Local Government Chronicle
9 February 2012
View all stories from this issue.
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A city of opportunity: our four-point plan for success
The magnitude of the challenge faced by Birmingham City Council is almost beyond comprehension, the figures we are faced with saving are startling; this year has been particularly challenging and dare I say, we are by no means out of the woods yet; balancing the city council’s £3.5bn budget against rising social demand is an incredible challenge. -
A false economy
Over the last 20 years, local government has become an increasingly interconnected network at both officer and member level. This brings great strengths, as good practice is now moved more effectively around the system. However, where solutions quickly become vogue, this connectivity also increases the risk of adopting ideas that may not be proven to work or where the associated risks are not fully understood. -
Being localist whilst in power as well as when in opposition
Health secretary Andrew Lansley’s framework for the transfer of public health responsibilities left many calling for more detail -
Bill amendments target integration
The government has tabled 137 amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill. -
Bristol City Council 1999-2002: a council with no leadership
Bristol City Council’s short-lived experiment with doing without a chief executive was brought to an end by, among other factors, a ‘weak’ rating in the first round of Audit Commission comprehensive performance assessments in 2002. -
Call for clarity on council tax 'confusion'
Official guidance on council tax referendum calculations have been described as “confusing” and ministers have been asked to issue a clarification. -
Central powers over public health directors extended
Central government guidance on how directors of public health and their staff should be employed will extend as far as stating terms and conditions and how they should be managed, according to a junior minister. -
Chiefless councils skip meeting
Kent CC and Wiltshire Council have both missed a meeting of the Association of County Chief Executives following changes to their governance structures. -
Committed to the change and rising to the challenge
The Reinventing Birmingham event attracted a strong group of experts: key elected members and officers; representatives of the LEP and the Be Birmingham stategic local partnership; officials from Whitehall, Centro, the Chamber of Commerce, Marketing Birmingham, Digital Birmingham; and the third and private sectors. All had a part to play in our debate about the city’s reinvention. -
Cost constraints to hit local offices
The NHS Commissioning Board faces tight limits on its running costs that will affect staffing levels in local offices, LGC’s sister title Health Service Journal understands. -
Councils urged to rethink graduate investment
Only 13 councils have signed up to the sector’s graduate programme this year to date, as applications from graduates continue to increase. -
Inside Out - The right solution to refuse
Is a weekly black bag collection the most important aspect of a popular bin service? If it is I will eat my residual waste! -
LGC View - History of the 'chiefless' council
I stood between two Conservative leaders of county councils last week, one of whom had got rid of the post of chief executive, the other who said they would never do so. -
Mixing politics and health
I have been a GP for over 25 years and throughout that time have been involved in trying to improve the services received by patients in my practice. For a large part of my professional life I have also represented my colleagues both locally and nationally. My desire is not just to improve the provision of healthcare, it is about closer and more effective working between health and social care. -
MPs in care funding integration call
Acknowledging and addressing the crisis in the funding of social care must go hand in hand with integration with the health service, MPs have warned the government. -
North Tyneside 1992-2002: It did not work over time
For 10 years, North Tyneside MBC did without a chief executive, the longest example known of this management approach. -
Northumberland 1989-1992
The former Northumberland CC did without a chief executive from 1989 to 1992, when county treasurer Ken Morris was given the additional post of managing director. -
Our 'one council, one team' strategy
“Traditional, resistant to change and adequately average” – these are some of the perceptions that were previously held about Nottinghamshire CC. -
Pest control cuts pose public health risk
A ‘perfect storm’ of rats, lice, flies and bedbugs threatens to undo a century of health advances as the transfer of responsibility for public health services to councils coincides with cuts in pest control services. -
PM defends health reforms amid growing pressure to scrap bill
Opposition to the government’s health reforms has continued to grow, with the prime minister forced to defend the plans after criticims from a range of health bodies. -
Sector launches 'clarity' campaign
A campaign to increase community understanding of public sector funding and service delivery has been launched by the LGA and a prominent MP. -
Signing up for a new service pilot
There has been a great deal of talk over recent months about the role that social enterprises might play in delivering local authority services. At Surrey CC this is now starting to become a reality. -
The key role of councils in nurturing social enterprise
It is important to recognise that a mutual or social enterprise can only emerge if there is support and nurturing by the council to enable it to happen. -
Time will tell whether another local public body will work
Director, Greater London Group, London School of Economics
