Martin Ford
'Blunt tool' ranks council finances
Rushcliffe BC is the highest-ranked council in England for finance with Leeds City Council coming bottom, according to metrics.
DCS churn nears record levels
The number of changes in directors of children’s services (DCS) postholders has reached near record levels, it has been revealed.
Call for powers to back up funeral director inspections
Councils have said they ‘urgently’ need more powers and resources after being tasked with inspecting funeral directors.
Vote warning
Elections officers have warned of the impact of changes to postal vote rules as polls open across England and Wales today.
Political battle over National Care Service
Competing visions of the future of social care have been set out by Labour and the Conservatives as they prepare for a General Election.
Social housing tests could heavily impact London
London boroughs are likely to be most heavily impacted by the Government’s proposed UK connection test for social housing.
Councils propose shared chief executive
Two Welsh local authorities have proposed appointing a shared chief executive.
Gove open to giving mayors Whitehall voice
Local government secretary Michael Gove has not ruled out a ‘formal structure’ for mayors to work more closely with central government.
Minister rules out Oflog role on audit
A minister has quashed suggestions oversight of audit should be handed to the Office for Local Government (Oflog).
Peers call for action on private ownership of children’s homes
Peers have called for action to tackle private companies’ dominance of the children’s homes market.
High Court challenge against Government energy standards
A legal challenge against Government restrictions on energy efficiency standards is to proceed to the High Court.
West of England Combined Authority announces chief
The West of England Combined Authority has appointed Stephen Peacock as its chief executive.
Wirral assurance panel ‘no longer required’
Wirral MBC’s Independent Assurance Panel (IAP) has officially stood down after declaring it was ‘no longer required’.
Watchdog tells Falkirk to confront 'difficult decisions'
Falkirk Council faces ‘difficult decisions’ to bridge a budget gap of tens of millions, according to Audit Scotland.
Cyber criminals target councils in tactics shift
A fresh warning for councils to be vigilant against cyber attackers has been issued after a shift in criminal tactics.
NHS Confederation chief rejects call for councils to take health role
Dramatic proposals to devolve health responsibilities to local authorities have been rejected by NHS Confederation chief executive officer Matthew Taylor.
EXCLUSIVE: Demand surges for UASC age assessments
Councils are struggling to cope with demand for age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) as record numbers arrive once again in Kent.
The quest for community harmony
A Government-commissioned review has spelt out the difficulties councils face when trying to protect social cohesion. Martin Ford reports.
Grant Thornton fined over pension audit
Grant Thornton has been fined by the Financial Reporting Council for ‘failures’ in its audit of an unnamed local authority’s pension fund.
Chief executive rejects MP's 'fraud' claims
Rossendale BC’s chief executive has spoken out to rebuff fraud claims made by the Conservative MP.