Local Government Chronicle
22 March 2012
View all stories from this issue.
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‘Co-op' council inquiry launched
MPs on the communities and local government select committee have called an inquiry into the so-called ‘co-operative’ council model. -
‘Scary' spending review preparations begin
Preparations for the next spending review are already under way as the sector gears up for a period of austerity as bad, or even worse, than the current one. -
A strong public sector defines our national identity
Now in its second decade since devolution Wales as a ‘young’ state is making strides in capitalising on the advantages of ‘small country governance’. -
All mapped out for reform
Collaboration has been on the agenda in Welsh local government for some time, but ministers have now stepped in to force the pace. -
Appeal over pensions fails
Unions have lost a legal appeal against changes to the way inflationary costs are added to public sector pensions. -
Apps to plug data gap
The first phase of open data in local government is complete. The open data scoreboard at OpenlyLocal.com shows that 93 out of 434 councils are publishing data that explicitly permits third parties to use it in their own apps. -
City plan to ensure long-term growth
The need for growth continues to dominate national and international debate. In Manchester, we have long taken the view that local government has a vital role to play in ensuring sustainable and significant growth. We believe that success lies through collaboration. -
Continuing to find savings
The sector will bear the brunt and the next settlement will be tougher than the last -
Delayed decentralisation report expected after elections
The government’s long-overdue report on how different Whitehall departments have performed in decentralising power will finally be published this summer, LGC understands. -
Details of improvement regime emerge
The LGA has moved to reassure councils that its network of regional advisers are not “big brother” spies and that it has no intention of becoming an inspectorate. -
Inside Out - Making up their minds
Regular readers will recall I had a bust up with my leader about whether the council needs a chief executive. Interested in an update? -
LGA trying to renegotiate deal
The LGA is seeking a 17.6% cut in the cost of its outsourcing contract with Liberata following large workforce reductions in the past year. -
LGC Awards 2012 - Winners Supplement
All the details from the 2012 LGC Awards including details of our first Best Practice and Future Thinking Summit. -
LGC View - 22 March 2012: Collaboration in Wales
There is a distinctive theme in these Agenda pages that is often missing from central-local relations: collaboration. Joint working in Wales is a key theme from Ruth Keeling’s analysis and related comment pieces from Carl Sargeant, Colin Everett and Isobel Garner. -
Local government is rising to a unique digital innovation challenge
The excitement that the launch of the Future Fund from O2 has generated in the past few weeks has been hugely encouraging. Inherent in this initiative is the challenge to innovate in times of adversity, and it is clear that local government is responding to that call. -
Localising health and wellbeing boards
Everyone agrees that health and wellbeing boards represent a huge opportunity to transform services, reduce inequalities, and improve health and wellbeing outcomes. So, with one year to go before they take on statutory form, is their success guaranteed? -
Mediawatch - It could be time to call a friend…
The thing that makes local government public relations different from almost all other types of PR is that when you respond to an enquiry from a journalist, you’re not just speaking for your own organisation; you’re speaking on behalf of all of local government. -
Obsessing on taxation
Director, Greater London Group, London School of Economics -
One vision for business and education
Recently, I have been giving some concerted thought to the relationship that is needed between those who inhabit the business-led LEP world and those who reside within a children’ services environment – and within the education sector in particular. -
Our template for change
Local government minister Carl Sargeant outlines his perspective on the way forward for local government in Wales -
Public debate key to spending priorities
Local Government’s success in meeting its savings target is likely to be rewarded with a request (demand) that we do it again. Without some policy changes it’s going to be near impossible to do without significant deterioration in services critical for those in need or which the public value the most. -
Shared goals to drive transformation
Is it possible to be in control of real “transformational change” when the whole context of public services are in the melting pot? Probably not, but Gloucestershire CC is in a better place than I ever expected as we pass into the second year of Meeting the Challenge. -
Strike threat remains as unions mull both pay and pensions
Employers face the threat of industrial action on two fronts after union members said they would wait for government proposals on pensions before deciding their next steps in the dispute over a third year of frozen pay. -
Wake-up call over SME procurement
Earlier this month the Government announced a doubling in two years - to 13% - of the proportion of central Government procurement going to SMEs. As the Prime Minister pointed out at a breakfast for speakers and delegates at a conference on the topic, Whitehall now has to repeat the same feat over the next two years to reach the 25% target the Coalition set for this Parliament. -
We use consultants for a reason...
Public services face a major financial challenge over the coming years and local authorities need to invent new and innovative models for service delivery, whilst challenging the way things are done.
