New SIGOMA chair: ‘We need certainty’ on council funding
Mayor Chris Cooke, new chair of the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA), talks to LocalGov about collaborative governance and funding.
EXCLUSIVE: MHCLG working to overhaul Best Value
14/05/2026 The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is working on a review and update of Best Value guidance, The MJ can reveal. |
Ministers still unconvinced by Tees Valley's Best Value
28/04/2026 The Government has said it continues to require assurances that Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) is fulfilling its Best Value duty. |
Government tightens intervention in Tower Hamlets
20/03/2026 The Government has strengthened its Tower Hamlets intervention after accusations the council is more interested in protecting its image than reforming. |
Ministerial envoys sent in to support indebted council
10/07/2025 Concerns about the levels of debt at Warrington Council have prompted the Government to send in four ministerial envoys. |
Call for Warrington officers' resignations
25/05/2025 Conservatives in Warrington have called for senior officers to resign following the announcement of Government intervention at the council. |
Ministerial envoys to be sent to Warrington
09/05/2025 A team of ministerial envoys are to be sent to Warrington BC amid doubts over the council's ‘willingness and capacity' to tackle financial challenges. |
Governance concerns prompt best value notice for Tees Valley
04/04/2025 The Government has issued Tees Valley Combined Authority with a best value notice due to concerns over governance and culture. |
Spelthorne faces Government intervention
17/03/2025 Ministers are minded to appoint commissioners to oversee the running of Spelthorne BC. |
Council’s senior management ‘unaware’ of £13.5m overspend
23/01/2025 Guildford BC's senior management were ‘unaware’ of a multi-million-pound overspend but should have noticed a series of ‘red flags’, investigation concludes. |
Envoys sent in to Tower Hamlets
23/01/2025 Local government minister Jim McMahon has sent three envoys in to improve Tower Hamlets LBC following last year's Best Value inspection. |
Councils’ Best Value notices lifted
20/12/2024 Best Value notices issued to Runnymede and Eastleigh borough councils will not be renewed despite ongoing concern about their ‘significant’ debts. |
Government parachutes in envoys to oversee Tower Hamlets LBC
12/11/2024 Government envoys will oversee the management of Tower Hamlets LBC after inspectors found a ‘toxic' environment was stopping the council ‘moving forward'. |
Woking's historic governance arrangements 'wholly inadequate'
05/11/2024 A report into debt-stricken Woking BC has concluded the borough's governance arrangements and decision-making processes were ‘wholly inadequate'. |
Intervention at Slough set to be extended
23/10/2024 Slough Council is facing an extension to Government intervention due to ‘volatility' in its finances. |
Tower Hamlets begins inspection fightback
26/09/2024 Best Value inspectors sent into Tower Hamlets LBC have been personally threatened with legal action by the council, The MJ understands. |
Best Value Notices lifted for three authorities
10/09/2024 Three authorities are no longer operating under Best Value Notices, the Government has confirmed. |
