Funding
Squeezed and broken
Dr Jonathan Carr-West urges local government to make a unified case for greater funding, by seizing the moment in the run-up to the Spending Review
It's time to talk about tax
Paul O'Brien argues It’s time for an honest conversation about tax in the UK - and the 'smoke and mirrors' approach to the funding of public services needs to stop.
Council leaders insist waste reforms must be ‘fully funded’
Local authority leaders have welcomed plans to ‘overhaul’ the waste system, but cautioned Whitehall that any reforms need to be fully funded.
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
Austerity cuts get the blame for Brexit
Domestic political decisions were to blame for Brexit and will do little to help those deprived Leave areas that helped make it happen, says Michael Burton.
Councils are ready to do their best with Brexit
Heather Jameson says that in a breathtakingly brazen attempt to get the blame in early, civil servants have raised concerns about how councils will handle Brexit - but in reality local government is, mostly, at its best in an emergency.
Lords warn services face ‘evisceration’ without radical change
Lords have warned ministers of the ‘evisceration’ of local government unless funding is overhauled.
Balancing children’s outcomes
As pressures on children’s services budgets rise, London boroughs battle with balancing the books and keeping children safe. Ann McGauran reports on an MJ/Newton round table debate on the issues facing the chief executives of London councils
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.
Met councils' chair says proposed changes to funding formula 'grossly unfair'
The chair of the Special Interest Group of Metropolitan Authorities (SIGOMA) has written to James Brokenshire complaining about ‘grossly unfair’ and ‘illogical’ proposed changes to the fair funding formula.
Sunak calls for prevention funding
A minister has promised to press for more money for preventative services in the Government’s Spending Review.
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.
More than a third of councils face financial failure
More than a third of councils in England are at risk of financial failure in the next decade, with one in five on track to reach breaking point in the next three years, a new analysis has found.
Lord Bourne urges bids for Windrush Day events cash
As the MHCLG launches a £500,000 fund to support councils and community groups in putting on events to celebrate national Windrush Day Communities Minister Lord Bourne says local authorities have a powerful role to play
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.
Lancashire CC to face 'difficult decisions'
Lancashire CC will have to make some ‘difficult decisions’ over the next few months to ensure that it remains financially viable, auditors have concluded.
EXCLUSIVE: Cross-party councillors call to end funding uncertainty
Councillors from across the political spectrum have demanded the Government provide funding certainty ahead of the Budget next week.
New data proves iBCF impact
More than two out of three English councils were able to increase home care provision as a result of the Improved Better Care Fund, according to new data.
Reform council tax or lose our support, Greens tell SNP
Without any progress on council tax reform the Greens will vote down the upcoming Scottish budget, the party’s co-convener has warned.
North Somerset to benefit from new chief's 30-years experience
Gloucestershire CC’s director of finance, Jo Walker, will leave behind her 30-year career at the authority when she joins North Somerset Council as its new chief executive next year.