County Councils Network
Counties urge Whitehall to ‘look again’ at social care funding formula
County councils have voiced concerns over the Government’s proposed formula for funding adult social care.
Mets feeling deprived over funding formula
Can the sector reach a consensus on the weighting given to deprivation in the fair funding formula? Ann McGauran examines the local government reaction
There is no perfect method
'Fair funding' looks to be provoking arguments similar to two bald men fighting over a comb, but reductions in spending estimates for some of the most deprived authorities are not a good look, says Ben Page.
Let's build on the positives of 2018
Director of the CCN Simon Edwards says that while the latest fair funding consultation is on a positive trajectory there is still a way to go to reset an opaque and unfair system.
Cracking the code
The complexity of the budgetary challenges faced by English councils has raised the alarm within the sector about its ability to resist future financial shocks. Will CIPFA's new resilience index help? Ann McGauran reports
Councils may have to hand back grant
Some of the extra £55m Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) announced by the chancellor in the Budget may have to be handed back by councils.
Economic value of social care tends to slip under the radar
The social care Green Paper must set out proposals that recognise the need to develop a motivated, skilled and properly remunerated workforce, says new chairman of the Association of County Chief Executives Anthony May
EXCLUSIVE: The Bucks stops here
Local government secretary James Brokenshire will only invite new unitary proposals in the case of another Northamptonshire CC-type collapse, The MJ understands.
Brokenshire’s very big ‘to do’ list for 2019
Wiltshire is not in crisis - and despite how it feels, not all councils are on the brink of collapse, says Heather Jameson
Gwynne: There's been no end to austerity
Opposition politicians have hit out at the Government’s record on funding the sector at the County Councils’ Network conference today.
Porter: My devolution regrets
Failing to do more devolution is Lord Porter’s biggest regret in his career as Local Government Association chairman so far, he told the County Councils' Network conference today.
Brokenshire: 2019 will be turning point for local government
Next year will be a ‘turning point’ for local government, communities secretary James Brokenshire has told the County Councils’ Network conference, with the Spending Review and changes to the finance regime.
Bucks shake-up last of its kind
The scrapping of Buckinghamshire’s councils in favour of a single county-wide unitary is likely to be the last local government reorganisation decision of its kind, The MJ understands.
Something to build on
There are bold plans in place to tackle the country’s housing problems, and county authorities can be key to their progress, says key speaker at this year's County Councils' Network conference Sir Edward Lister
Devo: a model performance?
Key speaker at this year's County Councils' Network conference Will Tanner feels the time is now to develop a model of devolution that will work outside cities
The quest for a fairer future
In the run-up to this year’s County Councils’ Network annual conference Simon Edwards looks at the immense challenges facing counties and the campaign for fair funding.
SENDing a message to government
With two councils awaiting the outcomes of judicial reviews into their plans to cut back spending on SEND services and a possible legal challenge for central government, Ann McGauran asks if more cash will be found to deal with 'a sense of crisis'
The money messages may be getting back to the centre
The accusation from local government that it is seldom listened to by central government has some merit, says Simon Edwards - but he believes key recent announcements do suggest that perhaps some of the messages from councils are cutting through.
A sticking plaster on social care?
Health secretary Matt Hancock’s social care cash announcement at the Conservative Party conference was overshadowed by the Prime Minister’s housing announcements, but Ann McGauran asks if it goes far enough
Watchdog calls for NHS and care funds to be pooled
Increased social care funding is the only way to relieve pressure on hospitals, local government leaders warned after a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report today found that pressure on A&E departments is increasing due to a lack of integration.