The public sector has to come up with more imaginative ways of managing its estates and pursue new ideas to create more housing opportunities for low-paid workers, the government warned this week.
The Local Government Association and ministers are to agree a set of shared priorities for service delivery that will act as a 'coherent framework' governing councils' activities.
The local government pay talks were hanging in the balance this week, with both sides refusing to yield an inch as the final scheduled meeting got under way.
London boroughs could lose up to £250m in central government support each year unless the council tax system is fundamentally overhauled, Public Finance has learned.
Ministers have made good their pledge to lighten the burden that Best Value places on local authorities by reducing the statutory obligations they face.
A fast-track scheme to nurture future council leaders is being launched after a census of councillors confirmed that town halls are overwhelmingly populated by white, middle-class retired men.
Health Secretary Alan Milburn was this week told to stop tampering with the structure of the NHS and ignoring his own department's ten-year strategy to give staff more time to deliver his much...
A Commons' committee this week condemned the 'appalling state' of Britain's parks and open spaces and called for a revision of planning policies to overcome 'institutional obstacles' to improvements...
English councils face the prospect of double-digit rises in council tax to fund police services after claims that David Blunkett's national policing plan is incompatible with local forces'...
Tenants will be able to transfer their local authority homes to 'community mutual' housing associations, enabling them to manage and collectively own their properties, under plans drawn up by the...
The government's attempt to banish disillusionment with Best Value by overhauling the system is 'flawed' and needs more thought, a leading local government moderniser has told Public Finance .
Employers and unions are calling on the government to clarify the terms under which local authority housing staff will be expected to transfer to new arm's-length management organisations (Almos).
Local government representatives have urged the government to tackle the 'grim' state of social care and fill the struggling service's £200m funding gap.
Glasgow contains the three most deprived areas in Britain, according to a study by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) which ranks parliamentary constituencies by their levels of poverty and social...
Philip Mawer, 54, the most senior aide to Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, was approached to apply for the job of parliamentary commissioner for standards because of the poor quality of the...
Local government minister Nick Raynsford has confirmed that councils will be allowed to invest in money market funds, as revealed two weeks ago by Public Finance .
All top-tier local authorities will be given a 'scorecard' marking their overall performance by the end of this year, under plans published by the Audit Commission.
More than half of local authorities have met the government target of putting 25% of services on-line by the start of this year, according to research published this week.
The Local Government Association has backed David Blunkett's overhaul of the asylum system in the face of grassroots criticism over plans for induction centres in rural areas.
Shire district councils this week stepped up their campaign for 'fair reform' of the local government finance system, after it emerged that the replacement for the current scheme was unlikely to...
