First minister Humza Yousaf is set to let Scottish councils double council tax on second homes, and will develop “alternative governance arrangements” for island authorities.
Depleting reserves and rising service demand mean Kirklees Council will need to find cuts or additional income worth almost £48m in 2024-25, officers have said.
A “completely broken” local government funding system has put 21 councils at risk of issuing Section 114 notices this year and next, the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities has warned.
A projected £11.6m overspend would nearly wipe out Middlesbrough Council’s useable reserves and lead to a Section 114 notice, the authority’s finance chief has warned.
Not increasing funding for virtual schools to match their new expanded remit could see them become a “victim of their own success”, the County Councils Network has warned.
Poor funding settlements and a perceived lack of respect from the Scottish and central government have prompted Orkney Islands Council to explore new governance arrangements, including potentially...
Insufficient data means the government has no understanding of what departments and combined authorities are spending on levelling up, MPs have warned.
Welsh local government funding faces shake-ups hoped to “eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy”, show the devolved administration trusts authorities and make the council tax system fairer.
The government will fail to eradicate regional inequalities across the UK without providing additional support to more deprived areas and ending competitive bidding pots, urban council leaders have...
Local authorities in the most deprived areas of England have faced government cuts far outstripping those faced by the richest areas – a situation one council leader said needs to be reversed “for ‘...
Ministers should use Wednesday’s budget as an opportunity to provide a sustainable long term funding settlement for the social care sector or risk exacerbating existing care issues, experts have said.
A dozen English councils risk failing to meet their statutory duties in the coming months, which researchers said underlines the need for drastic reforms to local government funding.
Councils will be unable to meet the swelling demand for social care without additional funding to help alleviate the ongoing crisis in recruitment and retention, experts have said.
The lowest-funded councils have called for “fundamental change” to the way local government is financed – or they risk having to make cuts across all services.
Councils need additional income-raising powers and longer-term funding allocations in order to run sustainably, so the local government settlement remains a missed opportunity, senior figures in the...
Better collaboration between community groups and Welsh councils is crucial to maintaining services amid ever-tightening budgets, the national watchdog has said.
