County Councils Network
EXCLUSIVE: Demand surges for UASC age assessments
Councils are struggling to cope with demand for age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) as record numbers arrive once again in Kent.
Association in tax havens crackdown
Council directors have praised the Children’s Homes Association (CHA) for tightening its membership criteria to crack down on firms based in tax havens.
Setting out the foundation of a long-term housing plan
Over the coming weeks, CCN will outline a host of different reforms, from improving delivery of all housing tenures to resourcing planning departments better, writes Simon Edwards.
Budget: Boost for preventative services
Funding for preventative services has been announced as part of the Budget in an attempt to relieve local government’s demand pressures.
14 years on: The ‘winners’ and ‘losers’
New data shows how £13.9bn of cumulative cuts in local authority funding in the 14 years since 2010-11 have hit the sector. Ann McGauran and Maks Wieczorski report.
Working with Government can deliver real dividends
Collaboration with Government can achieve real results for communities and councils should not be afraid of embracing productivity, says Cllr Kevin Bentley.
Extra funding eases the pain for councils
Whether MPs really would have voted the finance settlement down, we will never know, says James Maker. But the letter from 46 MPs 'was undoubtedly the tipping point in the negotiations'.
Sector should adopt national branding campaign to boost workforce
Local government should adopt a national branding campaign to recruit and retain staff amid a worsening workforce crisis, the County Councils’ Network has urged.
Staff shocks
A new report from the County Councils' Network and PwC lays out some solutions to a complex sector recruitment problem that’s worsening by the year, says Simon Edwards.
Challenges remain following funding boost
A £600m boost to the Local Government Finance Settlement has been welcomed, but has not resolved the sector’s funding issues, the Government has been warned.
Finance settlement set for £500m boost
The Local Government Finance Settlement is to expected to be boosted by £500m, following pressure from sector lobbying and MPs.
Is it going to be giveaways or propping up councils?
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has asked Treasury staff to scout for potential cash for local government, and he received news of a fiscal windfall this week. Could that mean a boost to the settlement, asks Heather Jameson.
The Hunt for cash
The Treasury has asked an internal team of experts to hunt down potential extra cash for local government, The MJ understands.
SEND school transport’s impossible situation
Suzanne Smith and Ann Carruthers set out recommendations to government from a report highlighting the unsustainable pressures councils face from the cost of providing SEND school transport.
MPs call on Sunak to boost council settlement
More than 40 MPs have called on the Government to rethink the finance settlement in a bid to rescue floundering authorities.
A new Government provides the opportunity for long-term reform
The SEN system and the broken children’s social care residential market are the main drivers of cost for councils, and CCN will be proactively setting out its own case for reform of both as we gear up for a new Government, says Simon Edwards.
Stormy waters ahead
Mark Conrad talks to three major groups of councils about what the provisional finance settlement means for each of them, and he considers the outlook for 2025 and beyond.
The next step for children’s services
Dominic Luscombe asks if the new Data Strategy and Children’s Social Care reform strategy are opportunities to widen our ambition and strengthen our focus on children’s needs.
Call for MPs' help over ‘inadequate’ settlement
Councils are to turn to MPs to make the case to the Government following the announcement of an ‘inadequate’ £64bn finance settlement.
Devo and Christmas ghosts of past, present and future
Alun Hughes spins a Christmas story about devolution, with Greg Clark as the ghost of Christmas past, looking at how the policy has shifted towards one more focused on empowering local leaders in England’s counties.