Improvement
Making progress in Powys
An inspection revealing child protection processes at Powys CC were not good enough came as a ‘hard knock’, says leader Rosemarie Harris. She talks to Dan Peters about the council’s continuing improvement journey.
Travelling on the long road to improvement
After the big developments of the past week – with the improvement team finishing its intervention and a stern report warning of the work still to be done to stabilise Birmingham’s finances, Heather Jameson talks to chief executive Dawn Baxendale
Brum improvement team issues final damning judgement and walks away
Birmingham City Council’s intervention team has issued a final, damning report on the crisis-hit council and walked away – despite admitting its job is not complete.
Newham failing vulnerable children - Ofsted
Vulnerable children in are being ‘failed’ by Newham LBC, an Ofsted report has found.
'Much more to do' to improve quality of Northamptonshire CC services
There is ‘much more to do’ to improve the quality of Northamptonshire CC’s services, two Government-appointed commissioners have told Whitehall.
New directors help children's services improve
A new senior leadership team has brought ‘drive, energy and focus’ to Croydon LBC’s efforts to improve after an inadequate Ofsted judgement 18 months ago, inspectors have found.
Hamilton to leave DCN for improvement role
Director of the District Councils’ Network (DCN), Matthew Hamilton, has been appointed as the new improvement manager at the Local Government Association (LGA).
Council makes 'significant progress' after standards issues
Sandwell MBC has made ‘significant progress’ following an independent review last year.
Councils bring back joint chief executive role
Two local authorities have reinstated the position of joint chief executive after sector peers said it would ‘drive the councils into the future’.
Council at crucial crossroads
Copeland BC is at an ‘important cross-roads for its future’ as it faces an ‘extremely serious financial challenge,’ Local Government Association peers have said.
Call for Derbyshire to 'overcome departmentalism'
Investment in a greater corporate centre for Derbyshire CC is needed to overcome departmentalism, Local Government Association peers have suggested.
LGA faces financial headache
Smith Square has acknowledged the financial challenges it faces as it freezes subscriptions while grappling with declining Government grants and a pension scheme deficit.
Whitehall stalled for year prior to Northamptonshire intervention
The Government waited for more than a year before intervening over Northamptonshire CC’s financial difficulties, it has emerged.
Northamptonshire reduces budget gap but still faces £11m overspend
Northamptonshire CC has moved closer to closing its budget gap, with new figures showing a £19m improvement since July.
Councils are coming out of the shadows
While we can do without friendly fire from a failing Government, councils do need to address issues of performance and leadership locally, says Paul Wheeler.
Scrutiny chief in failure warning
Failure in local government is likely to become more prevalent in the years ahead due to looming pressures, the chief executive of the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) has warned.
Future Forum North: Whiteman rages at removing finance directors from top team
Council chief executives that demote the finance director role from the top team were being ‘too clever by half,’ Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy boss Rob Whiteman has said.
Northants reveals rescue budget
Northamptonshire CC’s draft budget proposes a council tax increase of 2.99% for next year after ministers agreed the county could use up to £70m of capital receipts to plug funding gaps.
EXCLUSIVE: Top 10 most productive councils revealed
‘Fetishising failure’ distracts increasingly scarce management time away from improving outcomes, according to a new report naming the top 10 most productive councils in England.
'Very little room for error' in Northamptonshire stabilisation plan
Northamptonshire CC’s stabilisation plans leaves ‘very little room for error,’ the council’s improvement board has warned.