LGiU
Redrawing our future after COVID
What we have learnt from coronavirus is that we need flexibility, adaptability and civic solidarity, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West - and in the next phases of the pandemic the need for relocalisation will become more urgent for at least three reasons.
PR strategist's hall of shame
Diary is inundated with press releases, speeches and blog posts on a regular basis.
Councils urged to think about economic recovery
Councils have been urged to start thinking about the economic recovery from coronavirus after high double-digit declines in sales.
Engaging our global family
Local government needs to pool its combined knowledge and learn from the perspective of others - near and far - as Dr Jonathan Carr-West explains.
‘Stop kicking us three steps back’
Our annual local government finance survey shows most councils are planning to raise council tax – and reveals support for fiscal devolution is by no means universal. Dan Peters reports.
Our unsustainable finance system needs a reboot
Heather Jameson says the finance system is increasingly unsustainable and local government has no confidence in the Government’s plans to resolve it or to tackle the issue of funding adult social care.
Business rates blow
Plans to use business rates to fund local government have been dealt a major blow by a survey that finds wavering confidence in the policy.
EXCLUSIVE: 100% business rates retention could be back on agenda
Full retention of business rates could shoot back up the agenda as part of a long-awaited Government review, The MJ understands.
Majority of councils expect to spend more on Brexit than Government has allotted
More than half of chief executives (56%) expect to spend more on Brexit preparations than the Government has allotted to their council, with a quarter (26%) expecting to spend significantly more.
Building from the ground up
Dr Jonathan Carr-West says the energy directed at Brexit could have been focused on other things - and councils should have a settlement with their communities so they can build a stronger national constitutional framework from the bottom up.
Brexit guidance 'inadequate'
Guidance provided by the Government in relation to the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit on children’s services and education is ‘inadequate,’ a think-tank has claimed.
Fuelling the future
Hiba Mahamadi looks at how the two councils who have stepped in to the energy market have fared so far and at whether the future lies in striking up white label partnerships.
Emergency settlement call as councils face financial cliff-edge
Calls have been made by a think-tank for a one-year emergency local government settlement with councils facing a ‘financial cliff-edge’.
Bringing new members up to speed on funding
England’s new cadre of councillors need to navigate a perfect storm of financial challenges. How can finance directors help them cope successfully with the complexities they face? Ann McGauran reports
Rolling out a new institutionalism
Dr Jonathan Carr-West wonders if, alongside new localism, we need a new institutionalism too?
Combined strategy call to tackle homelessness
The Government should commit to a coherent combined housing and homelessness strategy, a report published today by a commission of experts has urged after a year-long investigation.
Government bidding culture attacked
The growing trend of forcing councils to bid for small, policy-specific grants has been attacked as an ‘inefficient use of public resources’ by a think-tank.
The local is where the repairs begin
The things these elections should really be about – homes, schools, high streets, care and children’s services - are being fatally undermined by dysfunctional national politics, says Dr Jonathan Carr-West.
Further delay to devolution drive
The Government’s repeatedly-delayed devolution framework will not be published until after Brexit, minister Jake Berry has admitted.
Government to push ahead with 75% rates retention in 2020/21
Whitehall will push ahead with plans to implement 75% business rates retention in 2020/21 despite calls for a one-year delay, The MJ understands.
