oxford strikes £2.6m deal to maintain its own roads
Date: 07 Sep 2018
The two councils covering Oxford have struck a deal that will see the city council provide routine highway maintenance services on its streets on behalf of the county.
Through its wholly-owned company Oxford Direct Services, Oxford City Council will repair potholes, carry out resurfacing work and deal with other road-related issues such as signing, lining and drains for up to five years.
The deal, which is worth £2.6m, formalilses an agreement reached in April and builds on a long-standing arrangement that has seen Oxfordshire County Council providing funding for Oxford to do similar work on minor roads in the city.
- Elderly care on edge of collapse warns charity
Date: 06 Sep 2018
Social care for the elderly is on the verge of collapsing, the charity Independent Age has warned. Under-funding of social care in England means older people are being increasingly let down by the system, it found in a survey.
If trends continue, access to social care will “predominantly become a service based on ability to pay and many older people will be left to fend for themselves and forced into crisis”, said the charity.
It is calling for older people to have free access to personal care – initially based on current eligibility criteria, but in the future to be available to all older people in need in England.
- 'Supersize' infant classes double over seven years
Date: 06 Sep 2018
The number of infant school children taught in “supersize” classes has almost doubled in the past seven years, amid concern that schools are flouting the law.
In England, 43,130 five to seven-year-old children were taught in classes of over 30 in 2011, but this had increased to 82,358 by 2018.
This represents 4.9 per cent of all infant school pupils, compared to 2.9 per cent in 2011, according to a Labour analysis of House of Commons research.
- Special needs funding at crisis point, say school leaders
Date: 05 Sep 2018
A teaching union has accused the government of making “empty promises” to the families of one million children diagnosed with special educational needs whose schools have failed to receive additional funding.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said funding for schools supporting pupils with special needs and disabilities was at crisis point, citing a survey of members that found 94% said it was harder to support such pupils now than two years ago.
- Councillor designs ‘virtual’ Facebook councillor
Date: 05 Sep 2018
The Redditch councillor who set up David Cameron’s official Facebook page has designed his own chatbot service to help local people communicate with the council.
Cllr Mike Rouse designed the chatbot to manage issues such as missed bin collections, contact details, fly-tipping, road closures and requests for tree cutting.
The service will send automated response messages to constituents via the Facebook Messenger service, which will make it easier for people to contact the council but it will also save on printing and distributing leaflets.
- Chancellor urged to cut surging business rates to save the high street after 50,000 retail jobs lost this year
Date: 05 Sep 2018
Business rates must be completely overhauled if the High Street is to survive, a lobby group for small firms has warned.
Surging rates are adding to the burden on small shops as they are crushed by foreign internet giants such as Amazon – sparking a crisis which has already destroyed 50,000 retail jobs this year.
Now, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has demanded a reform of the tax to give shopkeepers a better chance of survival.
- Children's pressures push Suffolk towards £8.6m overspend
Date: 05 Sep 2018
Suffolk CC is projecting a £8.6m overspend this financial year, largely driven by rising demand in children’s services.
Almost £5m of the projected overspend – equivalent to 1.7% of the council’s £501m net revenue budget – is attributed to rising demand and increased costs relating to services for looked-after children, youngsters requiring specialist social care and home-to-school transport.
There are also projected overspends in adult social care (£1.5m) and corporate services (£1.8m), largely due to pressures in not achieving income targets.
- Free childcare scheme 'closing' nurseries, education charity says
Date: 04 Sep 2018
A scheme offering 30 hours of free childcare a week has had a financial impact on providers, a charity says.
Since 1 September 2017, most working parents in England have been entitled to the free care for children aged three to four during term time.
But the Pre-School Learning Alliance (PLA) said some childcare providers were struggling to remain open because of increased running costs.
The government said it would "continue to monitor delivery costs".
- Somerset's savings 'difficult to stomach' as cuts concerns raised
Date: 04 Sep 2018
Staff and councillors will be forced to take unpaid leave and 130 jobs will be lost, Somerset CC has confirmed.
Cuts to both children’s and adults’ services are also being planned, despite concerns about the impact they will have on service users, as the council seeks to find £13m in-year savings.
Somerset leader David Fothergill (Con) said: “We’ve tried hard to avoid this, looked at every option open to us in terms of financial flexibility, but have been left with no choice. These proposals will be hard to deliver and difficult to stomach for anyone who works for or with this authority.
- Sleep-in shifts resolution 'could take a year'
Date: 04 Sep 2018
Councils are being advised to hold fire over pay for sleep-in shifts as legal wrangling continues in the courts.
Smith Square has warned that the courtroom battle could continue for another year.
The advice comes after Unison challenged a Court of Appeal ruling that nighttime care workers were not eligible for the minimum wage when they were asleep.
- Somerset at 'very sharp end of austerity'
Date: 04 Sep 2018
Somerset CC has been left with ‘no choice’ but to propose another tranche of deep service cuts to balance its books this year, its leader has said.
Senior councillors will meet next week to discuss signing-off an extra £28m in savings by 2020, including cuts to transport, adult social care, disabilities and advisory services.
Plans for all staff and councillors to take a compulsory two days unpaid over the next two years are likely to prove controversial, but could save up to £1m.
- Thousands of children face shorter week at school due to Tory cuts as education crisis deepens
Date: 04 Sep 2018
Head teachers desperately trying to balance the books due to Tory cuts are putting pupils on shorter weeks in a bid to save even more cash as the schools crisis deepens.
And they warn the drastic move could severely jeopardise the education of tens of thousands of children unless Theresa May ends her crippling austerity.
Many have been left with no choice but to bring in a 4.5-day week for kids as they cannot staff classrooms properly.
- Almost 1,000 elderly people a day needlessly admitted to hospital amid social care crisis
Date: 04 Sep 2018
Almost 1,000 elderly people a day are being admitted to hospital needlessly amid a crisis in social care, Age UK has found.
Analysis of NHS figures by the charity found that there were 341,074 avoidable emergency admissions for people aged 65 and over during the year to April 2017.
The number has risen by 107 per cent since 2003 for those aged 65 to 69, and by 119 per cent for older people aged 75-79.
- Councils knocked back over settled status costs
Date: 04 Sep 2018
Local authorities have warned the Government that Whitehall will have to ‘rely heavily’ on them to facilitate the process.
But their pleas have failed to illicit any firm funding commitment from Government to cover any new burdens.
A Home Office source said: ‘We haven’t bottomed out anything here yet with MHCLG [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government].
- 'Very sharp end' of austerity hits in Somerset in plans to cut £28m from council spending
Date: 03 Sep 2018
The details of a huge range of proposed savings have been revealed by Somerset County Council (SCC) ahead of a vote in which councillors will consider around £28m of money-saving proposals.
An SCC spokesman described the suggested savings plan as "a decisive step to secure its long-term financial sustainability", while the leader of the council, David Fothergill, said the plans come as the authority faced the 'very sharp end' of austerity.
- Council £6m investment to boost income
Date: 03 Sep 2018
West Lindsey DC’s property investments have reached £14m with the purchase of a £6m site in Gainsborough – the authority’s biggest deal to date.
The Lincolnshire-based district has completed the £6.1m purchase of an industrial unit on the outskirts of the town.
Council leader Jeff Summers said the latest deal would not be the authority’s last and has committed to more ‘in the coming months’.
- Council pension funds invest £9bn in fracking industry
Date: 03 Sep 2018
More than £9bn is being invested in the fracking indistry by council pension funds, new figures have revealed today.
The data, published by 350.org, Platform and Friends of the Earth, found the Greater Manchester Pension Fund invests the largest amount in the fracking industry at almost £1bn.
- Schools turn down children who live one minute away with half of secondaries now oversubscribed
Date: 01 Sep 2018
Up to 14 children are fighting for each place at top primary schools, a major audit shows today.
It found that some catchment areas stretch barely 100 metres from the main gates.
Children living only a minute's walk away – often on the same street – are being rejected. The figures also show that 50 per cent of secondaries are now oversubscribed – compared with 43 per cent three years ago.
- Numbers of elderly in 24-hour care set to double by 2035
Date: 31 Aug 2018
The number of people aged 85 and over needing 24-hour care is set to double, says a new study, as an expert warns the care system is "at breaking point".
The study, published in the Lancet Public Health journal, analysed the projected health needs of the elderly in England between 2015 and 2035.
It found that the number of 65-year-olds and over needing round-the-clock care is also set to rise by a third.
- England facing secondary school places ’emergency’, councils warn
Date: 31 Aug 2018
England is facing a secondary school places “emergency” with more than 130,000 children at risk of missing out on places over the next five years, town hall bosses have warned.
In 2023/24, over half of councils in England may be struggling to keep up with demand in their area, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).
The school system has been put under pressure in recent years due to a rise in the school-age population.
- Record demand for sexual health services ‘puts huge pressure on councils’
Date: 31 Aug 2018
Record demand for sexual health services in England has seen visits to clinics reach 3.3 million a year, putting the system under huge pressure, council leaders have warned.
The Local Government Association, which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, said the surge in demand is happening at the same time as cuts to funding for councils’ vital public health services.
It said the latest figures show there were 3,323,275 attendances at sexual health clinics in England in 2017 – up 13% on the 2,940,779 attendances in 2013, and the equivalent of an extra 210 a day, or 1,471 a week.
- Police commissioner's bid for fire service control slammed by county
Date: 31 Aug 2018
Norfolk CC has said a bid by the county’s police and crime commissioner (PCC) to take control of the local fire and rescue service would put the public at risk and is based on a “misleading” business case.
Responding to a consultation on the proposal launched in June by PCC Lorne Green (Con), Norfolk described a claim of £10m savings as “speculative and misleading”, adding the plan would put the service at “significant financial risk”.
- Charities urge curbs on pavement parking
Date: 30 Aug 2018
Motorists should be banned from parking on pavements to prevent pedestrians having to walk on the road, ministers have been told.
A coalition of charities is calling on the Department for Transport (DfT) to fast-track legislation designed to bar drivers from mounting the kerb.
In a letter, the groups criticise the government for “stalling” over the issue and say that action is needed to stop cars on congested streets spilling over on to the pavement.
- England's schools face 'severe' teacher shortage
Date: 30 Aug 2018
England's schools are facing a "severe shortage" of teachers, with bigger class sizes and more subjects taught by staff without a relevant degree, says the Education Policy Institute (EPI).
The independent think tank says that as schools prepare to return after the summer break, the problems of teacher recruitment remain unresolved.
The think tank says targeted pay increases could reduce shortages.
- County could axe almost 900 jobs as it seeks to save £33m
Date: 30 Aug 2018
Nearly 900 jobs at Oxfordshire CC could be lost within three years as it seeks to save £33m.
The county council is proposing a “complete overhaul” of the way it operates but said its transformation intends to protect frontline services and instead focus increasing the use of new technologies, cutting red tape and reducing back office administration.
Oxfordshire, which has a net revenue budget of about £422m in 2018-19, needs to find £33m savings as part of its four year budget plan.
- England left behind in social care race, charity claims
Date: 29 Aug 2018
England has been “left behind in the race” to resolve its social care funding problems, a charity has warned.
Age UK said an entire generation of elderly people had “lost out” after various proposed care reforms had been left to “gather dust”.
The comments come after a new report compared social care systems across the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Japan.
- One in four girls aged 14 have self-harmed in ONE year, study reveals
Date: 29 Aug 2018
The Children’s Society warns 110,000 kids of that age deliberately hurt themselves as they struggled to cope with life’s pressures.
They say concerns about looks, sexuality, gender stereotypes and school performance are the main reasons for unhappiness.
The charity said more needs to be done to improve children’s mental health, including greater access to counsellors in schools.
- Children forced to travel hundreds of miles for NHS mental health treatment
Date: 29 Aug 2018
Children and young people with serious mental health problems are receiving treatment as far as 285 miles away from their homes, despite a pledge to end such practice, because bed shortages in some areas are so severe.
Experts say sending highly troubled under-18s to units far from their family and friends can be frightening for them, reduces their chances of recovery and increases their risk of self-harm.
In all, 1,039 children and adolescents in England were admitted to a non-local bed in 2017-18, in many cases more than 100 miles from home, figures collated by NHS England show. Many had complex mental health problems that often involve a risk of self-harm or suicide, such as severe depression, eating disorders, psychosis and personality disorders.
- Council first to use new legal powers to demand Brexit clarity
Date: 29 Aug 2018
The leader of Plymouth City Council is hoping to force the Government to reveal the impact Brexit will have on the city through the use of new legal powers.
Tudor Evans is invoking the Sustainable Communities Act to force the Government to share any information it holds about what Brexit will mean Plymouth, even if it's considered confidential.
In a letter to local government minister James Brokenshire, cllr Evans called for: 'Immediate receipt by Plymouth City Council of all government departmental information and analysis pertaining to the impacts upon Plymouth’s communities and businesses of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, including any information deemed by the Government to be confidential.'
- Over 100,000 children homeless over holidays, council chiefs warn
Date: 28 Aug 2018
The number of children who spent their school holiday homeless has risen to more than 123,000, council leaders have warned.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said this represents an increase of around 53,000 since the summer holidays of 2011.
The figures also show the number of homeless children that councils are housing in temporary accommodation has increased by 76% in the last seven years.
- Tens of thousands of homeless kids in ‘miserable existence’ this summer holiday as they stay in temporary accommodation
Date: 25 Aug 2018
Almost 80,000 families in England were in temporary accommodation during the first quarter of 2018, the highest figure for a decade.
The Local Government Association (LGA) said the figures underlined the need for both welfare reform and the flexibility for councils to borrow money to fund home-building programmes.
Judith Blake, the LGA’s housing spokeswoman, said: “For too many families, it (the summer holiday) has been a miserable existence, living in inappropriate conditions as they experience the sharp end of our national housing shortage.
- Whitehall not doing ‘nearly enough’ to tackle pothole epidemic
Date: 24 Aug 2018
The Government is not doing ‘nearly enough’ to improve the state of the roads in the UK, road users say.
A survey of 7,000 people by IAM RoadSmart found that the majority think that our roads have become much worse in recent years.
The road safety charity also discovered that the respondents felt there were many more potholes than ever before and that they had to swerve to avoid potholes on every journey.
Nearly 50% said they had experienced damage to their car, commercial vehicle, motorbike or bicycle, or personal injury as a result of hitting a pothole.
- Council to approve accounts after LOBO loan delay
Date: 24 Aug 2018
Lancashire County Council’s accounts are set to be approved after a temporary delay caused by a complex £50m loan deal.
Members of the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee deferred signing the accounts at a meeting last month because of concerns over a Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) loan taken out in 2010.
Due to the loan’s complexity, the external auditors, Grant Thornton, had to ask for more time to seek technical advice around the accounting treatment.
- Highland Council warns of £5.1m overspend
Date: 24 Aug 2018
A Scottish council has warned of ‘harder times ahead’ as it projects a £5m plus overspend for the year.
The Highland Council’s corporate revenue monitoring statement for the first quarter of the financial year predicts a £5.1m overspend for the coming year.
Budget leader Cllr Alister Mackinnon said that ‘urgent action’ was required to bring expenditure back under control by next March.
- Crunch time for municipal bonds
Date: 24 Aug 2018
The struggling Municipal Bonds Agency has pleaded for councils to ‘pull behind us’ amid warnings it could run out of money before issuing a bond.
The UK Municipal Bonds Agency (UKMBA) was given one of the highest possible credit ratings by global firm Moody’s back in March but - four years after it was launched - has struggled to get enough councils to be able to issue a bond.
It has incurred ‘significant expenses,’ with total pre-tax losses amounting to £2.7m over two years, according to the latest data available.
- Respite care: families at breaking point as councils slash funds
Date: 22 Aug 2018
When 16-year-old Scott Crawford was small, a psychologist taught him two words to manage his anxieties: “First? Then?’’ Framed as a question it is his way of asking “what will happen next?” and also a barometer of his wellbeing. “If Scott is highly anxious, the ‘thens’ will go on until we’ll be discussing what will happen at Christmas,” says his mother Jane. Not once, but hundreds of times a day.
Scott’s parents try to stick to set routines. It helps them manage their son’s agitation and prevents his anxieties – which stem from his autism and learning disabilities – erupting into meltdowns and self-inflicted bites. But recently, Scott’s world has been turned upside down.
- Councils' care spending spirals as other services cut
Date: 22 Aug 2018
The plight of Northamptonshire County Council has highlighted the perilous financial state of local authorities.
One of the key pressures they face is the cost of looking after children and vulnerable adults - which has been spiralling as services elsewhere are cut back.
- London could be hit hardest by fair funding review, IFS warns
Date: 22 Aug 2018
Inner London borough councils could be hit hardest by the outcome of the fair funding review, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
It believes the government is set to make low-taxing councils “bear more of the cost” of services, at the same time as reducing spending needs estimates for councils which are currently deemed to have the highest needs.
London boroughs tend to set low council tax rates but they have historically received more generous income streams in relation to other councils, in part due to their high needs assessments.
- Home Office announces £13m fund to support vulnerable children
Date: 22 Aug 2018
Local authorities have welcomed £13m of Government funding to help vulnerable children but warned funding shortages for children’s services are making it ‘increasingly difficult’ to help families.
The Home Office today announced that 11 councils have been allocated a share of the multi-million pound Trusted Relationship Fund – a scheme that attempts to intervene early if a child is at risk of abusive predators by helping foster close relationships with trusted adults in the community.
- Fair funding review to ‘hit’ inner London boroughs
Date: 22 Aug 2018
The Government’s review of funding for local authorities is likely to hit inner London boroughs much harder than suburban and rural authorities, financial experts have predicted.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that Westminster’s Fair Funding Review, which assesses the relative funding needs of councils, could lead to inner London boroughs losing central Government funds.
Many of the capital’s authorities have high assessed spending needs but set tax rates at relatively low levels. They rely on Government money to make up the difference.
- Brexit will leave UK short of 380,000 care workers by 2026, analysis suggests
Date: 22 Aug 2018
England will be short of nearly 400,000 carers to look after the booming older population unless it strikes a deal to guarantee the free movement of EU staff on which the sector relies, a new analysis claims.
Using Office of National Statistics data, the think tank Global Future predicts England will have a shortfall of 380,000 workers by 2026 unless low-skilled roles can be filled with people from overseas, something at odds with government Brexit plans.
The UK’s 1.34 million adult social care workforces is currently short of 90,000 staff, a vacancy rate of 6.6 per cent – three times higher than the UK labour market average.
- Clive Betts: My demands for radical funding reform
Date: 22 Aug 2018
It wasn’t long ago that ministers and senior civil servants were dismissing any suggestion that some local authorities were heading for the financial rocks – let alone that the whole sector was approaching dangerous waters.
I don’t think they are as complacent today. But despite the continued insistence that they are not expecting any surprises, it is clear there is a lot of nervousness and finger-crossing.
Establishment complacency has largely been fuelled by the way local government has coped with the significant cuts in resources since 2010, assisted by the disciplines of seeking best value and comprehensive performance assessment.
- Northamptonshire County Council 'bought rugby hospitality box'
Date: 21 Aug 2018
Councillors spent public money on a hospitality box and hiring a plane as the authority headed towards financial crisis, an investigation has found.
Payments were made by a company owned by Northamptonshire County Council whose directors were councillors.
NEA Properties, which bought the box at Premiershiap rugby side Northampton Saints, was dissolved a month before the council banned spending.
- Council chiefs defend use of Bentleys and limousines
Date: 21 Aug 2018
Cheshire West and Chester Council has come under fire by the Tax Payer's Alliance over the cost of its luxury limousine used by civic dignitaries.
The Bentley Continental has a starting retail price of £132,000. Some say the money could be better spent elsewhere.
- Councils call for funding boost after £2bn budget surplus announcement
Date: 21 Aug 2018
Town hall chiefs have called for the Government to provide extra funding to local government after official figures show July's budget surplus reached an 18-year high.
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show the Government logged a £2bn surplus last month, the largest July surplus since 2010.
At the same time, public sector net borrowing between April to July 2018 also fell to its lowest level since 2002.
- Council Cuts To Trading Standards Leaving Vulnerable At Mercy Of Scammers
Date: 21 Aug 2018
Fraudsters are getting a free pass to prey on the elderly and vulnerable due to dramatic cuts to trading standards budgets, it has been claimed – and things could get worse after Brexit.
Cash for the council-run service, which protects consumers from unfairness and illegal practices, has fallen from £213m in 2009 to £105m this year, with the number of enforcement officers slashed by 56 percent, according to research by the Labour Party.
Experts say it paves the way for rogue traders to peddle fake goods, scams and unsafe products much more easily, as local authorities struggle to keep up with the number of concerns flagged by members of the public.
- Households have ‘fallen behind on essential bills such as Council Tax by £18.9billion’
Date: 21 Aug 2018
Households have fallen behind on essential bills such as council tax and utilities by an estimated £18.9 billion, according to Citizens Advice.
The charity made the calculation as it said it received a cry for help with bailiff issues once every three minutes last year typically. It is calling for stronger regulation of bailiffs and said it has seen a 24% rise in related problems since 2014.
Citizens Advice said it is concerned that aggressive tactics are leading to further debt and mental health problems. It said falling behind with household bills can have particularly severe consequences - such as having essential services cut off or losing a home.
- Torbay council stops spending to tackle £2.8m shortfall
Date: 17 Aug 2018
Torbay council has called an immediate halt to non-urgent spending and stripped its services back to the statutory minimum because of financial pressures.
The Conservative-run council ordered the freeze after its budget report for the first quarter forecast an overspend of more than £2.8 million by the end of the year, which it attributed to a substantial increase in the number of children being looked after.
Steve Parrock, the chief executive, told councillors: “Even if an activity or contract is budgeted for, the task or expenditure may be postponed or cancelled if the work is deemed not urgent by the chief finance officer or myself.”
- Radical ‘inheritance insurance’ pension pot plan to help the elderly pay for care without losing their home
Date: 17 Aug 2018
Health ministers are considering radical plans for “inheritance insurance” so OAPs in care don’t ever lose their home to pay the bills.
The Government is looking at proposals that would significantly reduce the growing burden on cash-strapped councils from Brits living longer.
- Leaders agree on two-unitary option for Northants
Date: 17 Aug 2018
Local leaders in Northamptonshire have recommended that the county is split into two unitary councils, as proposed by government-appointed inspector Max Caller.
As reported by LGC yesterday, the proposal would see one council in the west of the county cover Corby, Kettering, and Wellingborough BCs and East Northamptonshire Council, with the other in the east covering Daventry DC, Northampton BC, and South Northamptonshire Council.
This option was first proposed by Mr Caller in March after Northamptonshire CC, in February, became the first council in almost two decades to issue a section 114 notice. Commissioners have since been sent in to oversee some of the county council’s functions.
- Government's July surplus at 18-year high
Date: 17 Aug 2018
The government's finances were in surplus by £2bn last month, the biggest surplus for July in 18 years, official figures show.
The figure was up from a surplus of £1bn a year ago.
At the same time, borrowing in the April-to-July period fell to its lowest level since 2002.
- Torbay fends off s.114 fears despite imposing spend moratorium
Date: 16 Aug 2018
Financial pressures in children’s services have forced Torbay Council into a moratorium with restrictions on non-urgent spending worth more than £1,000.
While a section 114 notice has not been issued, there are concerns about rising costs and a predicted overspend.
Chief executive Steve Parrock has told councillors that the first quarter budget monitoring report is showing a forecast overspend of more than £2.8m this year. Torbay has a net revenue budget of £112m in 2018-19.
- Northamptonshire leaders to outline plans for two unitary model
Date: 16 Aug 2018
Local leaders are set to outline plans that recommend splitting Northamptonshire into two new unitary councils based on the boundaries proposed by government-appointed inspector Max Caller, LGC understands.
The locally-developed proposals are due to be published tomorrow afternoon.
LGC understands they will mirror the idea of creating one council which will cover Corby, Kettering, and Wellingborough BCs and East Northamptonshire Council, and another council covering Daventry DC, Northampton BC, and South Northamptonshire Council. This option was first proposed by Mr Caller in March.
- Reality Check: Public toilets mapped
Date: 15 Aug 2018
For travellers on their summer holidays, where to stop for a toilet break can be a source of worry.
Public toilet provision has been declining for a number of years and the BBC has learnt that some UK high streets and tourist hot spots now no longer have any council-run public toilets.
At least 673 public toilets across the UK have stopped being maintained by major councils (unitary, borough, district and city) since 2010, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information law. In that time, the UK's population has been increasing.
- Fair funding breakthrough?
Date: 15 Aug 2018
Followers of local government finance will be aware that since early 2016 various groups have been wrestling with the next stage of rates retention – councils moving to a greater share of business rates and the ‘resetting’ of the system.
- Councils spending a pretty penny on loos
Date: 14 Aug 2018
The British Toilet Association and the Local Government Association are right to point out budgetary pressures facing councils and innovative solutions as playing their part in helping halt the rapid rate of decline of public toilet provision (Cafes urged to let people use the loo without spending a penny, 8 August). But while the “Use Our Loos” campaign is admirable, what is urgently required is action by the government to exempt parish and town councils from paying business rates on the toilets they run and stop even more from closure. Parish and town councils are already saving our loos by taking them on from cash-strapped principal authorities. But at a price, with their small share of council tax increasing to cover costs which include business rates of around £16m levied on important and valued facilities which have an economic development as well as public health benefit.
- UK unemployment fell by 65,000 to 1.36 million in three months to June
Date: 14 Aug 2018
UK unemployment fell by 65,000 to 1.36 million in three months to June - lowest for more than 40 years, figures show
- Vulnerable used as 'pawns' in Northamptonshire council budget cuts
Date: 14 Aug 2018
Councillors will meet today in Northamptonshire as they decide how to make the drastic cuts to services required to fill a £70m hole in the county council's finances.
Adult and children's social services could face cuts and road maintenance, waste disposal, libraries and country parks could also have their budgets slashed.
A vote to reduce all but essential services followed fierce criticism of the way the Conservative-lead authority's finances have been managed.
- Social housing tenants to gain powers against rogue landlords
Date: 14 Aug 2018
Social housing residents will be empowered to take on rogue landlords under the government’s new strategy, but campaigners have criticised the document which offers no new funding.
The social housing green paper has pledged to offer all tenants a “springboard” into ownership, with new shared ownership schemes that allow residents to buy as little as 1% of their homes each year.
However, the paper will say no social housing tenant should feel a “stigma” about council renting and the department said it would “challenge the stereotypes that exists about residents and their communities.”
- There is no new money to end rough sleeping, minister admits
Date: 14 Aug 2018
Ministers will not put any new government money behind a £100 million scheme to end rough sleeping within a decade, James Brokenshire, the housing secretary, has admitted.
The government had hailed the scheme as a comprehensive strategy to “help the most vulnerable in our society get the support they need”.
Yesterday Mr Brokenshire admitted that half the cash had already been committed to rough sleeping and the other half was “reprioritised” from existing budgets in his department.
- School cuts: ‘Children now raise money for their own education’
Date: 14 Aug 2018
The village of Benenden in Kent has a green nearly as big as a football pitch. At one end stands a charming stone church. On the western edge is a picturesque mid-19th century building out of which, at 9.15am on a Wednesday, a stream of children dash, wearing their blue and white PE kit. This is Benenden primary, a state school in one of the wealthiest areas of the country: just up the road, the famous Benenden School charges parents £12,650 a term.
- Public would prefer council services cuts to tax increases
Date: 14 Aug 2018
Most Britons would prefer to cut council services to the legal minimum rather than see council tax increases, a poll reveals.
A narrow majority of 53% would choose cutting services as far back as legally allowed, with 47% preferring an increase in council tax if forced to choose between the two.
However, asked about specific examples of services that would face cuts in that scenario, people feel their council tax should be going towards services beyond which the council are obliged to provide.
- Banks in line of fire over high street crisis – Closures turning centres into ghost towns
Date: 13 Aug 2018
The death of the high street is being sped up by the growing tide of bank closures, new research reveals. The loss of more than 2,500 banks across Britain since 2015 has turned once bustling shopping streets into ghost towns because potential customers have less reason to visit them.
- Chief leaves by mutual consent after election probe suspension
Date: 13 Aug 2018
A chief executive who was suspended after it emerged more than 1,000 voters were disenfranchised at the last general election has left his post by mutual consent.
LGC reported last November how Newcastle-under-Lyme BC chief executive and acting returning officer John Sellgren was suspended following an investigation by the Association of Electoral Administrators. The investigation found that 500 postal voters in the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency were disenfranchised, close to 1,000 potential electors based at Keele University were not included in the election register, while two people not entitled to vote actually did so.
The council has now announced Mr Sellgren has left by mutual consent after seven years as its chief.
- UK growth boosted by warmer weather
Date: 10 Aug 2018
Economic growth in the UK picked up in the three months to June as construction and services were lifted by the warmer weather, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The economy grew by 0.4% in the period, compared with a rate of 0.2% in the first quarter of the year.
However, the ONS added that underlying growth remained "modest".
- Tory MP breaks ranks on Northamptonshire council crisis
Date: 09 Aug 2018
A Conservative MP has said ministers need to urgently “learn the lessons” from the financial collapse of Tory-run Northamptonshire county council if they are to prevent more councils slipping into insolvency.
Andrew Lewer, the MP for Northamptonshire South, said that while mismanagement had fuelled the Northamptonshire crisis, the council was also a victim of underlying financial pressures affecting all local authorities with social care responsibilities.
- Pedestrians tripping on wonky pavements given millions in payouts by cash-strapped councils
Date: 09 Aug 2018
Pedestrians tripping on wonky pavements have cost cash-strapped councils more than £2.1million in the last year.
Local authorities were swamped with more than 10,000 personal injury claims from walkers hurting themselves on loose flagstones or bashing into badly-placed street signs, The Sun Online can reveal.
Figures show an average windfall of £2,458 per successful case — draining overstretched public coffers and providing a cash-cow for injury claims firms.
Of the 10,329 cases, all but 120 were for trips and slips on pavements in the year to 31 May.
- Over 300,000 children are being taught by unqualified nursery staff, charity warns
Date: 09 Aug 2018
Over 300,000 children are being taught by unqualified nursery staff, a charity has warned, amid concerns that children are starting school unable to read or write.
There are over 10,000 nurseries, playgroups and children's centres across the country where staff do not have suitable qualifications, according to figures obtained by Save the Children.
An analysis of data obtained through Freedom of Information requests by the charity reveals that there is a shortage of around 11,000 early years teachers in England.
- Northamptonshire council meets to vote on huge cuts
Date: 09 Aug 2018
Massive cuts to jobs and services are expected to be approved by councillors in Northamptonshire later.
The county council, which is facing a funding shortfall of £70m, will discuss an action plan on Thursday that would see budgets for services slashed.
Children's services, road maintenance and waste management are among the areas in line for "radical" cuts.
Other councils face similar issues, with East Sussex planning service cuts to a legal minimum "core offer".
- Northamptonshire council backs 'radical' cuts to services
Date: 09 Aug 2018
A cash-strapped council has approved massive cuts to jobs and services in a bid to tackle a £70m funding shortfall.
Northamptonshire County Council backed the action plan to reduce spending during a crisis meeting.
Children's services, road maintenance and waste management are among the areas facing "radical" cuts.
- Use Our Loos campaign urges UK firms to open toilets to non-customers
Date: 08 Aug 2018
Cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops are being urged to open up their toilets for general public use under an initiative to tackle the growing national shortage of free conveniences.
Over the past two decades the number of public toilets in the UK has slumped by more than a third (39%), according to responses to freedom of information requests, as local councils’ increasingly squeezed budgets lead to mass closures.
The total has fallen from 3,955 in 2000 to 2,414 this year, according to data submitted to the British Toilet Association (BTA) by 266 councils in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- Birmingham back on the brink
Date: 07 Aug 2018
In a highly critical financial statement, Grant Thornton claimed the council has ‘effectively been running an annual deficit of £75m’, which has been masked by spending reserves. It accused the council of not being transparent in its accounts and failing to report governance failures effectively.
It said: ‘The council has not been transparent, in particular, in the way it reports its financial position.’
It added: ‘The reported year-end overspend of £4.9m in 2017/18 appears a modest deficit, but was delivered through the application of £75m of reserves (£42m planned), a significant proportion of which were applied in-year.’
- Council’s solar farm generates £1.3m in second year
Date: 07 Aug 2018
Forest Heath District Council’s solar farm has generated more than £1.3m of income in its second year enabling the authority to plough over £370,000 back into council services.
The council purchased the £14.5m solar farm in 2016 based on a 25-year, independently produced business model which indicated how the solar farm is likely to perform.
Figures for the 12 months to the end of July show that it generated 12,258MWh — enough to power around 3,300 homes and offset the carbon dioxide emissions from 1,500 cars.
This is sold on the National Grid and has raised the local authority £1.3m. It has also helped Forest Heath establish itself as a carbon neutral council.
- Inspectors praise Peterborough’s ‘thriving’ children’s services
Date: 07 Aug 2018
Inspectors have praised Peterborough City Council for creating the conditions for the city’s children’s services ‘to thrive’.
The council is piloting a new approach called Family Safeguarding, which offers a whole family approach, enabling families to address their difficulties and keep their children safe.
