Improvement
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.
Call for leader to quit after 'repeated failures'
Shadow local government secretary Andrew Gwynne has called for Northamptonshire CC leader, Matt Golby, to quit after ‘repeated failures’ in the council’s children’s services.
'Slow progress' two years after inadequate judgement
Gloucestershire CC is making ‘slow progress’ in improving its services for its children and young people two years after it was judged inadequate, Ofsted has found.
LGA misses peer review target
The Local Government Association (LGA) has missed its target to halve the number of councils that have not had a corporate peer challenge, its latest progress report has revealed.
'Ambitious plans' rest on better engagement
North Lanarkshire Council needs to better involve and engage with residents and staff to achieve ambitious plans for developing the area and improving services, local authority watchdog, the Accounts Commission, said today.
Delay to Northamptonshire reorganisation welcomed
Council leaders have welcomed the year-long delay to plans to create two new unitaries in Northamptonshire.
Senior officer capacity call
Stroud DC should expand its senior officer capacity as soon as it can to help chief executive Kathy O’Leary drive change, Local Government Association peers have urged.
Elvery: Improving children's outcomes is top priority after Ofsted blow
West Sussex CC’s boss Nathan Elvery has said improving outcomes for the most vulnerable children is the council’s ‘top priority’ after Ofsted rated services inadequate.
EXCLUSIVE: Fight for oversight
Brokenshire moves to impose fresh conditions on ‘top slice’ cash
Inspectors criticise council's pace of improvement
The overall pace of improvement in Reading Council’s children’s services has ‘not been sufficient’ three years since the authority was judged inadequate, Ofsted inspectors have said.
Making progress in Powys
An inspection revealing child protection processes at Powys CC were not good enough came as a ‘hard knock’, says leader Rosemarie Harris. She talks to Dan Peters about the council’s continuing improvement journey.
Travelling on the long road to improvement
After the big developments of the past week – with the improvement team finishing its intervention and a stern report warning of the work still to be done to stabilise Birmingham’s finances, Heather Jameson talks to chief executive Dawn Baxendale
Brum improvement team issues final damning judgement and walks away
Birmingham City Council’s intervention team has issued a final, damning report on the crisis-hit council and walked away – despite admitting its job is not complete.