Breaking down England's fiscal devolution plans
David Phillips of the IFS tells LocalGov why England's regional finance reforms are modest by global comparison and what ministers still need to get right.
Legal threat to Burnham asylum plan
17/08/2026 Reform UK and the Conservatives could launch legal challenges to prevent PM Andy Burnham from spreading asylum accommodation more evenly across the country. |
Council tax harmonisation warning
13/08/2026 Local authorities heading towards reorganisation face a lose-lose scenario on how to harmonise varying council tax bills, a finance director has warned. |
EXCLUSIVE: LGA reduces funding gap but £8m deficit looms
11/08/2026 The Local Government Association (LGA) has reduced its funding gap by £16m but still faces a forecasted deficit of about £8m over the next four years, it has emerged. |
EXCLUSIVE: Council denies senior officer suspensions amid chief executive exit row
06/08/2026 Two senior Derby City Council officers are ‘currently out of the office’ after a row over two fact finding exercises into the former chief executive, The MJ understands. |
EXCLUSIVE: Asylum legal downgrade sparks concern
05/08/2026 Migration partnerships have raised concerns about the impact of a Home Office decision to downgrade its legal duty to provide support to asylum seekers. |
Shadow council delays permanent boss appointment
04/08/2026 West Surrey's shadow authority has pushed back its recruitment of a permanent chief executive. |
EXCLUSIVE: Councils suffering from asylum data blackout
31/07/2026 A Government review of asylum accommodation data-sharing arrangements remains ongoing five months after Whitehall officials said they were ‘trying’ to restore council access to information, The MJ has learnt. |
Whitehall devolution resistance 'over for good'
24/07/2026 Whitehall resistance to devolution is ‘over for good', PM Andy Burnham has insisted ahead of his first meeting at the newly-created No 10 North in Manchester. |
EXCLUSIVE: Whitehall exploring adding teeth to standards regime
21/07/2026 Whitehall officials are attempting to add teeth to the standards regime despite the lack of a primary legislation vehicle to bring reform, The MJ understands. |
Oldham Labour offers olive branch to break impasse
20/07/2026 Oldham Council's Labour group has offered ‘greater collaboration' with other parties after the authority's third attempt at electing a leader failed. |
Employers defend pay stance
14/07/2026 Employers have denied they are playing parts of the sector off against each other by offering different pay settlements to different groups of council staff. |
Minister in Pride in Place funding threat
13/07/2026 Devolution minister Nesil Caliskan has threatened to pause Pride in Place funding if accountable bodies delay or obstruct decisions on how to spend the cash. |
'Fiscal devolution to be more likely with Burnham as PM'
24/06/2026 Fiscal devolution will ‘likely become more important' with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister, experts have predicted. |
Thames Valley devo deal thrown into doubt
23/06/2026 A deal to create a Thames Valley foundation strategic authority has seemingly collapsed at the 11th hour. |
Cantle: Time to take cohesion much more seriously
16/06/2026 The author of a landmark report into disturbances in English towns in 2001 has said it is ‘time to take cohesion much more seriously'. |
40% of West Surrey revenue budget to be absorbed by servicing debt
11/06/2026 Some 40% of one of the new Surrey unitaries' net revenue budget will be absorbed by servicing debt, it has emerged. |
EXCLUSIVE: Chiefs lobby Government over severance payment threshold
11/06/2026 Council chiefs have been lobbying the Government to relax the requirements around severance payments when they publish guidance on reorganisation staffing. |
MPs scold Home Office over lack of council involvement in asylum
05/06/2026 Local authorities still lack a ‘meaningful say’ in asylum accommodation decisions, a cross-party committee of MPs has warned. |
Rainbow coalitions form as more councils fall under NOC
20/05/2026 Attempts are being made to form rainbow coalitions around the country after more councils ended up in no overall control following the elections. |
EXCLUSIVE: MHCLG working to overhaul Best Value
14/05/2026 The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is working on a review and update of Best Value guidance, The MJ can reveal. |
