Improvement
Somerset auditors recognise improved finances
Somerset CC’s improved finances have been recognised by auditors, according to a report to be discussed next week.
EXCLUSIVE: Department 'ready' to help councils through Brexit
Robert Jenrick has told The MJ his department ‘stands ready’ to guide councils through Brexit amid a review of the sector’s readiness for no-deal.
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’.
Capita urged to make pension improvements
Barnet Labour councillors have urged outsourcing firm Capita to make improvements to the authority’s pension scheme after thousands of mistakes were found.
New directors add to improvement pace
Croydon LBC’s new executive director and director of early help and children’s social care have quickly made improvements to the council’s inadequate children’s services, Ofsted has said.
Second management overhaul for Grenfell council in two years
Further changes will be made to Kensington & Chelsea LBC’s management structure to ‘make it fit for 2020 and beyond’.
'Mean, nasty, brutish and short'
A recent reunion of the original cast of the late Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) has led Paul Wheeler to ponder the 'barriers and pitfalls that have been erected in the path of future progress'.
Government: Brum no longer requires children's commissioner
Birmingham City Council no longer requires a Government-appointed commissioner to run its children’s services, the Department for Education (DfE) had announced.
Children's services progress 'slow and uneven'
Ofsted has described the progress of Reading BC to improve its children’s services as ‘slow, uneven and not always sustained’.
New shared leadership team for council pair
Two councils that recently reinstated the position of joint chief executive have laid out plans to appoint a new shared leadership team.
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.
'Horrendous' member relations hampered St Helens
A culture review by the Local Government Association found 'horrendous' relationships between members at St Helens Council and blurred lines between officers and members.
Havering 'can look both ways'
Havering LBC’s chief executive has insisted that the council can look towards both London and Essex as it plots a path to the future.
Big hitters revealed for the Brum turnaround team
The proposed advisers drafted in to help turn Birmingham City Council around include an array of local government big hitters.
Cut for IDeA's sector-led improvement grant
The Government has again chipped away at the grant for sector-led improvement and moved to expand the organisations that can spend the cash.
EXCLUSIVE: Improvement model proposed for troubled Brum
Troubled Birmingham City Council has come up with plans for a new improvement model in its latest plans to avoid Government intervention.
EXCLUSIVE: Brum's Baxendale quits for New Zealand
Birmingham City Council chief executive Dawn Baxendale is departing to take up a new post at Christchurch City Council in New Zealand after just over a year in post.
ADCS conference: More councils improve Ofsted ratings after regime change
A greater number of councils are receiving better Ofsted ratings for their children’s services after the inspectorate introduced a ‘more proportionate’ regime.
LGA: Audit committee improvements needed
Improvements to ‘off the pace’ audit committees can and need to be made, the Local Government Association (LGA) has admitted.
Call for Liverpool intervention after mayoral review frustration
Liverpool City Council’s Lib Dem leader has called for the Government to intervene after he claimed the authority blocked his attempts to review the elected mayor position.