Councillors
Call for leaders to be given seat at top table
A council of UK civic leaders chaired by the Prime Minister and mayors on the Privy Council are among the calls from a think-tank.
Capita urged to make pension improvements
Barnet Labour councillors have urged outsourcing firm Capita to make improvements to the authority’s pension scheme after thousands of mistakes were found.
Report discovers little assurance on council-owned company governance
A Hertsmere BC audit report has only given ‘limited assurance’ that its governance of council-owned companies is effectively controlled.
Setting standards for democracy
Proposals to suspend councillors for their misdemeanours may cause more problems than they solve, argues Colin Copus. Instead, the public should have the right of recall
Redditch slapped with rare Section 24
Auditor Grant Thornton has slapped Redditch BC with a rare Section 24 notice and urged it to take urgent steps to address its financial challenges.
Children's services progress 'slow and uneven'
Ofsted has described the progress of Reading BC to improve its children’s services as ‘slow, uneven and not always sustained’.
New shared leadership team for council pair
Two councils that recently reinstated the position of joint chief executive have laid out plans to appoint a new shared leadership team.
Brum tourist tax call from ex-ministers
Former ministers have called for a tourist tax to be trialled in Birmingham to help fund the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.
A 700-page turner
What’s the longest cabinet or committee meeting agenda you’ve come across? 100 pages? 300?
Havering 'can look both ways'
Havering LBC’s chief executive has insisted that the council can look towards both London and Essex as it plots a path to the future.
Ten years of shining a light on the exceptional work of councillors
The Local Government Information Unit’s (LGiU) Cllr Achievement Awards – now in their 10th year – are the only national awards to honour the hard work and dedication of councillors. Dr Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGiU, tells us more.
We need a more nuanced conversation around trust
Ben Page says that while trust in central Government has fallen in both Britain and the US since the 1960s, the problem is not new, or acute. It is chronic - and was there 'as money poured in under Blair' and is 'still there as money pours out'.
‘Legacy issues’ delay South Ribble accounts
The leader of South Ribble BC has told councillors the authority will miss the statutory deadline for publishing its annual accounts.
County Councils Network announces next chairman
The County Councils Network (CCN) has announced that Hertfordshire CC leader Cllr David Williams will be its next chairman.
Councils still dominated by male politicans, says Fawcett Society
Women’s representation in local government is ‘at a standstill’ according to the Fawcett Society.
Council to borrow extra cash after project cost hike
Stockton-on-Tees BC councillors last night approved an extra £6.5m borrowing after costs for the restoration of a live entertainment venue increased.
Worcest case scenarios
The word chairman conjures up images of Chinese dictators and dodgy Russian football club owners.
Extra borrowing request after restoration costs rise
Stockton-on-Tees BC councillors will be asked next week to approve an extra £6.5m borrowing after costs for the restoration of a live entertainment venue increased.
Legal officers press for standards reform
The rise in the number of independent councillors has strengthened the case for a tougher standards regime, monitoring officers have argued.
Council finding it 'harder to identify and deliver savings'
Knowsley MBC is finding it ‘harder to identify and deliver savings’ given the scale of Government funding cuts, senior councillors will be told next week.