Budgets
Nottingham issues s114 notice
Nottingham City Council has issued a section 114 notice after failing to deliver a balanced budget for the current financial year.
Innovation keeps the wheels on social care
With no prospects of long-term funding solutions, social care teams are having to focus on creative initiatives and partnership working – and the Autumn Statement has added to the pressure. Paul Marinko reports.
Challenging times
Behind the headlines on finances, councils are grappling with protecting services and regenerating communities, writes Sheila Oxtoby.
London borough applies for capitalisation direction
Havering LBC is to apply for a capitalisation direction as it bids to avoid issuing a section 114 notice next year.
MPs press Government to resolve audit crisis
The Government should show more urgency in tackling the local audit crisis, a committee of MPs has said.
Millions of pounds in extra savings needed in social care, survey reveals
Council social care leaders are having to find millions of pounds of extra savings this year as winter pressures approach, a survey has revealed.
Thinking big and delivering locally
Chippenham Town Council may be a parish council, but is structured as and acts like a district or borough council – and that was always the plan, says Mark Smith.
Districts face unpalatable choices
The majority of district councils do not expect to be able to balance their budgets this year, says Cllr Elizabeth Dennis. But she believes it’s not too late for the Government to act.
Managing the tightrope
Given the knife-edge on which council budgets are currently balanced, the 20% of uncertainty local authorities face could be the difference between failure or survival, says Adele Taylor.
Charting new waters: the LGA after Mark Lloyd’s exit
Cllr Phil Broadhead looks at the challenge for the LGA as it seeks a new chief executive capable of navigating both choppy governmental seas and the channels of council operations.
Brum's fiscal firestorm
Birmingham City Council's dilemma highlights local governance struggles, but dire financial circumstances can catalyse positive changes, says Claire Agutter.
Putting communities in control
How could a serious government address tough challenges head on? A report from New Local and co-authored by a group of Labour council leaders sets out a route towards just that, says Jessica Studdert.
Overcoming our culture of austerity
Jonathan Flowers says there may be an opportunity for a new approach that is not defined by austerity, so where there is scope for innovation it’s important to make it count.
Putting the choice back into social care
In difficult times we have focused less on choice and control, but this needs to drive social care reforms again, says Ewan King.
Financial sustainability is never about clever financial mechanisms
Instead of waiting until it’s too late, Cornwall Council has stood up the senior officer Financial Review Group whose mandate is to call officers to account for the delivery of budgets within the approved limits, says Tracie Langley.
Combatting colossal challenges - future-proofing local authorities
With the right partner, cloud-based solutions are a more cost-effective route to modernisation than many in the public sector expect, says Anton Roe.
Council's ‘low-risk approach’ questioned
A council has been urged by Local Government Association (LGA) peers to take more risks to improve its financial outlook.
The sound of overstretched elastic bands snapping?
The budget setting process provides an insight into how sensitivity to the political undercurrents plays into the role of the chief executive, says Blair Mcpherson.
Councils face £3.5bn shortfall
Research has uncovered a £3.5bn shortfall facing councils over the next financial year.
Missions budgeting in a challenging funding context
Public sector recovery and renewal, with limited fiscal headroom to fund more than stabilisation, will need consistency of purpose over time, and a funding and budgeting approach that supports this, says Jon Rowney.
