Mark Conrad
Councils frustrated by Whitehall siloes, says chief
Whitehall’s siloed approach to city centre renewal has led to ‘real frustration’ from councils, slowed down projects and increased costs, a local authority chief has warned.
Re-elected Burnham calls for Right to Buy suspension powers
Greater Manchester’s re-elected mayor has called for powers to suspend Right to Buy on new homes under plans to build 10,000 houses across the region.
Newham promises 'relationship reset' after concerns
Newham LBC has promised a ‘relationship reset’ following claims a ‘culture of mistrust’ had developed between senior politicians and officers.
Election timetable means councils face race against time
Councils’ next finance settlement may have to be announced before a Spending Review amid ‘extremely accelerated’ demands after the General Election, experts have warned.
Cuts linked to widening health inequalities
Widening health inequalities across England are directly associated with cuts to councils’ spending power, according to research.
Brum equal pay wait goes on
Birmingham City Council faces a further wait before declaring its official equal pay liabilities after auditors warned ‘we have yet to receive the evidence we need to complete our work’.
Vote warning
Elections officers have warned of the impact of changes to postal vote rules as polls open across England and Wales today.
Auditors issue warning over member-officer relations at district
Teignbridge DC has deployed external support to improve member-officer relations after auditors reported the authority has made little progress since warnings last year.
Think-tank: Growth in tall buildings failing to tackle housing need
‘Unplanned proliferation’ of tall buildings has not delivered the housing Britain needs, Policy Exchange has warned.
Guildford to sell £50m of assets
Guildford BC has approved the sale of £50m of assets over three years under plans to stabilise the Surrey-based authority’s finances.
East Devon to appoint new chief
East Devon DC is poised to appoint Tracy Hendren as its new permanent chief executive.
Bristol officers accused of 'misleading' over development
Officers at Bristol City Council have been accused of providing ‘misleading’ advice linked to a decision to approve a controversial 28-storey development.
NAO warning over childcare reforms
Just one in 10 councils predict they will meet the deadline to create 85,000 Government-funded childcare places by autumn 2025, spending watchdogs have warned.
'No appetite' for Scottish equal pay unit
Scottish Government ministers are unlikely to establish a national equal pay unit despite calls from the trade union that led strikes over the snowballing issue.
UK first as council approves stake in low-carbon firm
Shropshire Council is to become joint owner of a firm producing low-carbon materials worth an estimated £133,333 annually to the authority.
Fresh call for Right to Buy restrictions
Housing experts today called for fresh restrictions on the controversial Right to Buy policy – including a ban on applying it to new builds.
Whiteman criticises lack of prevention focus in productivity demands
Some ministerial productivity demands are ‘populist nonsense’ more likely to appear in election campaigns than ‘plug material gaps’ in council finances, an expert has warned.
Scots government 'unlikely' to create equal pay body
Scottish Government ministers are unlikely to establish a national equal pay unit, despite calls from the trade union that led to strikes over the snowballing issue.
Councils hit with new productivity demands
Ministers have demanded councils improve their productivity in the same week as the Government quietly published a report revealing Whitehall makes the sector less efficient.
Struggles continue for scandal-hit council contractor
A council contractor previously at the centre of a residential care abuse scandal has continued to struggle since it closed the sites.