Local Government Association

• 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.

  

• Councillors silenced on secret fiscal devolution report

  Senior councillors have been warned not to talk about a secret Local Government Association (LGA) report that models what fiscal devolution might look like, The MJ has been told.

  

• No-deal Brexit disruption warning

  Local authorities have been warned to prepare for up to three months of disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

  

• Ministry moves on Brexit

  Senior Marsham Street officials have stepped up their preparations for Brexit after complaints from frustrated councils that they were being shut out of the process.

  

• Whitehall demands in-year cuts to improvement programme

  The sector’s ability to respond to crises such as a care provider failure could be hit after Whitehall demanded cuts to a key improvement programme, senior councillors have been warned.

  

• LGA defends bonds agency support

  The Local Government Association (LGA) has defended its support of the struggling UK Municipal Bonds Agency.

  

• LEPs told to improve ahead of EU funding changes

  Fresh concerns have emerged about local enterprise partnerships (LEP) as the Government considers whether to use them to funnel UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) cash.

  

• Crunch time for municipal bonds

  The struggling Municipal Bonds Agency has pleaded for councils to ‘pull behind us’ amid warnings it could run out of money before issuing a bond.

  

• Hawthorne: Local industrial strategies could go same way as devolution

  Parts of the country could be left behind when Whitehall rolls out its local industrial strategies, a senior Local Government Association (LGA) figure has warned.

  

• Brokenshire announces Northamptonshire commissioners

  New local government secretary James Brokenshire has today announced the two commissioners appointed to help rescue troubled Northamptonshire CC.