A borough council more than £1bn in debt is failing its Best Value duties, according to the government, meaning it could see commissioners sent in to oversee improvement.
Falling life expectancy can only be tackled by a greater emphasis on prevention and a strengthened role for local government in improving health outcomes, researchers have argued.
The legislation relating to Section 114 notices for councils in financial distress is no longer fit for purpose and in some cases has left authorities worse off, MPs have been told.
Council staff will be unable to make public transport accessible to disabled people without new funding, training and other support, writes Clive Gilbert, head of accessible transport at the Policy...
More than 20 local bodies have still failed to publish audited accounts more than two months after the first backstop deadline despite a last-minute flurry of activity.
The government’s new-home pledge and prioritising of social housing is welcome news, but councils are facing a dire situation with massive housing revenue account deficits.
Better scrutiny arrangements have meant the expired Best Value notice issued to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority last year will not be renewed.
Simplifying local authority accounts could ease the audit crisis, but they must still retain meaning, writes CIPFA’s director of public financial management Iain Murray.
Action by councils to tackle climate change is being thwarted by lack of resources and a “fragmented, short-term funding landscape”, according to the government’s statutory adviser on achieving net...
The cost of running libraries remains a “significant challenge” despite income from the service rising by almost a fifth over the past financial year, CIPFA has said.
Auditors have issued a statutory recommendation to Cumberland Council to address the capacity challenges in its finance team, to help complete years of outstanding work relating to the three former...
More than half of councils with education remits face Section 114 notices when the temporary fix keeping high-needs spending deficits off their main balance sheets expires next year, according to new...
A record number of councils asked the government for exceptional financial support for 2025-26, and 30 requests have been approved – but CIPFA has expressed serious worries about the system.
Local authorities are continuing to press for millions of pounds of council debt to be written off as part of plans for local government reorganisation despite the government’s insistence that there...
Scotland’s councils still face a £96m shortfall from increased employer national insurance contributions despite new funding from the Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities...
