Local Government Association
Government backtrack over staircase tax
The Government has appeared to backtrack on a commitment to ‘fully compensate’ the sector for the loss of income due to changes in business rates.
LGA report suggests lifting of council tax freeze
Broxtowe BC should consider lifting its council tax freeze as it begins to use reserves at a ‘significant rate,’ a Local Government Association desktop review of the authority’s financial position has suggested.
Labour outlines housing policy
Labour would scrap right to buy, and give councils new borrowing freedoms and central funding in a bid to kick-start house building, the party said today.
Fitzgerald loses court battle to review arrest
Liverpool City Council’s chief executive, Ged Fitzgerald, has lost a legal attempt to judicial review his arrest.
Sector to tackle peer challenge take-up
The number of councils that have not had a corporate peer challenge (CPC) since 2012 will be reduced by half in 2018/19, the sector’s Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) has agreed.
ADASS: Working age adults argument 'has been won'
Government has been convinced to address the entirety of the adult social care system as it prepares to publish a green paper this summer, an independent expert brought in by Whitehall has suggested.
ADASS: DToC focus has consequences
The focus on delayed transfers of care compromises a strategic approach, a Care Quality Commission (CQC) official has warned.
LGA strikes £20m improvement deal
Whitehall is looking to strengthen the sector-led improvement regime in its latest £20m deal with the Local Government Association (LGA), The MJ understands.
Top team support demand rising
Demand for top team support has been increasing and is expected to rise further after next month’s local government elections, The MJ has learned.
'Rudd strategy undermined by grant delay'
Home secretary Amber Rudd’s plan to tackle serious violence is undermined by delayed grant payments to councils, Smith Square has warned.
Fitzgerald poised to leave Liverpool
Former Bradford City Council chief executive, Tony Reeves, has signed a three-month deal to provide further consultancy services to Liverpool City Council amid speculation that the Merseyside authority could part company with suspended boss Ged Fitzgerald.
New guide to improve member-officer relations
Cheshire East Council has responded to concerns about member-officer relations by producing a new guide outlining the roles and responsibilities of both groups.
A tale of two referendums
Local government is desperate to be the source of fresh ideas for government in a post-Brexit world. Sam Clayden reports
Counties back down over LGA quit threat
County-led threats to quit the Local Government Association (LGA) have failed to materialise.
LGA seeks cash to defend legal claim
The Local Government Association (LGA) is seeking financial support from across the sector as it prepares for a legal fight with NHS trusts over rates relief.
Our peer challenge experience
Mike Harden breaks down the key learning from Knowsley MBC's recent peer challenge.
The Challenge continues
Teams Ambition and Vision gathered together for the second stage of this year’s LG Challenge. Ged Perkins summarises the results of the latest task which took part within the confines of Staffordshire CC.
Finding the sector’s voice
Mark Conrad summarises a lively round table discussion, hosted by the CIPFA in partnership with SOLACE, the LGA and The MJ, in which senior officials from across local government discuss the challenges and benefits of a unified vision for the sector.
Senior figures united in bid for increased sector funding
Local government bodies have discussed jointly lobbying ministers over much-needed investment amid fears the scramble for a fair funding deal could tear apart the sector.
IFS implores action over growing social care funding chasm
The Government will need to scrap its funding reforms, significantly boost top-ups or centralise care if it is to plug the social care funding gap, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned today.