By Jo Cooper A group of UK councils have been given financial autonomy in a groundbreaking pilot scheme that promises to deliver better community spending. The Community Budgets initiative was launched in the Comprehensive Spending Review in late October 2010, when the Cameron Government announced 16 areas would be placed in charge of pools of […]
20 January, 2011
By Jo Cooper Against a backdrop of union concerns and leadership instability, the UK's Essex County Council has embarked on a radical plan to transform its services and savings. You're running a council but finances are getting tight. You can see the writing on the wall: if drastic action is not taken services will soon […]
5 March, 2010
By Staff Writer Desperate to raise the profile of the UK local government in the middle of a recession, the sector’s peak body is about to embark on a nationwide search for leaders through a series of locally-organised competitions. In presenting its initiative, the Local Government Association (LGA) told members at its annual conference […]
2 July, 2009
By Rob O’Brien The depth of the UK recession has been felt in local government with an estimated 670 council jobs lost in England over the last six months. Three in five councils have made staff reductions in the last six months and a similar proportion are planning to cut posts over the course of the next […]
13 May, 2009
By Rob O’Brien Local authorities have applauded the UK government’s plans to generate jobs through local government that will help prevent a ‘lost generation’ of young unemployed people. In response to last week’s budget, the Local Government Association (LGA) said it was encouraged that the government has listened to its requests for a council-led approach to […]
24 April, 2009
Councils in the UK have been urged to 'spring clean' their procurement systems by an independent review which has also called for more support for local government in cost saving initiatives and best practice. The Review of Arrangements for Efficiencies from Smarter Procurement in Local Government, carried out by Bill Roots, a former council […]
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