Launched earlier this year, the approach has seen a reduction in the number of children on child protection plans from 280 in August 2017 to 230 in May 2018.
- PM signs off on £600m Edinburgh City Deal
Date: 07 Aug 2018
Theresa May has signed off on a deal that will bring hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment into the South East of Scotland.
The UK and Scottish governments have each committed £300m to the Edinburgh City Deal, the terms of which were agreed last year.
The funds will go to scientific research on space, health sciences, agri-tech and food and drink at Heriot-Watt, Queen Margaret and Edinburgh universities.
- Warning that more councils could cut services to bare minimum
Date: 07 Aug 2018
An increasing number of councils could be forced to cut services to the legal minimum, financial experts have warned.
Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, said the move by East Sussex this week to reduce services to little more than those required by law was 'to be expected' considering the pressure on councils.
- Taxes ‘must rise’ to end social care crisis
Date: 06 Aug 2018
It comes as a poll suggests the majority of Britons realise they will have to stump up more now to pay for what lies ahead.
Last night former care minister Paul Burstow told the Daily Express it would take courage to tell people that not enough is being spent on adult social care and there is a need to contribute more to make the system better and fairer.
He said that failing to fully fund care was a false economy and that it can escalate into a costly NHS admission and often more expensive care when people finally leave hospital.
He said the fairest way to raise the extra money is through general taxation.
- East Sussex County Council cuts services to 'legal minimum'
Date: 03 Aug 2018
A second Conservative-run council has set out plans to strip back services to the "legal minimum" amid calls for talks with central government.
East Sussex County Council (ESCC) said it had saved £129m since 2010 and had to be realistic about the future. The authority has confirmed it may only be able to offer services it is legally obliged to provide.
- Ex-Northants leader quits party as she rails against new members
Date: 03 Aug 2018
Warning: This article contains language which some may find offensive.
The former Conservative leader of Northamptonshire CC, who has quit her party, has hit out at the council’s newest and youngest members and defended her administration’s decisions.
In an explosive interview with LGC Heather Smith said she had been made a “scapegoat” for the county council’s financial difficulties and was “so angry” about the way it had all been handled. The interview took place before she announced on Twitter she had resigned from the Conservative party.
- Councils want National Citizen Service funding for youth services
Date: 02 Aug 2018
Millions of pounds of is being spent on the government's flagship citizenship scheme for young people while local youth clubs are closing, councils say.
The National Citizen Service, a four-week summer scheme for 15 to 17-year-olds - accounts for 95% of central government spending on youth services.
But the Local Government Association said only 12% of eligible teens took part in 2016.
- Bank of England raises UK interest rates
Date: 02 Aug 2018
UK interest rate rises to 0.75% - the highest level since March 2009
- Brexit - Any port in a storm?
Date: 01 Aug 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May will deny it, but Whitehall now appears panicked over the increasing possibility of a hard Brexit. Since the 2016 vote, for example, we have learned that the OBR believes Britain will lose around 3% of GDP after Brexit.
Nowhere is the likely impact of a crash-out going to be felt more than across Britain’s port towns and cities, where the import and export of goods will be dictated by the terms on which the UK exits. The risk of a crash-out is that Britain and the EU have to default to more complex WTO rules.
Referring to the impact Mrs May’s White Paper plan could have on key British ports – the physical access and exit points for around 22% of the UK’s total GDP – the document pulls no punches about what happens in the event of a ‘no deal’.
‘If agreement on the EU white paper proposals cannot be reached, there remains a risk that councils will be required to undertake new checks on imports from the EU in the event of a no deal scenario. The City of London has estimated that this could increase their workload by around a quarter: the impact could be even greater at other ports of entry,’ it states.
- Tax increases proposed to close £3.5bn social care funding gap
Date: 31 Jul 2018
A wide-ranging social care green paper, including proposals on how to stabilise the current system and ensure vulnerable people receive the care they need in the future, has been published by the Local Government Association.
The document, released today, warns an estimated social care funding gap of £3.56bn by 2025 must be addressed “as a matter of urgency” to prevent further increases in the numbers of people not receiving the care they need, providers suffering financial failure and continued reductions in investment in prevention.
In a bid to influence the government’s delayed green paper, the autumn budget and next year’s spending review the LGA said “a failure to be bold today will impact on people, our communities, our hospitals and our economy tomorrow and for decades to come”.
- Details of financial crisis warning 'ignored' by Northants
Date: 31 Jul 2018
Striking details have emerged of dire warnings from Northamptonshire CC’s former section 151 officer of a “financial crisis” at the council which were subsequently ignored in 2015.
Criticisms of senior management and their “defensive and non-compliant behaviour” approach to tackling savings were laid bare in an explosive letter from then finance director Matt Bowmer to chief executive Paul Blantern, dated 29 October of that year.
In that letter Mr Bowmer confirmed his intention to issue a section 114 notice within 21 days “if there are not robust plans in place to both restore effective financial management arrangements at the council and to bring spend back in line with the available resource”.
- Corby refuses to sign Northants unitary plans
Date: 31 Jul 2018
Corby Borough Council has refused to sign up to Northamptonshire’s proposed local government overhaul.
Cash-strapped Northants CC this month unveiled a proposal to create two unitary authorities in a move aimed at alleviating the county’s financial difficulties.
The proposals would create a West Northamptonshire Council and a North Northamptonshire Council replacing the seven districts and county council.
- Holiday homes dodge £80m council tax
Date: 30 Jul 2018
Tens of thousands of people with holiday homes from Cornwall to Suffolk are avoiding £80m in council tax a year, with many in effect getting their rubbish collected and other services free.
Official figures show there are 47,307 homes in England registered as holiday lets, which means they are exempt from council tax. These properties are liable for business tax, but there is 100% relief available on properties with a rateable value of £12,000 or less. This means most of these homes escape the tax net altogether.
Owners of holiday homes must advertise the properties as available for 140 days a year, but do not have to prove their second homes have been occupied.
- Rubbish piles up as families wait three weeks for bin collections
Date: 30 Jul 2018
Thousands of families in England and Wales will have their rubbish bins emptied only every three weeks in an effort by many councils to boost recycling.
Councils are being forced to overhaul their service to encourage householders to cut waste because China is refusing to be a dumping ground for foreign refuse.
Earlier this month Guildford council proposed a three-weekly bin collection scheme. Other councils, including East Devon, St Helens in Merseyside, Oldham and Rochdale, are also proposing — or have already introduced — three-weekly collection.
- Local government ‘must transform’ to cope with funding pressures
Date: 30 Jul 2018
Local government must transform, innovate and work together to cope with the pressures of increased need for services with less central funding, according to two major accounting bodies.
CIPFA and the Charted Institute of Management Accountants, in a report released today, said authorities that had successfully transformed had done so by procuring and developing skills more commonly found in the private sector.
“Skills shortages, such as the lack of in-house commercial ability ... may increase cost and complexity, cause delays and impact on effective project delivery,” the joint research noted.
It added: “With the pressures mounting, councils must make every public pound work harder to maintain public services. This requires a significant transformation of local government organisations and the services they deliver. It requires innovation, collaborative working, better decision making and greater understanding of risks.”
- Somerset County Council proposes 130 redundancies and cuts
Date: 30 Jul 2018
A council has proposed cutting more than 100 jobs and major services so it can balance its books.
Somerset County Council has begun a consultation on 130 redundancies and is proposing cutbacks to highways, public transport and special needs services.
The authority needed to save £19.5m in 2017/18, but only made cuts of £11.1m.
- Brace yourself - tax increases are coming [opinion]
Date: 27 Jul 2018
Spare a thought for Philip Hammond. As Britons prepare for their summer holiday, if they are not already on it, the chancellor is bracing himself for the inevitable barrage of requests from cabinet colleagues as he starts work on this autumn's budget.
His task has been made harder by Theresa May's promise of an extra £20bn a year, in real terms, for the National Health Service. In his Mansion House speech last month, the chancellor warned that, unfortunately, this means little extra money for other spending departments...
- School holiday hunger cash a 'great first step'
Date: 27 Jul 2018
A new £2m government fund for food and fun for poorer children over the summer has been hailed as a great first step to solving school holiday hunger.
But charities warn that, with an estimated three million UK children at risk of going hungry over the summer break, there is far more to be done.
Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi said the cash would fund a range of summer support for families in need.
- Northamptonshire ‘misappropriates’ £8m of ring-fenced funds to rescue cash-strapped services
Date: 27 Jul 2018
Over £8m of cash ring-fenced for public health was spent on other cash-strapped services, an audit for financially-struggling Northamptonshire County Council has found.
An external report by auditor KPMG released yesterday found that the authority “misappropriated” £8.038m from a Public Health England grant, instead choosing to support activities that “do not meet the grant conditions.”
The news is the latest in a series of fiscal mishaps for Northamptonshire CC in recent months: last week a £70m potential budget shortfall forced the authority to issue another Section 114 notice, banning spending until further notice. This is Northamptonshire’s second spending ban in six months, after becoming the first council in 20 years to issue the notice in February.
- Dying young in Stockton - England’s most unequal town
Date: 27 Jul 2018
Stockton-on-Tees is the town with England's biggest gap in healthy and unhealthy life expectancy, according to Public Health England, and resident Rob Hill, who is only 46, is getting ready for his death.
A lifetime of cigarettes and poor food have taken their toll and Rob has numerous health problems including emphysema, lymphedema and type 2 diabetes.
Two years ago he was given six months to live. Rob's on borrowed time.
- Unfunded care cap could have ‘catastrophic’ effects on council services
Date: 27 Jul 2018
An un-costed cap on social care introduced for local services could have “catastrophic” repercussions for community care, with costs soaring as high as £691m a year, council chiefs have said.
In a new report released today, the County Councils Network (CCN) said if the government was to introduce a care cap— meaning a limit would be placed on the amount people in England would have to pay towards their social care— the costs passed onto local authorities annually could be as high as £691m if Whitehall does not supply mitigation funding.
- Extra dementia training for care home staff could save up to 20,000 lives a year and reduce levels of depression, study finds
Date: 27 Jul 2018
Extra dementia training for care home staff could save up to 20,000 lives a year in Britain. Scientists found that better support for residents suffering from the illness led to a significant reduction in mortality, higher quality of life and lower rates of depression, apathy and aggression.
In a nine-month study they focused on training to reduce the use of anti-psychotic medicine and on increasing social interaction with dementia patients. 70% of care home residents have the illness and the vast majority are over-medicated and left for hours at a time without any human interaction. Experts warn the average patient talks for only two minutes every six hours.
- Counties warn unfunded cap on care would cost £691m a year
Date: 27 Jul 2018
Introducing an unfunded cap on social care costs will push council services to the brink of collapse, county councils have warned.
The government has previously said it supports a cap on “punitive” costs, with the measure expected to be included in the government’s social care green paper which is now scheduled for the autumn after a series of delays.
A report on the future of social care published today by the County Councils Network says it supports a cap on costs but estimated an unfunded cap on individuals’ care costs of £50,000 would cost county councils £691m a year. This is double the expected cost of the £72,000 cap included in the Care Act 2014 but subsequently abandoned by the government.
- Bill for public sector wage rises £820m, estimates IFS
Date: 25 Jul 2018
The government spends £181bn a year employing all the nurses, doctors, police officers, prison staff, civil servants, teachers, administrators and many others who run publicly funded services.
So, announcing a pay increase of any description means costs.
Particularly if some of those pay increases are, at 3.5% for many teachers, well above the rate of inflation, which is at 2.4%.
- Treasury would cover lost EU funding after Brexit
Date: 25 Jul 2018
Philip Hammond is offering billions of pounds of government guarantees for projects dependent on EU funding after Brexit day as part of “no deal” planning.
The move means farmers, scientific research projects and new roads will not see their funding suddenly halt next April if Brexit negotiations break down.
The chancellor’s decision was slipped out on the last day of the parliamentary term. The Treasury is not able to put a precise estimate on the amount of money involved.
- Ministers plan for social care tax to help plug £3.5billion funding gap and fund care homes
Date: 25 Jul 2018
A new ‘Social Care’ levy is being considered by Ministers in a desperate bid to plug a whopping £3.5 billion funding gap.
Under the plans, working Brits would be asked to save into a new insurance fund – which would then pay for their care in old age.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has pushed the idea in discussions with the Treasury.
- Government attacked over child mental health plan and told it is ‘sleepwalking into deepening crisis’
Date: 25 Jul 2018
The government has been accused of “sleepwalking into a deepening crisis” on child mental health and attacked for its flagship plans to improve it.
Hundreds of mental health workers will be trained to work in and near schools from the end of next year to help boost young people’s wellbeing, after the government confirmed plans will go ahead.
But the Barnardo’s children’s charity said the £300m approved plan – first set out in a green paper last year – would still leave hundreds of thousands of children without the help they desperately need.
- Pay rises expected for public sector staff
Date: 24 Jul 2018
The government is set to announce wage increases for about one million workers in the public sector, the BBC understands.
Last year the PM announced plans to lift the 1% cap - in place since 2013 - but deals were only confirmed for some NHS workers, prison staff and police.
Other professions - including the armed forces, teachers and doctors - are now expected to see an increase.
- At last, a radical solution to the social care crisis
Date: 24 Jul 2018
Alan Bennett’s new play Allelujah! is set in the geriatric ward of a hospital in Yorkshire, which is the perfect backdrop for his quirky characters, witty one-liners and dark political undercurrents — but even the writer admits it is an unfashionable theme. He has the pompous NHS trust chairman declare of the hard-working immigrant doctor who befriends the elderly patients: “He says he chose geriatrics because he likes old people, but nobody likes old people — not even old people.”
- Northants issues new section 114 notice
Date: 24 Jul 2018
Northamptonshire CC issued its second section 114 notice in the space of six months.
In a letter to councillors, finance director Mark McCloughlin detailed a budget shortfall for this current financial year of £60m-£70m as one reason for the notice.
A section 114 notice prevents any future expenditure for the rest of the financial year and is required in order to deliver a balanced budget.
Finance commissioner Brian Roberts said: “We are fully supportive of the issuing of this Section 114 which underlines the truly perilous state of Northamptonshire County Council’s finances.
- Northamptonshire's Section 114 Notice
Date: 24 Jul 2018
Northamptonshire County Council’s director of finance has issued a second Section 114 notice due to the ongoing financial crisis facing the authority.
In a letter to councillors the director Mark McLaughlin outlines the challenges facing the council including a potential budget shortfall in this current financial year of £60m - £70m.
An extraordinary Full Council meeting will now be held next month to discuss a set of spending priorities in light of the spending controls.
- Government announces new standards for fire and rescue services
Date: 24 Jul 2018
Addressing the Local Government Association’s Fire Commission yesterday, the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd, announced a new approach to improve professional standards for fire and rescue services across England.
While some professional standards currently exist for fire and rescue services, they are inconsistently applied and the government believes they can be expanded. A Fire Standards Board will be created to ensure standards are nationally coordinated to a high level across the sector.
- McArdle: Northants needs to face consequences of past actions
Date: 24 Jul 2018
Northamptonshire CC’s lead commissioner has revealed he still does not know the timescale by when the stricken authority can balance its books as it faces a budget shortfall of up to £70m this financial year alone.
Tony McArdle spoke to LGC this morning about the “extraordinarily challenging situation” the county found itself in but insisted he was “100% confident that this council can live within its means”.
He was interviewed after it was revealed Northamptonshire had issued a second section 114 notice in six months which will impose new emergency spending controls on it until a balanced budget is set. This follows a previous section 114 notice imposed in February, which was followed by a budget which the council now believes has not resulted in financial balance.
- Classroom teachers up to 3.5% pay rise
Date: 24 Jul 2018
Classroom teachers in England and Wales are to receive pay rises of up to 3.5%, ministers have announced.
Schools in England will receive a grant of £508m over two years to cover the increases, drawn from existing Department for Education budgets.
But the government has not implemented the independent pay body's call for an across-the-board 3.5% increase.
- Northamptonshire County Council bans spending again
Date: 24 Jul 2018
A cash-strapped council has imposed emergency spending controls for the second time this year.
The section 114 notice bans all new expenditure at Northamptonshire County Council, with the exception of statutory services for protecting vulnerable people.
A letter sent to councillors says the authority "knowingly adopted unachievable savings" in its 2017-18.
- Calls for Northants County Council leader to resign
Date: 24 Jul 2018
Opposition councillors at Northamptonshire County Council are calling for leader Matt Golby and some other senior Conservatives to stand down after another severe financial warning was issued at the authority.
The calls came after chief finance officer Mark McLaughlin issued another 114 notice today saying there is a budget shortfall of up to £70m.
His report issued to councillors this morning says that over the past four years financial decision-making had been ‘factually wrong, ill-informed, out of step and inappropriate’.
- John Sinnott: Cipfa deserves backing over resilience [opinion]
Date: 24 Jul 2018
I was disappointed but not surprised to see something of a rush to criticise the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy’s consultation on its plans to establish an index of financial resilience for English councils.
There is a suspicion that Cipfa is being criticised for an overreaction to what has happened in Northamptonshire CC. I disagree with the criticism. In the current financial and political climate, there is too much at stake in terms of local government’s future and credibility for the sector to come out as defensive. Honesty is always the best policy.
- Homeless but working families rise by 73%, says Shelter
Date: 23 Jul 2018
Tens of thousands of families are trapped in temporary accommodation despite "working every hour they can", says housing charity Shelter.
Its analysis of official data suggests 33,000 families living in temporary digs in England were also working in 2017 - up 73% on 2013.
The charity blames a mix of expensive private rents, a housing benefit freeze and a chronic lack of social housing.
- Poor mental health 'part and parcel of childhood'
Date: 23 Jul 2018
Poor mental health has become "part and parcel" of childhood for many children, England's Children's Commissioner says.
Anne Longfield says there is currently a children's mental health epidemic.
"The fact of the matter is that poor mental health has become part and parcel of childhood for many many children and it affects every aspects of their lives as they grow up, these formative years."
- MHCLG to consider financial sustainability ahead of Spending Review
Date: 23 Jul 2018
Marsham Street will embed its local authority sustainability tool in its preparations for next year’s Spending Review. The tool, which aims to track sector-wide financial sustainability risk using metrics, was developed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) after spending watchdogs in 2014 told the department to do more to understand the impact of funding cutbacks on council services.
Evidence published by the Public Accounts Committee from MHCLG permanent secretary, Melanie Dawes, read: ‘To ensure that we are aware not only of the circumstances of individual authorities, but also of emerging trends within the sector, the department has developed a tool to track local authority sustainability.
‘The tool measures the financial resilience of the local authority sector by measuring the degree to which local authorities could reduce spending or use reserves in response to unexpected spending pressures or reductions in income. Given the complexity of assessing local authority sustainability, the tool does not have a threshold for determining which local authorities are sustainable or unsustainable.'
- Britain's tax burden reaches its highest level since Harold Wilson was in charge while Government revenues are now at a 32-year high
Date: 23 Jul 2018
Britain's tax burden has reached its highest level for almost half a century, a report has found.
The taxman is set to take £724.9billion this year – 34.3 per cent of GDP.
That is the highest proportion since 1969-70, when the country was run by a Labour government under Harold Wilson.
The report, written by the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group, also said overall Government revenues are at a 32-year high at 37 per cent of GDP, a measure of the size of the economy.
- MHCLG to consider financial sustainability ahead of Spending Review
Date: 23 Jul 2018
Marsham Street will embed its local authority sustainability tool in its preparations for next year’s Spending Review.
The tool, which aims to track sector-wide financial sustainability risk using metrics, was developed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) after spending watchdogs in 2014 told the department to do more to understand the impact of funding cutbacks on council services.
- Think tank publishes scorecard for local government financing
Date: 23 Jul 2018
A new scorecard assessing the options of funding local government post 2020 has been published by a think tank.
The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) has launched the Local Finance Scorecard to help kickstart a debate on local government finance.
It outlines the different funding options for local government post 2020, giving each one a score based on feasibility and impact.
- PM to announce North of Tyne CA legislation
Date: 23 Jul 2018
The prime minister is expected to announce on Monday new legislation will be laid in parliament that will create a new North of Tyne CA and pave the way for up to £600m of government investment over 30 years.
The deal will allow Newcastle city , North Tyneside, and Northumberland county councils to set up a new authority in October after leaders voted in support of the deal at a meeting of the North East CA leadership board in April.
Nick Forbes (Lab), leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “Our region needs more and better jobs and we have ambitious plans to take back control of decision making and let people here determine how we should invest in the North East.
- The Guardian view on school funding: cash is needed but so is a change of direction
Date: 22 Jul 2018
Since 2009, school spending per pupil in England has fallen by about 8% in real terms, with a smaller fall in Wales of about 5%. While total school spending has risen in England by about 1% in real terms over this period, a 10% rise in pupil numbers means that slightly increased resources are now more thinly spread. In Wales, spending has fallen by around 5% but because pupil numbers there have remained constant, it is English schools that have experienced the more severe cuts. Since spending per pupil in Wales was lower before 2009, the cuts have evened things out...
- Northamptonshire new CEO approved by Full Council to lead area through ‘unprecedented time of change’
Date: 22 Jul 2018
Northamptonshire County Council’s new chief executive has been endorsed at the authority’s Full Council meeting yesterday, with the authority’s leader saying the new CEO “knows what she’s letting herself in for.”
Theresa Grant, who stepped down as chief executive of Trafford Council in early July to “pursue new opportunities” will take the reins of the struggling council, starting her new role on 26 July.
Grant’s appointment was formally appointed by the authority on a fixed-term contract after being selected for the role following a recruitment process in which the government-appointed commissioners and the council were supported by the LGA
- UK government borrowing at 11-year low
Date: 20 Jul 2018
Government borrowing in the April-to-June period fell to its lowest level since 2007, official figures show.
Borrowing for the financial year so far has reached £16.8bn, £5.4bn less than in the same period in 2017, the Office for National Statistics said.
June's borrowing figure fell to £5.4bn, which was down from £6.2bn a year ago but was slightly larger than expected.
Analysts said borrowing was falling faster than predictions had indicated, pointing to a less austere Budget.
- Counties query plan for financial resilience index
Date: 20 Jul 2018
CIPFA’s proposed resilience index for English local authorities will be a “blunt instrument” that will do little to alleviate financial pressure, county chiefs have claimed.
The institute is currently consulting on an “authoritative measure” of local authority financial resilience based on publicly available information. The resulting index will provide an assessment of each council’s relative financial health.
But the County Councils Network and the Association of County Chief Executives today issued a statement saying the index would not help local authorities tackle the main problem of insufficient funding.
Richard Flinton, ACCE lead adviser for local government finance, and chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, said: “Councils’ future financial stability has been a recurring theme in local government this year, and these well-meaning proposals are unsurprising in the current climate.
- Somerset County Council Tories quit over budget crisis
Date: 20 Jul 2018
Two Conservatives have quit senior roles at Somerset County Council over its handling of a financial crisis.
Dean Ruddle and Neil Bloomfield held roles as the respective chair and vice chair of the audit committee.
The council has a projected overspend of £12m until the end of March 2019. In May, the chief executive said council spending needed to be stabilised.
- Northamptonshire CC to axe 'hundreds of jobs’ due to funding crisis
Date: 20 Jul 2018
Services will be cut to the legal minimum and 'hundreds of jobs' axed as Northamptonshire imposes further cuts to deal with its funding crisis, the council has warned.
Cabinet leader for finance Michael Clarke said £35m this year and a further £50m of savings were needed next year to stop the council going under.
He told a finance scrutiny meeting at the trouble-torn Conservative council that 'some very serious and unpopular service cuts' were on the way.
- Hancock highlights 'intense pressure' on social care budgets
Date: 20 Jul 2018
The new health and social care secretary has said social care budgets have been under more “intense pressure” than demands placed on the NHS and pledged £412m of technology funding for sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs).
In his first speech today since succeeding Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock said workforce, technology and prevention would be his early priorities.
He praised social care staff and pledged to improve their career opportunities, adding a consultation would be launched on “workforce issues” and a panel established of clinical and professional advisors from the health and social care workforce.
Mr Hancock said the £412m funding will be spent on “new technology in hospitals which make patients safer, make every pound go further and help more people access health services at home”.
- ‘Double council tax on empty homes to ease crisis’
Date: 19 Jul 2018
Doubling the council tax on England’s 205,000 empty homes could bring thousands back into use and ease the housing crisis, according to town hall chiefs. And hitting absentee owners with tax bills of almost £5,000 for each B and D property empty for at least a decade would also raise money for cash-strapped councils.
- Heads blame school cuts as exclusions pass 40 a day
Date: 19 Jul 2018
More than 40 children a day are being expelled from state schools in England, new figures suggest.
Heads blamed funding cuts for the soaring numbers, saying that troubled pupils were missing out on early intervention and specialist support.
The annual statistics, published this morning, show increases across primary and secondary schools in both permanent and fixed-term exclusions.
- Wage growth slows despite jobless fall
Date: 17 Jul 2018
UK wages rose more slowly in the three months to May, despite a further fall in unemployment, official figures show.
Wage growth slipped to 2.7% from 2.8% in the three months to May, while unemployment fell by 12,000 to 1.41 million, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The unemployment rate remained at its joint lowest since 1975 at 4.2%.
- No section 114 for Somerset CC despite funding issues
Date: 17 Jul 2018
A struggling south west authority will not issue a rare section 114 notice in spite of severe funding pressures.
Somerset County Council, who were close to issuing the notice earlier this month – which would impose strict spending restrictions and bring into effect an emergency budget – have said they are “not in that territory” whilst managing acute demand for sectors such as children’s services.
A revenue report released last week showed an overall net projected overspend of £12m, a considerable proportion of which is dedicated to children’s services due to the cost of external residential and foster care placement for children in care.
- The Guardian view on home-schooling in England: a register is needed [opinion]
Date: 16 Jul 2018
The killing of 18-year-old Jordan Burling was needless and preventable, a judge told his mother and grandmother on sentencing them for his manslaughter last week. Burling died from bronchopneumonia following a heart attack in 2016, but the underlying cause was malnutrition and neglect so extreme that it is painful to imagine.
Defence lawyers stressed that Mr Burling was an adult, who had made what his grandmother Denise Cranston called a “choice” not to see a doctor. But he was a boy of 12 when his mother told the council she would home-school him. A safeguarding review will now examine how the authorities lost sight of Mr Burling, who had taken no exams nor gained any qualifications, and make recommendations as to how such a disaster can be avoided in future. But there is no reason for the government to wait before acting on behalf of other home-schooled children, of whom there are thought to be around 50,000 in the UK – a number that has increased sharply in recent years.
- Heavy toll on firefighters as call-outs to move the obese soar to 900 a year
Date: 16 Jul 2018
Reforms needed to ensure that social care was sustainable would require two big tax rises to pay the projected £12.5 billion extra a year, analysis has suggested.
Ministers have pledged to cap the amount that wealthier individuals spend on personal care and to raise the threshold for the value of assets people can hold before they have to pay.
To meet the cost over time ministers would have to raise the basic rate of income tax by 1 per cent and increase national insurance contributions by 0.5 per cent, or use other combinations of tax increases, according to projections for Independent Age, a charity for older people. It used a statistical model created with Grant Thornton, the accountancy network, to calculate costs of options for funding social care.
- Nearly 8 million people providing care for family members without pay
Date: 16 Jul 2018
The number of people caring for a family member has reached 7.6 million, a sharp increase of one million compared with a decade ago.
Data analysis by the Social Market Foundation, an independent thinktank, shows that millions are now giving up their time to for free to look after elderly relatives, a partner or a sick or disabled child – with the number spending 20 hours or more caring for a relative up by 4% between 2005 and 2015.
But charities have warned that carers are losing out in terms of work, finances and health. They are calling on the government to urgently invest in the care system rather than relying on good-hearted individuals to prop it up.
- Pothole-related car breakdowns ‘at a three-year high’
Date: 16 Jul 2018
Councils are “not winning the battle” against potholes as related vehicle breakdowns between April and June reached a three-year high, a motoring organisation has warned.
The total of 4,091 call-outs received by the RAC was the most for the second quarter of a year since 2015.
Incidents included damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.
- Monthly record set for DTOC reductions
Date: 16 Jul 2018
A monthly record was set in May for reductions in delayed transfers of care, contributing to an overall improvement of 33% since February 2017.
Analysis by Impower found delayed transfers fell by 7.5% between April and May, the biggest drop since February 2017, with a total of 2,190 beds now freed up in 15 months - more beds than in any acute trust in England.
Delayed transfers attributable to social care are were down in May by 9.6% on the month before to just over three days per 10,000 of the population, while delayed transfers attributable to the NHS fell by 6.5% to 6.5 days per 10,000 people. This is at a time when emergency admissions continued to rise, with a 3.5% increase in May compared to the same time last year.
- Wales could show England the way to local government reform
Date: 15 Jul 2018
John Harris is right to identify the potential of truly local government (The national calamity you won’t see on the front pages, Journal, 10 July).
Although Wales shares many of the same local government reform problems as England, town and community (parish) councils cover more than 90% of Wales, compared with less than 50% in England. In recognition of their potential the Welsh government has set up an independent review of the town and community council sector, which is due to report later this year.
The institutional infrastructure in Wales – a devolved nation where all principal authorities are unitary councils – is also somewhat simpler than that of England. Latterly we have had superimposed city deals – but working through councils themselves. So the heavy lifting that England would have to undertake in extending local councils comprehensively is not necessary.
- Number of secondary school pupils in England to rise
Date: 13 Jul 2018
There will be over 400,000 more pupils in England's state secondary schools by the year 2027, new forecasts indicate.
Secondary pupil numbers are expected to rise by 14.7% over the next 10 years, the Department for Education projects.
The rise is fuelled by a baby boom in the early 2000s that is making its way through the education system.
School leaders say the projections highlight the challenge to find enough places for a growing population, and the pressures on school budgets.
- Court reverses £400m sleep-in shift ruling
Date: 13 Jul 2018
Council leaders have welcomed the Court of Appeal ruling that social care providers will no longer be required to pay £400m in backpay to carers doing sleep-in shifts.
A tribunal last year ruled that support workers who do sleep-in shifts should be paid the hourly minimum wage for the periods they are asleep.
It also ordered providers to pay their carers six years of back pay, a figure which added up to £400m.
- Public sector ‘lacks policies to support blockchain’
Date: 13 Jul 2018
The public sector is not widely adopting blockchain because of a lack of policies to support the technology, the director of a software company has told a conference.
Mark Gibbison, director of Unit4, told a workshop at a CIPFA conference on Wednesday that “blockchain can be used to transform the [public] sector in a number of areas” and is the “next big thing”.
Local governments could benefit from the technology but are not adopting it because there is a lack of standards and regulations, he said.
- One in six high street firms taken to court as business rates bite
Date: 12 Jul 2018
Owners of almost one in six properties liable for business rates have been taken to court for non-payment over sky-high taxes in the past year, research has revealed. Rocketing rates have been blamed by scores of struggling retailers as shopkeepers fight to compete for custom with online sellers who do not have to pay the property tax.
One business leader said summons are being “hastily issued” as owners risk being penalised.
Freedom of Information requests revealed nearly 130,000 high street shops, pubs and other firms were hauled into magistrates courts.
- School spending on pupils cut by 8%, says IFS
Date: 12 Jul 2018
The amount of per pupil spending in England's schools has fallen by 8% since 2010, says an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The study says rising pupil numbers - and cuts to local authorities and sixth form funding - have seen a real-term reduction in school spending.
Heads say it disproves government "rhetoric" about record funding levels.
- Pushing boundaries: Reshaping the government estate for the future
Date: 12 Jul 2018
Just as our home is more than a roof over our head, the place where we work is more than just an office. Historically, the work of civil servants was conducted behind closed doors and civil service careers meant working nine to five at a desk in Whitehall. But as the work of government becomes more transparent and agile, and as we seek to reach our aspiration of becoming the most inclusive employer by 2020, the way we work and manage our buildings and our estate is changing.
Since 2014, we have responded to the changing needs of our citizens and our workforce. We have disposed of over 1,000 surplus properties, raising an impressive £2bn in sales, and have saved an additional £300m per year in running costs through greater efficiencies – freeing up funds to be redirected elsewhere.
- This government is indifferent to the crisis in local councils that is about to hit us
Date: 12 Jul 2018
Hundreds of councillors and council leaders gathered in Birmingham last week to discuss the big issues facing local government. But while the sun was shining bright there was a destiny dark cloud over head.
We’ve become used to hearing of the dramatic and disproportionate cuts affecting local government. We’ve seen in every community — though some much more than others — the real impact as basic services have been reduced, facilities lost and a fire sale on land and property.
Income from the disposal of assets jumped from £1.2 billion in 2008/09 to £3.2 billion by 2016/17. In fact, almost as much was raised in the final quarter of that year than the whole of 2008.
- Majority of finance professionals pressured into acting unethically, says survey
Date: 12 Jul 2018
Almost two thirds of finance professionals say they have come under pressure to act in an unethical way at some point in their careers, according to early findings from CIPFA’s ethics survey revealed today.
