02 July 2020

In one of a series of essays on how the wisdom of citizens could support councils in managing cities after COVID-19, Peter Baeck and Sophie Reynolds look at the urban planning  and design process - and share inspiring examples from across the world.

01 July 2020

People are using digital tech to connect, engage with and shape their town or city by talking to street objects. Tiernan Mines explains.

19 June 2020

John Knight says COVID-19 has given citizens a much sharper focus on the local services they value and need. It’s time for councils to open a conversation with residents on what they want for the future, he believes

03 June 2020

The findings of a survey on the future impact of COVID-19 on councils provide an opportunity to consider ways to level up how services are delivered, says John Knight.

22 May 2020

Does COVID-19 end consultations? The simple answer is ‘no’, according to Laura Thornton. But she says consideration needs to be given to mitigation measures that ensure consultation is fair. 

20 April 2020

Audit scale fees for 2020/21 have been frozen though there could still be rises for individual councils ahead.

31 March 2020

Whitehall officials have insisted that they want to make progress with other government business despite the coronavirus crisis.

30 March 2020

Gateshead MBC is to formally consult on proposals to bring its housing services back in-house.

24 March 2020

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) officials have said they will look at further easing the burdens on the sector amid the coronavirus crisis.

16 March 2020

A £3bn growth deal is needed to avoid a gap in the delivery of capital projects while the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is introduced, the organisation representing local enterprise partnerships (LEP) has said.

12 March 2020

District councils have called for a ‘more robust procurement process’ as an increasing number of auditors shift away from their tendered prices.

05 March 2020

There are many ways to make it easier to forge public consensus on the difficult decisions needed for the long-term, says Laurie Smith. Here, he outlines three ‘participatory futures’ case studies from across the globe.

03 March 2020

Calls intensified this week for the Government to reform its ‘outdated’ Right to Buy (RtB) policy in next week’s Budget.

12 February 2020

Cllr Ahsan Khan outlines why Waltham Forest LBC is holding a Citizens’ Assembly to find practical local ways of stopping hate in all its forms.

12 February 2020

Adults do not want to be treated like children to be nannied by the state, says Claire Fox – but she is not convinced that Citizens’ Assemblies are the right way forward.

10 February 2020

The Treasury could benefit from an £80m windfall from controversially increasing the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) interest rate by 1%, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.

28 January 2020

The Government’s proposed council tax referendum threshold of 2% or £5 for shire district councils is ‘not sufficient,’ the District Councils’ Network (DCN) has said.

20 January 2020

Pressure is growing on the Department for Education (DfE) to take responsibility for growing dedicated schools grant (DSG) deficits as the number of councils reporting them rises.

14 January 2020

The organisation responsible for appointing auditors should take away up to 20% of current contracts from existing suppliers and put them back out to tender, a top accountancy body has said.

22 November 2019

Council treasurers have expressed concerns that two consultations on the future of audit are being carried out in isolation, The MJ understands.