News
EXCLUSIVE: Sector fumes over lack of pre-Brexit briefing
Councils have threatened to walk away from Government attempts to engage with them on Brexit amid growing frustrations about the response to their concerns.
Portsmouth leader 'shocked' at Brexit port funding
The leader of a council covering a ‘vital’ freight port has expressed his shock at the funding allocated to his authority.
Business rates 'creaking at the seams'
Business rates as a tax is ‘creaking at the seams and in need of reform,’ London Councils has told the Government.
Chief retires as leader demands change
South Cambridgeshire DC’s nine-month-old Lib Dem administration has announced that chief executive Beverly Agass is retiring from her post.
Portsmouth to create development company
Senior councillors in Portsmouth are due to vote on proposals to establish an authority-owned development company.
MPs pile pressure on Government over business rates reform
MPs have urged ministers to assess specific proposals for reforming business rates by the autumn.
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Opinion
Central Government is missing the bigger picture
As we start to see manufacturers withdraw from the UK, local government’s task of building the economy and boosting local productivity is becoming a steeper and steeper uphill climb, says Heather Jameson - and this is before Brexit.
Public audit will soon need a spring clean
John Tizard and David Walker make the case for a new way of auditing how public money is spent that uses evidence before spending decisions are made - and includes a new office of the '3Es' (efficiency, effectiveness and equity).
It's time to talk about tax
Paul O'Brien argues It’s time for an honest conversation about tax in the UK - and the 'smoke and mirrors' approach to the funding of public services needs to stop.
Give cities the discretion to manage their finances
Andrew Carter says the spending cuts borne by cities for a decade need to end - but they need more control over how they raise and spend money locally if they are to build a sustainable long-term financial future.
Plugging that gap
Dr Jack Brown asks what role local leaders can play in strengthening ties between London and the world beyond the M25. We should explore ways to forge stronger links between central and local government, he argues,
Squeezed and broken
Dr Jonathan Carr-West urges local government to make a unified case for greater funding, by seizing the moment in the run-up to the Spending Review
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Best Practice
Matter of facts
Preston City Council has an ethical procurement programme aimed at harnessing wealth within the city and the wider county - and a number of councils across the UK are now interested in the approach, says Tamar Reay.
Analysis
The final countdown
Dan Peters reports on how local authorities are making contingency plans for Brexit while also endeavouring to maintain an open dialogue with the relevant UK agencies.
Private sector
Falkirk to develop pioneering poverty project
A tool to help tackle poverty is being developed by Falkirk Council and IT firm thinkWhere.
Outsourcers back new recycling funding model
Outsourcing giants have backed moves to force manufacturers to pay the costs of recycling their products.
Liverpool housing plans killed by legal challenge
A deal between Liverpool City Council and Redrow Homes to build luxury properties on the fringes of a park is 'dead’ after a legal challenge, mayor Joe Anderson has admitted.