Of the 63% that said they had faced this kind of issue in the workplace, nearly half (47%) said it had happened once or twice, 29% between two and five times and 23% more than five times. Pressure was exerted by line managers in 42% of cases, by chief executives or chief finance officers in 30% of cases, and board, cabinet or council in 15% of cases.This was often done in the form of threats to bypass individuals for promotion and disciplinary action.
Respondents working in auditing firms were told that if they did not comply with a client’s wishes their bill might not be paid or they could lose out on future work. Only 7% of respondents said they had carried out the unethical request and 29% said they had partially carried out the request. Almost two third (64%) said they had refused to act unethically or gave no answer.
- Face up to tax and charging to make services sustainable, says Clarke
Date: 12 Jul 2018
In his presentation to delegates, Clarke said government has three choices on public service funding in the current climate: to let services go into continued decline and allow private sector alternatives to rise; to raise general taxation; or to extend user charging such as road tolls or student fees.
However, he argued the first option was undesirable as it ultimately led to divisions in society.
“The idea that efficiency savings can deal with the situation [of declining funds for public services] is untrue. Choices have to be made,” he said.
“Declining public services are very corrosive of our standard of living and socially divisive.”
- Majority of finance professionals pressured into acting unethically, says survey
Date: 12 Jul 2018
Almost two thirds of finance professionals say they have come under pressure to act in an unethical way at some point in their careers, according to early findings from CIPFA’s ethics survey revealed today.
Of the 63% that said they had faced this kind of issue in the workplace, nearly half (47%) said it had happened once or twice, 29% between two and five times and 23% more than five times.
Pressure was exerted by line managers in 42% of cases, by chief executives or chief finance officers in 30% of cases, and board, cabinet or council in 15% of cases.
This was often done in the form of threats to bypass individuals for promotion and disciplinary action.
- Sunak: Public sector leaders need tech focus
Date: 12 Jul 2018
A common, ‘lego-like’ approach was needed to fix the public sector’s ‘digital plumbing’, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for housing, communities and local government also urged.
“IT does not belong in the basement but in the boardroom,” he told delegates in Bournemouth.
Leaders should be looking to technology in their “relentless focus” to improve services and ultimately save money, Sunak said.
- Grant set to be appointed Northants chief
Date: 12 Jul 2018
Theresa Grant is set to be appointed chief executive of Northamptonshire CC on a fixed term.
Ms Grant, who announced last week she would step down from Trafford MBC after nine years, will replace interim chief executive Andrew Quincey on 27 July.
Lead commissioner Tony McArdle said: “I am very pleased to commend to council, for its endorsement, the appointment of Theresa Grant.
- Somerset chief accountant warns of section 114 risk
Date: 12 Jul 2018
Somerset County Council could be forced to issue a section 114 notice in October if plans to reduce a predicted £12m revenue budget overspend are unsuccessful, its chief accountant has warned.
The council ended last year with an overspend of £2m, and pressures on the council’s children’s service budget are expected to increase that amount significantly, according to a report to councillors.
In a stark warning, Lizzie Watkin, service manager and chief accountant, raised the prospect of Somerset having to follow Northamptonshire in issuing a section 114 notice, bringing a halt to all non-essential spending.
“Work is underway to reduce the predicted overspend but if that work does not materially change the prediction by the end of quarter two (October), there is a risk that the council may have to take a number of urgent decisions to rectify the financial position,” she said.
- Rob Whiteman: Rise of dealmaker CEOs puts governance skills ‘at risk’
Date: 12 Jul 2018
The rise of the commercially-minded “dealmaker” as a local authority chief executive requires a “reappraisal” of council governance skills, according to CIPFA chief executive Rob Whiteman.
Whiteman spoke to Room151 at the 2018 CIPFA conference in Bournemouth, explaining the need for his organisation’s new financial resilience index.
Whiteman said that it made sense for many councils to appoint chief executives with commercial skills, but added that traditional oversight skills are in danger of being lost.
- Extra funding freedoms for Liverpool City Region
Date: 12 Jul 2018
The agreement will see over £120 million moved into the City Region’s revenue budget, from its capital budget, over the next 27 years. The move will boost the City Region’s investment programme, launched following the £900 million devolution deal in 2015.
The arrangement will give Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, and the Combined Authority, greater freedom to plan and invest in ways which will drive up long-term economic growth. This includes transport improvements, learning facilities and housing.
- Bosses who revive high street properties are punished with soaring business rate hikes
Date: 11 Jul 2018
Thousands of entrepreneurs are being hit with huge increases in business rates because they have done up dilapidated high street properties.
Business rates are based on what a property is worth on the rental market, so when occupiers spruce up a derelict or run-down site, the value goes up and they are penalised with higher taxes.
Campaigners said this can push up costs by hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.
- Hancock’s Big Moment [opinion]
Date: 11 Jul 2018
In the Götterdämmerung of cabinet splits and resignations, with blond valkyries flying across the political sky, the appointment of a new health secretary seems an overture played in a minor key. Jeremy Hunt has filled the operatic gap left at the Foreign Office and in so doing is said to have been “promoted”. But the Department of Health is arguably a position carrying far more importance for ordinary Britons than the Foreign Office.
Mr Hunt had become the longest-serving postwar holder of the role of health secretary. Originally lampooned as a lightweight, he has dealt with crises such as the junior doctors’ dispute of 2016, kept things going through the dog days of austerity and finally won a funding increase in recent weeks.
His successor, Matthew Hancock, is both capable and likeable. But important though his work was as culture secretary, particularly in trying to evolve a government strategy for social media and hyper-connectivity, the Department of Health is a challenge of an altogether more substantial kind.
- ‘There used to be a bus every hour. Now we hardly leave the house’
Date: 11 Jul 2018
When Jill White, 53, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, she had three years of treatment, including operations and chemotherapy. It was a stressful enough experience to go through, but White, who is single and doesn’t drive, also faced a four-hour round trip, on a good day, to get to a hospital that was only 13 miles away, because buses from her village of Tatworth, Somerset only run on average every two hours.
- Government has not learnt from academy failures that damaged children’s education, MPs say
Date: 11 Jul 2018
The government is failing to learn the lessons from high-profile academy failures that have been damaging to children’s education and costly to the taxpayer, MPs have said.
The Department for Education did not pay enough attention to scrutiny checks in a rush to convert large numbers of schools into academies, a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report has found.
MPs said they were concerned about a lack of clear direction from the government on converting schools to academies – as well as the levels of support available to struggling schools.
- CIPFA president: We can rebuild trust in public services
Date: 11 Jul 2018
CIPFA has a great opportunity to “flip the negative narrative” and rebuild trust in public services, the institute’s new president said this morning.
In her opening address to the CIPFA conference in Bournemouth, Sarah Howard highlighted that “pervasive” negativity had taken hold.
“I see what appears to be a universal breakdown in trust – whether we look at central government, local government, NHS or the private sector – the examples are well known,” she said, singling out Brexit, funding problems at Northamptonshire County Council and the collapse of the outsourcing and construction giant Carillion.
- Brexit will hit public finances, conference hears
Date: 11 Jul 2018
Day-to-day spending on public services will fall by 0.6% in real terms between 2020-21 and 2022-23, delegates at CIPFA’s annual conference heard this morning.
The Institute for Government’s Gemma Tetlow told her audience economists for and against Brexit were “fairly well aligned” on the view that the Brexit vote had caused a slow down in growth in the UK.
“The figures that were laid out in March by the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast spending that was consistent with borrowing falling for the next four years and that implied that day-to-day spending on public services would be set to fall by 0.6% in real terms between 2020-21 and 2022-23,” the IFG’s chief economist told the conference.
- Schools miss out in rush to set up academies, MPs find
Date: 11 Jul 2018
A rush to set up academies is leaving hundreds of schools ignored by inspectors amid mounting costs for the taxpayer, parliament’s spending watchdog has found.
The public accounts committee has concluded that escalating problems in the sector have left civil servants scrambling to change how they examine prospective academies’ financial viability and sponsors’ ability.
In a highly critical report released on Wednesday, MPs said they were worried that the Department for Education has not yet learned the lessons from high-profile academy failures that have been damaging children’s education.
- County set to cut to 'core offer'
Date: 10 Jul 2018
East Sussex CC is to vote on whether to scale back services to a “core offer” focused on people in “most urgent need” due to rising budget pressures.
Citing “significant reductions” in government funding, coupled with “soaring” demand for social care services due to an increasing population of older people, chief executive Becky Shaw said the council could not meet its financial challenges over the next three years through locally sourced income, such as council tax and business rates.
Council leader Keith Glazier (Con) has written to housing and communities secretary James Brokenshire ahead of a meeting of the council’s cabinet next Tuesday to warn of “counterproductive choices” that have been “forced” on East Sussex.
In her report to cabinet, Ms Shaw said savings to date have already had “significant impacts” on social care, family centres, youth services, libraries, highways and the public realm.
- Brokenshire defends Whitehall ‘grasp’ of local government finance
Date: 10 Jul 2018
Communities secretary James Brokenshire has rejected claims by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that his department has a “shaky grasp” of the financial issues facing councils.
Earlier this month, the committee voiced concerns that the department was unable to provide it with a definition of financial sustainability.
But speaking ahead of his debut appearance before the communities select committee this week, Brokenshire said his officials are fully on top of the situation.
- Council trials mobile phone detection technology
Date: 10 Jul 2018
Norfolk County Council has become the first local authority to trial mobile phone detection technology in order to improve road safety.
The new system, which was developed by the Norfolk company Westcotec, will be used to identify mobile phone use from within a vehicle before activating a sign urging the driver to hang up.
‘Using a mobile phone whilst driving is an enormous distraction and apart from being illegal puts the lives of the driver, passengers and pedestrians at risk,’ said Margaret Dewsbury, chairman of the council’s communities committee.
- Raab replaces Davis as Brexit Secretary
Date: 09 Jul 2018
Minister of State for Housing and Planning Dominic Raab has been appointed Brexit Secretary after David Davis resigns from UK government.
- Jeremy Hunt replaces Boris Johnson amid Brexit turmoil
Date: 09 Jul 2018
Theresa May has launched a reshuffle of her top team after a string of resignations over her Brexit strategy plunged her government into crisis.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been named as the new foreign secretary after Boris Johnson quit, accusing Mrs May of pursuing a "semi-Brexit".
His departure followed that of Brexit Secretary David Davis and several junior figures.
Culture Secretary Matt Hancock replaces Mr Hunt as health secretary.
- Bed blocking costing NHS ‘£550 per minute’
Date: 09 Jul 2018
Bed blocking because of a lack of social care availability is costing the NHS an “eye-watering” £550 per minute (£290m a year), Age UK has estimated.
Analysis by the charity also showed that in just two years, the number of older people in England living with an unmet care need has risen by 19%, which translates to 1.4m over 65s living with unmet care needs
More than 300,000 need help with three or more essential daily tasks like getting out of bed, going to the toilet or getting dressed, the charity found, and of this 165,000 receive no help whatsoever from paid carers, family members or friends.
- Hammond promises tax on digital firms as business rates weigh on struggling retailers
Date: 06 Jul 2018
Business rates are hitting the high street too hard, the Chancellor Philip Hammond has admitted.
These taxes are calculated based on the cost of a property that a business occupies and, with prime locations, high street retailers have been hit hard compared to their online competitors. Many are already struggling, with mounting numbers of store closures.
Retailers have complained that the revaluation exercise undertaken last year has left them with higher bills in an already challenging climate.
The Chancellor said he would continue efforts to “find a better way of taxing the digital economy” in order to reduce the tax advantages for online retailers compared to high street stores.
- 'Councils beat academy trusts at boosting failing schools'
Date: 05 Jul 2018
Councils are best when it comes to boosting the inspection grades of inadequate schools, analysis of official figures suggests.
Researchers looked at how much schools rated inadequate by Ofsted in 2013 had improved by the end of 2017.
Those schools that had remained council maintained were more likely to be good or outstanding than those that had become sponsored academies.
- Rural roads busier as drivers escape urban congestion
Date: 05 Jul 2018
Traffic on rural roads has risen sharply over the past decade as drivers try to avoid congestion in towns and cities. At the same time the number of vehicles on urban roads is falling.
Overall traffic levels in Britain increased to a record high last year, official figures show. There have been complaints that the boom in internet shopping is fuelling congestion.
Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that vehicles collectively covered 327.1 billion miles on British roads. It was a 1.3% rise over the year before and represents a 4.2 per cent increase in a decade. The number of vehicles using rural A roads has increased by 10.3% in ten years.
- Local authority bus budgets cut by 45%
Date: 05 Jul 2018
Local authority bus budgets in England and Wales have been cut by 45% - £182m – since 2010/11, according to a transport campaign group.
The Campaign for Better Transport, in analysis released on Monday, said funding for supported buses dropped by £20.5m last year – the eight year in a row budgets have been cut.
- Put up tax to pay for social care, say councils
Date: 05 Jul 2018
Nine in 10 councils think increased tax is crucial to stabilising the adult social care sector, council leaders have said.
A survey conducted by the Local Government Association also found that 96% of councils believe there is a major national funding problem in adult social care.
The survey, based on responses from 79 councils with adult social care responsibilities, revealed that 89% supported increased taxation to tackle the perceived funding shortfall in adult social care.
- PAC highlights Whitehall’s ‘shaky grasp’ of council finances
Date: 04 Jul 2018
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has only a “shaky grasp” of the issues facing local authority finances, the Public Accounts Committee has claimed. A report published by the committee today noted a significant reduction in councils’ spending power had been imposed at the same time as increases in demand pressure.
Local authority spending power, comprising government funding and council tax, has fallen by 28.6% since 2010-11, while key services have come under increased pressure, the PAC said. In the same timeframe there has been a 14.3% growth in the estimated population aged 65 and over in need of social care, while authorities have endured a 10.9% increase in the number of children being looked after.
- Minister promises more self-financing councils will not be abandoned
Date: 04 Jul 2018
Central government will not financially abandon local authorities – even as grants are phased out in favour of business rate revenue, local government minister Rishi Sunak has promised PF.
In an interview ahead of the CIPFA conference in Bournemouth, the junior minister said that moving to a system whereby councils retain 75% of business rates by 2020-21 was “exciting and important to get right”.
This comes as the local government secretary James Brokenshire told the Local Government Association yesterday that the government was to “shortly” publish a prospectus for a further round of business rates retention pilots for 2019-2020.
- Call for business rates to be scrapped
Date: 04 Jul 2018
Business rates should be scrapped and local authorities should be handed a swathe of new powers to revitalise struggling town centres, a major new review has urged.
Bill Grimsey, the former Wickes and Iceland boss, today published a follow-up to his 2013 report on the British high street. He called for business rates to be scrapped and replaced - perhaps by a sales tax - describing the current system as a ‘monolithic giant that needs to be strangled’.
- Millions of children 'fending for themselves' and facing 'serious risk' at home
Date: 04 Jul 2018
More than two million children in England are growing up in families where there are serious risks, the Children's Commissioner has said. Anne Longfield's report states the dangers include domestic violence and living with parents who are alcoholics or have substance abuse problems.
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said: "It's our most vulnerable children who are paying the price for the punishing central government cuts to council budgets, and being left without the early help they desperately need."
Roy Perry, vice chairman of the Local Government Association's children and young people board, said: "We want the Government to heed these increasingly urgent warnings and accept the critical need for properly funded children's services, which face a funding gap of £3billion by 2025 just to keep services running at current levels.
"We have long warned of the rising demand councils face, with an average of more than 270 children taken into care or placed on a child protection plan every single day to keep them safe from harm."
- Local councils at risk of bankruptcy due to government 'complacency', MPs warn
Date: 04 Jul 2018
Local councils face a funding gap of £5bn by 2020 because of “complacent” government ministers’ failure to plan for the future, an influential committee of MPs has warned.
In a damning report, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said government-imposed budget cuts of almost 50 per cent in the last seven years have left a number of councils under “enormous pressure” and “in a worrying financial position”.
It is “unsustainable” to expect town halls to continue to draw on cash reserves to fund day-to-day spending, MPs on the committee said.
They accused the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) of being “overly reliant” on hopes that councils will be given more money in next year’s spending review – an outcome that looks less likely after the Treasury committed an extra £20bn a year to the NHS, depleting government coffers.
- Authorities expect to make almost £900m from parking fees this year
Date: 04 Jul 2018
Local councils expect to make almost £900m from parking fees this year after imposing punishing hikes on shoppers driving into town centres.
According to the RAC analysis, the 354 local authorities in England made an estimated surplus from parking of £786m in 2017/18 but they are expecting this figure to rise by 13% to £885m this financial year.
They made £658m in 2013/14, meaning profits are set to soar by 34% in just five years.
- Tory Peer Tears Into Government Over Social Care Crisis
Date: 04 Jul 2018
[Contains language which some may find offensive]
Social care will only improve if the Government cuts through the “horseshit” which sees the NHS and councils not working together, the Tory chief of the Local Government Association warned today.
In a forthright attack on his own party, Lord Porter claimed Theresa May wasn’t going to “fix” the social care crisis facing local authorities, and argued her rebranding of the Department of Health to include “Social Care” in the title was merely window dressing.
Speaking at the Local Government Association’s annual conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, Lord Porter also tore into the Government’s aim to solve the housing crisis – again questioning his own party’s desire to “fix” the problem.
- Surge In Children's Social Workers Quitting Profession Amid Violent Crime Wave
Date: 04 Jul 2018
One in seven children’s social workers quit the profession last year amid a spike in violent youth crime.
Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner called the drop-off rate a “national scandal” as hard-up social workers’ caseloads are left overflowing, due both to a scourge of gang violence and poverty-stricken families struggling to cope with life on the edge.
Speaking at the Local Government Association conference in Birmingham, Rayner highlighted Department for Education statistics which showed 4,500 left the profession last year and the turnover rate of children’s social workers is now 50% higher than in 2011.
- Countryside facing a ‘demographic time bomb’
Date: 04 Jul 2018
The countryside is facing a “perfect storm” caused by a rapidly ageing population, a dearth of affordable housing, a skills shortage and inadequate mobile and broadband coverage, local authorities have warned.
A “demographic time bomb,” caused by an exodus of young families and an influx of retirees, is threatening the survival of rural communities, the LGA said.
“It is increasingly difficult for people to buy a home in their local community, mobile and broadband connectivity can be patchy, and people living within rural and deeply rural communities face increasing isolation from health services,” Mark Hawthorne, from the LGA, said.
- Brokenshire dodges funding commitment pledge
Date: 03 Jul 2018
Communities secretary James Brokenshire has failed to make a firm commitment to fighting for more funding for councils despite warnings the 'bank of local government is running on empty'.
Speaking at the Local Government Association's (LGA) annual conference today, Mr Brokenshire said he was under no illusions of the financial challenges facing the sector.
However, when questioned whether he would follow the example of other ministers by 'knocking on the door of the chancellor to fight for more funding' he would only pledge to listen 'carefully' to the sector.
In his speech, Mr Brokenshire said: 'Everyone agrees that the current formula needs fixing and I want to see a robust, straightforward approach, where the link between local circumstances and resources allocated is clear.
- Funding for support buses slashed by 45%, campaigners warn
Date: 02 Jul 2018
Local authority funding for supported buses has been halved since 2010 leaving many parts of England and Wales without public transport, campaigners warn.
A new report from the Campaign for Better Transport has found that council bus budgets in England and Wales were cut by £20.5m last year - the eighth year in a row budgets have been cut. The report, entitled Buses in Crisis, also warned that since 2010-11 supported bus budgets in England and Wales have been reduced by £182m. This amounts to a 45% cut.
- Thousands of children facing abuse ‘repeatedly’ referred to social care services
Date: 02 Jul 2018
Thousands of children are ‘repeatedly’ referred to children’s social care but get no help until their problems escalate to crisis point, a children’s charity has discovered.
New research from Action for Children has revealed that more than 120,000 children were referred to children’s social care in both 2013/14 and 2014/15. However, about 36,000 had their case closed in the first year and were referred again the following year. The charity found that two thirds of these referrals, i.e. 23,000 children, were found to be ‘children in need’ and the remaining third did not get statutory support for a second time.
- Councils withheld just £32m last year on underperforming PFI deals
Date: 02 Jul 2018
Councils withheld £32m last year from underperforming PFI providers, according to new research published today.
Law firm Collyer Bristow found only 0.3% of annual payments to all PFI providers were held back, suggesting local authorities are paying for poor or undelivered services.
The research shows that Birmingham City Council accounted for nearly half this figure after it held back £14m following a long running dispute with Amey.
- LGA in social rents plea
Date: 02 Jul 2018
Ministers should drop plans to ditch social rents from the official definition of affordable homes while Britain continues to struggle to build new council housing, Smith Square has urged.
On the eve of its annual conference in Birmingham, the Local Government Association (LGA) urged the Government to retain social rented units within the definition of affordable housing covered by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Proposed reforms to the NPPF could lead to social rents dropped from the current definition - yet ministers currently plan to include starter homes and other, less affordable, housing units.
- Financial pressures could turn unitary to district
Date: 02 Jul 2018
A unitary council is considering reverting back to district status in a bid to avert a financial crisis.
Torbay Council has instructed chief executive Steve Parrock to carry out a review into all options, including returning to the district model following 20 years as a unitary council.
The original scope of Torbay’s community governance review was to look into establishing town councils, but members voted to expand this to ‘all local government reorganisation options’ at a council meeting last week.
- Learner drivers ‘should have to spot potholes to pass test’
Date: 02 Jul 2018
Learner drivers should have to prove they can spot potholes to pass the test, according to a motoring firm.
The AA wants poor road surfaces to be included in the hazard perception test because of the damage they cause to vehicles. It also called for advice on what to do when drivers encounter a pothole to be added to the Highway Code.
One in five local roads in England and Wales is in a poor condition as councils face a huge funding deficit to tackle potholes, a recent report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance warned.
- Regions left behind by London-centric transport investment, MPs warn
Date: 29 Jun 2018
Transport investment overwhelmingly favours London and leaves regions struggling playing “catch up”, a group of MPs has said. The cancellation of three rail electrification schemes across the country epitomises a failure to invest in transport outside the capital, according to the transport select committee.
Lilian Greenwood, chair of the committee, said that the debate around disparities in rail infrastructure investment “unsurprisingly re-ignited” after the government cancelled three schemes in the Midlands, south Wales and Lake District, only to announce funding for Crossrail 2 in London four days later.
- Rise in children's services spending
Date: 28 Jun 2018
The amount expected to be spent on children’s social care in 2018/19 is up 6.8% or £542m compared to the figure in 2017/18 budgets, latest figures have shown.
According to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government statistics, the £8.6n budgeted is about half of the £16.1bn expected to be spent on adult social care in 2018/19, which is up £496m or 3.2% compared to 2017/18 budgets.
Total revenue expenditure by all local authorities in England is budgeted to be £95.9bn in 2018/19 – 1.6% higher than the £94.5bn budgeted for 2017/18.
Shire districts’ total budgeted revenue expenditure for 2018/19 is 2.6% lower than it was for 2017/18.
Across all local authorities, council tax is expected to bring in £29.6bn in 2018/19, 7% higher than in 2017/18.
- ‘Worst yet to come’ without extra funds for county budgets
Date: 28 Jun 2018
More than a third of county council leaders are uncertain whether they will be able to deliver a balanced budget next year, according to a major survey.
A poll taken by the County Councils Network (CCN) found that 17% of county leaders are “not confident” and 19% “neutral” on whether they will be able to meet their budget requirements in 2019–20 without extra resource.
- MPs call for national ‘premium’ to pay for social care
Date: 28 Jun 2018
Local government finance reform alone cannot solve the long-term funding crisis within social care, according to a report by MPs.
MPs on two House of Commons committees said in a joint report that the government should also scrap plans to give councils extra responsibilities as a result of the forthcoming 75% business rates retention plans.
The report added that in addition to other local government finance reforms, a new social care premium should be collected at a national level to support the sector.
The report said: “Local government funding will only ever be one part of the solution for social care, and it is clear that extra revenue will also need to be raised nationally.”
- Dan Bates: Searching last year’s accounts for signs of resilience
Date: 28 Jun 2018
Accounts have now closed but it’s hard to find the signs of financial resilience. Dan Bates reveals his observations on reserves and capital finance requirements.
I’ve spent years doing local authority final accounts closedown, chasing down accruals, trying to get my head around the code of practice and scrapping with auditors about rounding errors. And every year, I tell myself: This is the last year.
- CIPFA to consult on index to help test councils’ financial resilience
Date: 28 Jun 2018
Local authorities could be rated on their financial resilience to help them with financial management under proposals from CIPFA.
The institute is due to release a consultation on its plans for a financial resilience index imminently.
Its aim is to offer reassurance to councils that are financially stable as well as noting where some authorities can improve their financial resilience.
CIPFA is proposing to use a range of indicators to come to its conclusions, including the rate at which a council is depleting resources, its level of resources generally and of borrowing.
Demographic pressures such as older populations contributing to increased social care spending will also be considered.
- By 2020 our local councils will be in utter financial chaos – but the government has chosen to do nothing
Date: 28 Jun 2018
Last week’s NHS funding windfall ticked all the right boxes – irrespective of how ultimately it will be financed – [local government] could be forgiven for feeling neglected when the prime minister made her big announcement.
After eight years of austerity, 2018 was the year when the dire straits facing local government hit the headlines.
New research this week by the County Councils Network (CCN) shows that England’s largest, mainly Conservative-led, councils face a combined funding pressure of £3.2bn over the next two years; due to projected demand for services, inflation, and government cuts.
Last month, research pointed out that due to unavoidable reductions in home to school travel, some 20,000 less pupils receive free travel to local schools.
This week’s budget survey shows more of this is on the way, with at least £466m in savings being made to frontline areas – think adult social care, children’s social services, pothole filling, and bus services.
- Latest Whole of Government Accounts shows £2.4trn net liability
Date: 28 Jun 2018
The WGA balance sheet values 2016-17 liabilities at £4.2trn, much higher than the £1.9trn in the value of assets. Almost 80% of government liabilities were made up of government borrowing (£1.3trn), provisions (£0.3trn) and pensions liabilities (£1.8trn).
The WGA noted that some of these liabilities are due to be paid over a number of years, decades or even, in the case of the nuclear provision, over a century. It also noted that accounting rules do not allow future tax revenue to be recognised as an asset.
- Peer calls for tax rises to pay for social care
Date: 27 Jun 2018
In the Lords, former civil service chief Bob Kerslake called for a “dedicated tax” funded by forcing older workers to pay National Insurance contributions even after state pension age. Currently, more than one million people working beyond the state pension age are exempt from the levy.
Meanwhile, over-40s and their employers should contribute to a “Social Care Premium” fund to pay for any care needed by over-65s, according to a joint report by MPs on the Commons housing, communities and local government and health and social care committees.
Crossbench life peer Lord Kerslake said: “I passionately believe taxes need to increase to pay for social care and I think there should be a dedicated tax to fund health and social care.
- Neglected children never get to learn about ‘normal’ life
Date: 27 Jun 2018
When Sally Bayley was four her baby brother disappeared from under the rose bushes in their garden. After that her mother “fell under a thick, dark spell”. Random men came in and out of the house in West Sussex but the children were very poor, living off cheese on toast in cramped, mouldy conditions and ruled over by a tyrannical aunt.
At 14, inspired by Jane Eyre, Sally stopped eating, escaped to a doctor and asked to be taken into care. After an emergency foster placement she went to a behavioural unit “that was not as grim as home” and asked to go to school. There she met her first friend, who invited her to live with their family and she learnt about “normal” life. She followed the elder brother to St Andrew’s to read English. Her memoir, Girl With Dove: a Life Built by Books, was published last month.
- Over 40s should pay new tax to fund creaking social care, MPs say
Date: 27 Jun 2018
The government should introduce a levy for over 40s, retirees, and employers to fund the spiralling care costs of the growing population of older people and those with disabilities, MPs have said.
A report from the Housing, Communities and Local Government and Health and Social Care Committees calls for a “social care premium” for England, to address social care costs which will soon become “unsustainable”.
- MPs highlight weak commitment to transparent financial reporting
Date: 27 Jun 2018
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee today issued a follow up to last year’s report, produced by its predecessor committee, which called for “fundamental changes” to how the government reports its spending.
Today’s PACAC report was critical of the government’s slowness to respond to the 2017 recommendations. The government’s official response took almost a year to emerge rather than the two months recommended by the Cabinet Office.
“This unusual response underlines how much needs to change in respect of government accounting,” the PACAC said.
- ‘Care should be free with dedicated insurance pot’
Date: 27 Jun 2018
Middle aged, older people and employers should pay into a dedicated social insurance fund that would cover free social care on a universal basis, MPs from across the political spectrum said today.
In a joint report, the health and local government committees called for the creation of a ‘social care premium’ payable by those aged over 40, including those over 65.
This premium could operate as an element of national insurance or a standalone fund. Either way, the money should be held in an independent, dedicated and audited fund, which would help gain public trust and acceptance for the measure, the MPs said.
- Unitary moots reverting to district status amid financial struggle
Date: 27 Jun 2018
Torbay Council is considering returning to district council status or merging to be part of a larger unitary authority as it seeks reorganisation in anticipation of future financial problems.
Twenty years after the council became a unitary, chief executive Steve Parrock has been instructed to “review all options” for reorganisation as Torbay seeks to balance its budget for the 2019-20 financial year, following a surprise vote in support of the move last week.
In a statement the council said: “Following a motion discussed at last week’s council meeting a decision was made for the chief executive to review all options for local government reorganisation, including Torbay reverting to a district council.”
- English councils warn 'worst is yet to come' on cuts
Date: 27 Jun 2018
England’s mainly Conservative-run county councils have warned ministers that the “worst is yet come” over cuts to services and that several authorities risk going bust unless steps are taken to shore up budgets.
Only an emergency injection of funds next year to counter a growing financial “black hole” would head off severe cuts to services and potential unrest among MPs, the County Councils Network said.
It said councils faced having to make “truly unpalatable” cuts to key services such as social care, refuse disposal, libraries, Sure Start centres and roads maintenance while putting up council tax bills and introducing new charges.
- Counties issue budget warning and call for pre-spending review cash injection
Date: 27 Jun 2018
Leaders of England’s largest councils have today warned ‘the worst is yet to come’ unless government provides cash-strapped counties with additional funding ahead of the government’s spending review.
A new budget analysis of England’s county authorities reveals that those 37 councils, which cover some 26million people in England, face funding pressures amounting to £3.2bn over the next two years alone, £1.8bn of which is due to projected demand and future inflationary pressures. Leaders of those councils have warned they cannot wait until the government’s comprehensive spending review for badly-needed extra resource.
- Counties call for pre-Spending Review cash injection
Date: 27 Jun 2018
Nearly one in five county council leaders are ‘not confident’ they can deliver a balanced budget next year without extra funding, a new survey has revealed.
The survey, conducted by the County Councils' Network, found 17% were ‘not confident’ about balancing their budget in 2019/20.
- ‘Worst is yet to come’: Councils fear inability to balance books despite legal duty to do so
Date: 27 Jun 2018
Despite being legally bound to do so, councils fear that they will be unable to deliver balanced budgets in the coming years if the government fails to provide much-needed extra funding ahead of the Spending Review.
Research carried out by the County Councils Network (CCN) found that almost 20% of council leaders are not confident that they will be able to balance the books in 2019-20 without more money, whilst 19% remained ‘neutral’ on this.
This year, council tax increases will only meet 36% of the budget gap, with savings of over £700m expected to deliver 41%. Local authorities currently predict that they will have to dip into reserves by up to £200m to balance their budgets in the coming months.
- Ailing cities advised to replace shops with offices and housing
Date: 26 Jun 2018
Struggling city centres should end their dependency on retail by replacing shops with offices and housing, according to a report.
The Centre for Cities thinktank said the increasing tendency for consumer spending to shift online was a particular risk for city centres in England and Wales that are overreliant on the consumer.
- Give councils fiscal flexibility to fund local priorities, says think-tank
Date: 26 Jun 2018
Councils should have the flexibility to raise taxes to fund areas that are a priority for local people, the Localis think-tank has argued.
People are willing to pay more in council tax to fund local public services as long as they have a say where funds are spent, research for Localis, released today, found.
YouGov polling, carried out for the think-tank’s Monetising Goodwill report, revealed the top five areas where, nationally, the public would be happy to pay more. In order, there were: public health; fire; police; adult social care; and children’s social care.
- Councils' funding gap to exceed £7bn by 2020
Date: 26 Jun 2018
Economists expect the funding gap of councils to grow to almost £6bn in 2018.
An annual report by Moody’s puts the likely funding requirement for all UK councils at £5.9bn this year – almost double the figure from three years ago.
Beyond 2018, Moody’s expects the figure to increase annually by around £700m in 2019 and 2020, leaving a funding gap of £7.4bn.
- Children face mental health epidemic, say teachers
Date: 23 Jun 2018
Britain’s schoolchildren are suffering from an epidemic of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, yet barely half get the NHS treatment they need, teachers say.
Almost four in five (78%) teachers have seen a pupil struggle with a mental health problem in the past year, with one in seven (14%) cases involving suicidal thoughts or behaviour.
