VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
NAO warns of jobcentre staffing crisis
31/03/2025 The Government has reduced the level of support it offers to universal credit claimants due to a shortage of work coaches at jobcentres, NAO says. |
Council bailouts could ‘create longer-term risk’, warns NAO
27/02/2025 The spending watchdog has called for a ‘whole-system’ approach to fixing local government finance and warned that bailouts could ‘create longer-term risk.’ |
NAO: Council audit backlog prevents Government accounts sign off
27/11/2024 The Government’s accounts have failed to be signed off for the first time because of what auditors describe as the ‘severe backlogs’ in council audits. |
NAO: 60% of buildings with flammable cladding still not identified
04/11/2024 Up to 60% of buildings with dangerous cladding have not yet been identified seven years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, auditors warn. |
Homelessness pressures 'unsustainable'
24/07/2024 Councils face ‘unsustainable financial pressure' due to record levels of homelessness, according to a public spending watchdog. |
Auditors add to council biometric warnings
20/05/2024 A spending watchdog has echoed councils’ concerns that biometric entry requirements at UK ports could lead to freight delays and gridlock on major roads. |
Hopes for regen scheme revived after Home Office scales back asylum plan
20/03/2024 A £300m council-led regeneration scheme threatened when Whitehall commandeered the site for asylum accommodation could now go ahead. |
Homelessness inquiry launched by NAO
13/03/2024 The National Audit Office (NAO) has launched an inquiry into homelessness as the issue piles pressure on squeezed council budgets. |
Mobile connectivity programme costs ‘higher than anticipated’
22/02/2024 The Government’s programme for expanding 4G mobile connectivity across 95% of the UK by 2025 is behind schedule and is costing more than anticipated. |
Government behind on scaled-back care reforms
10/11/2023 The Government is behind even on its revised plans to overhaul adult social care, a National Audit Office (NAO) report has found. |
Discharge delays overwhelming hospitals, NAO finds
22/06/2023 Delays to patient discharges have played a key role in overwhelming hospitals, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). |
Asylum issues damaging Home Office relations with councils
16/06/2023 The Home Office is ‘failing to work effectively with local authorities’ in clearing its asylum backlog, the National Audit Office (NAO) has concluded. |
Tory MPs block release of Teesside investigation documents
08/06/2023 The Government has blocked the release of documents which would show the decision-making behind an investigation into controversial Teesside redevelopment. |
Auditors should push ahead with accounts sign off, says NAO head
06/06/2023 ‘Unpalatable but necessary options’ should be considered to clear the local audit backlog, the head of the National Audit Office suggested yesterday. |
Gove approves Teesworks probe
25/05/2023 Local government secretary Michael Gove has given the green light for a probe into Teesworks corruption claims. |
Calls for supported housing improvements
09/05/2023 MPs and Whitehall’s spending watchdog have demanded improved regulation and data on supported housing amid evidence the system is blighted by rogue landlords. |
Treasury tightens grip over DLUHC spending
08/02/2023 New capital projects by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) will now have to be approved by the Treasury. |
Council chiefs admit local audit 'in crisis'
25/01/2023 Levelling Up officials must work closely with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and town halls to improve local audit delivery, spending watchdogs warn. |
EXCLUSIVE: Government 'risks battle' on moving districts' functions without consent
17/05/2022 Districts will push to change the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to ensure their functions cannot move to new combined county authorities (CCAs) without their consent, The MJ understands. |
Centre has 'poor understanding' of what works on local growth, says NAO expert
16/05/2022 A large proportion of government spending is ‘not robustly evaluated’ and there is poor understanding by the centre about which approaches to local economic growth work best, says an expert from the National Audit Office. |
Majority of schools ‘financially sustainable’ despite pressures
25/11/2021 The financial health of the school system has held up well in recent years despite funding pressures which have led to staffing cuts and changes to special educational needs provision. |
Councils need more data for test and trace, says watchdog
25/06/2021 Local authorities’ involvement in test and trace has improved the service – but councils still need more data, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. |
COVID crisis exposed council underfunding, says watchdog
19/05/2021 The COVID crisis exposed existing weaknesses in public services, including the underfunding of local government and the neglect of social care, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. |
Short-term funding has held back care, says watchdog
25/03/2021 Short-term funding has held back investment in the unstable £16.5bn adult social care market despite a forecast 57% in demand from the over-65s by 2036 says a report from the National Audit Office (NAO). |
Fewer than half of local audits done by deadline, watchdog finds
16/03/2021 Fewer than half of local public bodies’ 2019-20 audits were completed by last November, despite a deadline already pushed back due to COVID, says a spending watchdog. |
Only half the Culture Recovery Fund paid out, NAO finds
