Local Government Chronicle
17 May 2012
View all stories from this issue.
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‘Certainty rate' indecision posing 'time and money' burden for councils
Uncertainty over the government’s so-called ‘certainty rate’ for local authority borrowers is costing councils “time and money”, a senior finance officer has warned. -
A new network for change
Research into local and national government has been increasingly drawn to the fact that networks play a large part in political and managerial life. Alongside the top-down, hierarchical power structures which still hold sway in most organisations, side-by-side, boundary-spanning relationships have increased in importance. -
Austerity a springboard for creativity
The period of public sector austerity is going to be long and arduous. The length of the downswing does at least provide us with the opportunity to learn some lessons before, hopefully, we enter more propitious times. -
Being pragmatic about the future
A lot has gone on since my last article in March. The Health and Social Care Bill has become an act, the local elections have taken place, and the Queen’s Speech has been published. -
Blame culture threat to real progress
The momentum around sector led improvement is really beginning to gather pace. Councils are using the support the LGA offered and feedback has been very encouraging. -
Care bill to follow 'soon after' white paper
A draft bill on social care reform will be published shortly after the government’s white paper on the issue, which is still officially scheduled for publication later this month. -
ChangeMaker: Alice Kershaw
Peterborough’s heritage is extremely rich, both within the urban core and rural villages, and my role was set up in September 2009 to ensure that Peterborough’s heritage is fully recognised and plays a significant part in the city’s cultural, social, physical and economic regeneration. -
ChangeMaker: Dominic Glazebrook
I am in charge of 85 staff including ten sergeants, a high number for an inspector and it makes the post a challenging one. I am responsible for the reduction of crime and anti social behaviour in my sector and one of the fondest memories in my career is of standing on the Cathedral lawn, during the declaration of tolerance the day after an English Defence League march in December 2010. This declaration demonstrated to me that the hard work put in to make sure that Peterborough remained a saf -
ChangeMaker: Jasmine Bennett
I run a charity supporting mainly Caribbean volunteers who manage a community centre in eastern Peterborough. -
Fraud officer took Kent to court
A Kent CC employee who committed a £2m fraud in his role as a procurement officer took the authority to an employment tribunal over unpaid wages, it has emerged. -
Fresh focus for financial management
I know I am not alone in recognising that the current ‘comfort ‘of resource forecasting will be swept away from 2013-14 with obvious impacts for maintaining robust and effective financial management. -
Holding council performances up to comparative scrutiny
Director, Greater London Group, London School of Economics -
Independent arbiters can help councils negotiate the 'fair' cost of care
Earlier this month insurance company LV= published research that estimated that the cost of providing long-term care for our ageing population will reach £38bn by 2025, or rise from an average of £26,000 per person to a staggering £33,000. -
Inside Out - Internet Trolls
I am being bullied and libelled on Twitter and there is nothing I can do. As a chief executive I have made enemies. One has set up an anonymous Twitter account and regularly posts hostile tweets about me and those close to me. They are half-truths and often damn lies, which aim to upset me and undermine my reputation. -
It's a big vote with a bigger message
So now we know. The cities of the north and midlands have rejected the directly-elected mayoral model. -
LGC View - The ChangeMakers project
The management of change is one of the most challenging tasks facing any organisation. Compared to the wider public sector, local government can justifiably claim it does pretty well when it comes to change - and would almost certainly do even better without the burden of disproportionate spending cuts. -
Localism does not mean isolation
The plans to abolish locally set school funding criteria raise fears for small rural schools and illustrate the government’s confused thinking on localism -
Mediawatch - It’s your job to say it exactly like it is…
Think you’re apolitical in your local government communications job? You’re very much mistaken. -
New wave of city deals expected within weeks
The government is preparing to announce the next clutch of city deals in the next few weeks, LGC understands. -
Open data bridging hard-to-reach gap
Open data is an internet thing. It’s all about building more and better apps to deliver digital public services. So what use is open data for people who aren’t online? -
Research identifies social media value
Over the past three years the Young Foundation has been working with several communities to test how social media can empower local people. -
The full force of social productivity
Marry some of the tightest periods of public spending since the Second World War with the mountainous scale of emergent social challenges – an ageing population and growing chronic health problems to name but two – and it becomes clear that local authorities face what some may view as a perfect storm. -
'Use scorecards to prove your point'
This is an apposite week in which to be writing about sector led improvement in children’s services. -
Watchdogs urge peer review publication
A debate has broken out as to whether councils that undergo one of the LGA’s ‘peer reviews’ should publish the final written reports. -
We start by 'thinking the unthinkable'
Three years ago, we set out to help redesign services at Smethwick Medical Centre in Sandwell, an ambitious GP practice with a population of 10,000 in the heart of the West Midlands. -
Welfare changes could leave councils footing redundancy bill
Councils could be facing large redundancy bills after the Department for Work & Pensions indicated housing benefit staff would not be directly transferred to work in central government. -
Whitehall school funding formula sparks concern for council role
Councils fear that government proposals to introduce a more centralised school funding system could be a step towards ending their role in the funding of education.