Anxiety is the most common problem, with two-thirds of the 300 teachers surveyed by the mental health charity stem4 having come across a young person at their school dealing with the condition in the past year. Significant minorities of teachers have also encountered at least one pupil with depression (45%), an eating disorder such as anorexia (30%), self-harming (28%) or addiction (10%).
- Britain's most pothole-plagued roads revealed as councils heave with complaints
Date: 23 Jun 2018
The Sunday Mirror has done a piece of on the state of potholes in England.
They found the country’s worst road to be Mellor Brook Bypass near Balderstone, Lancs. Motorists and cyclists reported it to the council 545 times in one year.
- Cap on care costs to help elderly keep their homes
Date: 23 Jun 2018
Pensioners will not be forced to sell their homes to pay for social care under plans being drawn up by the government.
Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, is understood to favour a ceiling as well as a floor on social care costs.
This is expected to feature in a green paper on social care, to be published in the autumn at the time of the budget.
- 'Lifeline' bus routes for elderly threatened by funding cuts
Date: 22 Jun 2018
"Lifeline" bus services subsidised by local authorities could be under threat due to funding cuts.
The warning comes as the Local Government Association (LGA) highlighted a council funding gap which is expected to exceed £5 billion by 2020.
Despite the services being the only mode of transport for vulnerable residents, bus journeys in England have fallen by 6% in the last four years.
During this time, the operating cost per passenger has gone up by six pence a journey, adding £3 billion to the cost of subsidising the services.
- Philip Hammond hands Bank of England new powers
Date: 22 Jun 2018
The Bank of England will be allowed to provide more than £500bn in lending to the economy without seeking the Treasury’s permission, in a move that reinforces the strength of the UK financial system as Britain prepares to leave the EU.
Announcing the plan at the annual Mansion House dinner for bankers in the City of London on Thursday, Philip Hammond, the chancellor, said the changes would help to improve the resilience of the central bank. It would also help with its “ability to meet its monetary and financial policy objectives in the future”, he said.
- Auditors question county's 'unrealistic' savings plan
Date: 22 Jun 2018
Auditors have said that planned savings in Somerset CC’s accounts were “not supported by realistic assumptions” and there was not enough understanding of actions needed to meet savings targets.
A report by South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) also found Somerset’s reporting, monitoring, and scrutiny arrangements were ineffective in delivering savings targets.
LGC reported last month how Somerset was warned in a Local Government Association corporate peer review that it had only sufficient resources to balance its budget for one more year beyond 2018-19 if overspending continued and did not get a “grip” on expenditure. Somerset’s mediumn term financial strategy said in January the council faced a £13m funding gap in 2018-19
- Threat to buses as councils fear looming £5bn shortfall
Date: 21 Jun 2018
Nearly half of all subsidised bus routes in England are under threat, the LGA has warned. Councils in England face an overall funding gap that is expected to exceed £5 billion by 2020 and are struggling to maintain current subsidies for bus routes across the country, which could leave many people isolated. The concessions come at the cost of other discretionary subsidised bus services - such as free peak travel, community transport services and post-16 school transport – and other services like collecting bins and filling potholes.
- Six Classrooms' Worth Of Youngsters Put On Child Protection Plans Every Day
Date: 20 Jun 2018
Six classrooms’ worth of young people are being placed on child protection plans every day, shocking new town hall figures show.
The number of vulnerable youngsters on so-called CPPs - put in place by social services to protect them from harm - has doubled in the last decade, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).
The organisation, which represents councils across the country, warned Theresa May the spike in demand has seen local government services “pushed to the brink”.
- Councils should take schools back from struggling academy chains, says education report
Date: 20 Jun 2018
The government should allow some academies to return to local authority control, a new report says.
Strong performing councils should to be able to take on schools in struggling academy trusts – in the same way a local authority-run school can be moved to an academy chain, a think-tank has said.
The study, from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), found little difference in the performance of schools run by academy chains and those run by councils – as standards vary between the different types of schools.
- Police Prepare for Surge in Domestic Violence Around England Matches
Date: 20 Jun 2018
Police forces across the country are preparing for a rise in domestic violence surrounding England’s World Cup games.
Research into the link between domestic abuse and the football has shown that reports of domestic abuse increase when the England team win or lose a football match and that the instances increase with every World Cup tournament.
The National Centre for Domestic Violence, the National Police Chiefs' Council and the BBC have all conducted research into the correlation, but the largest research into the topic came from Lancaster University in 2013, which analysed domestic violence figures from the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
- Britain needs an investment revolution. Labour will provide it [opinion]
Date: 20 Jun 2018
The last eight years has been a period of almost unparalleled waste and destructiveness in British economic policy. Even the prime minister now admits that the NHS has been damaged by the austerity spending cuts. But the problems with our economy run deeper than brutal political choices to prioritise tax giveaways for the super-rich and giant corporations over spending on public services. They run even deeper than the uncertainty and damage being inflicted by this government’s bungling of Brexit.
- Council demanded payment card details via email
Date: 20 Jun 2018
A London council's data protection efforts are under review after it told residents to email in their payment card details for parking bay suspensions via a Word document.
Islington Council had required residents to share the security code from the rear of their cards, as well as their address, among other details.
One security expert said this appeared to be a breach of the payment card industry's security rules.
- UK government borrowing falls more than expected
Date: 20 Jun 2018
Public sector borrowing fell to £5bn in May, down £2bn from a year earlier, official figures show.
The fall was bigger than expected and brings borrowing for the financial year to date to £11.8bn, £4.1bn less than in the same period in 2017.
At the same time, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised down its figure for government borrowing in 2017-18 to £39.5bn.
- Another week, another warning
Date: 20 Jun 2018
Another week, another warning. If we don’t address the funding pressure building in the system around adults and childrens’ social care services then local government’s ability to fulfil its more general responsibilities to its communities, will implode.
So will Government address this impending catastrophe through new fiscal raising proposals in the autumn’s social care green paper or deal with it in next year’s comprehensive Spending Review? Or will we remain like mindless zombies on a relentless march to fulfil the predictions contained within various versions of the Graph of Doom? That money will run out for anything other than statutory services and even then such protection will be tested.
- Councils warn about ‘dangerously’ inadequate funding for SEND education
Date: 19 Jun 2018
The School Cuts Coalition and 39 local authorities have written to the Government to warn they do not have enough funding to meet their statutory obligations for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The letter to the education secretary highlights the ‘unacceptable’ fact that more than 2,000 SEND children are left with no education provision at all due to inadequate funding.
- Councils sell off 4,000 public buildings a year, FOI requests reveal
Date: 19 Jun 2018
Local authorities have sold-off thousands of public buildings and spaces to private developers in order to cover the loss of central Government funding, charity finds.
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made by the charity Locality to all councils in England have revealed that more than 4,000 buildings and spaces were sold off each year between 2012 to 2016.
- Sector hits out at ‘unacceptable’ delays to social care reform
Date: 19 Jun 2018
The social care sector has expressed its disappointment and frustration at the delay in the government’s long-awaited green paper.
The Government announced yesterday the Social Care Green Paper will be postponed until the Autumn.
However, the National Care Forum (NCF) said the delay would cause further disruption to an already ‘fragile’ sector.
- Fresh finance warning for Northamptonshire County Council
Date: 19 Jun 2018
Northamptonshire CC’s finance director has issued an early warning the county already risks missing key savings targets that enabled it to agree a legal budget.
In an early assessment of Northamptonshire’s financial position, Mark McLaughlin, said that, as things stand, around £11m of the £35m savings the council targeted may not be achieved.
- Academies no better than council schools, think tank finds
Date: 19 Jun 2018
There is ‘little difference’ between academies and local authority schools when it comes to performance, according to an education think tank.
A new study by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has found that the type of school is less important in determining performance than the group the school is in.
In March 2016 the Department for Education announced that all schools should become academies - or be in the process of becoming one - by 2020 despite scepticism from teachers about the effectiveness of academy status.
- Delay to green paper caps dismal 48 hours for social care
Date: 19 Jun 2018
When Jeremy Hunt finally admitted to MPs on Monday evening that the green paper on older people’s social care would not now appear before their summer recess, as he had promised, reaction in the care sector was more weary resignation than righteous anger. Disappointment comes with the territory these days.
The news capped a particularly miserable 48 hours for social care, which had been obliged to stand awkwardly by, empty-handed, while ministers proudly unwrapped the English NHS’s 70th birthday present of an extra £20bn a year in real terms by 2023-24 in return for a new 10-year plan for the service.
- Half of council staff considering quitting their job, survey finds
Date: 18 Jun 2018
Half of council workers are thinking of leaving their job for less stressful work elsewhere, according to a new survey by trade union Unison.
Six out of ten council workers surveyed said they don’t feel secure in their job, with over half (53%) saying their workload is unmanageable.
The survey also found eight in ten (79%) council workers have no confidence in the future of local services due to spending cuts, with 83% saying cuts have had a negative impact on their ability to do the job as well as they can.
- Half of council staff considering quitting their job, survey finds
Date: 18 Jun 2018
Half of council workers are thinking of leaving their job for less stressful work elsewhere, according to a new survey by trade union Unison.
Six out of ten council workers surveyed said they don’t feel secure in their job, with over half (53%) saying their workload is unmanageable.
The survey also found eight in ten (79%) council workers have no confidence in the future of local services due to spending cuts, with 83% saying cuts have had a negative impact on their ability to do the job as well as they can.
- Defence, schools and police set to miss out from big spending increases as Theresa May focuses on NHS
Date: 17 Jun 2018
Defence, schools and police budgets are set to miss out on big spending increases because of Theresa May’s decision to pump £20billion into the National Health Service.
In recent weeks both Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, and Sajid Javid, the Home secretary, have signalled they want to see increases in their spending at the next spending review.
However Government figures have told The Telegraph that the Prime Minister's commitment to increase NHS spending by an average of 3.4 per cent from next March means that other key departments will have to settle for less.
- Make social care ‘free at the point of need’, former health minister says
Date: 15 Jun 2018
Social care should be ‘free at the point of need’ like the NHS, a bold new report into the health and care system recommends.
The progressive think tank IPPR has published a study by Lord Darzi and Lord Prior which sets out a 10-point plan for improving struggling health and care services.
The fourth point in the ‘investment and reform plan’ proposes extending the NHS’s ‘need, not ability to pay’ principle to social care and fully funding the service as part of ‘new social contract’ between the citizen and the state.
- Children’s services per capita spend down 20%
Date: 15 Jun 2018
Spending per head on local authority-led children’s services will regress 20% to 2005 levels, according to a report out this week.
The report, commissioned by the Children’s Commissioner For England and produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, also found that spending on prevention and youth services has been cut by 60% over the past decade.
Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, said: “Councils across the country have worked incredibly hard to protect funding for the most vulnerable in our communities, despite significant and ongoing government funding cuts.
“However, this report paints a stark picture of the reality facing councils, who cannot keep providing this standard of support without being forced to take difficult decisions and cut back on early intervention services, which help to prevent children entering the care system in the first place.”
- Over 15,000 delayed transfers of care down to delays in arranging care packages
Date: 15 Jun 2018
The proportion of delayed transfers of care due to shortcomings in social care has decreased over the last year, according to the latest figures from NHS England.
In April 2018 there were 145,000 total delayed days, a decrease from the previous year, where there was a total of 176,900 delayed days.
Both the NHS and social care sectors have seen reductions in the volume of delayed transfers of care over the last year, with the proportion attributable to social care down to 30%, compared to 62.5% attributable to the NHS.
- Spending on social care down by 9%
Date: 14 Jun 2018
Spending on social care is 9 per cent lower per person than a decade ago despite extra government funding and councils trying to protect services by switching money from other budgets, an analysis has shown.
Local authorities’ spending on adult social care fell by 10 per cent in real terms between 2009-10 and 2014-15, a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies said. This was partially offset by extra funds from central government, the National Health Service and higher council tax receipts.
- NHS announces ambition to cut delayed transfers by 25%
Date: 14 Jun 2018
The NHS has announced that it intends to work with local authorities to reduce the number of long staying patients by around a quarter in preparation for the winter ‘surge’.
Speaking at the annual NHS Confederation conference at Manchester Central yesterday Simon Stevens and Ian Dalton, the chief executives of NHS England and NHS Improvement, set out their plans to free up 4,000 beds before winter.
The number of delayed transfers of care (DTOCs) fell to 4,880 in January, 1,780 fewer than the baseline month of February 2017.
- Hunt admits imminent long-term NHS plan likely won’t include social care
Date: 14 Jun 2018
The health and social care secretary has clarified that long-term plans for the NHS and for social care will both happen, but very likely not at the same time.
His comments, made at this year’s NHS Confederation conference, seemed to suggest that contrary to extensive campaigning from organisations, the long-term NHS funding settlement won’t include social care just yet.
Hunt recognised that both sectors represent two sides of the same coin and rely on each other to thrive.
- 'There were a lot of strangers around - I didn't feel safe'
Date: 13 Jun 2018
"I lived in a B&B with my mum for over two months, I was the same age I am now, 12," says Ellen.
"It was always cold. I don't think there was heating. There were a lot of strangers around. I didn't feel safe.
"You didn't know who was living there or what they might be capable of."
Ellen was interviewed about her experiences of homelessness as part of a child-led campaign, calling for more to be done to stop children in England being placed in unsuitable accommodation.
- Legal system of child protection is in crisis, says senior judge
Date: 13 Jun 2018
The family justice system is in crisis, fuelled by an “untenable” workload created by a glut of applications to take vulnerable children into care, the senior judge about to become the next head of the family courts has said.
Sir Andrew McFarlane, who takes over as president of the family division of the high court of England and Wales in July, questioned whether the courts saw too many cases that may not be sufficiently serious enough to warrant the breakup of families.
McFarlane said the courts had to be careful to ensure that the increase in cases that sat relatively low on the spectrum of harm, such as those involving child neglect and poor parenting, properly met the high legal thresholds justifying intervention by the state.
- Sir William Worsley, the new tree champion, will give residents a say on chopping
Date: 13 Jun 2018
Councils will be forced to consult residents before felling trees under government plans to save thousands from being axed for cost-cutting reasons.
More than 110,000 have been chopped down since 2015 by UK councils, some of which have been accused of sacrificing much-loved trees to save money on maintaining them.
- 133,000 business rates appeals from 2010 remain unresolved
Date: 13 Jun 2018
More than 133,000 businesses are still waiting for an appeal of their business rates valuation from 2010 to be resolved, council leaders reveal today.
More than 1 million businesses have challenged their business rates bill since 2010. The Local Government Association said figures published this month show 133,060 appeals have still yet to be ruled on.
- Councils tighten reins on personalised care
Date: 13 Jun 2018
For the past 10 years, Edwina McCarthy, 63, has lived contentedly in her own home in south London with the support of personal assistants she employs through a personal budget for needs arising from cerebral palsy. In many ways, she is an advertisement for the merits of the personalisation of care and health.
But McCarthy feels her lifestyle is under threat. “They tell you, ‘there’s the money. You can be independent’,” she says. “But you can’t. They monitor every action you take.”
What bothers McCarthy is that, in common with more than 30,000 other people with personal budgets, her funding is no longer sent to her bank account as a direct payment, but is loaded on to a prepaid card. Not only does this enable her local council to check exactly how she is spending it, but it gives it the power to veto expenditure it disapproves of.
- LGA calls for business rates reform to minimise appeals risk
Date: 13 Jun 2018
The business rates system must be reformed to protect councils against “unfair” appeals risk, council leaders have said today.
Currently 133,000 business rates appeals from 2010 remain unresolved, according to analysis of government figures by the Local Government Association.
An LGA spokesperson told PF that even though two thirds of appeals were not successful, “councils must assume that they will be” meaning they must set aside cash in case a rebate is necessary.
- Child protection costs 'threaten local councils' financial stability'
Date: 13 Jun 2018
Failure to support families at risk and reduce pressure on the care system will lead to child protection services becoming financially unsustainable, the chair of an expert care review group has warned.
Nigel Richardson, a former director of children’s services at Leeds city council, said that the struggle to cope with the rapid surge in children being taken into care at a time when budgets were shrinking could tip some councils into financial crisis.
Launching the Care Crisis Review on Wednesday, Richardson called on ministers to make up a £2bn shortfall in children’s social services and create a multi-million pound fund to give councils the breathing space to find ways of reducing pressure on the system.
- Public support ‘compelling evidence’ for increased social care spending
Date: 13 Jun 2018
More than 80% of the British public support an increase in social care spending, new figures reveal.
The new study, ‘Securing the future: Funding health and social care to the 2030s,’ carried out by the Health Foundation and Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), sets out “strong evidence” for an increase in spending, according to NHS Confederation, which commissioned the study.
It highlights that since 2010, spending on adult social care has fallen, despite a growing demand and ageing population.
- Unresolved business rates appeals divert £2.5bn away from public services
Date: 13 Jun 2018
Over 130,000 business rates appeals from 2010 remain unresolved, according to the LGA.
In the past eight years, over a million businesses have challenged their business rates bills, but the latest figures show that 133,060 appeals have yet to be ruled on.
Although councils do not set business rates or rule on challenges made by businesses, the result of appeals is that they must set money aside, which diverts funding from delivering the services that local taxpayers pay for and expect.
- Philip Hammond to raise billions in extra tax for the NHS
Date: 12 Jun 2018
Philip Hammond is preparing to raise up to £10 billion in extra tax to help to boost the NHS on its 70th birthday. He has proposed adding 1p to income tax to raise the additional money.
Theresa May is also to lift a cap on skilled workers from outside the EU that blocks foreign doctors from coming to Britain. The move will precede the expected announcement next week of a package of measures to improve the health service.
The prime minister has promised a “multiyear” funding settlement for the NHS to address long-term financial needs, which were highlighted this winter when thousands of nonemergency operations were postponed.
- Early years cuts 'pushing more children into care' in England
Date: 12 Jun 2018
Increasing numbers of children will “fall through the gaps” into the care system, risking school exclusion or falling prey to gang violence, because of cuts to early years and youth services, the children’s commissioner for England has warned.
Anne Longfield said cuts of 60% to Sure Start and other preventative services since 2009 had effectively removed vital safety nets for at-risk youngsters and families and left them vulnerable to falling into extreme need.
She called for a reversal of trends in recent years which have resulted in shrinking resources focused on rapidly expanding and increasingly financially unsustainable high-cost child protection and care services at the expense of prevention budgets.
- Adult social care services on brink of collapse, survey shows
Date: 12 Jun 2018
Social care services for vulnerable adults are on the verge of collapse in some areas of England, despite the provision of extra government funding, senior council officials have warned.
The fragile state of many council social care budgets – coupled with growing demand for services, increasing NHS pressure, and spiralling staff costs – is highlighted in research by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass).
It says councils “cannot go on” without a sustainable long-term funding strategy to underpin social care and warns that continuing cuts to budgets risk leaving thousands of people who need care being left without services.
- More cuts to care on way - council chiefs
Date: 12 Jun 2018
Vulnerable old and disabled people will see cuts to vital care services and higher charges, council chiefs say.
The annual budget survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services shows councils expect to spend £21.4bn this year in England.
While this is a rise from £20.8bn last year, the cost of inflation combined with growing demand means this will not be enough, ADASS said.
- Sending children in care to boarding school reduces risk, says minister
Date: 12 Jun 2018
More children in care should be sent to boarding schools, a minister has said, after a study showed it can significantly reduce the risks faced by vulnerable youngsters.
A report which tracked the impact of being sent to board over a decade found that 63 per cent of children were removed from the risk register, and 71 per cent showed a reduced level of risk.
Lord Agnew, the schools minister, welcomed the study, which followed 52 children who were in care or could be taken into care, in Norfolk.
- Our UK public services don't need 'reform', they need hard cash [opinion]
Date: 12 Jun 2018
If the whispers in lobby correspondents’ ears are to be believed, Theresa May and her ministers are contemplating taking steps towards alleviating austerity, perhaps as part of their attempt to manage or distract attention away from Brexit. It’s not inconceivable that a bung for the NHS on its anniversary might just be accompanied by moves to stop local authorities, the police and other services spiralling downwards.
But May may not survive and who knows what shape politics will be in as the 2019 public spending review is concluded? While more money and/or an end to the cuts look like a possibility, there is a catch. Before they break out the prosecco, public managers would be well advised to look at the small print and listen to ministers’ caveats: the words to look out for include efficiency, innovation and (the killer) reform.
- Tony Travers: Grenfell inquiry must consider the public policy context
Date: 12 Jun 2018
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry will, eventually, tell us a great deal about the nature of government and also about public sector contracting in the UK.
After decades of efforts, by successive governments, to deliver affordable housing to lower-income households, the impact of the stresses and strains caused by lowest-cost administration and competitive tendering are being examined by a senior judge. This is happening because of the catastrophic fire in June last year.
It would be wrong to speculate over-much on the inquiry’s likely findings. But everyone involved in local government knows how the past 40 years have seen policy changes and spending squeezes whose intention has been the delivery of ever-more ‘efficient’ public provision. Whitehall-originated policies including compulsory competitive tendering, efficiency drives, housing stock transfers, the private finance initiative and cuts to local government house-building have together created the policy environment within which Grenfell Tower operated.
- New bus figures show 'slow death of local buses'
Date: 12 Jun 2018
The number of people using buses in England fell again in the last financial year in the face of real-terms fare increases and cuts to local routes.
The latest statistics from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that the number of local bus passenger journeys in England fell 1.4% to 4.38 billion in the year ending March 2018, compared with 2016/17.
The figure for the year ending March 2017 of 4.44 billion passenger journeys itself represented a 1.5% fall on the previous year, according to DfT statistics published in December.
- Health and social care reforms must be better communicated, MPs warn
Date: 12 Jun 2018
The government and the NHS must improve how NHS reforms are communicated to the public, the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) has warned.
Rising demand and cost of health care means that services need to be changed and better organised around patients, and examples of NHS and care services working together to deliver better care has been happening for some time.
According to the committee’s report ‘Integrated care: Organisations, partnerships and systems,’ the government and national bodies are yet to explain the case for change clearly and persuasively, with a failure to consistently engage with local leaders in the design of service changes.
- Somerset should form three unitary authorities, MP suggests
Date: 12 Jun 2018
Bath and North East Somerset Council leader, Tim Warren, has revealed that he would be open to a council merger, backing MP James Heappey’s recent suggestion of forming three new councils.
Writing for the Western Daily Press recently, Heappey suggested that it is time to remove the boundary that runs from Brean Down in the west to Farleigh Hungerford in the east, arguing that the communities and economy of Somerset have changed “immeasurably” since the Somerset was split to form the county of Avon in 1974.
When Somerset County Council proposed forming a unitary authority, Heappey proposed forming three unitary authorities covering the whole of the pre-1974 county.
- Adoption and care rates higher in some areas
Date: 11 Jun 2018
For a child born in England in 2011-2012, the chances of being placed for adoption by the age of five varied starkly by local authority, research suggests.
For a child in Southampton, which had the highest rate, almost one in 50 children was put up for adoption.
For a child in Greenwich, an authority with similar socioeconomic profile, it was less than one in 600.
- Digital and social media firms should be forced to protect children from addiction, experts say
Date: 11 Jun 2018
Social media and online gaming firms should have a statutory “duty of care” to protect children from mental ill health, abuse and addictive behaviour, a coalition of the country’s leading experts demands today.
Data amassed by charities, academics and doctors links children’s use of social media and gaming to a range of serious and lasting harms, many of which build gradually over time and go undetected by parents or teachers.
They accuse businesses such as Facebook and Snapchat of cynically targeting children as young as eight, using addictive “hooks” from the worlds of behavioural psychology and gambling to capture “new skins” to keep them logged on for as long as possible.
- Majority of schoolchildren buy takeaway for lunch at least once a week, child obesity study finds
Date: 11 Jun 2018
Most children are buying takeaway for their lunch at least once a week, according to a new study from the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF).
The research found that 60 percent of 11 to 16-year-olds said they bought food such as chips or fried chicken from takeaways at lunchtime or after school at least once a week
- LGA in Right to Buy warning
Date: 11 Jun 2018
Councils’ ability to replace homes sold under Right to Buy (RTB) will be effectively eliminated within five years, a new study for the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.
Research by real estate firm Savills, published today, found that two-thirds of councils will have ‘no chance of replacing homes sold off under RTB on a one-for-one basis in five years’ time unless a significant restructuring of the scheme take place’.
Around 12,224 homes were sold under RTB last year, but, faced with ongoing borrowing restrictions, the Savills study suggested that by 2023 councils would only be able to replace around 2,000 of those homes.
- Local government figures celebrated in Queen's birthday honours
Date: 11 Jun 2018
Key figures in local government have been recognised on the Queen’s birthday honours list for their services to the sector.
The former interim chief executive of Birmingham City Council, Stella Manzie, has been made a Dame in the honours list.
Ms Manzie was appointed Birmingham’s interim chief in April 2017 until the recent appointment of Dawn Baxendale as permanent chief and has had a long career in local government, as well as with the Scottish Government.
- £30m cash boost to tackle rough sleepers
Date: 09 Jun 2018
Communities secretary James Brokenshire has announced a £30m cash boost to tackle rough sleepers in the worst hit parts of the country.
Councils across England with the highest number of people sleeping on their streets will benefit from the extra funding, which will be used to provide an extra 1,750 beds and 531 homelessness workers.
Announcing the cash, Mr Brokenshire said: ‘No one should ever have to sleep rough. I am determined that more people living on the streets and those at risk this coming winter get the help they need now.
- Tesco boss blames business rates for retail woes
Date: 08 Jun 2018
The boss of Britain's biggest supermarket has blamed the collapse of some retailers partly on the expense of business rates.
Dave Lewis, Tesco chief executive, said the charges that firms must pay on their buildings played a "large part" in sending some retailers to the wall.
Last year a revamp of business rates saw some bills rise, while others fell.
- Most leaders expect some councils to face ‘serious financial crisis’ next year
Date: 08 Jun 2018
Almost three-quarters (74%) of council leaders are expecting some local authorities to plunge into a “serious financial crisis” next year.
The ‘Local state we’re in 2018’ report surveyed 81 local authority chief executives and leaders across the UK, along with a poll of over 2,000 members of the public.
A whopping 74% of council respondents said that they expect some councils to get into serious financial crisis in the next year – a 20% increase in the dear of failure compared to last year.
A major recent example of this is Northamptonshire County Council, which effectively went bankrupt, while Somerset is now rejecting claims that it too is on the brink of collapse.
- Store landlords push back against rent cuts
Date: 07 Jun 2018
Landlords have called for a government review as more struggling retailers ask for rent reductions.
The British Property Federation (BPF) says too many companies are abusing an insolvency process called a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
The pushback from landlords comes as House of Fraser became the latest retailer to finalise a restructuring plan that involves a CVA.
- Carillion collapse to cost taxpayers £148m
Date: 07 Jun 2018
The collapse of construction giant Carillion will cost UK taxpayers an estimated £148m, the National Audit Office has said.
There will also be wider costs to the economy, Carillion's customers, staff, the supply chain and creditors, the NAO said in a report.
When it was liquidated with debts of £1.5m in January, the firm had about 420 UK public sector contracts.
- How debt kills
Date: 07 Jun 2018
The BBC have a very serious piece on the effects that spiraling debt can have on people.
The article follows Jerome, who gets himself into debt from Camden council during his time working as a delivery driver. His debt goes from just a couple of parking tickets to well in excess of a thousand pounds in a matter of weeks.
- Hope for children’s services amid the cuts
Date: 07 Jun 2018
The efforts of councils and others to convince government of the need to act in support of the delivery of adult social care has resulted in changes designed to help meet growing demand, including the introduction of the adult social care precept and the promise of a green paper.
Children’s social care has not yet received the same attention, despite clear warning signs – not least CIPFA’s annual CFO confidence survey – that the strains on local authorities are just as great, if not greater, for children’s social care as they are for adults.
- Council mergers on the rise as almost 500 shared services deals agreed to cope with austerity
Date: 07 Jun 2018
Local governments around England have made at least 486 agreements to share services with other councils in the past seven years in an effort to trim costs in times of austerity.
The signed deals have saved authorities at least £657m since 2010 through sharing of services such as finance, emergency services, property, IT and community safety.
Figures from the LGA show that 98% of the authorities who provided data are sharing services with a neighbouring local government, with agreements made rising every year but one since 2008.
- £9m flagship free school to close just four years after opening
Date: 06 Jun 2018
A free school costing £9m is to close just four years after opening due to concerns over safeguarding.
The Discovery School in Newcastle – which left a pupil behind on a trip to London earlier this year – has also admitted problems with poor teaching and leadership.
The specialist science and technology free school will close at the end of the academic year after the Department for Education (DfE) pulled its funding.
- More than 1.5 million Brits are living in destitution as shocking report warns ministers to take urgent action
Date: 06 Jun 2018
More than 1.5million Brits are living in destitution, a shock report warns.
The Government was urged to take to take immediate action to tackle the crisis by reforming the social security system.
Of the 1,550,000 suffering in “shameful” squalor, 365,000 are children, the dossier said. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) found that the destitute often went without food, heating or lighting in their home and sometimes slept rough.
- Theresa May should stop tinkering and start spending [opinion]
Date: 05 Jun 2018
Politics is a bit like playing Monopoly. Leaders start the game with a pot of political capital that is gradually eroded by power. As they go around the board dealing with events, they spend more to build up a property empire of popular support. There must be an element of risk-taking and ruthlessness, as well as responsibility. Luck is required, but also the wisdom to know that you must create your own good fortune. The winner is the person with the most capital left when the country goes to the polls, even if everyone is almost bankrupt.
- A revolution to help Britain's army of unpaid carers: Workers who look after relatives will be offered flexible working including extended lunch breaks and ten extra days off
Date: 05 Jun 2018
Millions of adults who care for sick or ageing relatives will be offered flexible work hours under a landmark Government pledge announced today.
They could start later, finish earlier or have an extended lunch break to help them look after a loved one.
As part of a package of measures, carers will also be entitled to paid ‘carers’ leave’ so they can attend hospital appointments or look round care homes.
- Britain’s shameful care home time bomb
Date: 05 Jun 2018
More than 160,000 of Britain’s pensioners and disabled people are “trapped” in debt because they cannot afford to pay bills. A damning investigation reveals they are racking up financial problems after being forced to pay thousands of pounds for care, either in their homes or in residential accommodation.
But Freedom of Information requests to every local authority in Britain with responsibility for social care showed that nearly 1,200 people have been taken to court by town halls for social care debts.
- Scrap all districts says Heseltine
Date: 05 Jun 2018
District councils should be scrapped and 60 unitary counties created instead across England led by directly-elected mayors according to former Cabinet minister Lord Heseltine.
Delivering the inaugural annual Chamberlain Lecture at London’s BT Tower on June 4 Lord Heseltine said: ‘I would move to 60 unitaries with directly elected mayors in each one. We’ve got to get rid of districts. I find it amazing that people talk about a lack of cash and yet we sustain hundreds of organisations we don’t need.’ He also called for salaries of £120,000 for the mayors.
- Councils to oversee 'new town' corps
Date: 05 Jun 2018
Councils will be able to seek government approval to set up New Town Development Corporations (NTDCs) under plans announced by housing minister Dominic Raab.
Mr Raab wants NTDCs to become responsible for delivering new towns and garden communities locally, and hopes the more flexible structures will lead to a surge in house-building.
Currently, all NTDCs are accountable to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. But under the new proposals, they will largely be accountable to local authorities.
- Massive 82% of voters would back a tax rise to fund the NHS as new poll puts Theresa May under pressure
Date: 05 Jun 2018
An overwhelming majority of voters back a tax rise to fund the NHS, a Mirror poll has found.
The ComRes survey reveals a staggering 82% would be willing to pay 1p more in National Insurance contributions if the money went directly to the health service.
The findings will pile pressure on Theresa May to pump more money into the cash-strapped NHS.
- Liam Booth-Smith appointed Brokenshire's special adviser
Date: 04 Jun 2018
Outgoing Localis chief executive Liam Booth-Smith has been appointed special adviser to housing and communities secretary James Brokenshire.
Mr Booth-Smith had been expected to become director of policy and development at Policy Exchange, but LGC understands that role is now open to other candidates again.
- Northamptonshire County Council to sell historic County Hall building
Date: 04 Jun 2018
The sale of the listed building will help reduce annual rent costs for the authority, which also aims to generate extra income by sub-letting parts of One Angel Square.
Since council staff relocated to Angel Square last May, the County Hall site in George Row has become underused, the authority says.
The council chamber, coroner’s courts and tourist information centre are based in the George Row building and if the sale of the site goes ahead, these services would be relocated.
- Teacher recruitment agencies face fees crackdown
Date: 03 Jun 2018
Recruitment agencies that charge schools in England "excessive" fees to find and hire staff face a crackdown by the education secretary.
The move comes amid repeated warnings from school leaders that their budgets are in crisis.
Last month, Damian Hinds promised head teachers he would work with schools to drive down unnecessary costs.
- 'Pinball kids experience too much change in care'
Date: 01 Jun 2018
Thousands of "pinball kids" are being moved around the care system with too much instability, the children's commissioner for England has said.
Anne Longfield says nearly 2,400 children changed home, school and social worker during the 2016-17 year, while 9,060 had two of those changes.
