Think-tank
Devolve powers to level up
The panel brought together by the Centre for Progressive Policy think-tank agreed local government needed more powers to make the agenda a success.
Call for ground-up approach to carbon reduction
The Government must ‘match the ambition of communities’ on reducing carbon emissions, a think-tank has said.
Retrofitting risks ‘dangerous divide’
Councils should have a role to play in avoiding widening regional inequalities when retrofitting housing, according to a new report today.
Future Forum: Call to replace transactional with relational
A forthcoming report by the Demos think-tank advocates moving from ‘transactional’ to ‘relational’ public services.
Government ‘serious about levelling up’
New ministerial arrivals at the renamed Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) show a renewed commitment to its flagship policy, a report has said.
Levelling up 'must start with councils'
A panel of experts has agreed council funding is key to addressing regional inequalities.
IPPR calls for new ‘proportional’ property charge to replace council tax
The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) has called for a new ‘proportional’ property tax to replace the ‘unfair and outdated’ council tax.
Districts hit back at think tank planning proposals
District councils have hit back at a think-tank’s call for the Government to transfer planning powers up to a ‘new, strategic geography’.
Bridging the great divide
What can be done to reduce the digital divide? Erica Roscoe looks at recent research centred on England’s North East.
Councils ‘resistant’ to repurposing empty commercial space
A think-tank has accused local authorities of being ‘resistant’ to measures that could see empty retail spaces repurposed for housing.
Social care reform depends on market overhaul
Social care reform will ‘fail’ without addressing weaknesses in the provider market, a think-tank has warned.
Think-tank calls for reform of 'regressive' council tax in Scotland
Council tax in Scotland should be increased to the same levels as the rest of the UK, a think-tank has argued today.
Public backs more city devolution
More than eight in 10 people support more devolution to England’s largest cities, a new poll has revealed.
Budget should give more cash to councils, claims IFS
Next month’s Budget should allocate more funding for local government, health and education while a revamped and higher council tax should replace stamp duty, says a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Think-tank launches levelling up Big Bang theory
The Government should launch a Northern Big Bang to ‘unleash a torrent of investment into the Northern economy’ says a report from a Conservative think-tank.
Councils face £1.3bn shortfall on council tax, says IFS
Councils face a £1.3bn shortfall in the council tax they were expecting for 2020/21, finance think-tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated.
Treasury in property tax rethink
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is believed to be rethinking property taxes – including council tax and business rates – in a bid to balance the books post-COVID.
Public health cuts biggest in North East
The Midlands and the North have suffered the biggest public health cuts in England, new analysis has revealed.
Ministers urged to turbo-charge levelling up agenda
Ministers have been urged to turbo-charge their ‘levelling up’ agenda after latest figures show the North of England economically slipping further behind the rest of the country.
Remove 'adversarial' funding to level up regions
Removing competition from local authority funding is needed to level up the country, a think-tank has concluded in a new report.
