LocalGov elections: Being vigilant ahead of the local elections
Ahead of the local elections next month, Owen Prendeville, Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), offers tips for protecting against cyber attacks.
Urgent action needed to re-establish trust in local audit
24/11/2023 The Government must take urgent action to remedy the ongoing problems with local audit and improve accountability at the local level, MPs say. |
Local government needs to measure for citizen and employee experience
27/06/2022 Christina Butterfield outlines how citizens and employees can be engaged and have positive and streamlined experiences. |
Government intervenes at Sandwell Council
23/03/2022 The Government has intervened at Sandwell Council after a review found a 'deeply troubling picture of mismanagement'. |
Minister ‘minded’ to intervene at Sandwell Council
19/01/2022 The Government is considering sending in commissions into Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council due to its failure to ‘resolve a variety of governance issues.’ |
South Ayrshire Council’s slow transformation ‘frustrating’, auditors say
28/10/2021 South Ayrshire Council’s services perform well but the council has been slow at making necessary changes to the way it delivers these services, auditors say. |
Ministers urged to make more use of outcomes-based approaches
21/10/2021 The use of Social Impact Bonds could help deliver better public services for less money, according to a new report. |
Don’t let project failure add further financial woe
19/10/2020 Visibility over your key delivery risks can help you succeed, where other projects fail. One Eighty Advisory reports. |
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‘Stuck’ schools need more tailored support, inspectors say
08/01/2020 Hundreds of schools in England are ‘stuck’ in a cycle of low performance and need more tailored support to improve, a new Ofsted report has found. |
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Redefining what good looks like
15/11/2019 Impower’s annual top 10 list is a celebration of strong council performance, and as Jon Ainger explains, many local authorities have stepped up to the challenge. |
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Transforming to a digital network
29/04/2019 CEOs are adopting a digital first approach to match customer needs, but how are they measuring success? |
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Top 10 most productive councils revealed
22/11/2018 ‘Fetishising failure’ distracts increasingly scarce management time away from improving outcomes, according to a new report naming the top 10 most productive councils in England. |
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£5m scheme to help young people access the arts launched
02/10/2018 The Government has announced the establishment of five Youth Performance Partnerships to give young people greater access to the performing arts. |
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Double standards?
28/06/2018 When it comes to improving public services, what’s good for local government should be good for central government. Piali Das Gupta looks at why the latter can benefit from adopting the principles of the former |
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'Troubled services' costing £10bn to keep going by Government
19/10/2017 The Government is spending billions keeping public services going but failing to deal with underlying problems, experts have warned. |
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Nine out of ten councils have maintained services in past year
14/09/2017 Nine out of ten councils said they have maintained service quality in the last year, but only one in six councils think this will continue over the next five years, new research has found. |
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Welsh councils showing year-on-year improvement
13/09/2017 Nearly two-thirds of council services in Wales have improved over the last year, according to new figures. |
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Council smashes record with submission of accounts
14/06/2016 Westminster City Council has submitted its public sector accounts to the auditors in a record breaking nine days after the year end. |
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Sandwell children’s services facing move to voluntary trust
10/06/2016 Children’s social care services at Sandwell Council could be transferred to a voluntary trust, after being rated as 'inadequate' by inspectors last year. |
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Durham and Lincolnshire hailed as top highways authorities
08/04/2016 Durham and Lincolnshire have been named as the two top performing highways authorities in the country. |
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Council’s children's services ‘inadequate’, Ofsted warn
06/04/2016 A council’s children’s services are suffering from ‘serious and widespread failures’, says Ofsted report. |
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Watchdog warns about 'starker choices ahead' for councils
17/03/2016 Councils in Scotland have been warned that cutting staff numbers and increasing charges is neither 'sustainable nor sufficient' to meet future budget cuts, by a public spending watchdog. |
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'Serious weaknesses' at seven multi-academy trusts highlighted
11/03/2016 Many multi-academy trusts (MATs) have been manifesting the ‘same weaknesses as the worst-performing local authorities’, the chief inspector of schools has warned. |
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Local government in Wales – where next?
11/02/2016 James Downe reflects on the process of local government reform in Wales, and offers some thoughts about the future. |
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Rotherham gains back control of some functions
22/01/2016 Rotherham Council will take back control of housing, financial services, education and public health, despite ‘significant’ improvements still needed at the authority. |
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Warning that a third of major projects may be ‘unachievable’
06/01/2016 A third of major government projects due to be delivered in the next five years are at risk of being ‘unachievable’ unless action is taken, the National Audit Office (NAO) is warning. |
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Top 100: Our most popular local government stories of 2015
16/12/2015 See our countdown of the 100 most popular stories on LocalGov during 2015, with jobs cuts, Pickles squeezing cash from councils and that infamous bake sale dominating the headlines. |
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Birmingham 'turning a corner' says progress report
08/12/2015 Birmingham City Council is ‘turning a corner’ but will need more time to restore itself as a ‘leader in local government’, according to the latest progress report. |
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Local government supplements
30/07/2015 The Hemming Group offers local authorities the unique opportunity to promote the many initiatives and key developments via a special focus, allowing you to communicate more information to local government industry. |
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Scorecard to rate NEET performance launched
27/07/2015 Councils will now be able to see how well they are getting young people into education, employment or training compared to other authorities, with the launch of a new annual scorecard. |
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County says ‘sorry’ to local children after third critical inspection
14/05/2015 A county has apologised to local children after its services were rated ‘inadequate’ for the third time in five years by inspectors. |
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Aberdeen faces 'substantial' workload to improve fleet
11/05/2015 A report has warned Aberdeen City Council still needs to undertake a ‘substantial’ amount of work to bring its transport fleet up to scratch. |
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LGA review should show us warts – and all
12/03/2015 I am a huge supporter of the Local Government Association but it struggles to speak with one voice when it is criticising its own, writes Heather Jameson. |
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Councils failing to protect children warns watchdog
10/03/2015 Over half of local authorities inspected for their children’s social care provision last year are 'not yet good enough', a damning report from Ofsted has warned. |
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Three councils warned over FOI delays
05/03/2015 Three councils are being monitored by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) following concerns they are too slow at responding to freedom of information (FOI) requests. |
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Birmingham improvement panel announced
22/01/2015 The panel drafted in to help improve Birmingham City Council to work with the troubled authority has been announced. |
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Councils consulted on sector-led improvement
21/01/2015 Council leaders and chiefs are being asked to give their opinions on sector-led improvement. |
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Council explores single business licence
30/07/2014 Councils could soon be able to issue firms with a single business licence under proposals being explored in Cornwall. |
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Record number of sites win Green Flag
29/07/2014 Britain’s parks and public spaces are awash with green after a record number of UK spaces were awarded Green Flag Awards. |
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Intervention at Doncaster to end early, confirms Pickles
22/07/2014 Government control of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council is due to end early, following improvements at the council. |
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West Sussex first to publish real time performance data
15/07/2014 West Sussex County Council has become the first local authority to give residents open access to its performance data. |
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Trust in Scottish Government outstrips Westminster despite fall
23/06/2014 Levels of public trust in the Scottish Government are falling but still remain more than double that of UK Government, according to latest research. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.
