Budgets and efficiency
Council to change finance approach after review
Warrington BC has ‘consistently overspent’ against parts of its budget and needs to change its approach to deliver services ‘from a more sustainable financial footing’.
Auditor raises reserves concerns at Redcar & Cleveland
The council has been warned it faces running out of reserves within two years.
LGA: Audit deadline should be pushed back
The July audit deadline should be pushed back to September 30 for future years, the Local Government Association (LGA) has told ministers.
£1m boost from commercial investment
A plan to invest in commercial property has brought in more than £1m extra in rent over the past year to Basingstoke & Deane BC.
Redditch slapped with rare Section 24
Auditor Grant Thornton has slapped Redditch BC with a rare Section 24 notice and urged it to take urgent steps to address its financial challenges.
Barnsley 'high performing' despite austerity
Barnsley MBC is ‘high performing’ despite its long battle with austerity, a peer review by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found.
Labour proposes outsourcing reversal
Labour’s plans to reverse outsourcing of council services have drawn a mixed reaction from the sector.
Local government must surely be up for a shift to insourcing
Labour has published a plan for ‘21st century insourcing’. John Tizard says the party is 'not simply arguing for a return to the early 1970s' - 'rather they want to reset the dial’ so that public services are more democratic and accountable.
New management model with no chief approved
Redcar and Cleveland BC hopes to save about £220,000 per year after scrapping its chief executive role as part of a new management model.
Universal Credit draining council resources
Universal Credit (UC) is draining resources from councils, a new survey has found.
Intelligent intervention
Peterborough’s pioneering partnership with the Institute for Fiscal Studies aims to benefit its communities’ outcomes for children and young people. Wendi Ogle-Welbourn sets out why the city is testing the approach.
Fastest-growing council faces budget shortfall
Midlothian Council needs to deal with a significant budget shortfall as it faces further pressures as the fastest-growing local authority in Scotland, a report today from the local government spending watchdog has said.
Shetland Islands' spending 'unsustainable'
Spending at Shetland Islands Council has been labelled ‘unsustainable’ by an external auditor.
'Real cuts' warning after overspend
Rotherham MBC faces having to make ‘real cuts and reductions in service provision’ after recording a £9.6m overspend in 2018/19.
Caring is sharing in the South West
Mel Lock explains how a network of assistant directors of adult social care, sponsored by directors across all authorities throughout the South-West, has been created to share learning and improve collaboration
Council finding it 'harder to identify and deliver savings'
Knowsley MBC is finding it ‘harder to identify and deliver savings’ given the scale of Government funding cuts, senior councillors will be told next week.
No new cash for Greater Manchester local industrial strategy
A former senior civil servant and council chief has questioned the impact of Greater Manchester’s local industrial strategy after it came with no new money.
Driving ahead with digitisation
A digital transformation programme has led to identified savings of more than £580,000 over 10 years at Craven DC, says Paul Shevlin.
A fair care package at a fair price with fair wages
Dr Andrew Larner says it is more important than ever to understand whether a fair price is being paid for a package of care that is fair to the service user
Medway habits must change, officers warn
Medway Council’s ‘reliance on windfalls’ is unsustainable after increased income from local taxation allowed it to balance its 2018/19 budget, senior councillors will be warned.