Councils click into the future of planning
In town halls across the country, planning officers are racing to update their Local Plans — but this time, the process looks very different.
London’s high streets get £21m regeneration boost
28/02/2025 London’s high streets are to benefit from £21m additional funding this year aimed at regenerating the capital’s high streets. |
Index puts York top for productivity
18/10/2024 York City Council has topped a list of the top ten most productive top tier councils in England, according to calculations by consultancy IMPOWER. |
McMahon drops diversity scrutiny
25/09/2024 The new Government will not be asking councils for more information on their diversity spending, signalling a shift from the previous regime. |
'Too costly to answer our own questions'
18/07/2024 Whitehall has claimed it would be too costly to answer the same questions councils have been asked ahead of tomorrow’s productivity plans deadline. |
Hoare: We still want productivity plans
30/05/2024 Local government minister Simon Hoare has insisted he still wants councils to draw up unpopular productivity plans despite the election, The MJ understands. |
Reform required to unleash preventative approach, says report
21/05/2024 Central government reforms are needed to help innovation in preventative services at a local level, a report has found. |
Councils hit with new productivity demands
19/04/2024 Ministers demand councils improve productivity in the same week as the Government publishes a report revealing Whitehall makes the sector less efficient. |
Productivity plans: more than just reducing expenditure
20/02/2024 Owen Garling, the Knowledge Transfer Facilitator at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, explains how the public sector can boost its productivity levels. |
REVEALED: Productivity plan demands toothless
15/02/2024 Councils have been told Whitehall will be unable to force them to submit productivity plans. |
Gove pledges to halt council four-day weeks
02/10/2023 Michael Gove has pledged to stop local authorities from implementing a four-day week and said councils could face budget cuts if they adopt one. |
Optimism about Greater Manchester’s economy ‘badly misplaced’
21/09/2023 Greater Manchester should expand its city centre, improve connectivity, and build 126,000 more homes to boost its productivity, the Resolution Foundation says. |
Minister criticises council’s four-day week trial
03/07/2023 South Cambridgeshire DC has requested a meeting with local government minister Lee Rowley after receiving a letter urging it to stop the four-day week trial. |
Boosting the wellbeing of public sector employees
06/06/2023 Sick days are damaging public sector productivity. Alun Baker, GoodShape, looks at how to boost employee wellbeing. |
MP hits out at council's proposals to extend four-day trial
15/05/2023 A Conservative MP hit out at proposals by a council to approve an extension to a four-day week after a trial found improvements to productivity and wellbeing. |
Halving regional productivity gap would boost economy by £83bn
26/11/2019 The UK economy could be boosted by £83bn per year if regions with below average productivity could close just half of their shortfall, according to a new report. |
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Councils save £100m through sector-led improvements
20/08/2019 Councils have saved more than £100m in the past year by using the Local Government Association’s sector-led improvement (SLI) offer. |
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Going the extra mile
08/08/2019 Paul Doe explains how local authorities can deliver value to citizens beyond connectivity. |
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Digital leadership and social value ecosystems
02/08/2019 Philip Baulch explores the role of the digital leader in driving culture change. |
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Harnessing the power of place can lead to better pay
17/05/2019 Douglas White explains why the Living Wage Places movement is gaining traction across the country. |
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Think tank calls for creation of a British Investment Bank
15/05/2019 An investment bank should be set up to 'kick start a productivity revolution' after Brexit, according to a local government think tank. |
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UK cities have 'more than recovered', says latest index
01/11/2018 Improving skills levels and new business formation have been the key long-term drivers of city growth since the financial crisis, according to analysts. |
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Inequality holding back growth potential of places warns report
19/04/2018 Inequality is holding back the full growth potential of places, according to the results of the annual Vibrant Economy Index. |
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Tough decisions needed to protect commercial heart of cities
11/04/2018 As urban centres change transform, the priority should be on protecting and expanding the commercial space in city centres, rather than encouraging more residential development, argues Andrew Carter. |
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Rural counties suffer from low broadband speeds
06/04/2018 A new study has revealed that over two-thirds of England’s counties have lower than average broadband speeds. |
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Industrial strategy neglecting fortunes of ‘left-behind’ areas, think tank warns
26/03/2018 The Government’s decision to focus its industrial strategy on the most advanced areas of England risks neglecting the economic fortunes of the bulk of the country, think tank warns. |
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The power of automated workflows
26/02/2018 Nick Parkes calls on councils to adopt automated workflow software to increase productivity. |
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Dusting off your in-house project management framework
07/02/2018 Sarah Wilson explains the benefits of councils having a standard approach to project management. |
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Report published into improving value of public spending
20/11/2017 A new 'public value framework' is the central recommendation of a report aiming to deliver better value for money for publicly-funded services. |