Ninety children a day entered care in the last year, and councils saw the biggest annual increase of children in care since 2010. This is against a backdrop of unprecedented cuts to local authority budgets, with children's services alone facing a funding gap of around £2bn by 2020."
- 400k frail and vulnerable elderly people lose out on free care at home due to council cuts while others live in ‘care deserts’ where there’s no help at all, warns charity
Date: 01 Jun 2018
Around 400,000 elderly people have lost the chance of free help to live at home over the past seven years, a report warned yesterday.
Tens of thousands of frail and vulnerable Britons have been pushed out of the shrinking circle of those who qualify for home assistance as councils cut spending, analysis from Age UK found.
The charity also warned of ‘care deserts’ where shortages of care suppliers and workers means it is impossible for people to find the help they need to live at home.
- Grenfell Tower fire council spends 25% of reserves
Date: 01 Jun 2018
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council spent 25% of its usable reserves last financial year as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire, figures out today have revealed.
Its usable reserves dropped by £45m - from £181m in March 2017 to £136m in March 2018 – the council’s draft statement of accounts has shown.
The council has said in the report that it must identify a further £52m of reserves for 2018-19 to help cope with the aftermath of the fatal fire, in which 71 people died.
- We need more school places - but not in grammars [opinon]
Date: 01 Jun 2018
The government’s recent announcement it will invest an extra £50m to expand access to grammar schools will be seen as nothing short of an insult to parents and teachers up and down the country – and rightly so.
I can see them now, heads in their hands - the thousands of teachers in local schools, struggling to deliver exciting lessons with dwindling funds, all because of the education funding crisis.
Archived Headlines
- 2018
-
- Potholes putting people off cycling, survey finds [31 May 2018]
- NHS trust deficit nearly twice as much as expected [31 May 2018]
- Councils take key Prevent strategy role [30 May 2018]
- Minister says 'no more Northamptonshires imminent' [30 May 2018]
- Neil Amin-Smith: Research reveals 100% rates retention pilots are not cost-neutral [29 May 2018]
- Parliament passes Dorset reorganisation plans [29 May 2018]
- Free schools boost for England's worst-performing areas [29 May 2018]
- DfE announces £50m to expand special schools, but the money isn’t new [29 May 2018]
- In Britain, Austerity Is Changing Everything [29 May 2018]
- Ranking every pupil helps the poorest, head insists [29 May 2018]
- 'Pay-as-you-go' bin scheme 'could leave households £50 a year worse off' [29 May 2018]
- Landlords to fight use of CVAs by retailers seeking rent cuts [29 May 2018]
- 'Pay-as-you-go' bin scheme 'could leave households £50 a year worse off' [28 May 2018]
- Whitehall must take control of 'faltering' academy finances, council chiefs say [25 May 2018]
- Ofsted admits some 'outstanding schools aren't that good' [24 May 2018]
- Free school transport lost for 20,000 rural pupils [24 May 2018]
- Over £200m spent on inquiries with little evidence of learning, NAO reveals [23 May 2018]
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government single departmental plan [23 May 2018]
- Plant nurseries will remain exempt from business rates [23 May 2018]
- Grammar school expansion fund will not improve children’s outcomes, study says [23 May 2018]
- UK public finances start new tax year on strong footing [22 May 2018]
- German police stop 'truant' families at airport [22 May 2018]
- Parents 'not involved' in new free schools [21 May 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council sells off old sites [21 May 2018]
- Obesity rate in UK children doubles during primary school years to top US figure [20 May 2018]
- Drop in apprenticeships sparks calls for reform of levy-based system [17 May 2018]
- Council told to 'grip financial situation' [17 May 2018]
- The Seattle battle is a warning over tax raising (Opinion) [16 May 2018]
- Singing from the same hymn sheet [opinion] [16 May 2018]
- Fair funding: eyes on the prize [opinon] [16 May 2018]
- Social care funding plans branded costly and unfair [16 May 2018]
- Plan for single 'unitary' Northampton council rejected [15 May 2018]
- Patients trapped by care closures: Elderly face being stranded in hospital wards [14 May 2018]
- Three in four Britons felt overwhelmed by stress, survey reveals [14 May 2018]
- Spiraling drug deaths blamed on swingeing funding cuts to services [14 May 2018]
- Taskforce Drafted In To Run 'Bankrupt' Tory-Led Northamptonshire Council [11 May 2018]
- MPs urge government to release cash for removal of Grenfell-style cladding [11 May 2018]
- Pothole 'epidemic' costs £1m a month in motoring claims, says AA [11 May 2018]
- Grammar and faith schools get green light to expand [11 May 2018]
- Brokenshire announces Northamptonshire commissioners [10 May 2018]
- https://www.themj.co.uk/Dawes-Another-Section-114-possible/210840 [10 May 2018]
- Northants makes ‘unprecedented’ use of reserves to balance books [10 May 2018]
- Interest rates on hold as Bank cuts growth outlook [10 May 2018]
- Somerset £28m unitary savings claim 'unrealistic' [10 May 2018]
- High street rents 'killing more and more retailers' says Debenhams chairman [10 May 2018]
- Simon Edwards: 'No guarantee county unitary moves will snowball' [09 May 2018]
- ‘Cash-strapped care sector needs public image boost’ [09 May 2018]
- Minimum wage for sleep-in shifts poses ‘existential threat’ to care sector [08 May 2018]
- Business Rates Bill and additional information [08 May 2018]
- Tax on pensioners proposed to heal inter-generational divide [08 May 2018]
- Parks provide over £34bn of health benefits, report says [08 May 2018]
- Social care could be ‘rescued’ with £2.3bn boost, report says [08 May 2018]
- Government pledges £28m to help disadvantaged children [08 May 2018]
- Local election results 2018: Mixed picture for Labour and Tories [04 May 2018]
- Anne Ashworth: Brokenshire must mend the market [opinion] [04 May 2018]
- Cities express doubt over four-county 'combined authority' [03 May 2018]
- Schools could be forced to weigh pupils for Ofsted obesity checks [03 May 2018]
- Election 2018: Council polls taking place across England [03 May 2018]
- James Brokenshire: ‘Clear space and scope’ for more unitaries [02 May 2018]
- Scrapping Somerset councils 'may save £28m a year' [02 May 2018]
- David Simmonds: Brokenshire is 'good news' for councils [01 May 2018]
- LGA gets £1.5m to help boost councils’ cyber security [01 May 2018]
- Javid to be new Home Secretary, Brokenshire to MHCLG [30 Apr 2018]
- Incremental pay rises - an endangered species? [27 Apr 2018]
- Councils warned not to cap personal care budgets [27 Apr 2018]
- Cornwall proposes post-Brexit plan to create 20,000 jobs [27 Apr 2018]
- Concern over Northants' future amid rushed reorganisation claims [26 Apr 2018]
- Councils defended for management of £375m in section 106 receipts [26 Apr 2018]
- Lib Dems slam use of property profits at Surrey County Council [26 Apr 2018]
- NHS hospitals face vital vote to free them of £400m a year tax bill [26 Apr 2018]
- Inquiry into child sexual abuse warns of ‘lack of transparency’ [26 Apr 2018]
- Social care system needs £10bn to stay afloat, report warns [26 Apr 2018]
- Grayson Perry backs borough’s £3.5m ‘artists’ house’ plans [26 Apr 2018]
- Councils urged to implement effective interpretation and translation services [26 Apr 2018]
- Concern over Northants' future amid rushed reorganisation claims [26 Apr 2018]
- Government achieves first current budget surplus for 16 years [25 Apr 2018]
- MPs: Councils need grants as well as increased business rates [25 Apr 2018]
- Leaders discuss 'combined authority' across four counties [25 Apr 2018]
- Ministers are wilfully blind to austerity's decimation of preventative services [opinion] [25 Apr 2018]
- Conservatives pledge 'cheaper and better' local councils [25 Apr 2018]
- Sector backs MPs' business rates call [24 Apr 2018]
- Business rates pilot payout proves costly to the sector [24 Apr 2018]
- Food bank use four times higher in Universal Credit areas [24 Apr 2018]
- Areas which rejected devolution deals left with mixed feelings [opinion] [24 Apr 2018]
- County accused of lack of candour over '£60m black hole' report [24 Apr 2018]
- Philip Hammond accepts £2 limit for addictive fixed odds betting terminals [24 Apr 2018]
- Are social care services improving people's wellbeing? [opinion] [24 Apr 2018]
- Sun, sea and stonkingly large council tax bills [23 Apr 2018]
- MPs demand government explains business rate U-turn [23 Apr 2018]
- Outsourcing giant Capita warns of £500m losses [23 Apr 2018]
- Promise broken to compensate councils for business rate changes [23 Apr 2018]
- Councils Have Failed To Spend £375m Earmarked To Ease The Housing Crisis [23 Apr 2018]
- Britain left behind as growth slows [22 Apr 2018]
- Councils ‘could save millions on energy’ [20 Apr 2018]
- Pothole related breakdowns soar following harsh winter [18 Apr 2018]
- UK inflation falls to 2.5% [18 Apr 2018]
- UK pay squeeze comes to an end [17 Apr 2018]
- Hospitals launch legal challenge to save £300m a year in rates relief [12 Apr 2018]
- Minister raises possibility of social care funding boost [12 Apr 2018]
- Home education compulsory registration? [10 Apr 2018]
- Amendment to protect free bus passes announced [10 Apr 2018]
- Holiday town's hidden fight with deadly drug problem [09 Apr 2018]
- How can we tackle the pothole crisis? Scourge of the roads is a £9.3bn headache that's only getting worse [06 Apr 2018]
- Businesses and councils offered own PCSOs for £37k a year. [06 Apr 2018]
- Up to 1,000 Sure Start children's centres have closed since 2009 [05 Apr 2018]
- Over 100,000 children to lose free school meals under reforms [05 Apr 2018]
- Rapid rise in children's centre closures causes concern [05 Apr 2018]
- Review of council powers over unauthorised traveller sites [05 Apr 2018]
- What is the gender pay gap at your company? [05 Apr 2018]
- Travel training gives young people with learning disabilities a ticket to ride [03 Apr 2018]
- Council decides to exhaust reserves [03 Apr 2018]
- Scrutinising care provision [03 Apr 2018]
- Javid announces £30m to tackle homelessness [03 Apr 2018]
- Spending on children and young people's services cut by nearly £1bn in six years, figures reveal [03 Apr 2018]
- Child poverty: Pale and hungry pupils 'fill pockets with school food' [02 Apr 2018]
- Tories accused of manifesto breach after 60,000 homes miss out on legal right to minimum broadband speed [28 Mar 2018]
- MPs call for more holistic approach to improving social care [28 Mar 2018]
- Pupils asked to bring waste home by school [28 Mar 2018]
- Councils awarded £900,000 for connected maintenance [28 Mar 2018]
- Javid calls for unitary proposals from Northamptonshire councils [28 Mar 2018]
- Commissioners to take direct financial control of Northants council [27 Mar 2018]
- Spending restrictions save Northants £400,000 [27 Mar 2018]
- Government intends to take over Northamptonshire's finances [27 Mar 2018]
- Council leader welcomes independent inquiry into child sexual abuse [27 Mar 2018]
- Upgrading wind farms could bring £100m to communities, study says [27 Mar 2018]
- Scale of child abuse survey 'needed every 10 years' [27 Mar 2018]
- Grayling promises to fill "4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire“ and many more elsewhere [26 Mar 2018]
- Taking action for those jailed over unpaid council tax [26 Mar 2018]
- Children in north 'face double whammy' of poverty and bad schools [26 Mar 2018]
- Government announces £15m in cultural regeneration funds [26 Mar 2018]
- Tory vow to repair Britain's potholes slammed as Chris Grayling pledges £100million to tackle £9billion crisis [26 Mar 2018]
- Bottle deposit plan would fix ‘dirty Britain’ [26 Mar 2018]
- What to look out for in May's local elections [23 Mar 2018]
- Government action on councils failing to plan new homes [23 Mar 2018]
- Javid approves creation of new district council [23 Mar 2018]
- Cash-strapped Northants criticised for paying £900,000 to former CEO's firm [23 Mar 2018]
- Whitehall launched £260m package to improve air quality [23 Mar 2018]
- Whitehall announces £3.4m for five new adoption agencies [23 Mar 2018]
- Council employee exploited systems 'failures' to steal £1m [22 Mar 2018]
- IFS: Funding reforms at odds with social care aims [22 Mar 2018]
- Alison Michalska: Not investing in children is a false economy [22 Mar 2018]
- Warning over cash for care leaver advisors [22 Mar 2018]
- Social care faces swallowing half of all tax councils can raise by 2035 [22 Mar 2018]
- Taunton Deane-West Somerset merger backed by Sajid Javid [22 Mar 2018]
- Councils face 'decades more austerity' as social care set to account for half of town hall revenues [22 Mar 2018]
- 'Radical change' needed on countryside [22 Mar 2018]
- Corbyn challenges PM over 'slash and burn' cuts in council funding [21 Mar 2018]
- Teaching union calls for 5% pay rise with possible strike backing [21 Mar 2018]
- Poor children 2kg heavier than rich [21 Mar 2018]
- Benefits payment blunder will cost taxpayer £700m [21 Mar 2018]
- Javid orders review after second council payment error [20 Mar 2018]
- Councils overpaid by £36 million in `historic´ Government error [20 Mar 2018]
- Care workers' pay for 'sleep-in' shifts case reaches appeal court [20 Mar 2018]
- Jeremy Hunt confirms individual costs for social care to be capped [20 Mar 2018]
- Sure Start funding halved in eight years, figures show [20 Mar 2018]
- Ministers propose reducing number of councils from 22 to ten [20 Mar 2018]
- Labour council chiefs promise councils ‘ten new freedoms’ [20 Mar 2018]
- Potholes leave one in five local roads in poor condition as councils face funding deficit [20 Mar 2018]
- Government bails out overspending Kingston [20 Mar 2018]
- Scrap 'outdated and regressive council tax,' says think-tank [20 Mar 2018]
- The long road to rates retention [19 Mar 2018]
- Local councils prepare to lobby MPs for extra powers [19 Mar 2018]
- Updated: Unison set to 'reluctantly' accept pay offer [19 Mar 2018]
- School breakfast clubs to receive up to £26 million in major boost for hungry kids [19 Mar 2018]
- Call for city centre drug testing stations 'to save lives' [19 Mar 2018]
- Eight out of 10 academies in deficit, say accountants [17 Mar 2018]
- ‘Wholly unacceptable’ that central gov does not have clear answer to benefits of LEPs [16 Mar 2018]
- ‘Bankrupt’ council’s problems not a factor in PCC fire service takeover decision. [16 Mar 2018]
- Number of secondary schools in deficit has 'trebled' [16 Mar 2018]
- Secondary school pupil numbers will rise by more than 600,000 by 2023 [16 Mar 2018]
- National Insurance could rise by a penny in the pound to prevent a repeat of this winter's A&E crisis [16 Mar 2018]
- IFRS9 overrides could be in place before April 2019 [15 Mar 2018]
- Inspector slams Northamptonshire officers and members for financial failings [15 Mar 2018]
- Manchester to pay care staff living wage [15 Mar 2018]
- Power in the country lanes [15 Mar 2018]
- Care home quality and choice ‘likely to get worse’, council chiefs warn [15 Mar 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council 'should be scrapped' [15 Mar 2018]
- MPs warn of 'poisonous air' emergency costing £20bn a year [15 Mar 2018]
- Spring statement sees rates revaluation brought forward to 2021 [14 Mar 2018]
- Government backs DoLS replacement [14 Mar 2018]
- Majority of councils have no men working in their nurseries, as parents assume they pose risk to children [14 Mar 2018]
- UK will need to impose tax rises of £30bn to balance budget – IFS [14 Mar 2018]
- Five English councils to adopt integration plans [14 Mar 2018]
- Austerity will have cast an extra 1.5m children into poverty by 2021 [14 Mar 2018]
- Councils ‘struggling to balance the books,’ with no knowledge of how spending will work from 2020 [13 Mar 2018]
- Spring Statement: Hammond opens bids for £840m transport pot [13 Mar 2018]
- Spring Statement: Philip Hammond hails better debt and growth forecasts [13 Mar 2018]
- Guy Ware: The business rates retention row of ducks [opinion] [12 Mar 2018]
- Overwhelming backing for 2% pay offer from GMB's members [12 Mar 2018]
- Slow broadband take-up hurting rural areas [12 Mar 2018]
- Javid backs county unitary in Buckinghamshire [12 Mar 2018]
- Spring Statement 2018: Philip Hammond fixes his eye on the horizon while local councils drown [11 Mar 2018]
- 'Light at the end of the tunnel' Philip Hammond hints at an end to austerity [10 Mar 2018]
- Philip Hammond plots £1billion VAT blitz on small firms by cutting payment threshold [10 Mar 2018]
- Philip Hammond to snub ministers' demands for more money for NHS and defence as he makes Spring Statement [09 Mar 2018]
- Freezing weather will lead to spike in UK potholes, motoring experts warn [08 Mar 2018]
- Councils on the brink of going bust as report reveals Government has slashed funding by 50% [08 Mar 2018]
- Chancellor's spring statement to reveal £11bn boost [08 Mar 2018]
- Class sizes up in 'two-thirds of secondary schools' [08 Mar 2018]
- Freezing weather will lead to spike in UK potholes, motoring experts warn [08 Mar 2018]
- Vulnerable children 'paying the price of Tory austerity', John McDonnell says [08 Mar 2018]
- Councils need urgent long-term funding plan, says watchdog [08 Mar 2018]
- Government owes £5.3trn in pensions - ONS [07 Mar 2018]
- Council chiefs warn of children’s social care crisis in the north west [07 Mar 2018]
- Manchester CC ‘dramatically’ increases spend in local economy [07 Mar 2018]
- Willetts makes case for baby boomer tax [07 Mar 2018]
- Most Yorkshire councils unite in joint devolution bid [06 Mar 2018]
- Counting the cost of adult social care as councils set spending budgets [06 Mar 2018]
- Whitehall blasted for ‘over-simplification’ of social care crisis [06 Mar 2018]
- Cuts to youth services lead to rise in crime warn councils [05 Mar 2018]
- Social Workers 'unbearable' workloads 'underestimated by Government [03 Mar 2018]
- John McDonnell: Spring Statement 'must help ailing councils' [03 Mar 2018]
- Business rates retention poses ‘some risk’ to core PH funding, says DHSC minister [02 Mar 2018]
- DHSC concerned about Northamptonshire’s ability to meet statutory responsibilities [02 Mar 2018]
- LGA urges for social care to have ‘equal footing’ to NHS to close funding gap [02 Mar 2018]
- George Osborne austerity target is hit — 2 years late [02 Mar 2018]
- Business rate retention ‘may not achieve goal’ [01 Mar 2018]
- Council tax rises to boost bills by £81 in England [01 Mar 2018]
- Northamptonshire county council chief cuts £40m to stave off bankruptcy [01 Mar 2018]
- Nearly half of girls have self-harmed [01 Mar 2018]
- Revised Northamptonshire budget includes ‘regrettable’ proposals in light of severe challenges [28 Feb 2018]
- Chris Buss: Is fair funding mission impossible? [opinion] [28 Feb 2018]
- Nadhim Zahawi: Leadership key to turning round failing children's services [28 Feb 2018]
- Projects launched to support care leavers [28 Feb 2018]
- Survey reveals ‘sharp drop’ in satisfaction with social care [28 Feb 2018]
- Projects launched to support care leavers [28 Feb 2018]
- Cost of childcare surges to £122 a week leaving parents 'treading water', report finds [28 Feb 2018]
- Hammond is unlikely to squander the fiscal dividend he is sitting on [opinion] [28 Feb 2018]
- Dorset councils to merge in biggest local government shake-up in 40 years [26 Feb 2018]
- Council tax hikes will not stop cuts to local services, authorities warn [26 Feb 2018]
- Auditors warn Northamptonshire CC budget could be ‘illegal’ [21 Feb 2018]
- Local government and health leaders urged to remake partnership [21 Feb 2018]
- The extent of business rates relief fraud [16 Feb 2018]
- Roll-out of lane rental plans for local authorities [16 Feb 2018]
- Whiteman raises question of LOBO litigation and mis-selling [15 Feb 2018]
- Room151 survey probes sustainability of local government finance [15 Feb 2018]
- Financial faultline opens to create an east-west economic divide [15 Feb 2018]
- Surge in poverty rates among children of public sector worker parents [15 Feb 2018]
- Dan Bates: Settlement reveals fragility of the system and the need to speak up on fair funding [14 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council repaying £150m in LOBO loans [14 Feb 2018]
- Landowners in Wales face tax in Welsh Government plans [13 Feb 2018]
- Local councils want more power to be able to increase amount of fines handed to drivers [13 Feb 2018]
- UK inflation still at 3% despite fall in food prices [13 Feb 2018]
- Carillion: accountants accused of 'feasting' on company [13 Feb 2018]
- Anxiety over lack of children's sector-led improvement funding [12 Feb 2018]
- Westminster council proposes ‘voluntary’ council tax scheme [12 Feb 2018]
- ..NAO warns on ‘neglected’ social care [09 Feb 2018]
- Care provider Four Seasons temporarily bailed out [09 Feb 2018]
- Over half of councils plan to cut spending on children's services [09 Feb 2018]
- Schools struggle to get mental health help, says survey [09 Feb 2018]
- MPs give green light to local government finance settlement [08 Feb 2018]
- Bank of England hints at earlier and faster rate rises [08 Feb 2018]
- Council tax hikes planned 'across England' [08 Feb 2018]
- Anti-obesity programmes in primary schools 'don't work' [08 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire tables unitary plans to combat ‘bleak financial position’ [07 Feb 2018]
- Council budgets: One in three spent more than planned [07 Feb 2018]
- Cash crisis forces secondary schools in England to cut 15,000 staff [07 Feb 2018]
- Council chiefs call for ‘locally-driven’ successor to EU aid [07 Feb 2018]
- Govt could re-nationalise East Coast line after £200m loss [06 Feb 2018]
- Call for Javid to resign after 'misleading' House of Commons [06 Feb 2018]
- Javid gives councils £150m social care funding boost [06 Feb 2018]
- Councils ‘will not benefit equally’ from business rate retention [06 Feb 2018]
- Poorest areas face biggest cuts to children's services [06 Feb 2018]
- UK must tackle 'astonishing' cost of congestion, study says [06 Feb 2018]
- Carers for disabled adults have ‘no plans for future’, campaigners warn [05 Feb 2018]
- Seven south Essex councils form 'association' [05 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire sparks warnings other councils could ‘fail’ [05 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire MPs call for county council takeover [05 Feb 2018]
- Parents paid £1m over 'shambles' childcare scheme [05 Feb 2018]
- ‘Tax the over 65s to fund their care’ [05 Feb 2018]
- The Guardian view on council spending: a crisis unfolding [opinion] [04 Feb 2018]
- County council imposes an emergency spending ban [03 Feb 2018]
- Dozens of academy schools need bailouts from taxpayers [03 Feb 2018]
- Northamptonshire County Council 'warned it was unsustainable' [03 Feb 2018]
- Union attacks county plan to take over children and family services [02 Feb 2018]
- Tory councillors all resign from local council [02 Feb 2018]
- Capita situation is not ‘another Carillion’, says Cabinet Office minister [01 Feb 2018]
- 'Council wrong' to stop care home fees, says ombudsman [01 Feb 2018]
- Northern education gap 'should be solved through devolution' [01 Feb 2018]
- Welsh council proposes 12.5% council tax hike [01 Feb 2018]
- Outsourcing giant Capita announces profit warning and massive debt [31 Jan 2018]
- Teacher retention: Government 'failing to get a grip' [31 Jan 2018]
- Councils face huge bills as foster carers jump ship to private agencies [30 Jan 2018]
- Young black men bearing the brunt of deadly violence in London [30 Jan 2018]
- Heads warn of 'chronic' funding shortages [30 Jan 2018]
- Private foster care agencies increasing cost of finding children homes [30 Jan 2018]
- Governments formally agree on first Welsh devolved taxes in 800 years [29 Jan 2018]
- Government to review 1.6m disability benefit claims after U-turn [29 Jan 2018]
- Majority of householders 'face council tax increase of up to £80' as ministers relax cap on bills [27 Jan 2018]
- Potholes send breakdown figures flying [26 Jan 2018]
- Council to sell brand new £53m headquarters [25 Jan 2018]
- High proportions of under-performing schools in some areas [25 Jan 2018]
- MPs invite views on joint inquiry into long-term funding to inform social care green paper [24 Jan 2018]
- UK employment surges to record high, wages edge up [24 Jan 2018]
- Pay offer to local government workers is final, say employers [24 Jan 2018]
- Council offers voluntary redundancy to its staff [23 Jan 2018]
- MPs ‘strikingly pessimistic’ about the quality of local care homes [23 Jan 2018]
- County agrees £10m Carillion exit deal [23 Jan 2018]
- Public health cuts ‘threaten children’s health’ [23 Jan 2018]
- Hinds says schools face digital challenge [22 Jan 2018]
- Children's centres undermined by ministers, says charity [22 Jan 2018]
- A million lonely pensioners left to starve in their homes [22 Jan 2018]
- Road maintenance spending at ‘lowest level’ in a decade [19 Jan 2018]
- Government announces £45m for ‘successful’ academies [19 Jan 2018]
- Children's services in Norfolk no longer need intervention [19 Jan 2018]
- Council tax is a regressive tax - it's time to do something [18 Jan 2018]
- County rejects proposal to lose control of fire services [18 Jan 2018]
- Finance settlement 'shambles' after provisional data wrong [18 Jan 2018]
- Councils accused of putting lives at risk after cash spent on fixing potholes on minor roads falls to lowest level in more than a decade [18 Jan 2018]
- PFI deals 'costing taxpayers billions' [18 Jan 2018]
- Is social mobility really about school cash? [17 Jan 2018]
- Grayling’s East Coast experiment risks coming off the rails [17 Jan 2018]
- Minister for loneliness appointed to continue Jo Cox's work [17 Jan 2018]
- James Maker: What the reshuffle means for counties [15 Jan 2018]
- Union urges council staff to reject pay offer [15 Jan 2018]
- Council tax set to increase as Kent County Council announces spending plans [15 Jan 2018]
- 20mph zones net £57m for police [15 Jan 2018]
- Only five councils bid for electric car charge points funding [12 Jan 2018]
- Councils call for improvement to Apprenticeship Levy [11 Jan 2018]
- Councils urged to be clear on care home costs [11 Jan 2018]
- Child referred to social services every 49 seconds amid rising reports of domestic violence [11 Jan 2018]
- Support for apprentice levy goes up in flames [11 Jan 2018]
- No new devolution deals agreed in 2016-17 [10 Jan 2018]
- Council proposes name change to strengthen ‘geographical identity’ [10 Jan 2018]
- Inspectors sent in to probe Northamptonshire Council's finances [10 Jan 2018]
- Heads warn MPs of 'extremely bleak' funding problems [10 Jan 2018]
- Childcare funding 'will create 9,000 places' [10 Jan 2018]
- Northgate acquired by Japanese corporation NEC for £475m [09 Jan 2018]
- Theresa May's cabinet: Who's who and how diverse are they? [09 Jan 2018]
- Javid: New name will focus minds of cabinet colleagues on housing [09 Jan 2018]
- DCLG renamed Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government [09 Jan 2018]
- Essex council claims it is on track to become UK's first self-sufficient unitary authority [08 Jan 2018]
- Affordable childcare inquiry launched [08 Jan 2018]
- Build care homes by schools to mix generations [05 Jan 2018]
- Crisis in teacher recruitment as applications fall by a third [05 Jan 2018]
- Local gov overwhelmingly ‘opts up’ to professional status as MiFID II launches [04 Jan 2018]
- Local government ‘in need of radical reinvention’ [04 Jan 2018]
- Christchurch bids to stop Dorset councils reorganisation [03 Jan 2018]
- Some councils paying ‘excessive’ costs for paper, research reveals [03 Jan 2018]
- Telford & Wrekin council tax to rise 3.2pc [03 Jan 2018]
- Council warns of ‘unprecedented’ fire safety funding gap [03 Jan 2018]
- Lone child refugees are costing British councils £70,000 a year each [03 Jan 2018]
- 2017
-
- Educational opportunities ‘geographically unequal’, think tank says [22 Dec 2017]
- Barnsley and Doncaster vote for 'One Yorkshire' devolution deal [21 Dec 2017]
- Council tax bills in England may rise by up to 5.99% [20 Dec 2017]
- 'Extra £450m funding' for police in England and Wales [19 Dec 2017]
- Child sex abuse referrals soar by nearly a third in a year, warns NSPCC [18 Dec 2017]
- Pensions: Automatic saving to start at 18 under new plans [17 Dec 2017]
- ‘Culture change’ needed to improve local government scrutiny, MPs say [15 Dec 2017]
- Council proposes stopping sick pay for three days [14 Dec 2017]
- £200 million funding boost for England’s roads [14 Dec 2017]
- Prudential code to drop ‘borrowing in advance’ ban [14 Dec 2017]
- Bus travel plummets amid funding cuts, city congestion and a rise in car ownership [14 Dec 2017]
- Primary league tables: Special-needs pupils struggle with new tests [14 Dec 2017]
- Ofsted warns of 130 schools failing to improve for 12 years [14 Dec 2017]
- Government faces call to slow the pace of funding cuts while business rates retention is resolved [13 Dec 2017]
- More than 1,400 NHS dementia patients well enough to go home at Christmas will be stranded in hospital, warns charity [13 Dec 2017]
- Weakest schools struggle with teacher 'burnout' [13 Dec 2017]
- ITV film reveals serious failings at UK children’s homes [13 Dec 2017]
- Councils urged to unlock £7bn of untapped assets [12 Dec 2017]
- UK inflation rate rises to 3.1% [12 Dec 2017]
- Businesses hit by rate rise wait for cash relief [12 Dec 2017]
- Norfolk County councillors award themselves 11% rise in allowance [11 Dec 2017]
- Unions make 5% pay increase claim for local government craft workers [11 Dec 2017]
- Government awards councils new funding to transform local communities [11 Dec 2017]
- Council funding could be cut in half in next two years [11 Dec 2017]
- Council spending on libraries cut by £66m last year [11 Dec 2017]
- £650m cut from early education [11 Dec 2017]
- DfE has 'growing recognition' of children's funding pressure [08 Dec 2017]
- Minister confirms £72,500 social care cap plan scrapped [08 Dec 2017]
- Green paper seeks to boost school mental health support [08 Dec 2017]
- Chinese plastics ban threatens council tax rise [08 Dec 2017]
- Number of contested business rates bills slumps under new system [07 Dec 2017]
- £72,500 social care cap to be scrapped, MPs told [07 Dec 2017]
- Councils could face up to £1bn in late payment penalties, report warns [07 Dec 2017]
- 'Stark' increase in overweight youngsters [07 Dec 2017]
- More than a million council workers offered 2% pay deal [05 Dec 2017]
- Salford mother Nicola Newns fined over sick son’s school absence [05 Dec 2017]
- Local authority audit fees ‘may be cut’ [04 Dec 2017]
- Poverty hits more children and pensioners, says charity [04 Dec 2017]
- Local authority audit fees ‘may be cut’ [04 Dec 2017]
- Local authority audit fees ‘may be cut’ [04 Dec 2017]
- ‘Corbyn fear’ sees pension fund body advise Labour council to invest abroad [03 Dec 2017]
- Research highlights ways to streamline local authority funding [01 Dec 2017]
- ‘Mansion tax’ proposed for £10m homes in Westminster [01 Dec 2017]
- Teacher training target missed for fifth year in a row in England [30 Nov 2017]
- Care homes: Public 'pay unfair fees to plug £1bn shortfall' [30 Nov 2017]
- Council cuts responsible for £1bn care home sector shortfall [30 Nov 2017]
- Social mobility in UK 'a postcode lottery', report finds [28 Nov 2017]
- Industrial Strategy snubs councils [27 Nov 2017]
- Pullman's plea to save school libraries [27 Nov 2017]
- New industrial strategy to change Britain's productivity 'weakness' [27 Nov 2017]
- Social care councils draw billions from reserves [23 Nov 2017]
- Have there been two decades of failure to reform social care? [23 Nov 2017]
- Apprenticeship numbers fall by 59% after levy imposed [22 Nov 2017]
