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.
A devolution conundrum
16/10/2015 Ben Page analyses George Osborne's latest announcements on business rates and examines whether local government faces a nasty surprise. |
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Tell the public the truth
10/06/2010 Councils must prepare the public for the impending 'age of austerity'. Ben Page explains how communications could play a leading role |
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Looking beyond the frontiers to assess who is doing best
22/01/2010 Following’s last month’s Comprehensive Area Assessments, Ben Page considers how well councils are doing, if they remove some of the obstacles to performance. |
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Flagging up the best
17/12/2009 In the first of four articles on the Comprehensive Performance Assessment, Ben Page asks, do public perceptions of council services match up to the results. |
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It’ll all come out in the wash
10/10/2008 Is Britain really ‘broken’? Ben Page argues that it isn’t. But it may need some rinse aid. |
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Soap Box
17/09/2008 As we enter party conference season, with Labour trailing the Conservatives by 20 points and its leader’s popularity plummeting, the Conservatives can go to Birmingham with the odds on at least eight to 10 years of Tory government from 2010. But what |
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Soap Box
17/07/2008 Last week’s Community Empowerment White Paper gave us the Government’s views on ‘empowerment’. Many of the suggestions were concepts the best councils have already been incorporating for some time. |
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Soap Box
18/06/2008 When and where were you happiest? I’m not thinking here about your bolt hole in Spain or on the coast of Greece – with on tap sunshine – but back in dear old Britain, where most of us spend most of our time... |
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Soap Box
21/05/2008 What distinguishes the best politicians in local government? For the last few months, we have been trying to find out, on behalf of the Local Government Leadership Centre... |
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Soap Box
25/04/2008 Our latest study for the Leadership Centre for Local Government shows just how difficult political leadership is to do well... |
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Soap Box
27/02/2008 Who’d have thought it? After their recent visit to see local government in the North East, a permanent secretary took me aside during a meeting, and said: ‘You know, local government really has changed. It’s really improved’... |
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Soap Box
30/01/2008 Last year will be remember-ed as the time when the great British public finally woke up to the harsh realities of climate change... |
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Soap Box
12/12/2007 During the last eight months or so, I have been part of the Councillors’ Commission, whose recommendations will be news elsewhere in the media... |
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A job for eggheads
15/10/2007 With SOLACE members meeting this week in Cardiff, Ben Page examines the increasingly complex role of chief executive |
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Soap Box
20/06/2007 Lord Heseltine’s Cities Task Force proposal is fascinating as an example of how far localism has spread over the last five years, reports Ben Page |
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Soapbox
24/05/2007 Last week, I went to visit an authority in Blogshire. Blogshire is in one of the best-rated English regions for local government performance, according to the Audit Commission, and indeed, its residents. |
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Soap Box
26/04/2007 After the excitement of various reviews and unitary status over the last few months, we can now settle down to one of our favourite things in local government – elections. Ben Page considers the issue of turnout. |
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Soap Box
29/03/2007 Given that every other article this week will be covering Lyons, I thought it worth reflecting on another review which both PM Tony Blair AND chancellor Gordon Brown launched on Tuesday – the Government’s policy review. |