12/03/2021 Only half of the money from the Government’s arts recovery fund has been paid out so far, a spending watchdog has warned. |
Councils left seriously underfunded, NAO finds
08/03/2021 Coronavirus has left local authorities seriously underfunded and facing budget cuts unless the Government can create a long-term financial plan for the sector, a study from the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned. |
Council chiefs call for ‘secure’ access to data to help COVID-19 response
10/02/2021 Local authority leaders have emphasised the importance of ensuring councils have ‘regular, secure’ access to data to support their response to COVID-19. |
Boost to local test and trace funding
11/12/2020 The increase of up to £200m per month follows criticism from the National Audit Office. |
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Flood funding for councils may not be enough, watchdog finds
27/11/2020 The Government is unable to prove councils have enough funding for flood defences, a spending watchdog has discovered. |
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Watchdog warns 2025 target for superfast broadband will be 'challenging'
16/10/2020 Rural and remote areas have been left behind in plans to rollout superfast broadband, the public spending watchdog has warned. |
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Watchdog warns passenger numbers and funding has dropped for local bus services
02/10/2020 The number of bus journeys taken in England outside of London has fallen by 10% over the past decade, a new report has revealed. |
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Infrastructure could be left in a worse condition when PFI ends, watchdog warns
05/06/2020 Infrastructure could return to the public sector in an 'unsatisfactory condition' when PFI contracts come to an end, the public spending watchdog has warned today. |
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Disadvantaged children less likely to benefit from free childcare, auditors warn
13/03/2020 Disadvantaged families are less likely to take up free early education and childcare places, auditors have warned today. |
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Auditors raise concerns over councils spending £6.6bn on property
13/02/2020 Councils have spent £6.6bn on purchasing commercial property in the past three years, the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed today. |
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No-deal Brexit presents 'risk' to health and social care sectors
27/09/2019 There is a risk that care homes and the NHS will be unable to access vital medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the public spending watchdog has warned today. |
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Food regulation showing 'signs of strain' warns report
12/06/2019 Some local authorities are failing to meet their legal responsibilities on food control due to budget cuts, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned. |
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NAO to wade into fair funding review
05/06/2019 The National Audit Office (NAO) is gearing up to scrutinise the Government’s divisive fair funding review, The MJ can reveal. |
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Government pays £15m to councils after business rate 'error'
03/06/2019 The Government may have to pay out up to £15m to councils after it made yet another error in its business rate pilot administration. |
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Brokenshire moves to boost local government accountability
09/05/2019 Brokenshire moves to impose fresh conditions on ‘top slice’ cash |
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NAO floats auditing overhaul
13/03/2019 The way auditors examine council accounts could be overhauled, the National Audit Office (NAO) has suggested. |
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Sector fumes over lack of pre-Brexit briefing
21/02/2019 Councils have threatened to walk away from Government attempts to engage with them on Brexit amid growing frustrations about the response to their concerns. |
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Auditors bid to explain real cause of difference in councils' spend on kids
23/01/2019 A nine-fold variation in spending on children’s social care could largely be down to ‘differences in characteristics’ between councils, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) study. |
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Whitehall 'leadership' needed to help councils cope with financial pressures
15/01/2019 The Government must improve oversight and transparency over local authorities to ensure their financial sustainability, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. |
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Watchdog highlights councils' weak financial plans
10/01/2019 The number of public bodies in England with weak financial plans is ‘unacceptably high,’ the National Audit Office (NAO) has found. |
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Auditors warn councils over debt chasing
06/09/2018 Funding pressures in local government could mean councils are pursuing debt repayments ‘too quickly and too aggressively,’ a report by national auditors suggested today. |
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Health and social care inequality 'holding back integration'
02/07/2018 Social care must be treated as an equal partner of the NHS if integration is to succeed, a report has found. |
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DWP under fire over Universal Credit
14/06/2018 Auditors have heavily criticised the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the design and implementation of Universal Credit. |
