Whitehall
Dawes: Ministry could have done more responding to Grenfell
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) top official has admitted the department ‘could have done more’ in response to the Grenfell Tower fire.
Spending Review poses 'challenge' for fair funding
A minister has said a one-year settlement for local government would pose a ‘challenge’ for implementing the fair funding review in 2020/21.
EXCLUSIVE: £95k exit cap regulations are 'lawyers' charter to print money'
Government regulations introducing a £95,000 cap on local government exit payments are a ‘lawyers’ charter to print money,’ the trade union representing the most senior managers in the sector is expected to tell Whitehall.
Council finding it 'harder to identify and deliver savings'
Knowsley MBC is finding it ‘harder to identify and deliver savings’ given the scale of Government funding cuts, senior councillors will be told next week.
Councils to appeal 'town hall Pravdas' ruling
Waltham Forest and Hackney LBCs will appeal after a judge backed Government attempts to stop them publishing a council newspaper every two weeks.
Civil service chief calls for more cross-Whitehall working
Whitehall chief Sir Mark Sedwill has called for more cross-boundary working among civil servants to tackle social issues like knife crime, troubled families and mental health.
No new cash for Greater Manchester local industrial strategy
A former senior civil servant and council chief has questioned the impact of Greater Manchester’s local industrial strategy after it came with no new money.
Glasgow warns asylum evictions will lead to ‘mass destitution’
Glasgow City Council will be ‘powerless’ to help failed asylum seekers facing eviction next month, its leader has warned.
Savings scepticism over election reforms
Election professionals have expressed scepticism that expected savings from reforming the annual canvass will offset the need for Government funding for individual electoral registration (IER).
Voter ID confidence drops
The proportion of people who think voter ID helps to prevent electoral fraud has dropped from 52% in 2016 to 35% in 2019, new research has found.
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.
We’re well read
Nobody loves to see a politician make a gaff more than Diary but it’s all about the recovery.
Transformation ‘largely left to smoulder on the back burner’
Five years ago the Service Transformation Challenge Panel was launched with the aim of delivering better outcomes in local public services. But a new report notes little progress since the UK EU membership referendum.
Dawes renews commercialisation warnings
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) top civil servant has renewed warnings about tougher Whitehall action to prevent risky commercial ventures by councils.
Government accused of trying to 'dictate' recycling rules
Local government figures are resisting proposals to standardise recycling across the country.
Government bidding culture attacked
The growing trend of forcing councils to bid for small, policy-specific grants has been attacked as an ‘inefficient use of public resources’ by a think-tank.
Council hits back after MP calls for abolition
Telford & Wrekin Council has said calls from an MP for its abolition are an ‘insult to democracy and residents’.
Council preparations for Brexit 'hampered' by Whitehall
Whitehall’s lack of focus and co-ordination ‘hampered’ councils’ preparations for Brexit in the run-up to April 12, a Local Government Association (LGA) report has said.
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.
EXCLUSIVE: NAO to wade into fair funding review
The National Audit Office (NAO) is gearing up to scrutinise the Government’s divisive fair funding review, The MJ can reveal.