Local Government Chronicle
13 April 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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Agency pilots one-stop service
Up to 27 councils will be involved in piloting a one-stop shop model for developing housing plans and targets, the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has revealed. -
Associations face back-office axe
More than one in five housing associations had to cut back office staff in 2008 and most are expected to slash costs further in the next 12 months. -
Big cities hit hardest by recession
Big cities outside London have suffered the most job losses in the past year, according to a new study. -
Boris tackles holes in the road
London mayor Boris Johnson has persuaded utility companies to sign up to a code of conduct which aims to cut the delays and congestion caused by roadworks in the capital. -
Call for Budget stimulus package
The government must provide a “substantial stimulus package” in the upcoming Budget if it is to reduce the growing threat of mass unemployment, The Work Foundation has said. -
City development project backed
Plans for a major development in Southampton city centre have been backed by councillors. -
City misses£50m Games deadline
Two funding applications to build Olympic training camps in Northern Ireland have been rejected because they were submitted three minutes late. -
Council accused by striking staff
Glasgow City Council has been accused of treating striking staff with contempt for refusing to take their pay and grading complaints to arbitration. -
Council and PCT plan partnership
A local council is planning to join forces with a primary care trust in a bid to make commissioning decisions more efficient. -
Council challenges French strikes
Kent County Council has launched a campaign to try to bring an end to repeated chaos caused to the local economy by French strikers. -
Council suspends 14 over emails
Lancashire County Council has confirmed that 14 staff members have been suspended over 'alleged inappropriate email use'. -
Council women claim equal pay victory
Lawyers representing dozens of women working for a local council are claiming victory in a battle over equal pay. -
Councillors to oversee 'snooping charter'?
The Home Secretary says elected councillors could be given powers to oversee the use of surveillance carried out under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. -
Councils' financial settlement unchanged?
The Local Government Association’s senior finance official has predicted the Chancellor will leave the final year of the three-year financial settlement unchanged. -
Darling urged to back local job creation
The Local Government Association has appealed to the Chancellor to use the Budget to boost fiscal stimulas by backing smaller scale council-led projects. -
Golden opportunity
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games give councils ample chances to catch the public’s imagination - not just in sport, but in the arts, culture and education too. -
Greater support for rape victims
The Home Office has announced£1.8m of new funding to offer support for victims of sexual assault. -
HCA 'exceeded year one targets'
The Homes and Communities Agency claims it has exceeded targets for rented homes, clearing brownfield land and creating employment space in its first year. -
Healey defends unitaries' jobs bill
Local government minister John Healey has defended claims that at least£32.5m has been paid to council staff losing their jobs because of the creation of unitary authorities. -
Inflation hits pensioners hardest
Poor pensioners are facing an inflation rate more than three times greater than most of the population and need more government help, according to a leading charity. -
Letting go will reap long-term benefits
The Budget is unlikely to make happy reading for local government. -
Locked in vicious circle of prejudice
At first glance, the idea of policies supporting community cohesion can only be seen in a positive light. -
LSC attacked as sixth-form cuts loom
Councils risk being blamed for teaching job cuts and cancelled sixth-form classes following the Learning & Skills Council’s (LSC) mishandling of further education funding, children’s services leaders have warned. -
Mobility - if you are good enough
The Conservatives’ housing green paper has been received with warmth by the Chartered Institute of Housing and the charity Shelter - and alarm by trades bodies for house builders and housing associations. -
New guidance on dangerous dogs
Local authorities and the police are being given new guidance to help enforce dangerous dogs law more effectively. -
Police called in over row on Anglesey
Police have been called in by a whistleblower over the breakdown in relations between Isle of Anglesey County Council’s managing director and senior councillors. -
Poor social workers 'not reported'
Potentially incompetent or dangerous social workers are able to carry on working with vulnerable people because councils fail to report misconduct, the industry watchdog has warned. -
Possible nuclear power sites listed
Eleven sites where new nuclear power stations could be built have been named by the government. -
Public infrastructure rebuild must go on
The private finance initiative (PFI) was, in its way, a perfectly sound idea. -
Recession and local authorities
The credit crunch makes principles to guide good practice even more important than they were in the good times. -
Recession kills off Civic Trust charity
The Civic Trust charity has folded - a further sign of the catastrophic effect that local councils’ financial situation is having on the voluntary sector. -
Recession plea for small cities
The government has been warned against neglecting England’s smaller urban areas as it bids to place cities at the centre of the fight against the recession. -
Recession spells double trouble
The downturn is hitting even areas with skills shortages and, in those services that escape the axe, staff face greatly increased workloads. -
Retailers' concern at 'ghost towns'
Retailers are calling for more government action to prevent high streets becoming 'ghost towns'. -
Row over craftworkers' pay deal
More than 40,000 local government plumbers, carpenters and bricklayers need to surrender their terms and conditions if they want the extra 0.3% pay rise given to the rest of the sector. -
Sheffield floats ADZ tax plan
Sheffield City Council could be poised to join the likes of Birmingham in pushing for a greater say in setting business taxation. -
Shifting powers in the regions
English regional government is always a thorny topic, but has the latest reform resulted in handing even more clout to quangos? -
Tax and scandals hit satisfaction
The first signs are emerging that a cocktail of tax rises and local government scandals has led to a fall in residents’ satisfaction with councils. -
The proof of the single pudding
Unitary councils were created to secure huge efficiency savings, but how realistic does that goal look in a severe economic downturn. -
There are two sides to this story
My nephew, Louis, is an enigmatic seven year-old whose class was asked by his teacher to finish the sentence: “In 2009 I will,” -
Transport cash: 'Cut congestion link'
The Centre for Cities thinktank has called on the government to drop the link between transport funding and congestion charging. -
Treasury backs£3.8bn waste deal
Greater Manchester’s long delayed£3.8bn waste and recycling project has become the first beneficiary of the Treasury’s new infrastructure finance unit. -
Year off for slump-hit targets
Councils have been given a year’s grace on setting targets for recession-affected areas such as house building and job creation.
