Supporting evidence-based policymaking
Andrew Carter explains how new guidance will help councils decide what services should be prioritised in the wake of swinging cuts.
Council services ‘declining’ due to £5bn funding gap, MPs say
21/08/2019 MPs have accused the Government of being ‘derelict in its duty’ by failing to set out a funding settlement that would ease the pressure on frontline services. |
Next PM has ‘100 days’ to save local government
15/07/2019 A think tank has called on the next Prime Minister to announce a one year emergency local government finance settlement during their first 100 days in office. |
Government in 'denial' over councils' finances, warn MPs
06/02/2019 Marsham Street has ‘an unacceptable lack of ambition’ for local government – with no aspiration for improving finances beyond merely ‘coping’, according to a scathing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. |
Labour to vote against ‘unfair’ local government funding
05/02/2019 Labour have pledged to vote against the Local Government Funding Settlement, arguing it fails to recognise the ‘dire situation’ facing councils. |
Northamptonshire given permission for extra council tax increase
29/01/2019 Northamptonshire County Council has been given the freedom to increase council tax by 2% more than other local authorities without holding a referendum, it was announced today. |
Finance settlement: Government floats commercialisation crackdown
13/12/2018 Whitehall is considering a crackdown on councils that excessively borrow for commercial reasons as it continues to restrict council tax rises. |
Local government finance settlement delayed by Brexit debate
05/12/2018 Today's provisional local government finance settlement has been delayed – just weeks after Whitehall agreed to bring it forward and fix a date. |
Council leaders warn of ‘catastrophic collapse’ without cash injection
03/12/2018 Nearly 80 council leaders have called for an emergency cash injection to avoid the ‘catastrophic collapse’ of authorities. |
Welsh government should 'own funding cuts or reverse them’
28/11/2018 Welsh Conservatives have criticised Wales’ government and called on the administration to change next year’s controversial council financial settlement. |
MHCLG ‘not expecting another Northamptonshire situation’
26/11/2018 Local government finances are sustainable and the collapse of another authority is not expected, the ministry’s top civil servant has insisted. |
Local government financial settlement to be published on set dates
25/10/2018 The Government has agreed to ensure the provisional and final local government finance settlements are published on set dates each year. |
EXCLUSIVE: Future of new homes bonus cast in doubt
04/10/2018 The future of the £7bn New Homes Bonus is in doubt, after Treasury ministers revealed they believe the policy has failed. |
Government accused of allocating council funding by ‘political convenience’
24/09/2018 The Government has been accused of adjusting financial settlements in favour of the wealthiest authorities by a coalition of urban councils. |
Javid orders review after second council payment error
20/03/2018 The Government has ordered a review after being forced to admit a second mistake in as many months in the way it calculates council payments. |
Whitehall's local government finance cover-up is exposed
20/02/2018 Key Whitehall departments involved in attempt to bury changes to provisional finance settlement data. |
Call for Javid to resign after 'misleading' House of Commons
06/02/2018 Shadow local government secretary Andrew Gwynne has demanded the resignation of his counterpart Sajid Javid after the minister admitted he knew the data behind the provisional finance settlement was wrong. |
Javid finds extra £166m in final settlement
06/02/2018 Local government secretary Sajid Javid has found an additional £166m to ease spending pressures in social care and rural areas in the final 2018/19 settlement. |
Labour accuses Government of 'holding back' local government
29/01/2018 Labour MPs have urged ministers to provide ‘strategic vision’ for local government. |
Government knew local government provisional settlement was wrong
25/01/2018 Whitehall officials rushed out the provisional local government finance settlement days before Christmas despite knowing the figures it was based on were wrong, The MJ has learnt. |
EXCLUSIVE: Finance settlement 'shambles' after provisional data wrong
18/01/2018 The local government finance settlement has descended into a shambles after it emerged allocations in the provisional document were wrong, The MJ can exclusively reveal. |
Many councils remain at a tipping point
12/01/2018 Lord Porter looks back to the provisional finance settlement and ahead to the major financial challenges of the new year. |
Social care funding plea amid NHS crisis
04/01/2018 Social care directors have warned delays to operations and hospital admissions will continue without a long-term sustainable funding solution for their sector. |
Council tax increase limit raised by Javid
19/12/2017 Councils will be allowed to increase their core council tax by up to 3% in 2018/19 without a referendum, potentially raising an additional £250m. |
Scots Budget reveals plan to increase income tax bands
14/12/2017 The Scottish Government has unveiled a draft budget which raises income tax in a bid to raise an extra £164m to pay for public services. |
This issue of Local Government News explores how councils can tackle modern slavery and trafficking in their supply chains, finds out more about Cambridge's first cohousing scheme and the launch of a new project to build a shared service pattern library for local government.
This issue also contains a special focus on children's services and how councils are protecting children following local safeguarding children boards being abolished.
