Local Government Chronicle
February 2012 - online articles
View all stories from this issue.
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‘More than 30' set lower referendum limits
Ministers have been asked to withdraw plans for council tax referendums over serious concerns about the policy. -
A public procurement shocker
Like a thief in the night, on 20 December last the European Commission issued its draft procurement directive. -
Academies' freedom leads to slacker cash control
Lack of financial accountability could be the price to pay for removing the “dead hand of Whitehall” from schools, a senior civil servant has told MPs. -
Accelerating innovation
Chief executives are keen on encouraging innovation in their councils, but are they using the right tools? New research suggests they may not be. -
Adoption to be key for 'outstanding' rating
Only councils that place all children identified for adoption within a year will gain ‘outstanding’ status in children’s services judgements, inspectorate Ofsted has announced. -
Allocating public health resources to local authorities
The government’s public health reforms mean that health improvement services will be the responsibility of local government from 2013-14. To pay for it, funds will be transferred from the Department of Health. To help set the baseline, much feverish work from the department has attempted to tot up the £2.2bn spent on public health in 2010-11. -
An insider’s guide to the new PCT clusters reporting needs
Directors of commissioning will need robust reporting processes to free management capacity and effectively handle a growing analytical and reporting workload as they assume a greater proportion of NHS annual budgets -
AWP rejects clinicians' bid to set up a social enterprise
The Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust board has rejected a request from a group of clinicans to break away and establish a social enterprise in Bristol which could potentially become a competitor when services are put out to tender. -
Back offices most vulnerable as finance chiefs wield axes
Capital investment, economic development and children’s services are the spending areas most likely to be protected as councils grapple with their 2012-13 budgets, a survey of 134 chief financial officers has found. -
Banking on the Bankers
Surely we need to keep our banks alive and well and supporting social enterprises and other small and medium sized businesses -
Becoming a successful social enterprise
Bristol Community Health has committed to the future success of its community healthcare services by becoming a social enterprise. Nicola Lowe explains why. -
Benefit reform deadline 'impossible', says Capita
Cash-strapped councils may have to foot the entire bill for a £480m gap in council tax benefit funding after a leading supplier revealed the government’s reform deadline was “impossible” to meet. -
Borough pips London Councils to post
A London authority has set up a performance comparison website ahead of the launch of a pan-city project being developed by London Councils. -
Broadband roll-out 'could damage roads'
Highway maintenance bills could soar if superfast broadband installers make indiscriminate use of a cheap technique. -
Budding ICO aiming for 'maximum integration'
The health economy in North Somerset is hoping to move away from payment by results to achieve “maximum integration”, HSJ has been told. -
Campaigners demand social enterprise future for community hospital
A campaign has been launched for a community hospital to be run as a social enterprise - to stop it becoming part of a foundation trust. -
Care Quality Commission to get external assessor
An “external body” is set to be appointed to assess the effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission, HSJ has learnt. -
CCG funding gulf could 'destablise services'
The first analysis of the budgets set to be given to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) shows huge variation and has sparked concern about services being destabilised by a shortage of cash. -
'Cherry-picking' accusation hits Wandsworth
Wandsworth LBC’s Labour opposition has accused the Conservative-run council of rigging its choice of published performance indicators to show the authority in an artificially good light. -
Chiefs bow out of sharing race
The chief executives of Forest Heath DC and St Edmundsbury BC have ruled themselves out of the running for a newly created joint role. -
Cities to take lead on Youth Contract
Councils in three parts of England have been handed the lead role in the government’s ‘Youth Contract’, designed to get young people into work and training. -
Cockell warns on public health priorities
Councils must be ready to convince people that some services need to change when they take over public health, LGA chair Sir Merrick Cockell has warned. -
Commissioning for Social Value: a vision for people, practices and communities
The Public Services Bill 2010 could help healthcare commissioning and procurement deliver wider social benefits to the community than population health, as David Maher and colleagues explain. -
Commissioning groups told to use NHS office space
Clinical commissioning groups have been instructed to base themselves in existing NHS buildings – most of which are to be taken over by the Department of Health’s new property company – and pay for them out of their running cost allowance. -
Commissioning support bodies to get private sector guidance
The Department of Health has invited private sector consultancies to brief NHS commissioning support services at a series of regular national “learning network” events, LGC’s sister title Health Service Journal has learned. -
Cotswold whistleblower probe cost £70,000
Almost £70,000 was spent on a Standards Board for England case brought against a councillor who exposed fraud. -
Council loses case over tighter care rules
Isle of Wight Council has abandoned an attempt to save money by altering eligibility rules for adult care after losing a judicial review. -
Council plans £100m loan to buy out health body's PFI contracts
A local authority is in negotiations to lend up to £100m to a foundation trust seeking to buy out its private finance initiative contracts, LGC’s sister title Health Service Journal has learned. -
Council seeks public inquiry into adult services abuses
A council is to call on the government to launch a public inquiry into allegations of bullying and malpractice in its adult social services. -
Council told to publish Dr Who letters
A tribunal has told Cardiff City Council to publish all its records concerning the television programme Dr Who. -
