Improvement
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.
Harriss gets top job at Harrow
Harrow LBC has appointed Sean Harriss to be its new chief executive, taking over from interim boss Tom Whiting next year.
'Long way to go on integration' - audit
There is still a ‘long way to go’ to achieve integrated health and social care in Scotland, an audit report has found.
Extra commissioner planned for Northamptonshire
James Brokenshire is expected to appoint an extra commissioner to Northamptonshire CC after inspectors found deteriorating services were leaving vulnerable children at risk of harm.
Auditor: Powys failing to improve
Embattled Powys CC is still failing to improve performance standards, an annual audit report has found.
'New beginning' for Bristol after 'significant void'
Bristol City Council (BCC) ‘lost a year’ due to inertia caused by a lack of officer leadership, Local Government Association peers have been told.
Council has 'come a long way since 2007'
East Lothian Council has made significant improvements but still faces big challenges due to its rising population, Scotland’s local authority watchdog has said.
Box faces crisis of confidence
Labour councillors in Wakefield have warned they will lose confidence in their leader Peter Box if he fails to improve children’s services.
Researchers to look at '200-mile long Whitehall screwdriver'
Experts have laid out their plans to examine whether the Government’s 20-year-old intervention regime remains fit-for-purpose.
A positive intervention
Six months ahead of plan the Government decided commissioners were no longer required in Rotherham. Leader of the council Chris Read outlines the key lessons learned from intervention.