- Summary of Budget 2017: Key points at-a-glance [22 Nov 2017]
- UK government borrowing grows in October [22 Nov 2017]
- Public services face real-terms spending cuts of up to 40% in decade to 2020 [22 Nov 2017]
- North of England hardest hit by government cuts [21 Nov 2017]
- Counties warn funding for public services is ‘outdated and unfair’ [20 Nov 2017]
- City regions get £1.7bn funding boost to transform transport [20 Nov 2017]
- Government accused of 'dragging feet' on social care review [17 Nov 2017]
- Report calls for end to borough and district councils [17 Nov 2017]
- Councils face more disclosures on their commercial property investments [16 Nov 2017]
- Head teachers across England call for £1.7bn extra school funding [15 Nov 2017]
- Research partner chosen for children's social care project [15 Nov 2017]
- Councils can only afford to help children in crisis, charities warn [15 Nov 2017]
- County outlines savings of £27m [15 Nov 2017]
- Public-sector pay rise should be guaranteed, says think tank [15 Nov 2017]
- Inflation remains at five-year high [14 Nov 2017]
- Budget will be ‘bad news’ for public finances, says Resolution Foundation [13 Nov 2017]
- Council mergers in Dorset and Suffolk move a step closer [13 Nov 2017]
- Social care to cost 60% of council tax by 2020 [10 Nov 2017]
- Social care could drain local services cash dry, warns LGA [10 Nov 2017]
- Councils spend £2.7bn on risky assets in property buying frenzy [08 Nov 2017]
- Teachers demand funding for 5% pay rise in budget [07 Nov 2017]
- 'Why is London getting 10 times as much transport cash per head as Yorkshire?' [07 Nov 2017]
- Boost for small businesses as Philip Hammond scraps rates rise [06 Nov 2017]
- Council staff told to take mandatory unpaid leave [02 Nov 2017]
- Local authorities turning to commercialisation to escape austerity [02 Nov 2017]
- Councils respond to sleep-in back pay announcement [02 Nov 2017]
- First UK interest rate rise in 10 years [02 Nov 2017]
- Overnight carer back pay scheme 'unaffordable' [02 Nov 2017]
- England mayors call for more tax control [01 Nov 2017]
- Councils spend doubles on social workers hired from agencies [01 Nov 2017]
- More than a third of councils haven’t paid into the Chancellor’s £300m fund to help pay firms hit by tax rises [01 Nov 2017]
- Benefit cuts main cause of surge in demand for children’s services, warn council leaders [31 Oct 2017]
- DfE announces pilot programmes to encourage flexible working in schools [30 Oct 2017]
- Hammond's £20bn black hole may mean it's time to scrap deficit target, says IFS [30 Oct 2017]
- Budget: Hammond faces spending dilemma, says IFS [30 Oct 2017]
- Pepper the robot to take on social care tasks [25 Oct 2017]
- PMQs: Long term 'Full and Open' ASC Consultation to be Published 'in Due Course' [25 Oct 2017]
- Council councils’ face £2.54bn funding black hole by 2021 [24 Oct 2017]
- Javid: Government should borrow to build more homes [23 Oct 2017]
- Extra homelessness funding ‘not enough’, say lower tier authorities [20 Oct 2017]
- Government hits 10-year low for September borrowing [20 Oct 2017]
- Childcare costs rise up to seven times faster than wages [20 Oct 2017]
- 'Troubled services' costing £10bn to keep going by Government [19 Oct 2017]
- County funding black hole set to treble to £2.5bn by 2021 [19 Oct 2017]
- Local roads get £350m funding boost [19 Oct 2017]
- Councils paid out more than £3m last year due to pothole damage [19 Oct 2017]
- Councils turn to lotteries in latest drive to raise income [19 Oct 2017]
- Woman who was abused by foster parents wins historic legal battle with 'far-reaching implications' for local authorities [18 Oct 2017]
- Care cap would cost counties £330m a year, warns research [18 Oct 2017]
- Elderly patients could be put at risk by pressure to empty NHS beds, warns social care chief inspector [18 Oct 2017]
- Hospital beds blocked twice as long while old await home help [18 Oct 2017]
- Squabble over bed-blocking leaves older patients in limbo [17 Oct 2017]
- UK inflation at highest since April 2012 [17 Oct 2017]
- Richard Harbord: a clear vision needed for local government [16 Oct 2017]
- The sleep-in care crisis [13 Oct 2017]
- Future standard of health and social care ‘precarious’ [10 Oct 2017]
- Ministers 'refusing to pay for fire safety measures' after Grenfell [10 Oct 2017]
- Britain’s first race audit reveals extent of discrimination [10 Oct 2017]
- Furious businesses cry ‘foul’ over time limit for rates appeals [09 Oct 2017]
- Tories discard plan to cap care home fees by 2020 [08 Oct 2017]
- Productivity decline is headache for Hammond [06 Oct 2017]
- Nine-tenths of English councils ‘facing shortage of care home places by 2022’ [05 Oct 2017]
- Somerset County Council paid out £1.8million on a single pothole compensation claim [05 Oct 2017]
- Hammond’s budget cupboard is almost bare, Treasury document reveals [05 Oct 2017]
- Better for elderly to die at home [05 Oct 2017]
- U.K. Gets Fresh Warning on Consumer Borrowing From Top Regulator [04 Oct 2017]
- Nine in ten councils will run out of care homes places within five years because they are not doing enough to cope with the ageing population [04 Oct 2017]
- Council warns it may have to bring in mandatory unpaid leave [03 Oct 2017]
- Cancelled operations due to 'delayed discharges' thought to cause thousands of deaths each year [03 Oct 2017]
- UK interest rate decision looms [02 Oct 2017]
- Are councils really afraid to innovate? [02 Oct 2017]
- Hammond to announce 'more money' for Northern Powerhouse rail [02 Oct 2017]
- Universal credit rollout going ahead as planned, David Gauke suggests [01 Oct 2017]
- Counties’ funding gap could widen with business rate retention [29 Sep 2017]
- Head teacher turns rebel over funding [28 Sep 2017]
- UK must deal with its debts, May to say [27 Sep 2017]
- LGA calls for Budget to plug councils’ ‘£5.3bn’ funding black hole [26 Sep 2017]
- Cybercrime hit 76% of councils last year, says survey [25 Sep 2017]
- Councils call for 2% health precept to invest in prevention [25 Sep 2017]
- Labour promise to deliver local government ‘renaissance’ [25 Sep 2017]
- Flu may cause bed shortages Public Health England warned [24 Sep 2017]
- STPs ‘under pressure’ and ‘under funded’, survey reveals [21 Sep 2017]
- Councillors agree to creation of new Durham City authority [21 Sep 2017]
- Job stress is 'overwhelming' teachers across the UK [18 Sep 2017]
- Public sector employment is at 70-year low, says GMB report [17 Sep 2017]
- Councils struggle to cope with influx of child refugees as number in local authority's care doubles in a year [17 Sep 2017]
- ..Spending cuts have had no effect on the public, say nine in ten councils despite claims by politicians that less money will cause widespread damage [14 Sep 2017]
- Eddington housing estate in Cambridge scraps wheelie bins [14 Sep 2017]
- Union claims pay cap is stripping billions of pounds from council budgets [13 Sep 2017]
- Northamptonshire County Council: Appeal for 'fairer funding' [13 Sep 2017]
- Firefighters reject 2% pay rise saying it had ‘host of strings’ attached [13 Sep 2017]
- UK cities expected to get millions of pounds for green energy projects [13 Sep 2017]
- Illegal strike threat from unions after pay cap row [13 Sep 2017]
- Teacher retention efforts 'not working' [12 Sep 2017]
- Police and prison staff to get more than 1% pay cap [12 Sep 2017]
- Teachers' pay in England down by 12% in 10 years, influential study reveals [12 Sep 2017]
- UK inflation rate rises to 2.9% [12 Sep 2017]
- Birmingham bin strike: John Clancy resigns as city council leader [12 Sep 2017]
- Unions demand 5% pay rise for all public sector staff [11 Sep 2017]
- Parents ‘sue school’ after boy in son’s class allowed to wear dress [11 Sep 2017]
- Disabled child travel cuts 'force parents to work less' [10 Sep 2017]
- Public sector pay cap to be lifted for police and prison officers [10 Sep 2017]
- U.K. Growth Forecasts Lowered as Business Sees No Pound Boost [08 Sep 2017]
- Half of teachers and social workers want to quit, poll finds [08 Sep 2017]
- Teachers' funding fears for breakfast clubs [08 Sep 2017]
- Newcastle backs calls for a 5% pay rise for all staff [07 Sep 2017]
- Too many new pupils not school ready, say head teachers [06 Sep 2017]
- Cut business rates for premises offering toilet access, says MP [06 Sep 2017]
- Pay cap pressure growing on government ministers [06 Sep 2017]
- How will councils survive the funding abyss? [05 Sep 2017]
- Public sector pay cap 'to be lifted next year' [05 Sep 2017]
- People power: how cash-strapped councils are turning to crowdfunding [05 Sep 2017]
- Theresa May 'to lift public sector pay cap this month' [04 Sep 2017]
- Councils to be banned by ministers from using bin fines as means to generate income [04 Sep 2017]
- Downing St considers plan to lift cap on public pay increases [04 Sep 2017]
- No interest rate rise for at least a year, economists say [04 Sep 2017]
- We’re addicted to debt and headed for a crash. It could be worse than 2007 [04 Sep 2017]
- Riots erupt at HMP Birmingham - one wing 'lost' [04 Sep 2017]
- Government names trial areas for 'full-fibre' broadband [03 Sep 2017]
- Nicola Sturgeon 'to scrap public sector pay rise cap' [03 Sep 2017]
- MPs declare sports and bookies as most common donors [02 Sep 2017]
- High-profile Tories back Labour bill on free meals in school holidays [30 Aug 2017]
- Most adults unprepared for care costs [30 Aug 2017]
- Councils resettle over one third of Gov’s Syrian refugee target [29 Aug 2017]
- Council to test how Amazon Echo can support older people [29 Aug 2017]
- Low emission bus scheme 2015: additional winning bids [28 Aug 2017]
- Maths teachers hit out at 'extraordinary' funding decision [25 Aug 2017]
- Home care provider market under threat from lack of funds [24 Aug 2017]
- Lancs merger of s151 and CEO roles sparks accountability row [23 Aug 2017]
- North should 'take control' of transport, says Grayling [23 Aug 2017]
- Scots business rate review calls for extension to new sectors [22 Aug 2017]
- Government should scrap 'undeliverable' discharge targets warn counties [22 Aug 2017]
- Philip Hammond urged to save struggling small firms from ‘staircase tax’ that will charge businesses thousands [22 Aug 2017]
- European Investment Bank cuts off cash for British building projects due to Brexit [22 Aug 2017]
- Care home chief warns sector is on the brink of catastrophic failure [22 Aug 2017]
- Families could get supermarket discounts if they hit NHS exercise targets [21 Aug 2017]
- Cash-strapped councils told to meet ‘undeliverable’ bed-blocking targets or have social care funding slashed [21 Aug 2017]
- NHS call for equality over private hospitals' tax break [21 Aug 2017]
- Council chiefs call for ‘light touch’ procurement rules post-Brexit [17 Aug 2017]
- Birmingham seven-week bin strike comes to an end [16 Aug 2017]
- Collapse in business rate appeals is a ‘disaster’ for small companies [16 Aug 2017]
- Pay growth to stay weak, says forecast [14 Aug 2017]
- One in six care homes 'at risk of failure due to rising costs and funding cuts' [14 Aug 2017]
- Now Labour backs clampdown on ‘crack cocaine’ betting machines [14 Aug 2017]
- All of a sudden Britain has become the slowest growing of the major western economies [11 Aug 2017]
- Biggest rise in local authority spend to be on adult social services [09 Aug 2017]
- Darling: 'Alarm bells ringing' for UK economy [09 Aug 2017]
- Children’s services more than £600m in the red, warn councils [09 Aug 2017]
- Council chatbots? [07 Aug 2017]
- Is your local care home inadequate? [07 Aug 2017]
- Council vows to continue with £80m development [05 Aug 2017]
- Drug-related deaths could cost councils £700m this year, says LGA [04 Aug 2017]
- Council considers cutting workforce by 20% [04 Aug 2017]
- Most local ombudsman complaints for education and children's services [03 Aug 2017]
- Government awards councils £75m road improvement cash [02 Aug 2017]
- Government announces £54m to help councils unlock surplus land [01 Aug 2017]
- Closing roads for play makes 'sense for public health' [31 Jul 2017]
- Government looks to speed up small business rates relief [29 Jul 2017]
- Government looks to speed up small business rates relief [29 Jul 2017]
- Council writes off £1.2m of debt [28 Jul 2017]
- Sugar tax 'must not be used to plug school budgets' [27 Jul 2017]
- Cities in England's north pressing for more money [26 Jul 2017]
- Government confirms talks over second West Midlands devolution deal [25 Jul 2017]
- Essex nursery 'closes because of universal free hours scheme' [25 Jul 2017]
- London-centric policies have left North underfunded by billions, think tank says [25 Jul 2017]
- Public sector workers work £11bn of unpaid overtime a year, union says [24 Jul 2017]
- Education needs a revolution, not just more cash [21 Jul 2017]
- Fire brigade ‘faces huge legal costs’ over Grenfell Tower disaster [21 Jul 2017]
- Justine Greening raids free schools budget for £1.3bn education bailout [21 Jul 2017]
- Half of people in care at home have ‘unmet needs’ [20 Jul 2017]
- ‘Decisions are being taken out of our hands’ – social workers on care cuts [19 Jul 2017]
- Council-owned company purchases first property [19 Jul 2017]
- CIL: A golden opportunity? [19 Jul 2017]
- Scrapping the 1% pay increase ‘could cost the Treasury £6bn a year’ [19 Jul 2017]
- CCN calls for ‘new deal’ on devolving powers to counties [19 Jul 2017]
- State pension age rise brought forward [19 Jul 2017]
- Pay row threatens overnight care for vulnerable [19 Jul 2017]
- Social care will ‘implode in months’ as charities face back-pay demand [19 Jul 2017]
- County Councillors vote themselves massive pay rises [18 Jul 2017]
- Review of Senior Civil Service pay not possible within ‘straitjacket’ of 1% pay cap [18 Jul 2017]
- Government welfare cuts blamed for 50% surge in mental health issues among unemployed [17 Jul 2017]
- Theresa May declares war on Nimbys and pledges to build 300,000 homes despite risk of rebellion among Tory councillors [16 Jul 2017]
- Vulnerable children not in crisis are 'left in limbo' [14 Jul 2017]
- Emergency call-outs for mental health patients soar [13 Jul 2017]
- Betts re-elected as chair of CLG committee [13 Jul 2017]
- UK public finances face twin threat from Brexit and downturn, says OBR [13 Jul 2017]
- Brexit could cost UK Treasury tens of billions in lost tax revenue, says Office for Budget Responsibility [13 Jul 2017]
- Drivers seen as 'wallets on wheels' as councils hike parking charges [13 Jul 2017]
- The six challenges facing local councils over next 20 years [12 Jul 2017]
- Councils slam Whitehall’s ‘short-term approach’ to public health cuts [12 Jul 2017]
- Margaret Willcox: ‘Relations with the NHS are tense. But we will rise above it’ [12 Jul 2017]
- Software hold-up leaves businesses waiting in vain for rates relief [12 Jul 2017]
- Free schools plan under threat [11 Jul 2017]
- Teachers' pay to remain capped at 1 per cent, DfE announces [11 Jul 2017]
- Councils invest billions in property purchases [11 Jul 2017]
- Roll-out of 100% business rates retention to LG by 2019-20 ‘unrealistic’ [10 Jul 2017]
- Wheelie bins replaced by underground waste system [08 Jul 2017]
- Thousands of special needs children left without school plan [08 Jul 2017]
- Calls for Javid to sort out ‘shambolic delay’ of business rates relief fund [07 Jul 2017]
- Councillors may have limited control over combined authorities, warn auditors [06 Jul 2017]
- Public procurement reform could boost local economies by £14bn, says report [06 Jul 2017]
- 1.2 million people in England and Wales will have dementia by 2040 – study [06 Jul 2017]
- Greening calls for 'army of skilled young people' [06 Jul 2017]
- Council chiefs withdraw support for Better Care Funding guidance [05 Jul 2017]
- Lord Porter: ‘We don’t want any new duties’ for business rates retention [05 Jul 2017]
- Sajid Javid's speech to the LGA conference 2017 [04 Jul 2017]
- Firefighters’ deal means public pay cap is ‘dead in the water’ Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/politics/firefighters-deal-means-public-pay-cap-dead-water/ [04 Jul 2017]
- Lord Porter: Councils to lose 75p of every £1 of Whitehall cash by 2020 [04 Jul 2017]
- Tories drop plan to end universal free lunches for infants [04 Jul 2017]
- Hammond says UK must 'hold nerve' over public pay [04 Jul 2017]
- Councils warn of £5.8bn 'funding gap' by 2020 [04 Jul 2017]
- Heads push MPs for answers on school funding [03 Jul 2017]
- Damning government report shows depth of public sector pay cuts [03 Jul 2017]
- Boris Johnson joins calls to end public sector pay cap [03 Jul 2017]
- Schools to fine parents £60 when their children are just half an hour late for school [02 Jul 2017]
- Councils given £15m to ease pressures of migration [02 Jul 2017]
- Parents face £60 fines when children are late for school [02 Jul 2017]
- Exclusive: Education Secretary wants £1.2bn extra on schools after 'election austerity backlash' [01 Jul 2017]
- Top Tories in revolt against May over public spending [01 Jul 2017]
- DfT reveals £6.1bn programme to improve major roads [30 Jun 2017]
- Councils threatened with ‘non-incentives’ to move health integration forward [30 Jun 2017]
- Nurseries warn it's 'crunch time' for free childcare funding [30 Jun 2017]
- It will cost taxpayers £2.5m - or 28 fully trained firefighters - for Martin Surl to take control of Gloucestershire Fire Service, report finds [30 Jun 2017]
- Councils save over £600m by sharing services [29 Jun 2017]
- LGA changes tack on business rates retention [29 Jun 2017]
- Queen's Speech clears Commons after abortion funding pledge [29 Jun 2017]
- Schools in England cut back on teaching hours to save money [28 Jun 2017]
- Leaders pile more pressure on May for urgent social care reform [28 Jun 2017]
- Confusion after No 10 backtracks on end to public sector pay cap [28 Jun 2017]
- Labour plot to tempt Tory MPs into amending Queen's Speech [28 Jun 2017]
- Social care cuts to continue in spite of £1bn boost, English councils say [28 Jun 2017]
- Queen's Speech: Labour to force vote on public pay cap [28 Jun 2017]
- Social care crisis could be fixed with prefunding arrangement, think tank says [27 Jun 2017]
- Council to sell homes on the open market [27 Jun 2017]
- Chancellor's £300m business rates relief fund still not up and running [27 Jun 2017]
- Local authority funding: more ‘graphs of doom’ ahead? [26 Jun 2017]
- Conservatives agree pact with DUP to support May government [26 Jun 2017]
- Businesses and rates relief [26 Jun 2017]
- Gloucester City considers co-locating with county council [23 Jun 2017]
- Stop putting league tables above pupils' rounded education, Ofsted chief tells schools [23 Jun 2017]
- Single parents win benefits cap legal challenge [23 Jun 2017]
- Queen’s Speech ‘dragged councils into Whitehall uncertainty’ as key laws dropped [22 Jun 2017]
- Tory manifesto pledges dropped from Queen’s Speech [22 Jun 2017]
- Plan for more grammar schools abandoned [21 Jun 2017]
- Heads warn parents of 'cash-starved schools' [21 Jun 2017]
- Business rate information letter published following Spring Budget [20 Jun 2017]
- Mark Carney says time not right for interest rate rise [20 Jun 2017]
- Conservatives shoot for the moon with new laws for Queen's Speech [19 Jun 2017]
- Philip Hammond hints at end to council spending cuts [19 Jun 2017]
- Brexit: 2018 Queen's Speech cancelled by government [18 Jun 2017]
- Government to confirm two-year Parliament to deliver Brexit and beyond [17 Jun 2017]
- Health and social care devolution deal agreed in Surrey [16 Jun 2017]
- ONS scraps pre-release access for ministers [16 Jun 2017]
- Theresa May will abandon free school lunch axe [15 Jun 2017]
- Record inflation level prompts concern for treasury returns [15 Jun 2017]
- Unions call for 5% pay increase for council staff [15 Jun 2017]
- Queen's Speech to take place next week [15 Jun 2017]
- Queen's Speech: Government 'has enough support' after talks with DUP [15 Jun 2017]
- Austerity is over, May tells Tories [13 Jun 2017]
- Sajid Javid keeps local government role [12 Jun 2017]
- Harris Federation academy chief says Theresa May’s grammar school plans are the wrong approach [12 Jun 2017]
- Cabinet reshuffle: Theresa May praises Tory 'talent' [11 Jun 2017]
- Private schools to save £522m in tax thanks to charitable status [11 Jun 2017]
- Hung Parliament: Q&A guide to what happens when no-one wins the election [09 Jun 2017]
- Interest rate rise could ruin 80,000 businesses [05 Jun 2017]
- Refuse collection workers threaten strikes in Birmingham [31 May 2017]
- Civil servants 'dissatisfied' with pay [31 May 2017]
- A million more carers needed to cope with ageing population [31 May 2017]
- British workers hit ‘hardest’ by immigration cuts, research reveals [30 May 2017]
- British workers hit ‘hardest’ by immigration cuts, research reveals [30 May 2017]
- Jeremy Corbyn struggles over cost of childcare policy [30 May 2017]
- Small firms hit by rates relief delay [30 May 2017]
- Cost of Tories' free breakfasts 'could treble' [25 May 2017]
- UK growth estimate revised down [25 May 2017]
- Conservatives not allocated enough cash for free school breakfast pledge [24 May 2017]
- Councils’ ‘variable’ approach to deferred payment ‘could undermine social care reform’ [23 May 2017]
- Assaults between care home residents reported daily [23 May 2017]
- Police investigate up to 20 deaths at mental health unit [23 May 2017]
- General election: Theresa May changes social care plans [22 May 2017]
- General election 2017: New warning over social care plans [22 May 2017]
- What do the General Election manifestos mean for local government? [19 May 2017]
- Conservative manifesto summary: Key points at-a-glance [18 May 2017]
- Conservative manifesto: Social care shake-up in Theresa May's plans [18 May 2017]
- Labour pledges to increase local government funding [16 May 2017]
- UK inflation rate rises to 2.7% in April [16 May 2017]
- Unions urge politicians to address £3bn education ‘funding crisis’ [15 May 2017]
- Care homes losing 2,000 beds a year as councils cut fees [15 May 2017]
- New mayors urged to prioritise inclusive growth [12 May 2017]
- Inter-authority lending rockets by £2bn [11 May 2017]
- Children’s services face £2bn funding gap by 2020 [11 May 2017]
- Funding shortfall 'threatens support for vulnerable children' [11 May 2017]
- General election 2017: Labour and Lib Dems pledge school cash [10 May 2017]
- After divisive 15% council tax rise plans, Surrey underspends by £7m [09 May 2017]
- Thousands of staff to be axed from classrooms because of cash crisis - with more cuts to come [09 May 2017]
- Care staff 'may not get minimum wage' leaked report claims [09 May 2017]
- 7 out of 10 children with mental health problems are treated outside home area [09 May 2017]
- Universal basic income ‘offers public finance efficiency gains’ [08 May 2017]
- General election 2017: Conservatives pledge to end mental health 'injustice' [07 May 2017]
- Britons ready to pay more council tax to fund social care [06 May 2017]
- LGA publishes 10-point general election wish list [05 May 2017]
- Councils could raise enough money to reverse social care cuts [04 May 2017]
- Core Cities: Government must make devolution ‘more than a soundbite’ [03 May 2017]
- Theresa May faces first uprising of election as Tories urge PM to abandon school funding shake-up [03 May 2017]
- Fly-tipping epidemic costs taxpayers £600 million a year [03 May 2017]
- Magnificent Sevenoaks [02 May 2017]
- Schools cutting mental health services to plug funding gaps, warn MPs [02 May 2017]
- Jeremy Corbyn vows to block £3bn of Tory 'tax breaks for the rich' and use cash for new police [01 May 2017]
- GDP figures: The accidental rebalancing of the UK economy [28 Apr 2017]
- UK economy grew by 0.3% as service sector slows [28 Apr 2017]
- School cutbacks put 'education system at risk' [28 Apr 2017]
- Ministers lose pollution strategy delay bid [27 Apr 2017]
- Better Care Fund failed to ease care crisis and was 'little more than a ruse' [27 Apr 2017]
- Government accounts 'failing to explain spending' [27 Apr 2017]
- PAC: Government spending ‘over the odds’ on creating free schools [26 Apr 2017]
- Birmingham school makes day 30 minutes shorter because of education funding cuts [26 Apr 2017]
- MPs question government's 'grip' on new school places [26 Apr 2017]
- Cuts are 'dismantling' neighbourhood services, warns report [25 Apr 2017]
- Tory manifesto will attempt to address social care crisis, Theresa May hints [25 Apr 2017]
- Metro mayors sound great. But they can’t save local parks and pools [25 Apr 2017]
- Minister makes U-turn over £300m business rates relief fund [24 Apr 2017]
- Patient waits four years to leave hospital [24 Apr 2017]
- Theresa May should drop the state pension ‘triple lock’ [23 Apr 2017]
- Snap election delays £300m relief package for small businesses [22 Apr 2017]
- Schools locked into expensive contracts may find their only option is to cut staff [21 Apr 2017]
- Private parking firms pursue one million more motorists [21 Apr 2017]
- Del Boy council scheme to sell bottled park water [20 Apr 2017]
- Public services pressures the next government can’t ignore [19 Apr 2017]
- Housing problems causing mental illness, says charity [19 Apr 2017]
- General election: MPs ready to approve snap poll on 8 June [19 Apr 2017]
- Thousands of children miss out on first choice of primary school [18 Apr 2017]
- May to seek snap election for 8 June [18 Apr 2017]
- Revolution in council lending could tackle irresponsible borrowing [13 Apr 2017]
- Hundreds of children's playgrounds in England close due to cuts [13 Apr 2017]
- Next wave of free schools approved [12 Apr 2017]
- What we need is a national social care service [11 Apr 2017]
- Parents facing fines over term-time holidays considering class action against councils who misled them, law firm reveals [11 Apr 2017]
- Essex council taken to court over care home fee rates [11 Apr 2017]
- Anger as 539 council bosses paid more than PM Theresa May [11 Apr 2017]
- UK house price growth 'picking up' [11 Apr 2017]
- UK inflation rate remains at 2.3% [11 Apr 2017]
- Social care system 'beginning to collapse' as 900 carers quit every day [11 Apr 2017]
- Teachers' union urges limits on pay of academy bosses [10 Apr 2017]
- Raise tax on Chelsea tractors and luxury gas-guzzling supercars to pay for diesel scrappage scheme, says MP [10 Apr 2017]
- Labour pledges £10 minimum wage [10 Apr 2017]
- School budget squeeze 'is reducing pupils' subject choice' [10 Apr 2017]
- Speed bumps could disappear from UK roads as part of new plan to cut pollution [09 Apr 2017]
- Half of councils yet to publish a Local Plan warns report [07 Apr 2017]
- Councils invited to bid for share of £490m road investment fund [07 Apr 2017]
- Landlords earn millions in benefits for micro‑flats [07 Apr 2017]
- DCLG to consult councils on spending model for Troubled Families scheme [06 Apr 2017]
- Jeremy Corbyn says Labour will impose VAT on private school fees to pay for free school meals [06 Apr 2017]
- New Enterprise Zones ‘go live’ [05 Apr 2017]
- Derby school support staff vote for council pay offer [05 Apr 2017]
- One in 10 councils slash funding for social care, report finds [05 Apr 2017]
- CIPFA: Brexit has potential to spark radical reform in public services [04 Apr 2017]
- Schools to receive £2.4bn cash injection [04 Apr 2017]
- School funding cuts to hit poorer areas harder, says Labour [03 Apr 2017]
- Two million workers receive 4% pay rise [31 Mar 2017]
- Nearly half UK care home workers leave within a year, finds report [31 Mar 2017]
- William Eichler 30 March 2017 Whitehall must not use Brexit as an excuse to centralise power, councils warn [30 Mar 2017]
- Watchdog says government lacks proof business rates retention will boost economic growth [30 Mar 2017]
- LGA: Councils should use business rates retention to prop up struggling services [29 Mar 2017]
- Surrey to quit LGA and CCN [29 Mar 2017]
- Business rate retention plans could come up short, auditors warn [29 Mar 2017]
- Councils face business rates cash crisis [29 Mar 2017]
- ‘Communities provide the best solutions to their own problems’ [29 Mar 2017]
- Cash cuts 'threaten school standards', say MPs [29 Mar 2017]
- Potholes 'the talk of the canteen' [28 Mar 2017]
- Communities should have say in future of local pubs, Labour says [28 Mar 2017]
- Brexit risks sidelining grammar schools, says Nicky Morgan [27 Mar 2017]
- The 22 local authorities freezing council tax – see if yours makes the list [27 Mar 2017]
- Council tax bills to rise in nine out of 10 English local authorities [27 Mar 2017]
- Government announces £32m for estate regeneration [24 Mar 2017]
- Kent’s 'super council' plans put on hold [23 Mar 2017]
- Surrey leader to quit LGA role [23 Mar 2017]
- Councils call for full control on how to spend social care funding [23 Mar 2017]
- Higher fuel prices take toll on retail sales [23 Mar 2017]
- Bed delay transfer figures reveal areas worst affected [23 Mar 2017]
- Drop in teacher training recruits revealed [23 Mar 2017]
- School governors point to 'diabolical' budget squeeze [22 Mar 2017]
- UK inflation rate leaps to 2.3% [21 Mar 2017]
- MPs slam funding crisis and 'postcode lottery' of children's services [20 Mar 2017]
- 'Lack of money' prompts care firms to end council contracts [20 Mar 2017]
- Looming countryside health crisis as stoic elderly 'won't make a fuss' [18 Mar 2017]
- A third of upper-tier councils facing ‘severe financial challenges’ [17 Mar 2017]
- School transport cuts causing 'distress and upheaval' [17 Mar 2017]
- Is robotics a solution to the growing needs of the elderly? [17 Mar 2017]
- Every secondary school faces losing six teachers - report [17 Mar 2017]
- Inter-authority lending rockets by £1bn [16 Mar 2017]
- Commercialisation drives review of Prudential Code [16 Mar 2017]
- Business rates relief secure after NICs u-turn [16 Mar 2017]
- Lib Dems call for 1p income tax rise to provide NHS funding boost [16 Mar 2017]
- Activists to challenge council pension boycott restrictions in High Court [16 Mar 2017]
- School funding cuts 'will leave councils unable to meet legal obligations' [16 Mar 2017]
- 'Transport deserts' as hundreds of bus routes are scrapped because of Government cuts [16 Mar 2017]
- Second major 2015 Tory manifesto pledge dropped in a week [16 Mar 2017]
- Councils paying staff £15m for trade union time [14 Mar 2017]
- Public sector workers earn more than their private sector peers, analysis reveals [13 Mar 2017]
- Tory councils warn on school funding [13 Mar 2017]
- Extra social care funding welcome, but ‘bare minimum’ to shore up system [09 Mar 2017]
- Budget National Insurance rises 'make system fairer' [09 Mar 2017]
- Budget 2017: What it means for motorists - £800 million boost in fight against congestion [08 Mar 2017]
- Budget is out of touch, says Jeremy Corbyn [08 Mar 2017]
- Leaked tape reveals Surrey's council tax government 'deal' [07 Mar 2017]
- Budget 2017: Hammond's 'upbeat' message over Brexit future [07 Mar 2017]
- Rethink rates now or face retail disaster, shops tell chancellor [07 Mar 2017]
- Dubs amendment: Tory backing for council refugee audit [07 Mar 2017]
- Grammar schools: Budget to include funds for new free schools [07 Mar 2017]
- Councils spend £2m a day on temporary accommodation say town hall chiefs [06 Mar 2017]
- Spring Budget will not be a 'show fest' [06 Mar 2017]
- NHS denied budget windfall as Hammond saves for Brexit fund [06 Mar 2017]
- Chancellor plans tax rise to fund budget giveaways [06 Mar 2017]
- Vocational training shake-up 'most ambitious since A-levels' [05 Mar 2017]
- Budget 2017: No 'spending sprees', Hammond warns [05 Mar 2017]
- Tory spending pledges on police, education and childcare 'at risk' [03 Mar 2017]
- Business rates: Sajid Javid considers rates discount plan [03 Mar 2017]
- Funding plan will hit poor pupils hardest - campaigners [03 Mar 2017]
- Social care crisis: Councils to get more cash amid possible backbench revolt [02 Mar 2017]
- One in ten councils to cut comms teams this year [01 Mar 2017]
- Nearly 150,000 care and health jobs at risk due to Brexit says TUC [01 Mar 2017]