Councils share Iceland payout
Some 80 councils owed money by the collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki will get their first instalment of repayments this week from some £110m recovered. -
County faces £9.5m bill for interest in building dispute
Cambridgeshire CC has had to budget for £9.5m in interest costs against the outcome of a court case that is yet to start. -
Court date set for NHS Gloucestershire judicial review
Lawyers for NHS Gloucestershire will be in the high court next month to defend the primary care trust in a judicial review of the transfer of its provider arm. -
CQC chief Cynthia Bower resigns
Care Quality Commission chief executive Cynthia Bower has resigned. -
'Delivering better community services requires equal relationships'
Delivering public services through equal and reciprocal relationships between providers and the communities they serve should be at the heart of commissioning community services, and achieving integrated care, says Victor Adebowale. -
Develop service level agreements that reflect your requirements
As a social enterprise, your contractual focus will be on your main service contract with your commissioner, namely the contract you have entered into to provide social care services and in return for which you will receive your main income. -
Directors reject care fees claims
Adult social services directors have rejected claims by the charity Age UK that their budget cuts are forcing up fees charged to care homes residents not funded by councils. -
Dispute over London efficiency scheme
London Councils’ leaders committee is due to rule on a row over the remnants of the Capital Ambition efficiency programme. -
Enuresis award for Surrey social enterprise
Social Enterprise scheme Central Surrey Health has won a national award for best employee idea for service innovation. -
European fines system unveiled
Details of safeguards for councils liable for EU fines have been set out by the government. -
Feb 2012
The key features from around the web in February. -
Flagship HealthWatch policy to be 'watered down' by amendments
Government plans to amend the Health Bill to clarify arrangements for HealthWatch have angered campaigners who claim the change will “water down” patient and public involvement in the NHS. -
Former Liverpool chief takes children’s role
A former chief executive of Liverpool City Council has been appointed to a new children’s services improvement post. -
Further operational guidance for public health teams
Public health specialists in local authorities should spend roughly 40% of their resources advising new healthcare commissioners, according to draft guidance launched this week. -
Gove promises less cautious adoption system
Social workers should find adoption placements more rapidly and be readier to take children into care when needed, education secretary Michael Gove has said. -
Government insists public health ringfence must stay
The government has rejected a call by MPs to scrap the ring-fence around councils’ public health budgets as contrary to localism. -
Government rejects care funding concerns
A lack of funding is no excuse for councils raising eligibility criteria for vital social care services, the government has said. -
Hertfordshire chooses new chief
Hertfordshire CC has decided which of its executive directors will take over from chief executive Caroline Tapster when she retires in May. -
HRA reform winners and losers named
Councils have been told how much they must pay to the government – or receive from it – to buy themselves out of the housing revenue account system. -
Insurers attack 'foolish' councils on floods
Insurers have attacked councils for failing to invest in flood prevention and for allowing ‘foolish’ development in areas prone to flooding. -
Intervention at council could be reduced
Isle of Anglesey County Council could see its government intervention scaled back in May, Wales’ local government and communities minister Carl Sargeant has said. -
Involving service providers: defining the scope of the Big Society
The concept of Big Society has been hard to pin down for some, but we seem to be getting closer to the heart of the matter as the pace of change quickens and the government responds to the need to encourage different ways of doing business. -
Jan 2012
The key features from around the web in January. -
Keeping up efforts to tackle domestic abuse
With one in four women experiencing domestic abuse in their lifetime, violence against women has huge implications for a local population and for the agencies that support it. Despite reductions in local area grant, Blackpool has successfully commissioned support services for the next four years. -
Kendall outlines Labour care priorities
Hotly-debated proposals to reform social care for the elderly still don’t the solve problem of spiralling costs, Labour’s shadow minister for care and older people warned this week. -
Labour ousted at scandal-hit council
Wirral MBC leader Steve Foulkes (Lab) was removed on Monday night after Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors brought down his minority administration over its response to a scandal about over-charging of vulnerable adults by its social services department. -
Lansley admits to care funding issue
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has insisted he will “bite the bullet” and address the thorny issue of funding for adult social care. -
Lansley assures commissioners over competition
The health secretary has written to GPs and clinicians to assure them that that they will be in control over crucial issues such as competition, integration, and buying support services. -
Leader savages 'failing' shared service operation
One of England’s largest shared services projects has been denounced as a failure by the main council involved. -
Leader's expenses referred to standards committee
Leicestershire CC’s leader has been referred to the council’s standards committee over the delayed repayment of travel expenses. -
Leading Tory defends tax arrangements
The leader of a prominent Conservative council has defended the practice of paying individuals through companies – as fears increased that a crackdown could leave councils facing mounting pension bills and struggling to retain expertise. -
Learn a new language – change your perspective
English is both the international language of business, and many peoples’ default second language, so it’s easy to see why many native English speakers assume that wherever they go in the world they’ll get by. -
LGA finance chief to stand down
