Underfunding, Not Demand, Is Breaking SEND
Jack Lowman, Sense, says properly funding the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system is vital for disabled children to get the best start.
Reform UK council leader bans local newspaper
29/08/2025 The Reform UK leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has banned a local newspaper from contacting him or his councillors following a row over reporting. |
Cuts have hit council financial information, report finds
22/08/2025 Councillors and members of the public are not being presented with accurate or easy to understand information about local authority budgets, report has found. |
EXCLUSIVE: Push for local PACs slows amid Whitehall scepticism
16/05/2025 Support for establishing local versions of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) across England is softening as the Government ponders whether to push the idea. |
Watchdog should investigate Teesworks freeport, MPs say
26/04/2024 MPs have recommended that the National Audit Office (NAO) should investigate the finances of the controversial Teesworks regeneration project. |
Transparency calls over monitoring officer departure
10/04/2024 Salford CC's opposition leader has called for transparency over a settlement agreement The MJ understands was paid to its departing monitoring officer. |
Urgent action needed to re-establish trust in local audit
24/11/2023 The Government must take urgent action to remedy the ongoing problems with local audit and improve accountability at the local level, MPs say. |
Audit reveals ‘deficiencies’ councils’ record keeping
07/09/2023 Auditors have found ‘significant deficiencies’ in the financial management and record keeping of Ammanford Town Council and Llanferres Community Council. |
New North Yorkshire Council urged to live stream meetings
17/04/2023 Councillors in Scarborough have urged the new North Yorkshire Council to live stream all its meetings online to improve transparency and cut down on travel. |
Cause of local authority audit delays ‘multi-faceted’
07/03/2023 Stakeholders in the local audit system must continue efforts to secure timely publication of audited accounts which are delayed for many reasons, says report. |
UK doubles number of 'A List' cities praised for action on climate change
18/11/2022 The UK has managed to double the number of cities that have been named as leaders in environmental action and transparency in 2022. |
Government ‘gambling’ with levelling up funding
08/06/2022 Levelling up should be delivered with ‘measurable targets’, council leaders say as MPs raise questions over the funding of the Government’s flagship agenda. |
Ombudsman reminds councils to ensure processes are transparent
19/05/2022 Councils administering Disabled Facilities Grants need to ensure their processes are transparent and accountable, Ombudsman says. |
Standard boosting algorithm transparency launched
30/11/2021 The Government today launched one of the world’s first national standard for algorithmic transparency which will impact councils using computer algorithms. |
Data transparency in local government: Where next after the pandemic?
29/03/2021 With the vaccine rollout and light at the end of the COVID tunnel, can local authorities revert their data strategies to pre-pandemic days? |
Leader of Northumberland Council is deposed
03/09/2020 The leader of a scandal-hit council compared to North Korea has been deposed after a vote of no confidence at a fiery meeting. |
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Auditors call for ‘clarity’ of privately financed contracts
29/01/2020 Auditors in Scotland have called for ‘more clarity’ when it comes to financing public infrastructure projects. |
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Call for views on the financial reporting of local authorities
18/09/2019 The Government has called on council workers to give their views to a review on the quality of the financial reporting of local authorities in England. |
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Council pension fund calls on housebuilders to improve transparency
04/09/2019 One of the biggest local government pension funds has called on housebuilding companies to improve the way they report environmental, social and governance issues. |
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Northern leaders to review controversial HS2 scheme
27/08/2019 The Northern Powerhouse Partnership will hold a review into HS2 to ensure the North is ‘properly heard’ in the Government-commissioned review of the scheme. |
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Council chiefs defend record of transparency in maintained schools
17/07/2019 Local authority leaders have hit back at a Government suggestion that academies are more transparent and accountable than council schools. |
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Companies House reforms to make detection of criminal behaviour ‘easier’
30/05/2019 The Government has launched a consultation on proposals it says will bring about the ‘biggest changes’ to Companies House in nearly two centuries. |
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One in five local bodies failing to safeguard value, MPs warn
15/03/2019 One in five councils do not have proper arrangements in place to secure value for money for taxpayers, a new report has warned today. |
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5,000 councils ‘go digital’ thanks to multi-million pound cash injection
24/04/2018 Thousands of communities will be able to access more information about local politics thanks to a £5m cash injection designed to ‘digitally enable’ councils. |
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Watchdog calls for more transparency over non-domestic rates distribution
08/12/2017 The Scottish Government must be more transparent in the way it reports on its non-domestic (business) rates, the official financial watchdog has warned. |
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Lib Dems call for mandatory reporting on ethnicity pay gap
10/05/2017 The Liberal Democrats have announced plans to introduce mandatory reporting on the ethnicity pay gap for organisations with 250 employees or more if elected. |
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Tackling modern slavery with supply chain transparency
22/03/2017 A new public database is committed to ending modern slavery by making supply chains more transparent. William Eichler finds out more. |
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Taxpayers denied full access to information on public spending
27/09/2016 The taxpayer is being prevented from fully scrutinising the way public funds are spent, anti-corruption group warns. |
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Councils warn about new transparency burdens
12/07/2016 Government plans to make councils publish more data will put further financial pressures on councils for ‘no apparent purpose’, London Councils has warned. |
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Councils need to be more transparent when procuring waste services, report urges
04/05/2016 Local government needs to be more transparent when it comes to assessing waste service performance, a new report says. |
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Watchdog calls for improved scrutiny of public spending
04/05/2016 The increased used of outsourcing and devolution to local areas is undermining Parliament's ability to hold the Government to account, the public spending watchdog is warning today. |
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LEPs not transparent enough warns auditors
23/03/2016 The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a warning over the transparency of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs). |
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Report calls for greater accountability in the capital's BIDs
25/02/2016 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) should not be used to fill in the gaps left by local councils in London, according to a new report published today. |
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Camden adopts open data charter
13/11/2015 Camden Council has made a push towards becoming more transparent by committing to a new Open Data Charter. |
