James Brokenshire

• Finance settlement: Government floats commercialisation crackdown

  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

  Today's provisional local government finance settlement has been delayed – just weeks after Whitehall agreed to bring it forward and fix a date.

  

• Councils given power to remove unsafe cladding from private buildings

  Local authorities have been given the power to strip unsafe cladding from private residential buildings over 18 metres tall.

  

• Northants can use £70m in capital receipts to plug finance gap

  Northamptonshire CC will be allowed to use £70m in capital receipts to plug its financial black hole, local government secretary James Brokenshire has ruled. 

  

• Brokenshire in shared prosperity fund threat

  Communities secretary James Brokenshire has threatened to withhold the shared prosperity fund (SPF) from areas that fail to remove local enterprise partnership (LEP) overlaps.

  

• Single unitary council for Bucks gets the go-ahead

  Buckinghamshire’s five councils are to be scrapped in favour of a single county-wide unitary, communities secretary James Brokenshire has announced.

  

• One Yorkshire submits devolution plans to Brokenshire

  Councils in Yorkshire have made a show of unity in their pursuit of a devolution deal for the region.

  

• Rotherham council to regain full control of services

  All powers are to be returned to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, three years after government intervention.

  

• Brokenshire unveils £200m Right to Buy pilot

  The Government has launched a £200m pilot scheme to boost social home ownership.

  

• 'New deal' for social housing branded as 'pitiful'

  The Government's social housing green paper has been criticised for failing to provide any new funding for social housing.