Politics
Re-elected Burnham calls for Right to Buy suspension powers
Greater Manchester’s re-elected mayor has called for powers to suspend Right to Buy on new homes under plans to build 10,000 houses across the region.
Newham promises 'relationship reset' after concerns
Newham LBC has promised a ‘relationship reset’ following claims a ‘culture of mistrust’ had developed between senior politicians and officers.
Election timetable means councils face race against time
Councils’ next finance settlement may have to be announced before a Spending Review amid ‘extremely accelerated’ demands after the General Election, experts have warned.
UPDATED: Tories hold Tees Valley despite heavy losses
Ben Houchen retaining the Tees Valley mayoralty for the Conservatives proved to be the party's only glimmer of hope among a bleak set of local election results.
Vote warning
Elections officers have warned of the impact of changes to postal vote rules as polls open across England and Wales today.
The Trump effect
Sector insiders talk to Heather Jameson about the possible impact this side of the pond of a second victory for Donald Trump, including less cash for public services and a push to boost local economies.
Political battle over National Care Service
Competing visions of the future of social care have been set out by Labour and the Conservatives as they prepare for a General Election.
Gove open to giving mayors Whitehall voice
Local government secretary Michael Gove has not ruled out a ‘formal structure’ for mayors to work more closely with central government.
Fresh call for Right to Buy restrictions
Housing experts today called for fresh restrictions on the controversial Right to Buy policy – including a ban on applying it to new builds.
Whiteman criticises lack of prevention focus in productivity demands
Some ministerial productivity demands are ‘populist nonsense’ more likely to appear in election campaigns than ‘plug material gaps’ in council finances, an expert has warned.
Peers call for action on private ownership of children’s homes
Peers have called for action to tackle private companies’ dominance of the children’s homes market.
Ministers in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
The letter on councils’ productivity, sent by local government minister Simon Hoare this week, borders on farcical, says Heather Jameson.
Councils hit with new productivity demands
Ministers have demanded councils improve their productivity in the same week as the Government quietly published a report revealing Whitehall makes the sector less efficient.
Oflog should be handed audit oversight, MPs told
The Office for Local Government (Oflog) should be handed oversight of England’s broken audit regime – a role earmarked for the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) - accounting experts have told MPs.
Betts backs Homes England review
Parliament’s housing committee chair has backed calls to remove some responsibilities from Homes England so the agency can focus on affordable housebuilding and regeneration.
Clark: Tories and Labour unwilling to address SEND crisis
Labour and the Conservatives have been accused of an ‘unwillingness’ to confront the crisis in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services.
Rayner to be investigated by police after electoral law accusations
Police have launched an investigation into whether Labour’s shadow local government secretary Angela Rayner broke electoral law a decade ago after Tory allegations.
Ministers to make more changes to debt rules
Ministers are poised to impose immediate further changes to local government debt rules – including stricter in-year reporting of unpaid loan repayments due to town halls.
Five million could be disenfranchised by voter ID, polling finds
Five million voters could be disenfranchised by the Government’s new voter ID rules at the General Election, first-of-its-kind polling has suggested.
Next Government urged to look at devolving air passenger duty
The leader of a Labour council in the shadow of Heathrow Airport has urged the next Government to look at devolving air passenger duty (APD).