Politics
Committee calls for Government action on council debt chasing
Councils have been found to use ‘heavy-handed’ tactics to chase council tax debts, according to a report by MPs.
MPs in waste clarity call
England’s town halls cannot prepare for forthcoming waste reforms – including procurement - until ministers provide certainty over the impact on council coffers, MPs have warned.
Let the pleas begin
Is that a whiff of desperation in the air?
Hunt isn’t on the money
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has many talents, but a long memory doesn’t appear to be one of them.
Unions plan for January pay claim
Local government trade unions are aiming to submit their next one-year pay claim in January, The MJ understands.
McMahon returns to Labour frontbench
Former Oldham MBC leader Jim McMahon has returned to the opposition frontbench as shadow devolution and local government minister.
Councils welcome PWLB rate extension
Councils have welcomed chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s decision to extend preferential Public Works Loan Board borrowing rates for Housing Revenue Account (HRA) expenditure.
Pressure for LGA peer review to be strengthened
Senior Local Government Association (LGA) figures are pushing the organisation to beef up its peer review offer to help neutralise the threat from Oflog.
MPs demand answers on Oflog independence
MPs have called for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to outline the degree of independence the Office for Local Government (Oflog) will have.
Plymouth pulls out of ‘unreasonable’ devolution deal
Plymouth City Council has withdrawn from a proposed devolution deal after its leader branded it ‘unreasonable and unrealistic’.
Levelling up ambitions blighted by delays, says NAO
Ministers’ levelling up ambitions have been blighted by delays to key construction projects, with many deadlines unlikely to be met, the UK’s spending watchdog has warned.
Too many cuts could drain councils of their services
Heather Jameson says: ‘The question for ministers is not just ‘which councils face financial collapse’? It is also ‘which councils have cut so much that local services will suffer?’
Councils brace as Supreme Court outlaws Rwanda asylum plan
The Supreme Court has ruled the UK’s controversial proposal to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful – a decision likely to impact local government.
Department's financial views questioned
Levelling up civil servants have told council chiefs financial pressures have eased but watchdogs have warned other Whitehall departments may be driving local government’s costs.
Cleverly comes under immediate asylum pressure
New home secretary James Cleverly has come under immediate pressure to ditch his predecessor’s controversial asylum centre in his constituency.
'Slim pickings and missed opportunities'
Baroness Sharon Taylor reflects on the King's Speech, and says it's time to stop leaving councils to pick up the pieces on their own and give them the powers to take back control.
EXCLUSIVE: Oflog pushes ahead with early warning system
Senior Oflog officials are pressing ahead with their plans to create an early warning system for councils in trouble despite continuing Local Government Association (LGA) resistance, The MJ understands.
Sector waits for Downing Street to clear devolution announcement
Councils are hoping No10 will sign off an expansion of level two and level three devolution deals in time for next week’s Autumn Statement, The MJ understands.
EXCLUSIVE: Improvement grant talks to start with zero-based review
A zero-based budgeting review will take place as part of talks on next year’s sector-led improvement grant, The MJ understands.
Wales struggles to spend UKSPF cash
Wales has topped the list of regions for the amount of UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) cash unable to be spent in 2022-23.
