Budget
Sunak snubs LGA meeting request
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has snubbed a Local Government Association (LGA) call for a meeting on a range of issues affecting the sector.
Sunak’s statement misses the mark for the most vulnerable
The Government has made this mini budget more about political gestures than effecting real change, says Joanne Pitt at CIPFA.
IFS: public services to 'feel the squeeze'
The public sector faces a renewed squeeze from the summer due to inflation and higher than budgeted pay rises according to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) analysis of yesterday’s spring statement.
Spring Statement: Household support fund to ‘double’ to £1bn
Councils are set to benefit from a multi-million-pound boost to the household support fund to support hard-pressed residents, says Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Spring Statement.
Public sector staff face big pay cuts
Public sector staff face big cuts in their real terms pay as galloping inflation erodes planned increases in public spending, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said.
Scottish ministers defend Budget impact on councils
Scottish Government ministers have defended the impact of country’s Budget on councils amid warnings town halls face soaring costs.
Levelling up locally to bridge the divides
What kind of plan should the levelling up White Paper set out, and where will urban leaders and their cities fit in? Paul Swinney lists the new programmes required.
Scottish councils need extra £1bn to 'survive'
Councils in Scotland need more than an extra £1bn a year just to survive, a new briefing has warned.
To level up we need to invest in the place-based skills of councils
What is the best way to ensure that the Levelling Up Fund actually improves everyday life in the UK, asks Pooja Agrawal of Public Practice.
Places filling fast at Future Forum North
Places are filling fast at The MJ’s Future Forum North event in Manchester on December 2 and 3.
IFS reveals scope of Universal Credit
Budget changes to Universal Credit mean families with well above-average earnings and even paying 40% rates of tax could be entitled to the benefit, according to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report.
Cash is welcome but not the only answer
The funding for local government revealed by the chancellor in last week’s Spending Review is welcome – but it does not come close to addressing the financial woes of districts, says Cllr Sharon Taylor.
There are more questions now than before the Budget
The more challenging aspect of the Budget's announcements is the vacuum of definitive information, according to Adele Taylor.
Care needs cash to reform
If the Government is serious about reforming social care, it has got to get serious about funding it, says Stephen Chandler
Just what does the Spending Review mean for local government?
Adrian Jenkins gives his verdict on how local government fared in the Spending Review: not bad, but not brilliant.
Spending Review fails to deliver for local government or levelling up
Despite heralding the largest increase in core funding for councils in a decade, the chancellor has failed to deliver sustainable funding for local government, says Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton
Budget 2021: Council tax cut will leave councils struggling, says IFS
The Government’s move to lower the threshold of council tax increases before a referendum is ‘surprising’ and will leave councils struggling, finance experts have claimed.
A mixed fiscal bag for councils
Isn't it ironic that a chancellor devoted to low taxes has funded a bonanza Budget through taxes that will soon reach their highest level since the 1950s, says Heather Jameson.
Budget 2021: Highways face funding cut in Budget
National Highways is facing a major funding cut of some £3.4bn after today’s Budget, with the total for the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS 2) dropping dramatically from the £27.4bn announced last year to £24bn.
Budget 2021: Chancellor unveils Shared Prosperity Fund
The chancellor Rishi Sunak has revealed the first details of the long-awaited UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
