Chris Mahony
Serious case review launched after double murder verdict
A serious case review has been launched after a woman and her partner were sentenced for murdering her two teenage sons.
LGA loans more cash to commercial arm
Smith Square lent its commercial arm £2m at the start of the year and last month provided further funding, it has emerged.
Employers delay response to 10% pay claim
Local government employers have told trade union leaders that they are unlikely to respond to their 10% pay claim before next year.
Kirklees urged to invest in corporate centre
Kirklees MBC should invest in its corporate centre and streamline decision-making to support both members and senior officers, a corporate peer challenge report has urged.
Oxford and Reading top city performance list
Cities have largely recovered economically from the 2007/08 financial crisis but must now focus on housing affordability and health-related issues, according to PwC and Demos.
General Election 'spending arms race' predicted
Parties making public spending pledges during the election campaign should look beyond the size of the state and consider its shape, a high-profile report from the Resolution Foundation has urged
St Helens still failing on children's services, says Ofsted
Cultural barriers and significant change at the corporate level have slowed the response of St Helens MBC to serious failures in its children’s services, according to a follow-up Ofsted report published this week.
IPPR calls for public health funding to be linked to NHS budgets
Public health funding should be linked to increases in the NHS budget, a briefing published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) suggests.
'Public health emergency' urged over drugs deaths
MPs have urged the UK and Scottish governments to declare a public health emergency around drug deaths in Scotland and for Westminster to legislate to allow safe consumption facilities.
Government launches care recruitment drive
The Department of Health and Social Care is set to launch the second phase of its advertising campaign to help fill 122,000 vacancies in social care.
Questions raised over Glasgow equal pay claims
A documentary has questioned the tactics of the unions involved in the £548m equal pay claim settled by Glasgow City Council – and their deduction of 6.9% from each individual settlement to cover legal costs.
CQC: care Green Paper delay causing 'instability'
The care regulator has accused the Government of aggravating the funding pressures in adult social care by stalling on the long-awaited green paper for the sector.
Queen's speech: Councils promised new powers to tackle pollution
The Queen’s Speech promised an Environment Bill which will establish a ‘world-leading’ independent regulator, the Office for Environmental Protection, and hand some new powers to councils.
Government to intervene over 5G concerns
Ministers are reportedly set to write to planning authorities urging them not to block the introduction of 5G technology.
‘Raise benefits to aid homeless’
Campaigners are urging ministers to increase housing-related benefits and to support social housebuilding following the publication of several reports and datasets in the run-up to World Homeless Day today.
'Raise benefits to aid homeless'
Campaigners are urging ministers to increase housing-related benefits and to support social house-building following the publication of several reports and datasets on World Homeless Day today.
LGA calls for more cash to tackle air polution
The Local Government Association has responded coolly to a ministerial invitation for councils to bid for a slice of £2m through the Air Quality Grant Scheme.
Think tanks to produce ‘toolkit’ to improve governance
A project part-funded by Whitehall and the Local Government Association aims to produce ‘practical support’ and a toolkit to improve councils’ corporate governance by next summer.
County treasurers urge London councils to hike council tax
Inner London councils should increase their band D council tax ‘closer to the national average’ to raise hundreds of millions of pounds, the Society of County Treasurers (SCT) has told ministers.
Council to bask in glow of solar farm cash
Warrington Council expects to generate an estimated operating surplus of £150m over 30 years after buying two UK solar farms.