- Rural areas lose in ‘unfair’ funding of elderly care [01 Mar 2017]
- Families 'struggle to get first-place secondary school' [01 Mar 2017]
- Councils 'face funding gap' to fix roads [28 Feb 2017]
- MPs cast doubt on benefits of multi-academy trust expansion for schools [28 Feb 2017]
- Council to save £94m after axing high interest loans [28 Feb 2017]
- State pension age 'could rise above lifespan' in poorer areas, say MPs [28 Feb 2017]
- Let councils run academy chains, say MPs [28 Feb 2017]
- ‘Death taxes’ on inheritance could pay for social care [28 Feb 2017]
- Sugary drinks levy will earn schools £415m [28 Feb 2017]
- The challenges for innovative procurement [27 Feb 2017]
- Government looks for new spending cuts of up to 6% [27 Feb 2017]
- Local government: ever the bridesmaid [27 Feb 2017]
- Social mobility: Poorer children 'making less progress' [27 Feb 2017]
- Colleges seek academy status for the tax breaks [27 Feb 2017]
- Older teenagers face biggest funding cuts, says think tank [27 Feb 2017]
- Business rates a 'ticking time bomb' for small firms [27 Feb 2017]
- Cash boost to ease crisis in social care [26 Feb 2017]
- 'NHS cuts have gone too far...and the revamp of business rates must go ahead': Lord Kerslake has some blunt warnings for the Government [25 Feb 2017]
- 10 charts that show what’s gone wrong with social care [24 Feb 2017]
- My Shop: How business rates are hitting home [24 Feb 2017]
- Cuts deeper than Thatcher ever tried [24 Feb 2017]
- Easing impact of revaluation could undermine business rates devolution [23 Feb 2017]
- Communities secretary to ‘rethink’ business rates revaluation [23 Feb 2017]
- Parish council tax bills rise despite squeeze [23 Feb 2017]
- Successful business rate appeals falling, new figures show [23 Feb 2017]
- South West gets £191m cash boost [23 Feb 2017]
- Services failing children with complex needs as national data ‘not fit for purpose’ [23 Feb 2017]
- School funding changes 'risk injustice' [23 Feb 2017]
- Taxes should be spent on improving school buildings not opening free schools, MPs say [22 Feb 2017]
- Sajid Javid: Budget help for firms hit by rates rise [22 Feb 2017]
- PMQs: Theresa May suggests more business rate help [22 Feb 2017]
- Government spending billions on free schools while existing schools crumble [22 Feb 2017]
- Disabled children in England 'finding it increasingly hard to access council care' [22 Feb 2017]
- British roads are worse than Oman’s [22 Feb 2017]
- Tory cuts slice £1bn off real spending on social care [21 Feb 2017]
- Government finances record £9.4bn surplus in January [21 Feb 2017]
- Councils hit out at lack of new money in final settlement [21 Feb 2017]
- Minister under fire from own MPs over business rates 'misinformation' [21 Feb 2017]
- Academic selection: Policy group criticises 'negative impact' [21 Feb 2017]
- Teacher shortage getting worse, say MPs [21 Feb 2017]
- Council funding freeze 'means cuts to many essential services' [21 Feb 2017]
- Councils going bankrupt? Don’t be Scilly! [20 Feb 2017]
- Outrage from employers’ groups at ‘illegal’ changes to business rate appeals [20 Feb 2017]
- Business rates blow to be 'softened' in the Budget [20 Feb 2017]
- Council taxes set to rise by almost 5% across the country to pay for more social care but other services will still be cut [20 Feb 2017]
- Philip Hammond 'listening' to business rates concerns [20 Feb 2017]
- Javid stands firm on business rate change [20 Feb 2017]
- Upcoming council tax rises not enough to stem social care crisis, LGA warns [20 Feb 2017]
- One in four UK families have less than £95 in savings, report finds [20 Feb 2017]
- More than half UK investment in transport is in London, says study [20 Feb 2017]
- Council tax to rise while services cut, says LGA [20 Feb 2017]
- Small shops recoil in the face of business rates that will more than double [18 Feb 2017]
- Liverpool council to axe 300 jobs to plug £90m funding gap [17 Feb 2017]
- Social care cuts linked to 30,000 excess deaths [17 Feb 2017]
- LGA: Proper needs assessment must underpin 100% business rates retention [16 Feb 2017]
- Senior Tory urges Philip Hammond to protect businesses from 'looming nightmare' of rate rises [16 Feb 2017]
- School budget cuts will ‘damage’ UK economy, councils warn [16 Feb 2017]
- Social care system at risk of collapse warns report [16 Feb 2017]
- Kerslake: Devolving Treasury powers from Whitehall vital for UK [15 Feb 2017]
- Rising business rates close four pubs a day [15 Feb 2017]
- NHS to be hit by crippling business rates rise, analysis finds [15 Feb 2017]
- Tax cut for Amazon as high street shops suffer [15 Feb 2017]
- Local authority announces proposed council tax cuts [14 Feb 2017]
- 'Council tax bombshell' will see rates rocket 25% in the next three years [14 Feb 2017]
- Councils banned from 'unnecessary' boycotts [13 Feb 2017]
- Grammars 'unnecessary distraction', say MPs [13 Feb 2017]
- Pubs and restaurants want more relief over business rates [13 Feb 2017]
- High street revolt over rates rise [13 Feb 2017]
- One in four care homes rated 'bad' or 'poor' by residents and their families [13 Feb 2017]
- Parents on zero-hour contracts 'could miss out on free childcare' [12 Feb 2017]
- Local authorities face ‘collapse of vital services’ due to underfunding [10 Feb 2017]
- Call to end ban on council-run schools sponsoring academies [10 Feb 2017]
- Our budget next year isn’t enough, say most councils [10 Feb 2017]
- Unqualified librarians and support staff asked to give lessons amid teacher shortage [10 Feb 2017]
- NHS Health Check: Hunt says NHS problems 'unacceptable' [10 Feb 2017]
- Surrey’s cancelled referendum: good for Surrey, no change for everyone else [09 Feb 2017]
- Customer satisfaction in local public services increases [09 Feb 2017]
- 'New grammars by 2020' reveal heads after meeting ministers [09 Feb 2017]
- Council tax hikes planned 'across England' [08 Feb 2017]
- All councils need more cash [opinion] [08 Feb 2017]
- Corbyn accuses Tories of ‘sweetheart deal’ with council [08 Feb 2017]
- Jeremy Corbyn alleges Surrey 'sweetheart deal' on tax [08 Feb 2017]
- Standardised housing need measure to decide infrastructure spend [07 Feb 2017]
- ‘The government must unlock the money. Because the care crisis is now’ [07 Feb 2017]
- Surrey council abandons plan to raise council tax by 15% [07 Feb 2017]
- IR35: Off Payroll working in the public sector [06 Feb 2017]
- Free nursery places subsidising the rich, report says [06 Feb 2017]
- Robots 'could replace 250,000 public sector workers' [06 Feb 2017]
- Millions face 5% council tax rise as a third of authorities plan to raise bills by the maximum amount - three times higher than inflation [05 Feb 2017]
- The Northern Powerhouse is going up a gear. Let’s all back this plan to make the north great [03 Feb 2017]
- Schools have no funds to train teachers, says study [03 Feb 2017]
- Councils should be forced to fix potholes immediately, Court of Appeal rules [02 Feb 2017]
- Libraries minister promises to act if councils cannot justify cuts [01 Feb 2017]
- Surrey Council tax rise of 15% approved before public vote [01 Feb 2017]
- Dorset councils agree to proceed with unitary reforms [01 Feb 2017]
- Local authorities fear legal action due to care funding shortfall [01 Feb 2017]
- Half of academies fall short on funding [01 Feb 2017]
- Apprenticeship targets 'poor value for money', says IFS [31 Jan 2017]
- Parents responsible for care of their elderly mothers and fathers as much as their own children, minister says [31 Jan 2017]
- Councils may cut social care provision due to underfunding, LGA says [30 Jan 2017]
- Robots could help solve social care crisis, say academics [30 Jan 2017]
- Homeless spikes installed to stop people sleeping rough in city centre [29 Jan 2017]
- Term-time holiday fines are under review in some areas [29 Jan 2017]
- Councils warn of £5.8 billion black hole without more social care cash from Government [27 Jan 2017]
- Homelessness reduction bill: a small step in the right direction [27 Jan 2017]
- Treasury takes back £384m school funding [27 Jan 2017]
- Petition demands government abandon tax rule targeting interims [26 Jan 2017]
- The Guardian view on local government: put up or shut up [opinion] [26 Jan 2017]
- UK economy grows by 0.6% in fourth quarter [26 Jan 2017]
- Another county looking for savings in new unitary council proposal [25 Jan 2017]
- Surrey's referendum will deliver a verdict on ministers' approach to social care [25 Jan 2017]
- Public service delivery should be ‘local by default’, argues community group [25 Jan 2017]
- Number of rough sleepers rises at an 'appalling rate' says charity [25 Jan 2017]
- Care homes rely on ‘hidden tax’ of £1.3bn to stay open [25 Jan 2017]
- Grammar schools 'may ask parents for hundreds of pounds a year' [25 Jan 2017]
- Road use charges should be tailored to drivers, says report [24 Jan 2017]
- Supporting local government [24 Jan 2017]
- One in 10 nursery schools in England face closure within months [24 Jan 2017]
- Government borrowing falls in December [24 Jan 2017]
- Councils call for ‘greater freedom and funding’ to deliver industrial strategy [24 Jan 2017]
- NHS bosses want to force patients into care homes [24 Jan 2017]
- It’s a crisis indeed when the social care rebels are Tories [opinion] [24 Jan 2017]
- Bookies may sue if stake is capped at £2 [23 Jan 2017]
- Scandal of inadequate apprenticeships [23 Jan 2017]
- Whitehall’s industrial strategy must be ‘locally led’, think tank says [23 Jan 2017]
- GOV: Building our Industrial Strategy [23 Jan 2017]
- Devolution risks being ‘undermined’ if Whitehall tries to performance-manage mayors [23 Jan 2017]
- Town hall leaders want more devolution as Theresa May launches industrial strategy [23 Jan 2017]
- Punitive business rates threaten rural way of life [23 Jan 2017]
- School budgets near breaking point, say head teachers [23 Jan 2017]
- All public service contracting ‘should be paused’ [22 Jan 2017]
- Anger at nearly £4k disabled parking bay charge [22 Jan 2017]
- Rule changes pose major threat to investment and lending plans [20 Jan 2017]
- Free childcare plan faces places pinch, warns lobby group [20 Jan 2017]
- Ministers back down in legal battle over disability benefits [19 Jan 2017]
- Grammar schools lose top spots after league table shakeup [19 Jan 2017]
- Jeremy Hunt's council to hold referendum on 15% council tax rise to fund social care [19 Jan 2017]
- The Government has dropped its one million new homes target, report claims [19 Jan 2017]
- Four councils set to receive funding for post-Grenfell safety works [18 Jan 2017]
- Parents 'shelling out for free nursery scheme' [18 Jan 2017]
- Stretched NHS and social care 'needs more money pumped in to ease pressure' [18 Jan 2017]
- NHS will need £88bn extra by 2067, says OBR forecast [17 Jan 2017]
- Councils get £48m to expand homelessness provision [17 Jan 2017]
- UK inflation rate drops back to 3% [16 Jan 2017]
- Theresa May has handed the NHS crisis to the regions - here's why that should worry us all [opinion] [16 Jan 2017]
- ‘Build houses in same way as cars to tackle shortage’ [16 Jan 2017]
- Union urges council staff to reject pay offer [15 Jan 2017]
- Roads funding information pack [13 Jan 2017]
- DfT announces £1.2bn for local authority roads in 2017/18 [13 Jan 2017]
- First-time home buyers at highest level since 2007, Halifax says [13 Jan 2017]
- Northants s151 hits back at Daventry’s call for government intervention [13 Jan 2017]
- London health devolution MoU due imminently [12 Jan 2017]
- Fattened precept will still ‘do nothing’ to address London social care gap [12 Jan 2017]
- Businesses unhappy with support from local councils, survey shows [12 Jan 2017]
- NHS bed-blocking rises 42% in a year, new figures show [12 Jan 2017]
- NAO investigates business rates retention plan [12 Jan 2017]
- Westminster exports its homeless locals [12 Jan 2017]
- Council ‘struggling’ to resettle refugees [11 Jan 2017]
- NHS England chief contradicts May over spending [11 Jan 2017]
- NHS hospitals in England face £322m tax bill increase from April [11 Jan 2017]
- Top doctors tell Health Secretary to tackle A&E crisis as 18,000 patients are left stranded on trolleys in ONE week [11 Jan 2017]
- One in five councils still using ‘unsafe flying care visits’ [10 Jan 2017]
- One blunt heckler has revealed just how much the UK economy is failing us [opinion] [10 Jan 2017]
- Ofsted chief criticises plan for grammars [10 Jan 2017]
- Look beyond Whitehall to solve our huge social problems [10 Jan 2017]
- Will we see more staff freezes to meet the financial challenge? [09 Jan 2017]
- Councils could face £14bn pothole repair bill by 2019 [09 Jan 2017]
- Councils oppose tax increases to fund elderly care [09 Jan 2017]
- Government opens applications for £7bn affordable homes fund [06 Jan 2017]
- LGA calls for small council-maintained schools to be exempt from apprenticeship levy [06 Jan 2017]
- Blocked beds blight mental health care [06 Jan 2017]
- Schools to be pushed to breaking point by levy, say councils [06 Jan 2017]
- MPs urge ‘swift’ review on social care [06 Jan 2017]
- New money for affordable homes released [05 Jan 2017]
- Daventry calls for government to rescue Northants finances [05 Jan 2017]
- What does 2017 hold for public services? [04 Jan 2017]
- Goodbye 2016, and a not so warm welcome to 2017 (Comment) [04 Jan 2017]
- Surrey is an example of why councils need fiscal freedoms [02 Jan 2017]
- UK's £1bn foreign aid cashpoint [02 Jan 2017]
- 2016
-
- Experts say the Government must refund £1BN after overcharging on business rates [31 Dec 2016]
- Education grant cuts would put school improvements at risk, councils warn [30 Dec 2016]
- Business leaders warn of North-South divide as Government tax review reveals sweeping changes [30 Dec 2016]
- Double-digit council tax increases planned to fund growing social-care crisis [29 Dec 2016]
- Government's 'paltry' concession on business rates revealed [28 Dec 2016]
- .Third of councils face social care funding cut after 'misleading' government changes, Andy Burnham says [28 Dec 2016]
- Bed blocking costs NHS £455MILLION a year as delayed discharges more than double [27 Dec 2016]
- Town halls pay £12m to repair cars damaged by potholes [25 Dec 2016]
- Council to pay damages for keeping children in care ‘too long’ [22 Dec 2016]
- The rise of Generation Rent: number of young homeowners halved in the last 20 years [22 Dec 2016]
- CBI calls for barrier-free trade with EU after Brexit [21 Dec 2016]
- Government borrowing falls less than expected in November [21 Dec 2016]
- DCLG publish latest Business Rates Information letter [20 Dec 2016]
- No early Christmas presents [opinion] [20 Dec 2016]
- High Court backs North Yorkshire CC over fracking decision [20 Dec 2016]
- Fears over ‘opaque’ regional funds [20 Dec 2016]
- Public library loans show dramatic fall in last two years [19 Dec 2016]
- Social care’s moral majority is a losing one [opinion] [19 Dec 2016]
- ​John McDonnell says emergency funds could solve social care crisis [18 Dec 2016]
- Corbyn calls for talks with PM on social care funding [17 Dec 2016]
- New homes funding diverted to pay for social care [16 Dec 2016]
- Councils angry at government's social care offer [15 Dec 2016]
- Social care: Ministers to set out funding plans [15 Dec 2016]
- Social care levy is 'Theresa May's poor tax', says council boss [14 Dec 2016]
- NHS chief: bus passes and pensions must be up for discussion to tackle social care crisis [14 Dec 2016]
- PMQs: Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May social care 'crisis' clash [14 Dec 2016]
- Ministers have failed to explain where schools will find savings, watchdog says [14 Dec 2016]
- Labour says it will end rough sleeping [14 Dec 2016]
- Schools face cuts of £3bn, says watchdog [14 Dec 2016]
- Why council tax hike for care raises peanuts [13 Dec 2016]
- May plans social care shakeup to ease pressure on councils [13 Dec 2016]
- NAO slams CCS for ‘severely’ underestimating joint buying difficulties [13 Dec 2016]
- Councils offered huge ‘bribes’ to build homes on green belt [13 Dec 2016]
- Planning department cuts make housing targets impossible, LGiU finds [13 Dec 2016]
- Library closures 'will double unless immediate action is taken' [12 Dec 2016]
- Birmingham council chief: years of cuts could have catastrophic consequences [12 Dec 2016]
- Ministers considering council tax precept rise to save adult social care [12 Dec 2016]
- Ministers consider council tax rise to cover social care funding [12 Dec 2016]
- Councils call for reversal of cut to education services grant [12 Dec 2016]
- The economy after Brexit: encouragingly resilient or still a case of ‘wait and see’? [opinion] [12 Dec 2016]
- Contraceptive cuts: Warning over rise in abortions [12 Dec 2016]
- UK's current GDP growth rate won't last, warns business body [12 Dec 2016]
- Ministers consider council tax rise to cover social care funding [12 Dec 2016]
- Councils defend record on mental health funding [09 Dec 2016]
- ‘Devastating’ lack of social care causing problems for the disabled [09 Dec 2016]
- Transport boost as councils collect record £750m surplus from parking charges [09 Dec 2016]
- Library funding falls by another £25m, CIPFA finds [08 Dec 2016]
- Councils urged to bid for estate regeneration funding [08 Dec 2016]
- Local authorities 'spend close to nothing on mental health' [08 Dec 2016]
- UK library budgets fall by £25m in a year [08 Dec 2016]
- Dorset residents support plans to reduce council numbers [07 Dec 2016]
- Landlords charging renters extra fees for new mandatory passport checks [07 Dec 2016]
- Increasing risk CQC will have to notify councils of failing care providers [07 Dec 2016]
- Newcastle unveils management shake-up to save £500,000 [07 Dec 2016]
- The right to choose your own care is the latest casualty of council cuts [opinion] [07 Dec 2016]
- Children’s services at ‘tipping point’ as austerity agenda continues [06 Dec 2016]
- Home care crisis as more private companies quit: The elderly are being put at risk as firms abandon services, watchdog warns [06 Dec 2016]
- New manifesto for social care is essential – service users should write it [06 Dec 2016]
- Chris Grayling to unveil plans for new fully privatised railway line [06 Dec 2016]
- UK infrastructure pipeline grows to £500bn [05 Dec 2016]
- Female dementia sufferers get worse medical treatment than men [05 Dec 2016]
- Cost of social care has rocketed over last year, analysis shows [05 Dec 2016]
- Sugar tax could mean rise in general taxation, pressure group claims [05 Dec 2016]
- Teachers welcome £140m school improvement fund, but demand more details [02 Dec 2016]
- UK congestion worst in Europe and set to cost £62bn [02 Dec 2016]
- If austerity is over, why can’t Britain afford proper social care? [opinion] [02 Dec 2016]
- Councils back new vision for library services [01 Dec 2016]
- Libraries receive £4m fund as part of strategy to help secure their future [01 Dec 2016]
- A new Oxford to Cambridge Expressway could cost up to £3.5bn, it has emerged. [01 Dec 2016]
- More than 250,000 are homeless in England - Shelter [01 Dec 2016]
- Homeless people being denied mental health services [30 Nov 2016]
- Tens of thousands of elderly hit by ‘out-of-the-blue’ care home bills [30 Nov 2016]
- What if the NHS had to balance its books like local government? [opinion] [30 Nov 2016]
- Council abandons plans to cut staff pay [30 Nov 2016]
- Care homes are denied extra cash even after council tax hike: town halls accused of fuelling social care crisis by refusing to pass money on [29 Nov 2016]
- Councils say infrastructure costs are greatest barrier to inward investment [29 Nov 2016]
- Economic forecasts are not 'lunatic' [29 Nov 2016]
- Minimum wage hike 'could be a disaster for care homes' [29 Nov 2016]
- State pension to rise by 2.5% in April 2017 [29 Nov 2016]
- Hammond facing growing Tory rebellion over social care crisis [29 Nov 2016]
- The Government has announced £175m ‘to improve the 50 most dangerous roads in the country’. [28 Nov 2016]
- We need a New Deal for social care [opinion] [28 Nov 2016]
- Councils could face new duty to prevent homelessness [28 Nov 2016]
- National Living Wage: OECD urges caution over increase [28 Nov 2016]
- Social care cash shortfall 'devastating', ministers warned [27 Nov 2016]
- Autumn Statement: 'Mistake' not to invest in social care, ex-minister says [27 Nov 2016]
- Local government 'worried' about what wasn't in Autumn Statement [24 Nov 2016]
- Autumn Statement: Row as care funding omitted from measures [24 Nov 2016]
- Hammond knows Britain’s regional imbalance is risky. Why didn’t he fix it? [opinion] [24 Nov 2016]
- Devolution takes a £1.8bn step forward [24 Nov 2016]
- Autumn Statement: Government defends post-Brexit vote economy forecasts [24 Nov 2016]
- What was missing from the Autumn Statement [23 Nov 2016]
- Philip Hammond uses Autumn Statement to steel UK for £122bn budget black hole and post-Brexit gloom [23 Nov 2016]
- Labour pours scorn over autumn statement for ignoring sick and old [23 Nov 2016]
- Autumn Statement 2016 summary: Key points at-a-glance [23 Nov 2016]
- Greater Birmingham launches plan to create 250,000 jobs by 2030 [23 Nov 2016]
- Autumn Statement to include wages and house building announcements [23 Nov 2016]
- The social care system needs a rescue package – to help the NHS survive [22 Nov 2016]
- Lambeth lays out £46.5m savings plan to meet ‘unprecedented’ budget cuts [22 Nov 2016]
- Norfolk and Suffolk devolution deal latest to be withdrawn [22 Nov 2016]
- Boost for Hammond as public finances in better shape than expected [22 Nov 2016]
- Council voices 'deep concerns' over roll-out of Universal Credit [22 Nov 2016]
- Government borrowing falls on record October tax take [22 Nov 2016]
- Over half of councils targeting debtors’ homes to recover unpaid tax [21 Nov 2016]
- Friends of the Earth warn of flood funding 'betrayal' [21 Nov 2016]
- Autumn Statement: Philip Hammond's political challenge [21 Nov 2016]
- Theresa May will say her hands are tied this week. Don’t be bamboozled [opinion] [21 Nov 2016]
- Four out of five councils not meeting older people’s care needs [21 Nov 2016]
- Campaigners welcome Autumn Statement road fund, but urge ‘fix it first’ approach [21 Nov 2016]
- 'Pay to stay' social housing plan dropped [21 Nov 2016]
- Large-scale city-region investment vital to stop graduate ‘brain drain’ [21 Nov 2016]
- May hints at transition deal on Brexit to avoid 'cliff edge' for business [21 Nov 2016]
- Conservative councils reluctant to grant planning permission [21 Nov 2016]
- Business rates reforms ‘wildly unfair’ on small businesses [21 Nov 2016]
- Cities suffer ‘brain drain’ as graduates move to London [21 Nov 2016]
- Britain sleepwalking into care crisis, Ros Altmann warns [21 Nov 2016]
- Up to a third of homeless young people turned away when they seek help from their local council, research reveals [21 Nov 2016]
- Calls to legalise cannabis to boost tax income and save millions [21 Nov 2016]
- Autumn Statement: UK economy must be watertight, says Hammond [20 Nov 2016]
- DCLG accused of ‘alarming’ lack of understanding of council pressures [18 Nov 2016]
- Spending by English local authorities on highways and transport fell by 4.6% in 2015/16, new Government statistics have confirmed. [18 Nov 2016]
- Government ‘complacent’ over risks posed by council moves into commercial activity [17 Nov 2016]
- Chancellor Philip Hammond 'still aspires for surplus' [17 Nov 2016]
- No wonder social care is failing our sick and elderly, if this is how it treats its workers [17 Nov 2016]
- 'Picking up the pieces' from social problems costs billions [17 Nov 2016]
- Local government reorganisation: the financial case for maintaining county boundaries [16 Nov 2016]
- Bus operators are dismayed that the Welsh Government will make another real-terms cut to bus funding next year while earmarking £300,000 for a controversial rural rail project study. [16 Nov 2016]
- Unison urges government to spend business rates windfall on social care [16 Nov 2016]
- UK councils: Post-Brexit must emphasise local powers, not national identity [16 Nov 2016]
- Unison: business rates windfall should be spent on social care [16 Nov 2016]
- Brexit should bring devolution of more powers, council leaders say [16 Nov 2016]
- Counties cry 'foul' after minister links growth fund to metro mayors [15 Nov 2016]
- Up to £15bn to be spent on 'future-proofing' economy against Brexit [15 Nov 2016]
- Report sets out case for more independent local government [14 Nov 2016]
- Councils call for concessionary fares funding after 12% bus service cuts [14 Nov 2016]
- Bath and North East Somerset awards £700m integrated care contract to Virgin [14 Nov 2016]
- The Guardian view on social care: higher taxes or worse services [13 Nov 2016]
- Workers 'cutting hours' because of childcare costs [13 Nov 2016]
- Tories join NHS chiefs in call for increased social care funding [12 Nov 2016]
- ‘Desperate’ Liverpool considering referendum on 10% council tax rise [11 Nov 2016]
- Minister unveils £18m housing boost [11 Nov 2016]
- A day in the life of local government – share your pictures [11 Nov 2016]
- Apprenticeships 'must address distinct needs of teens' [10 Nov 2016]
- Solace boss: Devolution feels more like ‘de-centralised administration’ [10 Nov 2016]
- Municipals call for chancellor to ease ‘disproportionate’ council cuts [09 Nov 2016]
- Better transport in county council areas [08 Nov 2016]
- Give councils financial incentive to merge says report [08 Nov 2016]
- £1bn fund for community ownership needed to save public assets – Locality [08 Nov 2016]
- UK public finances to be '£25bn worse off' by 2020 [08 Nov 2016]
- Lower benefits cap comes into force [07 Nov 2016]
- Local government reorganisation: switch to unitaries ‘could save £2.9bn’ [03 Nov 2016]
- Funding of £20m to support domestic abuse victims [03 Nov 2016]
- School grant cuts to leave counties with ‘virtually non-existent’ improvement budgets [02 Nov 2016]
- Abolish 20 taxes and set 15% flat rate of income tax in UK, says report [02 Nov 2016]
- Inflation 'set to soar to 4% by late 2017' [02 Nov 2016]
- End of education grants ‘academisation by back door’ [01 Nov 2016]
- Give councils small share of fuel duty to solve road repair backlog, LGA says [31 Oct 2016]
- Any extra Autumn Statement cash must go to social care first, MPs tell chancellor [31 Oct 2016]
- Metro mayors should be given ‘radical housing powers’ [31 Oct 2016]
- North faces housing crisis unless powers are devolved, says thinktank [31 Oct 2016]
- NHS funds need urgent boost, say MPs [31 Oct 2016]
- New wave of prefabs to tackle housing crisis [30 Oct 2016]
- Libraries that fail to serve communities ‘need to close’, digital charity says [28 Oct 2016]
- Better care integration could stop a quarter of hospital admissions, LGA says [27 Oct 2016]
- Education bill scrapped after series of reversals [27 Oct 2016]
- UK economy grows 0.5% in three months after Brexit vote [27 Oct 2016]
- Counties and mets biggest losers in shift away from local government grant [26 Oct 2016]
- Philip Hammond could face £84bn black hole following Brexit vote [26 Oct 2016]
- Tory council cuts have hit the poor the hardest - as well as Labour areas [26 Oct 2016]
- Councillors must look before they leap into secret NHS cuts plans [opinion] [25 Oct 2016]
- Hotel bills for homeless people run into billions [25 Oct 2016]
- Councils 'don't pay fair price for care' [25 Oct 2016]
- Study says 850,000 UK public sector jobs could be automated by 2030 [25 Oct 2016]
- Councils 'don't pay fair price for care' [25 Oct 2016]
- Buses make people healthier and wealthier, research finds [24 Oct 2016]
- Flood defences 'skewed towards wealthy families and regions' [24 Oct 2016]
- Housing: Councils call for freedoms to build new homes [22 Oct 2016]
- Borrowing outstrips expectations at midpoint of fiscal year [21 Oct 2016]
- Lincolnshire rejects and ‘kills off’ devo deal [21 Oct 2016]
- Are district councils the key to unlocking hospital bed blocking? [opinion] [20 Oct 2016]
- PMQs: Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May on heath spending [video] [19 Oct 2016]
- Welsh local government receives first funding increase since 2013 [19 Oct 2016]
- Lancashire CC rejects ‘unsustainable’ four-year settlement [19 Oct 2016]
- City Deal reaches £100m milestone [19 Oct 2016]
- Government promises £40m to tackle homelessness [18 Oct 2016]
- Councils call for power to administer soft drinks levy [17 Oct 2016]
- London Councils warn of £2bn funding gap by 2020 [17 Oct 2016]
- Swinney: 'Trust' local communities to make own decisions [14 Oct 2016]
- Areas of NHS will implode this winter, expert warns [13 Oct 2016]
- Eight in 10 NHS hospitals not safe enough, amid warnings that care crisis is reaching a 'tipping point' [13 Oct 2016]
- Heathrow is top business rate payer in England and Wales [13 Oct 2016]
- economy and infrastructure 12.10.16 Birmingham backs business rates devolution pilot in West Midlands [12 Oct 2016]
- Birmingham to pilot full business rate retention [11 Oct 2016]
- Integration alone ‘will not solve challenges of social care’ [11 Oct 2016]
- Councils 'face being starved of £2.6bn' as EU funds drain away after Brexit [11 Oct 2016]
- Hard Brexit will cost Treasury up to £66bn a year, ministers are told [11 Oct 2016]
- New shadow devolution minister pledges to 'champion' local government [10 Oct 2016]
- Cuts force council to use volunteers to fill in potholes [07 Oct 2016]
- Adult social care funding explored by Committee [07 Oct 2016]
- Report calls for 'radical new wave of school-building' [07 Oct 2016]
- Fracking given UK go-ahead [07 Oct 2016]
- Councils falling behind on ‘desperately needed’ Care Act reviews [06 Oct 2016]
- Lancashire calls for government support as reserves risk running dry [06 Oct 2016]
- LGPS faces foreign policy restrictions and intervention powers [06 Oct 2016]
- 'Major shift' in economy policy planned [06 Oct 2016]
- UK fracking ruling due to be announced by government [06 Oct 2016]
- Guy Ware: The whacky world of business rates [04 Oct 2016]
- The whacky world of business rates [04 Oct 2016]
- UK faces critical shortage of homes to rent, says Rics [04 Oct 2016]
- IFS: Business rates dependence on London ‘difficult square to circle’ [03 Oct 2016]
- Councils will need ‘significantly more’ flood support than promised this winter [03 Oct 2016]
- IFS: Business rates dependence on London ‘difficult square to circle’ [03 Oct 2016]
- Ministers consider backing new law to prevent people becoming homeless [03 Oct 2016]
- Sajid Javid attacks 'nimbyism' as he calls for 1m new homes [03 Oct 2016]
- Philip Hammond: I'll have different approach to Osborne [03 Oct 2016]
- Brexit: Theresa May to trigger Article 50 by end of March [02 Oct 2016]
- IFS warns councils could be hit with business rate appeals [30 Sep 2016]
- What will the rates revaluation mean for UK business? [30 Sep 2016]
- Osborne’s flagship Help to Buy scheme to close, Hammond confirms [29 Sep 2016]
- Care home residents deprived of liberty in record numbers [28 Sep 2016]
- Labour government would ‘guarantee regional development spending’ [27 Sep 2016]
- New funding formula could lead to loss of early years services in London [26 Sep 2016]
- Councils facing £320m bill for academisation plan [26 Sep 2016]
- Public sector payoffs capped at £95,000 [26 Sep 2016]
- Labour pledges to scrap Right To Buy housing sell-off policy in England [26 Sep 2016]
- Labour will 'replace post-Brexit EU funding' in UK [26 Sep 2016]
- Illnesses associated with lifestyle cost the NHS £11bn [25 Sep 2016]
- Theresa May’s grammar schools plan based on ‘no evidence’, warns biggest study of existing schools [23 Sep 2016]
- Inclusive growth review considers case for prudential borrowing reform [22 Sep 2016]
- Councils ‘building up dangerous levels of debt and risk by investing in commercial ventures’ [22 Sep 2016]
- Four-year settlements for councils could include more grants, says DCLG [21 Sep 2016]
- Brexit could trigger crisis in care for older and disabled people [21 Sep 2016]
- Licencing loophole costing councils millions in unpaid business rates, says LGA [20 Sep 2016]
- Social care funding gap to reach £2.8bn by 2019-20, report finds [16 Sep 2016]
