Local Government Chronicle
29 March 2012
View all stories from this issue.
-
‘Ridiculously low' finance salary sparks expertise concern
Finance chiefs have questioned a unitary council’s decision to recruit a section 151 officer on the “ridiculously low” maximum salary of £85,000. -
Bonds to 'struggle' as borrowing rates fall
Experts have warned that local government bonds will “struggle” in the wake of the chancellor’s announcement that he was lowering the rate of borrowing for councils. -
Care challenges demand joint demand
Watching the changes in the NHS produces mixed emotions…poor sods on the one hand…and selfishly I’m glad we are not currently integrated. -
Councils hold the key for long-term care
With the government’s Health and Social Care Bill set to receive Royal Assent and become law by Easter many may assume that the discussions and negotiations are over. This couldn’t be further from the truth, particularly with the government still yet to announce how it’s going to respond to the Dilnot review and the thorny issue of long term care. -
'Councils want to do this'
Louise Casey has been dealing with troubled families, and the consequences of troubled families, in one guise or another for her entire career. -
CTB reform a risk to revenue stability
One of the policy changes which has received less attention but which could have significant consequences is the localisation of council tax benefit , now to be called council tax reduction. -
Early intervention is essential to protect a struggling care system
If you remove education and its ringfenced funding, for most upper-tier local authorities, social care - adult and children’s - accounts for some 60-70% of spending. That makes it something of a financial splitting headache, especially in the current spending climate. -
Five tasks for the sector's attention
This is a good time to be thinking about democracy and neighbourhoods. The first neighbourhood planning forerunners are underway, people are thinking about community budgets, the issue is in play. -
Get the details right on business rates
With our budget set and a Local Development Framework proposal ready to submit to the Secretary of State, Kirklees is looking at how we take advantage of the localisation of business rates to assist in delivering one of our key priorities - leading Kirklees out of recession. -
Immovable barriers to decentralisation
Director, Greater London Group, London School of Economics -
Inside Out - The end of interims as we know them
Throughout my career, opportunities have been whipped away from me just before I become eligible. When things are changed, such as pensions, they always seem to be implemented in April and my birthday is in May. I can miss opportunities such as early retirement by days. -
LGC Efficiency Supplement - March 2012
Read LGC’s regular supplement on efficiency. -
LGC View - Troubled families
Last November, I wrote a blog post asking whether the Total Place initiative had set local government back years. -
Local priorities to guide investment
How do you deliver a budget that makes a difference? In these unprecedented times when all public sector organisations face tough challenges and even tougher choices, Wiltshire Council has remained focused on delivering what’s best for the people of Wiltshire. -
Mediawatch - This was our first real Twitter Budget…
Three lessons stand out from last week. There used to be a time when chancellors got into trouble if anything was leaked about the Budget. With Gordon Brown we got used to some mood music leaks. But the dynamics of the coalition have meant that all the big headline stories have been trailed well in advance - leaving journalists nothing else to do on the day but find faults. -
Planning policies lacking social vision
This is my first column for the Local Government Chronicle. I will be writing some controversial things on housing and planning, but first I would like to introduce myself a little. -
Revealed - full details of troubled families scheme
Local discretion and ‘realistic’ targets will be at heart of the payment-by-results mechanism the government will use to turn around the lives of England’s most troubled families. -
The need for financial innovation
The Budget confirmed the public spending environment is going to get worse -
'Troubled Family': The definition in practice
Families that meet each of the three criminal, educational and work criteria (see below) will automatically be included on the programme. Councils have also been given some discretion to include families that are a cause for concern but meet only two of the three criteria.
