Local Government Association
Call for more women in local government
Council leaders have admitted that the move towards gender balance in local government should be made at a ‘faster pace’.
Councils call for post-Brexit procurement reforms
Council leaders have called on the Government to ‘simplify’ the current rules on how local authorities buy goods and services once the UK has exited the EU.
Reading balances books but warns: ‘there’s no room for error’
Reading Council’s new boss has said the authority’s books are balanced until 2020 but there is ‘no room for things to go wrong’.
Helping councils on a tight budget invest in culture
Council cuts have placed arts and culture under increasing pressure in recent years, but Darren Henley believes investment in these vital services can act as a catalyst for regeneration, civic revival and economic growth.
Leaders make fresh plea for housing borrowing powers
Councils have demanded new powers and funding to build affordable homes after a survey revealed three-fifths of private renters never expect to own a home.
Homelessness predicted to rocket
Rough sleeping has been predicted to rocket by 76% in the next 10 years, according to new analysis by homeless charity Crisis.
Why we must protect parental autonomy
Councils and devolved authorities need to beware. The trend towards over-reach on child discipline threatens to create more standoffs between officialdom and parents, as Claire Fox explains.
Exclusive: Councils face 'daily' struggle to place vulnerable kids
The state of the children’s care market has been described as a ‘scar on the conscience of our country’ amid warnings over the lack of placements available for vulnerable young people.
An uncomfortable truth
Mark Rogers says the sector is not regulating itself properly and offers a suggestion for a revamped sector-led improvement scheme.
When it comes to commercialisation, we can't afford to do nothing
As councils rush to buy up commercial property, questions are being asked about the capacity and capability of the councils taking on these ventures. Hiba Mahamadi asks whether the risks are worth the financial reward.
Horwood gets interim MD role
Waverley BC has appointed an interim managing director and head of paid service.
Firms under fire over high-rise safety tests
Private companies that have had fire safety tests on their high-rise buildings should make the results public, the Local Government Association (LGA) has urged.
Government acts after sleep-in back pay ruling
The Government has responded after a tribunal ruling granted sleep-in support workers up to six years of back pay.
Temporary accommodation crisis places fresh pressure on budgets
Councils are housing an extra secondary school’s worth of homeless children each month, placing fresh pressure on budgets for temporary accommodation, new research has found.
A poor balancing act
Heather Jameson looks at a new report highlighting a worrying continuation of the gender imbalance in local government.
Porter: We cannot continue to run services on a shoestring
Lord Porter sends a strong message to ministers about the current financial landscape that councils are attempting to navigate.
Core Cities' Brexit call
The leaders of the UK’s biggest cities this week called on the Government give them greater discretion to deal with the consequences of Brexit.
CIPFA conference: Councils will be at back of queue
Councils will be at the back of the public sector queue for additional funding, a senior local government figure has warned.
Delegates upbeat despite central-local deep freeze
Michael Burton casts a personal view on the major highlights of last week’s LGA conference
Tough talking
Last week’s LGA conference will be remembered in part for an extraordinary speech from Sajid Javid heavily criticising the sector – Heather Jameson looks at the fallout from the communities secretary’s address