- May urged to not repeat Cameron’s “implausible†spending pledges [15 Sep 2016]
- Care for elderly 'increasingly rationed' in England [15 Sep 2016]
- Public sector employment falls to record low [14 Sep 2016]
- Elected mayor ‘not a done deal’, combined authority insists [14 Sep 2016]
- Councils should take devolved powers now while they still can [13 Sep 2016]
- Voluntary sector ‘must play key devolution role’ [12 Sep 2016]
- Javid takes £900m North East devolution deal 'off the table' [09 Sep 2016]
- The chancellor has indicated that infrastructure such as roads and railways could be in for a spending boost in his Autumn Statement, with an emphasis on ‘modest, rapidly deliverable investments’. [09 Sep 2016]
- Philip Hammond announces Autumn Statement on 23 November [08 Sep 2016]
- Counties and districts voice concerns over business rate pilots [08 Sep 2016]
- Councils in Wales 'will not merge for a decade' [08 Sep 2016]
- Ministers warned not to cut national living wage rises [07 Sep 2016]
- North East devolution in doubt as councils reject Government deal [06 Sep 2016]
- Councils should be given new powers as part of ‘long-term deal’ on poverty [06 Sep 2016]
- Green prescriptions ‘miracle cure’ for obesity, say councils [06 Sep 2016]
- A second generation LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme) [05 Sep 2016]
- Places for 20,000 Syrian refugees found among local authorities [05 Sep 2016]
- Change bill to protect rural bus services, demand transport campaigners [05 Sep 2016]
- Blurring the red and blue [05 Sep 2016]
- Cuts to apprenticeship funding will be 'devastating in deprived areas', Labour MPs say [04 Sep 2016]
- Figures show ‘dramatic’ cuts in frontline services spending [02 Sep 2016]
- CIPFA Opinion - Council accounting: a shift from rules to principles [01 Sep 2016]
- Free school meals putting pressure on small school budgets [31 Aug 2016]
- More Growth Deal funding needed to fill ‘gaps’ in current projects - WYCA [31 Aug 2016]
- Councils call for oversight of academy finances after string of abuses [26 Aug 2016]
- Recycling in Wales reaches record high [25 Aug 2016]
- Business rates consultation causes rancour over valuations [25 Aug 2016]
- CIPFA to issue LGPS asset pool governance guide [24 Aug 2016]
- West Midlands receives multi-millions in devo deal [24 Aug 2016]
- English fire services pay radically different amounts for equipment [24 Aug 2016]
- Calls for more pension advice after study raises concerns over future plans [23 Aug 2016]
- Government announces successful bids to £15 million mental health fund [23 Aug 2016]
- Local government borrowing increases in response to grant cuts [22 Aug 2016]
- ‘Business as usual' amid end of metro mayor rumours [22 Aug 2016]
- May to abandon Osborne’s plan for regional mayors [22 Aug 2016]
- Budget Blow To Philip Hammond As Public Finances Disappoint [19 Aug 2016]
- ONS reports £1bn public sector surplus for July [19 Aug 2016]
- District buys solar farm for new revenue source [19 Aug 2016]
- DCLG and councils should collaborate to avoid service failure, say MPs [18 Aug 2016]
- Business rates ‘bombshell’ could worsen appeals backlog [18 Aug 2016]
- Counties warn of funding uncertainty from business rates localisation [17 Aug 2016]
- Apprenticeship reforms ‘not fit for the 21st century’, warns IPPR [16 Aug 2016]
- Business rates devolution will fail counties without ‘critical’ redesign, CCN says [16 Aug 2016]
- Post-code lottery in care revealed as government publishes dementia 'atlas' of standards across England [16 Aug 2016]
- Every pound of EU funding to undergo 'national interest' test to ensure it benefits Britain [15 Aug 2016]
- Brexit: Government guarantee for post-EU funds [13 Aug 2016]
- Daily charge for utility firms 'would cut roadwork delays', say councils [13 Aug 2016]
- Philip Hammond told to extend UK guarantees on EU grants [13 Aug 2016]
- DfE blasted for ‘irresponsible’ apprenticeship levy as further details revealed [12 Aug 2016]
- May urged to follow in Scotland’s steps with post-Brexit funding guarantees [11 Aug 2016]
- New funding formula for early childcare [11 Aug 2016]
- Top think tank calls for regional investment overhaul [09 Aug 2016]
- Council approves scheme to create hundreds of jobs [09 Aug 2016]
- Elderly should sell homes to fund care, says aide to Theresa May [08 Aug 2016]
- Corbyn: I would put up taxes to fund public sector pay rises [07 Aug 2016]
- Locals may get compensated for new housing [07 Aug 2016]
- 360,000 families afflicted by council tax poverty trap [06 Aug 2016]
- Corbyn pledges to 'insource' council services [05 Aug 2016]
- UK interest rates cut to 0.25% [04 Aug 2016]
- Economic slowdown after Brexit “to lead to jump in borrowing†[02 Aug 2016]
- Outsourcing contracts signed by councils on the rise [01 Aug 2016]
- Chris Buss: How do you solve a problem like £500m? (Opinion) [01 Aug 2016]
- Poverty costs UK billions every year, report reveals [01 Aug 2016]
- ..Thousands of regeneration schemes at risk in wake of Brexit vote, LGA warns [29 Jul 2016]
- Councils must resume house building role, says LGA [28 Jul 2016]
- Hampshire criticises Solent's £900m devolution plans [25 Jul 2016]
- LGA company to negotiate auditors' contracts for councils [25 Jul 2016]
- Councils awarded £30m for environmentally-friendly buses [25 Jul 2016]
- Planning applications for new shops fell 9% in past year [25 Jul 2016]
- Brexit adding to over-stretch on major projects, NAO head warns [22 Jul 2016]
- Philip Hammond prepared to 'reset' George Osborne's economic policy in Autumn Statement [22 Jul 2016]
- April-June public borrowing down £2.3bn on last year [22 Jul 2016]
- PAC: delayed discharge costing NHS £800m [22 Jul 2016]
- Chancellor may 'reset' economic policy in Autumn Statement [22 Jul 2016]
- Sheffield signs multi-million deal with Chinese company [21 Jul 2016]
- New schools funding scheme to be delayed by a year [21 Jul 2016]
- Dementia care in crisis over lack of funding from councils [17 Jul 2016]
- Government Departments and Ministers [16 Jul 2016]
- Javid replaces Clark at DCLG in wide-ranging Cabinet reshuffle [15 Jul 2016]
- Councils should expect no ‘mercy’ from May, union says [14 Jul 2016]
- Council tax rises 'fail to stop care cuts' [13 Jul 2016]
- Clark signals support for further devolution to London [11 Jul 2016]
- 'Cut business rates – and help us cope with Referendum': key groups send urgent plea to Chancellor from 100,000 UK firms [11 Jul 2016]
- Report on free school meals ‘not published’ [10 Jul 2016]
- Academisation not always best for poorest pupils finds research [07 Jul 2016]
- Reform of business rate appeals to be in place next year [07 Jul 2016]
- Clark hints support for devo deal without mayor [07 Jul 2016]
- Councils’ spending hits new low [06 Jul 2016]
- Local government secures seat at EU negotiations [05 Jul 2016]
- Councils need ‘assurances’ over billions in EU funding [05 Jul 2016]
- Social care precept to net councils £382m [01 Jul 2016]
- Osborne 'to abandon 2020 budget surplus target' [01 Jul 2016]
- Brexit 'will make NHS staff shortages worse' [30 Jun 2016]
- Councils to use £1.9bn from reserves to fund services [30 Jun 2016]
- We'll only empty your bins every three weeks: Fear of rats and fly-tipping as councils cut collections [30 Jun 2016]
- County warns its reserves will be gone in two years [27 Jun 2016]
- Councils' cash from EU 'should be guaranteed' if withdrawn [26 Jun 2016]
- Brexit: Council leaders call for key role in replacing EU laws [24 Jun 2016]
- Brexit: Local government facing ‘policy vacuum’ [24 Jun 2016]
- Brexit: Corbyn calls for ‘proper’ council funding after EU vote [24 Jun 2016]
- Brexit: David Cameron to quit after UK votes to leave EU [24 Jun 2016]
- Pound hits lowest level since 1985 [24 Jun 2016]
- May to abandon Osborne’s plan for regional mayors [22 Jun 2016]
- National Procurement Strategy fails to deliver savings for councils [21 Jun 2016]
- Exclusive: New CIHT president calls Govt's devo approach 'unfair' [21 Jun 2016]
- NAO: revenue budgets face ‘fundamental problem’ caused by servicing debt [21 Jun 2016]
- Brexit implications for local government [21 Jun 2016]
- Think tank sets out new model for business rates reform [21 Jun 2016]
- NHS boss says promise of £8bn in extra funding may be far from enough [21 Jun 2016]
- Business rates devolution ‘could fail to incentivise growth’ [20 Jun 2016]
- The Government has admitted it needs to improve its understanding of the capital resourcing issues facing English councils, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. [16 Jun 2016]
- Sponsors lose control of 119 failing academies [15 Jun 2016]
- Free childcare plans 'in jeopardy' [15 Jun 2016]
- Whitehall must tackle problems with reformed business rates system, warn MPs [14 Jun 2016]
- 100 per cent retention of business rates: issues for consideration [14 Jun 2016]
- Council smashes record with submission of accounts [14 Jun 2016]
- Council smashes record with submission of accounts [14 Jun 2016]
- Retail round table meets to discuss business rates [13 Jun 2016]
- Hampshire councils fall out over 'underperforming' accusations [10 Jun 2016]
- Counties call for Better Care Fund to be brought forward [10 Jun 2016]
- Exclusive: ADEPT's warnings over business rates devolution [10 Jun 2016]
- DfT denies devo bias over sustainable transport funds [10 Jun 2016]
- Council leaders accuses Government of 'lack of honesty' over devo deals [10 Jun 2016]
- NHS hit by rise in bed-blocking [10 Jun 2016]
- MPs criticise government over flood protection plans [10 Jun 2016]
- MPs launch inquiry into financial sustainability of adult social care [07 Jun 2016]
- Councils ‘need more funding’ for child refugees care costs [03 Jun 2016]
- Shared services the new normal in local government, says LGA [03 Jun 2016]
- SEND pupils impacted by council budget cuts [02 Jun 2016]
- Losses from rent reductions ‘impossible to calculate’ [02 Jun 2016]
- Councils await response after rejecting NHS claims for rates relief running to millions [02 Jun 2016]
- Care Act failing as councils cut spending, warns disability charity [02 Jun 2016]
- 100 per cent retention of business rates: issues for consideration [01 Jun 2016]
- School funding to fall by 5% in per pupil terms [01 Jun 2016]
- More fiscal freedoms would ‘reduce the risk’ in business rates devolution [26 May 2016]
- Council chiefs fearful of service failures in next three years [26 May 2016]
- County faces legal challenge over cuts to children's centres [25 May 2016]
- North-south school funding gap revealed [23 May 2016]
- Sport England unveils £250m plan to tackle inactivity [19 May 2016]
- LGA: Power over buses should be given to all councils [19 May 2016]
- Council leaders call for urgent reform of business rates appeal system [19 May 2016]
- England's traffic volumes pass pre-recession peak [19 May 2016]
- £821m spent on supply teachers last year [17 May 2016]
- Crisis-hit care homes leave thousands of beds empty [17 May 2016]
- Older pensioners more likely to be living in poverty, warns charity [16 May 2016]
- Plea for funding to cope with child refugees [13 May 2016]
- Universities and councils to collaborate in local growth pilots [13 May 2016]
- Housing and Planning Bill set for Royal Assent [12 May 2016]
- Academy future for all schools still probable, says think-tank [12 May 2016]
- County appoints experts to explore new models of local government [10 May 2016]
- Bucks to consider single unitary council [10 May 2016]
- Councils 'should get foreign aid cash for taking in child refugees' [06 May 2016]
- Government climbdown over forced academies plan in England [06 May 2016]
- Right to Buy extension to cost councils £26m a year [04 May 2016]
- Alcohol consumption has increased in retirees, Government figures reveal [04 May 2016]
- Research warns of 'grim' outlook for council spending [26 Apr 2016]
- Labour blasts 'disgraceful' cuts to deprived councils [26 Apr 2016]
- Local authority schools outperform academies, research suggests [25 Apr 2016]
- Minister prepares to back track on academies plan [25 Apr 2016]
- PMQs: Cameron vows to 'finish the job' on academies [20 Apr 2016]
- Doubling of free childcare 'could force nurseries to close' [20 Apr 2016]
- Four-year settlement unaffected by Budget, confirms Clark [19 Apr 2016]
- Councils seek power to expand class sizes ahead of academisation plan [18 Apr 2016]
- Gap in funding between richest and poorest schools doubled in 20 years, IFS says [15 Apr 2016]
- Councils face fines of £5,000 a day for abandoned roadworks [15 Apr 2016]
- Foreign aid to overtake council funding [15 Apr 2016]
- The road to self-sufficiency [13 Apr 2016]
- Town halls using parking charges to raise cash [13 Apr 2016]
- Local Council Tax support schemes: an independent review [08 Apr 2016]
- Right to buy amendment causes concern over forced sale of housing stock [07 Apr 2016]
- Whitehall should invest '230 times' more to tackle potholes, says LGA [07 Apr 2016]
- £50m pothole fund denounced as 'complete madness' [07 Apr 2016]
- Highways maintenance funding: incentive element, 2016 to 2017 [07 Apr 2016]
- Cash for councils to fill almost 1 million potholes [07 Apr 2016]
- Town halls receive funding to develop digital solutions [06 Apr 2016]
- Libraries lose a quarter of staff as hundreds close [29 Mar 2016]
- Winter floods cost councils £250m, says LGA [29 Mar 2016]
- South East to receive five times more funding than the North per head for flood defences [29 Mar 2016]
- Councils face £11.8bn bill to bring roads up to scratch [24 Mar 2016]
- MPs approve Chancellor George Osborne's Budget [22 Mar 2016]
- Greg Clark offers communities multi-billion pound offer to boost local growth [22 Mar 2016]
- Outgoing council chief executive says he 'longs' for the day council is scrapped [21 Mar 2016]
- Local government reacts to Budget 2016 [21 Mar 2016]
- Going digital offers councils £14.7bn in savings [18 Mar 2016]
- IFS warns on dark outlook for public finances [18 Mar 2016]
- School parent governors to be scrapped [18 Mar 2016]
- 'Black hole' in academy plan, claims Labour [18 Mar 2016]
- Budget 2016: Services at risk as business rate cut reduces town hall revenue [17 Mar 2016]
- Budget brings fresh cuts, both direct and indirect, for public services [16 Mar 2016]
- Budget takes small firms out of business rates [16 Mar 2016]
- George Osborne warns of ‘billions’ more in cuts ahead of the Budget [14 Mar 2016]
- Councils can raise cash by selling surplus assets [11 Mar 2016]
- Councils set to increase council tax by 3.6% on average [11 Mar 2016]
- Finance innovation ‘key to making devolution a success’ [10 Mar 2016]
- MPs reject Sunday trading reforms [10 Mar 2016]
- Essex leader warns on business rate expectations [10 Mar 2016]
- Northamptonshire debates unitary status [08 Mar 2016]
- Public sector staff in line for average 1% pay rise [08 Mar 2016]
- Councils could lose billions under school funding reforms [07 Mar 2016]
- Morgan tackles 'unfair' school funding [07 Mar 2016]
- England's waste rise blamed on 'recycling apathy' [07 Mar 2016]
- Council cuts: Who gets the help to cushion the blow? [03 Mar 2016]
- David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn childcare clash at PMQs [03 Mar 2016]
- Bed blocking problem grows [01 Mar 2016]
- Slicing the business rates cake [29 Feb 2016]
- Make academies expand to help cope with school place demand [29 Feb 2016]
- George Osborne warns of further spending cuts in Budget [27 Feb 2016]
- Shortcut lorry drivers face fines [27 Feb 2016]
- Hospitals seek £1.5bn tax rebate [26 Feb 2016]
- Survey reveals mixed attitude to the devolution of services [26 Feb 2016]
- Cabinet Office makes changes to ensure funding cannot be used to lobby for more funding [25 Feb 2016]
- Unison members reject local government pay deal [25 Feb 2016]
- Shared opportunities: Hampshire’s Carolyn Williamson interviewed [24 Feb 2016]
- Council tax rises 'will not cover' social care shortfall [23 Feb 2016]
- Osborne taxes ‘to kill 40,000 shops’ [15 Feb 2016]
- Scourge of US unions wanted as Ofsted chief [14 Feb 2016]
- Sugar tax ruled out in obesity fight [13 Feb 2016]
- UK's winter floods create 30,000 tonnes of landfill waste [11 Feb 2016]
- MPs vote to approve Local Government Finance Settlement [11 Feb 2016]
- Fears over attendance allowance transfer plans [09 Feb 2016]
- Councils to get extra £300m to ease funding reductions [09 Feb 2016]
- Cutting ever deeper: councils left no choice but to hollow out elderly care [08 Feb 2016]
- MPs revolt over county council cuts [07 Feb 2016]
- Social care crisis needs a Japanese solution [06 Feb 2016]
- Jeremy Corbyn: 'Councils should run local services' [06 Feb 2016]
- The places where it's rather hard to get a bus [06 Feb 2016]
- Ofsted says academy chain is failing pupils [05 Feb 2016]
- 8,500 patients blocking NHS beds every day [05 Feb 2016]
- Union warns £3bn not enough to save care homes from bankruptcy [05 Feb 2016]
- Councils could be ‘breaking the law’ by closing libraries, warn Unite [05 Feb 2016]
- Public sector payoffs capped at £95,000 [05 Feb 2016]
- Police commissioners should start free schools for troubled children, home secretary says [05 Feb 2016]
- Millions of pounds extra needed for care services, warn local government leaders [05 Feb 2016]
- Councils to get Sunday trading powers [03 Feb 2016]
- Public health grant cuts 'will have major impact on NHS programmes' [03 Feb 2016]
- Council tax 'to rise four per cent' in April [02 Feb 2016]
- Expect tax rises and service cuts as councils feel squeeze [01 Feb 2016]
- Rural Tory MPs to defy Cameron over town hall cuts [31 Jan 2016]
- Food checks 25 per cent down despite horsemeat crisis [31 Jan 2016]
- Tory MPs call for U-turn on school places as crisis looms [31 Jan 2016]
- Council hit by £1 million malware demand [30 Jan 2016]
- Thousands of children held overnight in cells [30 Jan 2016]
- Pension funds must not be gambled on Government projects, Unison warns [28 Jan 2016]
- Flood risk areas face council tax increase [27 Jan 2016]
- Report: Extend social care levy to district councils [26 Jan 2016]
- Councils could face claims over pumped floodwater damage [26 Jan 2016]
- 97% of councils in England tell ITV News council tax hikes will have no impact on social care crisis [24 Jan 2016]
- Cuts are 'not realistic' and show 'misunderstanding' among ministers, council tells PM [21 Jan 2016]
- Isle of Wight Council warns cuts are pushing it to the brink [20 Jan 2016]
- County cuts could signal end of services, say council leaders [19 Jan 2016]
- NHS chief demands political consensus on funding social care [19 Jan 2016]
- County councils warn non-statutory services could end amid funding squeeze [18 Jan 2016]
- Fine home towns for petty criminals [18 Jan 2016]
- Depth of housing crisis revealed as 35,000 people sit on waiting lists for 10 years [17 Jan 2016]
- Government cuts to hit counties [17 Jan 2016]
- DCLG Official Says 100% Rates Retention Will Require New Needs Assessment [11 Jan 2016]
- Cross-party review 'needed for health and care' [06 Jan 2016]
- 2015
-
- Councils could be fined £5,000 a day for unmanned roadworks [27 Dec 2015]
- Council leaders express fear over years of cuts in local funding [18 Dec 2015]
- Greg Clark hails historic 4-year settlement and support for adult social care [17 Dec 2015]
- Mental health services 'turning care children away' [17 Dec 2015]
- Thinktank Calls for More Tax-Rasing Power for Councils [15 Dec 2015]
- 'Huge rise' in newborn babies subject to care proceedings [14 Dec 2015]
- Worst children's services face takeover, PM says [14 Dec 2015]
- Employers Announce Local Government Staff 1% Pay Offer for Next Two Years [09 Dec 2015]
- Chancellor Announces Date of 2016 Budget [01 Dec 2015]
- 'Paupers' funerals' cost councils £1.7m [30 Nov 2015]
- Council tax 'to cost £200 more by 2020' [30 Nov 2015]
- Local government funding at the Spending Review 2015 [25 Nov 2015]
- Spending Review and Autumn Statement at-a-glance [25 Nov 2015]
- LGA Warning Over Councils 'Right on the Edge' [25 Nov 2015]
- NHS Set to Receive £3.8bn Funding Increase in 2016-17 [24 Nov 2015]
- Councils set to freeze services as they reach 'tipping point' [23 Nov 2015]
- New 2% Social Care Precept in Addition to 2% Referendum Cap Expected in Spending Review [23 Nov 2015]
- Spending Review: Schools to get 'fair funding' formula [22 Nov 2015]
- Councils set to freeze services as they reach 'tipping point' [22 Nov 2015]
- Concerns that Public Health Funding Will Not Be Protected in Spending Review [20 Nov 2015]
- Mental health early deaths 'worrying in one in four areas' [18 Nov 2015]
- ‘National living wage’ will push up wages at more than half of employers [18 Nov 2015]
- Head teachers appeal for funds ahead of Spending Review [18 Nov 2015]
- Devolution: English counties tell George Osborne they must be involved in plans to devolve powers [16 Nov 2015]
- Mayoral Devolution Could Leave Out Counties IPPR Warns [16 Nov 2015]
- Health Secretary's personal view is that Government needs to move to a 'trajectory where social care is protected' [12 Nov 2015]
- Retailers Lobby Government over Business Rates [11 Nov 2015]
- Osborne to announce departmental cuts [09 Nov 2015]
- Mental health gets only 1 per cent of council cash [09 Nov 2015]
- Call for council-run schools to sponsor academies [07 Nov 2015]
- Drivers miss payouts for ‘pothole epidemic’ [06 Nov 2015]
- LGA Calls for Business Rates Self-Assessment [06 Nov 2015]
- NAO Warning on Fire Authorities' Financial Resilience [05 Nov 2015]
- UK Population to Grow by Over 10m in Next 25 Years [02 Nov 2015]
- LGPS Costs and Income Rise, Figures Show [30 Oct 2015]
- BCF Will Continue, Ministers Say [27 Oct 2015]
- Small Businesses Want Say in Business Rate Increases [27 Oct 2015]
- Proposed Public Health Cut Calls into Question Government's NHS Funding Commitment [26 Oct 2015]
- Moody’s: business rate devolution will drive up council debt [23 Oct 2015]
- Elected mayors for north-east of England as devolution deal announced [23 Oct 2015]
- King’s Fund: pressure on councils now impacting on the NHS [22 Oct 2015]
- £470m Reduction in Adult Social Care Predicted by Report [22 Oct 2015]
- Per pupil spending 'to fall by 8%' [21 Oct 2015]
- Spending review could floor local services, warns LGA [20 Oct 2015]
- Care funding is a ‘postcode lottery’ [16 Oct 2015]
- Town hall chiefs warn of bedblocking crisis this winter [16 Oct 2015]
- Business rate reform will usher in council finance shake up [16 Oct 2015]
- Health devolution will not work everywhere, says former DoH chief [15 Oct 2015]
- Councils can 'double savings' if Government invests in prevention [14 Oct 2015]
- A devolution conundrum [14 Oct 2015]
- Kent County Council considers council tax rise [13 Oct 2015]
- ADASS/LGA Spending Review Submission Highlights Funding Challenges for Social Care [13 Oct 2015]
- Chancellor Announces 100% Business Rates Retention for Local Authorities [05 Oct 2015]
- 27% Cuts for Non-Protected Departments, IFS Warns [05 Oct 2015]
- Free School Meals Will Not Be Cut, Says PM [30 Sep 2015]
- Cost of Councils Picking Up Academies' Deficits Reaches £30m [25 Sep 2015]
- CCN Chair Calls for a 'Fairer Settlement' [25 Sep 2015]
- Social Care Sector Facing Uncertain Future, Providers Warn [21 Sep 2015]
- Revealed: Shocking NHS postcode lottery for elderly care [18 Sep 2015]
- One in Five Council Workers Will Receive National Living Wage Pay Boost, Says Thinktank [16 Sep 2015]
- Home Office Launch Consultation on PCCs Taking on Fire Responsibilities [11 Sep 2015]
- Chancellor announces OBR forecast alongside the Spending Review [10 Sep 2015]
- European Investment Bank Loans £102m for Schools Expansion in London Borough [08 Sep 2015]
- Up to 30 Regions Expected to Submit Devolution Bids to Spending Review [04 Sep 2015]
- LGA Spending Review Submssion Highlights £10bn of Cost Pressures by 2019-20 [01 Sep 2015]
- Councils Under Pressure to Use Reserves to Reduce Cuts [31 Aug 2015]
- Enterprise Zones Create 19,000 Jobs, DCLG Figures Show [28 Aug 2015]
- Public Sector Workers May Not Receive 1% Pay Rise, says Chief Secretary [27 Aug 2015]
- Transport Groups Warn of Risks to 'Everday Transport' in Spending Review [21 Aug 2015]
- National Living Wage will damage care homes [20 Aug 2015]
- Local Governmnet Pension Funds Receptive to Treasury Plans to Pool Investments [17 Aug 2015]
- Treasury to Cap Public Sector Pay-Offs at £95,000 [31 Jul 2015]
- Living Wage will Require £750m Extra for Homecare Workers in First Year Alone [28 Jul 2015]
- CCN Chair Set Out Counties' Position on Spending Review [27 Jul 2015]
- Call from Councils Not to Cut Care Act Funding [23 Jul 2015]
- Police Funding Formula Consultation Launched [22 Jul 2015]
- Spending Review to Report on 25 November [21 Jul 2015]
- Ministers announce four-year delay on introduction of care cap [17 Jul 2015]
- New Joint inspections to Respond to Safeguarding Concerns [15 Jul 2015]
- Councils face £1 billion annual bill to cover minimum wage [13 Jul 2015]
- Fears mount that council tax could soar [10 Jul 2015]
- Budget Reveals Less Steep Path of Cuts for Public Services [09 Jul 2015]
- Osborne Expected to Announce Slow Down in Pace of Welfare Cuts [08 Jul 2015]
- Early help for children cut by half, say charities [07 Jul 2015]
- Shops to trade for longer on Sundays under radical new plans [07 Jul 2015]
- Ministers consider shelving personal liability cap for long-term care costs [07 Jul 2015]
- Key London Olympic legacy a failure, says Tessa Jowell [06 Jul 2015]
- Councils to receive £30m to Support Out of Area Adoption [06 Jul 2015]
- Greg Clark tells Local Government Association “take power now†[02 Jul 2015]
- CIPFA Survey Show Most Councuil Reserves Allocated [01 Jul 2015]
- New LGA Chair Calls for End to NHS Ringfence [30 Jun 2015]
- £3bn council cuts put vital services at risk [26 Jun 2015]
- 'Damaging' business rates appeals system must change, warns LGA [23 Jun 2015]
- Care system at death’s door, says ex-minister [22 Jun 2015]
- Oversize lorries causing “bedlam†on rural roads [20 Jun 2015]
- Many over-65s in England 'rarely use public transport' [19 Jun 2015]
- Whitehall doesn’t know how well Payment by Results is working, says NAO [19 Jun 2015]
- Essex sees demand reduction as key to savings [19 Jun 2015]
- Minister Confirms DoLS Review to be Brought Forward [19 Jun 2015]
- Meg Hillier elected chair of Public Accounts Committee [18 Jun 2015]
- Warning business rate reform should not 'undercut' council funding [17 Jun 2015]
- Roundtable of Council Finance Chiefs Proposes Pilots for Testing Reforms [16 Jun 2015]
- Business tax 'could close 80,000 shops in two years' [15 Jun 2015]
- NAO Report Warns of Additional Care Act Costs [15 Jun 2015]
- Councils ‘ignore potholes to boost funding’ [12 Jun 2015]
- NAO New Burdens Reports Says DCLG Needs to Use Intelligence Better [12 Jun 2015]
- Care reforms 'face £50 million black hole' [11 Jun 2015]
- Years more spending cuts to come, says OBR [11 Jun 2015]
- Primary school pupil numbers soaring [11 Jun 2015]
- Budget surplus rules for 'normal times' to be confirmed [10 Jun 2015]
- SCT and Treasurers' Societies Respond to ADASS Survey [10 Jun 2015]
- Councils ‘may lose out’ from increase in bankruptcy threshold [09 Jun 2015]
- Osborne reveals £230m spending cut for DCLG [04 Jun 2015]
- Chancellor announces £4½ billion of measures to bring down debt [04 Jun 2015]
- OECD tells George Osborne to spread pain of public spending cuts [04 Jun 2015]
- Adult social care firms struggling for staff due to cuts [04 Jun 2015]
- Treasury Looks for In-Year Cuts to Departments [29 May 2015]
- IFS Examines How £12bn Welfare Cut Could be Achieved [28 May 2015]
- Intervention for coasting schools [27 May 2015]
- New Bill to Force Councils to Merge Adoption Services [26 May 2015]
- LGA Sets Out Plan for Fiscal Devolution [21 May 2015]
- CPI-linked bond ‘could provide model for local government borrowing’ [20 May 2015]
- LGA Leaders to Osborne: Further Council Cuts 'Not an Option' [18 May 2015]
- Chancellor Plans 'Stability' Budget for 8 July [18 May 2015]
- Council Tax Reforms Proposed by Thinktank [15 May 2015]
- Osborne Outlines Devloution Plan for Cities [15 May 2015]
- Conservatives on course for majority [15 May 2015]
- Cabinet Reshuffle: New SoS at DCLG [11 May 2015]
- Former vicar wins legal battle against council tax [07 May 2015]
- Early Intervention Fund for Councils Could Drive Significant Savings, 50 Charities Say [05 May 2015]
- More older carers risking health [30 Apr 2015]
- New lib dem plan to give every primary pupil a free school meal [30 Apr 2015]
- What will the election mean for public services? [29 Apr 2015]
- IFS Calls on Politicians to Reform Council Tax [29 Apr 2015]
- School Facing Hidden Funding Cuts [28 Apr 2015]
- Cameron pledge to create 600,000 new businesses each year [27 Apr 2015]
- City mayors could get power over business rates [27 Apr 2015]
- David Cameron - no lack of drive in Conservative campaign [26 Apr 2015]
- IFS Publish Analysis of Manifesto Plans [24 Apr 2015]
- Lib Dems promise £150m carers' support [23 Apr 2015]
- Lib Dems Would End Below Inflation Pay Deals for Public Sector [22 Apr 2015]
- Parties' Manifestos Outline Policies for Local Government [20 Apr 2015]
- Former DCLG Chief Warns Over Cuts to Local Government [17 Apr 2015]
- Summons to Court over Unpaid Council Tax Rise by a Quarter [15 Apr 2015]
- Final NHB Allocations [13 Apr 2015]
- DCLG sees biggest civil servant staff cuts [10 Apr 2015]
- Labour unveils sweeping devolution pledge [08 Apr 2015]
- Concerns over Care Act Funding as it Comes Into Force [02 Apr 2015]
- Bedroom tax policy ruled ‘unlawful’ in landmark case [01 Apr 2015]
- Labour Would Not Abolish Referendum Limit [01 Apr 2015]
- Poll shows public support for extra council tax band [31 Mar 2015]
- Social value: Fluffy, yes. But just look at the benefits [30 Mar 2015]
- CCN Report Calls for Greater Devolution [30 Mar 2015]
- Better bin buying would save £70 million every year, says report [29 Mar 2015]
- Government finds extra funds to help manage Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards pressures [27 Mar 2015]
- Majority of Councils Accept Tax Freeze Offer for 2015-16 [27 Mar 2015]
- Councils face 13-year backlog to repair potholes [26 Mar 2015]
- IFS Research Predicts Schools Funding Squeeze in Next Parliament [26 Mar 2015]
- Successful Challenge Fund Highways Maintenance Bids Announced by DfT [24 Mar 2015]
- More Clarity Needed on Spending Cuts, Says IFS [20 Mar 2015]
- Ministers to Consider More Freedoms for Service Transformation [17 Mar 2015]
- HM Treasury Publish Business Rates Review [16 Mar 2015]
- Another Reports Show Funding Cuts Hit Deprived Areas [12 Mar 2015]
- Public Health Funding Disparities 'Concerning', Say MPs [09 Mar 2015]
- IFS Report Shows Funding to Local Government Falls by 36% over Parliament [06 Mar 2015]
- Tax Freeze Costs Councils £2.8bn CIPFA Says [05 Mar 2015]
- Businesses Support Local Business Rates Setting, LGA Survey Shows [02 Mar 2015]
- Greater Manchester Devolved Health Deal Details Announced [27 Feb 2015]
- SIGOMA Publish Proposals for New Local Government Funding Model [25 Feb 2015]
- Business chiefs call for business rate review [23 Feb 2015]
- Surevy of Councils Shows 80% Plan to Raise Charges [23 Feb 2015]
- Independent Commission Calls for Complete Control over Council Tax [20 Feb 2015]
- Protect Social Care Funding Like NHS, Says LGA [17 Feb 2015]
- Only a Quarter of Councils Planning Tax Freeze [11 Feb 2015]
- IFS Forecasts Departmental Spending Cuts of 14% Over Next Parliament [05 Feb 2015]
- Additional £74m for Upper-Tier Authorities in Final Settlement [05 Feb 2015]
- Conservatives Committ to Protecting Schools Funding [02 Feb 2015]
- Extra £12m for Social Care Criticised by LGA [29 Jan 2015]
- Elderly care costs require councils to divert £1.1bn in April [28 Jan 2015]
- Public Accounts Committee Says Most Deprived Councils Cut Most [28 Jan 2015]
- Three Quarters of Counties Plan Council Tax Increase [26 Jan 2015]
- House of Lords Debates Local Government Finance Settlement [26 Jan 2015]
- Two CIties' Pension Funds Joint Investment in Infrastructure [23 Jan 2015]
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