Breaking down England's fiscal devolution plans
David Phillips of the IFS tells LocalGov why England's regional finance reforms are modest by global comparison and what ministers still need to get right.
Hr: City hit by one-day strike fails to resolve pay dispute
More than 20,000 council workers stayed away from work in a 24-hour strike on Tuesday protesting against the introduction of a new pay grading system at Birmingham City Council.
Union leaders rejected a last-minute £3m offer to end the pay dispute, following five days of talks to prevent industrial action over the pay and grading review which will cut the wages of some 4,800 staff.
Council leaders suggested that 10,000 staff who had not yet signed their new contracts of employment should have until the end of September to agree new conditions, and want to continue negotiations with union leaders.
Binmen and street cleaners joined in the one-day strike, despite earlier accepting an £8,000 pay increase in their basic salary to make up for the loss of long standing bonus payments.
