Dan Peters
Council acts after planning 'collusion'
‘Swift action’ has been taken by Northumberland Council’s senior management after ‘several persons in positions of authority and control’ appeared to ‘collude’ with a developer.
Boroughs in GP estate devolution call
London Councils has called for more devolution to boroughs of decisions on the GP estate.
Row over SNP funding of councils
Local government is ‘treated far better in Scotland than it is elsewhere in the UK,’ the Scottish National Party (SNP) has insisted.
Deputy hits out at 'flawed' business rates system
Cannock Chase DC has expressed disappointment in the way Amazon-style warehouses are treated under the business rates system after it was hit by a revaluation.
Unions criticise 'unnecessary' pay offer delay
The three unions representing council workers today criticised ‘unnecessary delays’ after local government employers failed to make them a pay offer for 2020/21.
LEPs start to buckle after overlap threat
Local enterprise partnerships (LEP) are finally succumbing to a threat by ministers to withhold funding from them if they refuse to remove overlapping boundaries.
Councils under ministerial pressure over winter care funding
Ministers have piled pressure on councils to maintain winter funding for home care packages, hours of care and care home placements as bed blocking increases.
Brum to save millions from up-front pensions payment plan
Birmingham City Council will pay three years of pension fund contributions up front to save more than £17m, senior councillors agreed this morning.
Pressure on Government grows over schools grant deficits
Pressure is growing on the Department for Education (DfE) to take responsibility for growing dedicated schools grant (DSG) deficits as the number of councils reporting them rises.
Grenfell council adopts participatory budgeting
The council at the centre of the Grenfell Tower tragedy has used participatory budgeting for the first time as part of a new strategy.
Councils losing £250m a year through business rates avoidance
Councils are losing £250m a year due to businesses avoiding paying their rates, new research has found.
Medway caves after Ombudsman rap
Medway Council has finally accepted the recommendations in a Local Government Ombudsman public interest report after a two-year stand-off.
Scottish Government resists business rates devolution plan
Public finance minister Kate Forbes has hit out at opposition proposals to devolve control of business rates to Scottish local authorities.
Boost for Yorkshire leaders committee talks
Local government secretary Robert Jenrick has agreed to talks on the role and functions of a new committee of leaders from across Yorkshire.
Lancashire first to borrow using municipal bonds agency
Local government’s dormant vehicle for lending councils cash was boosted today after announcing details of its first municipal bond with Lancashire CC.
EXCLUSIVE: Government prepares for new rate reliefs
The Government has started to prepare the ground for the introduction of new business rate reliefs after its previous efforts were labelled a ‘shambles’.
'One-fifth of audit contracts should be put back out to tender'
The organisation responsible for appointing auditors should take away up to 20% of current contracts from existing suppliers and put them back out to tender, a top accountancy body has said.
EXCLUSIVE: Government to build on Brexit working
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) wants to capitalise on the way it has worked with the sector over Brexit, The MJ understands.
EXCLUSIVE: Clash over timing of May election counts
Returning officers are on a collision course with police and crime commissioners (PCC) over the timing of counts for the May elections.
Localis hired for fiscal devolution study
The Local Government Association has commissioned research to better understand how greater control of financial and fiscal levers might operate in non-metropolitan areas.