Local Government Chronicle
27 April 2009
View all stories from this issue.
-
Business rate retention urged
Councils are lining up to secure a multi-million-pound boost for capital projects after the government mooted piloting accelerated development zones (ADZs) in the Budget. -
Comprehensive Area Assessment on trial
The jury is still out on the value of the new comprehensive area assessment, and the inspection framework is going to have to prove its worth. -
Compulsory vaccination wouldn't hurt
The outbreak of measles and mumps this year reminded me of some basic medical principles. -
Council furore at ‘smear campaign’
Somerset County Council’s leader has accused a Conservative MP of running a smear campaign against its chief executive Alan Jones. -
Council in dispute over £9m bill
A troubled district council has a month to try to prove it does not owe the government nearly £9m. -
Councils 'underwrite' PFI projects
Councils are being asked to underwrite Private Finance Initative (PFI) schemes and give “open-ended guarantees” on schools projects typically worth tens of millions of pounds, according to finance officers. -
Cutting the cloth to fit a tight suit
LGC political editor Dan Drillsma-Milgrom analyses what the Alistair Darling’s Budget really meant for local government. -
Doubts over sixth form guarantee
The government’s reassurances that no young people will miss out on a sixth form place this year because of miscalculations by the Learning & Skills Council has failed to convince some authorities. -
Equalities Bill: ‘mountain of bureaucracy’
The new Equalities Bill will increase bureaucracy, hamper procurement and benefit no-win, no-fee lawyers, the government has been warned. -
Financial onus has shifted down
A financial devolution race seems to have broken out in local government over the past week, says David Blackman, acting editor of LGC. -
Half homes cash is £50m loan
Councils will have to raise £50m themselves in order to receive the full quota of government money set aside in the Budget to build energy efficient homes. -
Learning how to do more with less
John Healey, writing exclusively for LGC, says anyone following the news coverage of the Budget could be forgiven for thinking councils had been overlooked. -
Loan fines hit local coffers
Local government’s role in providing a fiscal stimulus to the economy is being undermined by government rules that lead to fines for councils trying to boost capital spending. -
Long-term job creation call
The government’s worklessness tsar has called on ministers to ensure their £1.1bn job creation fund takes a long-term approach to tackling unemployment. -
Move for East Hampshire chief
East Hampshire District Council chief executive Will Godfrey has resigned to become a director at Bristol City Council. -
Scapegoat warning on flooding Bill
Councils could be wrongly blamed for failing to learn lessons from the 2007 floods if the government fails to force the Draft Flooding and Water Bill through Parliament, ministers have been warned. -
Sheffield: steeled for change
Sheffield is leaving its industrial past behind, leading to multiple challenges for new city council chief executive John Mothersole. -
Top earners count the cost
The personal income of local government’s top earners could be hit by at least £10,000 a year in the wake of the Budget. -
Tories’ primary academies ‘unworkable’
The government and education leaders have questioned whether Tory proposals to allow primary schools to become academies are workable. -
Tory councillors urge joint funding
Leading Conservative councillors have urged the shadow cabinet to back joint funding of local public sector bodies to protect key frontline services. -
We had the money, but didn't spend it on city transport
This year’s Budget implied a decade or more of public sector constraint, and local government will be among the most tightly squeezed sectors.
