Devolution
£95k cap will 'erode council rights'
The looming £95,000 cap on exit payments in the public sector will erode the rights of councils to decide workforce changes, a vice-president of the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.
Future Forum: Business rates retention is doomed
Moves to fund local government using the proceeds from business rates are ‘doomed,’ according to a financial expert.
Five ways to be ahead of the curve
Ruth Morgan and Sean Anstee put forward five recommendations to consider when putting together proposals for local government reform. ‘Let’s grab the opportunity to secure lasting change for our communities’, they add.
County unitaries join growing network
Two county unitaries are among five local authorities that have joined the growing Unitary Councils’ Network (UCN) as tensions bubble around reorganisation.
'A really terrible time' for reorganisation
There is never going to be a good time for local government reorganisation, says Paul Shevlin. 'There is definitely a really terrible time and this is it.'
There's no justification for the 'patchwork quilt' of councils
For better or for worse, the Devolution and Local Recovery White Paper should be a long overdue catalyst for change, and an opportunity to shift power and resources nearer to communities, says Anthony May.
Putting the spotlight on pension strain
Since the proposals for an exit payment cap of £95,000 emerged, ALACE has consistently argued that pension strain ‘should not be counted or should be counted in a fair way’, says Tracey Lee.
We can’t wait any longer for major reform of local government
The current patchwork of local government needs to change if we are to have any hope of levelling up places across the country, argues Simon Jeffrey of Centre for Cities.
The dark side of Clarke
Last week, the sector mourned the sudden departure of local government minister Simon Clarke.
Devolution must back our success in delivery
The pandemic has proved again that bigger Government is not always better, says John Fuller. 'We have to celebrate the differences across our towns and cities, connecting and firing up engines of growth that have so far missed out from devolution'.
Forget the charm, local government needs certainty
Heather Jameson asks if Boris Johnson’s surprise appearance on a local government call this week could be the start of a charm offensive. 'Forget the charm, a decent finance settlement and devolution deal will do the trick', she adds.
People matter more than places
Until we stop obsessing about the process of place and begin to reconnect meaningfully with people where they live, we won’t change anything, says Donna Hall.
Think-tank proposes axing hundreds of councils
England’s 349 councils should be replaced with 69 unitary authorities, a think-tank has argued.
Is there the political will to push through reorganisation?
Simon Clarke's unexpected resignation as local government minister begs the question of what happens now on devolution and reorganisation, says Heather Jameson. There are many reasons why restructuring is a problem, she adds.
The restructure we require is not to be found in our town halls
The devolution White Paper will reveal Boris Johnson's 'northern growth body'. But this will have a fatal flaw as its creator is Whitehall, writes Sarah Longlands.
A Programme of change for Scotland
Scotland’s new Programme for Government offered Indyref 2 as the showstopper, but for local government across the UK the focus will be on the findings of a review to consider the move to a National Care Service. Heather Jameson reports.
Councils plead for further devolution
Local authorities require more devolved powers to drive improvements in health and social care, MPs have been told.
LEPs need capacity boost to improve delivery, research finds
Local enterprise partnerships (LEP) would be better at delivering large-scale capital projects if they had more capacity, independent research for the Government has found.
MHCLG denies blanket plan to scrap districts
The Government has denied it is pursuing the blanket abolition of district councils as part of the Devolution White Paper.
Scottish councils release blueprint for change
A local government blueprint laying out the changes required to unlock councils’ full potential has been published by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) today.