LGA director of finance and resources Stephen Jones has announced he will retire at the end of this year. -
Libraries, the community hub and service needs in the online age
Library services directors face the added complication that many local government senior managers have an outdated understanding of local libraries and their expert information access and library animation capabilities in the community -
Liverpool strikes first 'city deal'
Cities minister Greg Clark has confirmed that Liverpool will be the first council to strike a ‘city deal’ following the city council’s decision to move to the elected mayoral system. -
Local transport spending set for devolution
Funding decisions on major transport projects will be devolved to the local level after 2015, transport secretary Justine Greening has said. -
London seeks massive rail devolution
London mayor Boris Johnson has bid to take over National Rail commuter services in the capital. -
London wins in transport spend ahead of mayoral poll
London has been a big winner in national transport spending in the run-up to its May mayoral election, an analysis by the Passenger Transport Executive Group (PTEG) has found. -
Lord's threat to officers' power of entry
A parliamentary debate on Monday could see council trading standards officers stripped of their power to enter business premises without warrants. -
Manchester councils look to buy airport
Manchester Airport Group’s publicly owned status could end under plans by councils to buy another airport and seek private investment. -
Marmot demands focus on inequality as cuts bite
Renowned epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot has criticised the government for its lack of action on health inequalities - and called for the health impact of economic policies to be considered. -
Mental health provider under scrutiny in the South West
NHS Bristol’s decision to re-tender the city’s mental health service comes at a bad time for current provider Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust. -
Minister concedes concessionary fares review
A review of local government finance will look at the concessionary bus fares scheme, transport minister Norman Baker has told councils who delivered 23,500-signature petition to him. -
Ministers threaten council tax retaliation
Ministers have given the clearest indication yet that councils planning to put council tax up next year will face political retribution. -
'Misinformation' claims on council tax vote
The row over council tax referendums has deepened with a flurry of strongly-worded letters between Whitehall officials and senior local government officers. -
Moody's acts on council credit ratings
Six local authorities have had their creditworthiness put on negative outlook by the ratings agency Moody’s. -
MPs list community budget questions
A panel of MPs has outlined the issues that it will keep track of as it monitors the development of the government’s community budgets and troubled families programmes. -
National pay talks at risk
National pay bargaining is under threat as unions expressed their frustration at a possible third year of frozen pay. -
New MD for Surrey social enterprise
The newly formed social enterprise in east Surrey, First Community Health and Care, has appointed Philip Greenhill as its new managing director. -
News round-up 1/2: Families adviser profiled
Your daily media round up of all the key stories affecting local government -
News round-up 10/2: Fines proposed in electoral reforms
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News round-up 13/2: Prayers decision hailed
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News round-up 14/2: 'John Lewis council' accused of betrayal
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News round-up 15/2: Marmot calls for children's services protection
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News round-up 16/2: DH drawn into tax evasion scandal
Your daily media round up of all the key stories affecting local government -
News round-up 17/2: DCLG comments on suppliers' benefits criticism
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News round-up 2/2: Warning of benefit cut backlash
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News round-up 20/2: 'Back to work' tsar under pressure
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News round-up 21/2: Labour looks at freeze for high paid
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News round-up 22/2: Pickles plans 'Big Lunch'
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News round-up 23/2: Businesses ‘soaked’ to pay for council tax freeze
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News round-up 24/2: Brighton tax rise defeated
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News round-up 27/2: Cabinet ministers oppose developments
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News round-up 28/2: Budget jockeying begins
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News round-up 29/2: Ignore lawyers, ministers told
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News round-up 3/2: Minister to crack down on tax-avoiding officials
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News round-up 6/2: Riots triggered by 'toxic' relations with police
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News round-up 7/2: Pickles slams 'referendum dodgers'
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News round-up 8/2: Councils warned of legal disputes
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News round-up 9/2: Pickles resumes council tax assault
Your daily media round up of all the key stories affecting local government -
NHS Bristol gets keys to new hospital
Bristol Infracare LIFT Ltd, the developer of the hospital, and Carillion, the main construction contractor have handed the keys to the new building over to NHS Bristol. -
NHS manager launches care home rating website
An NHS manager hopes to improve national care standards by launching what she says is the first live, independent ratings website for care homes. -
Noel Plumridge: has the sparkle gone from social enterprise?
Social enterprises are starting to find that the odds are not in their favour in a cut-throat market, which could make for a bleak picture in a decade’s time, says Noel Plumridge. -
Nuclear council sets 0% tax
A district council has set a zero rate of council tax despite having failed to resolve whether it will have enough money to challenge a £10bn nuclear power plant proposed in its area. -
Parsons clings on to leadership
Leicestershire CC’s leader has resisted calls for him to resign after a whistleblower triggered an investigation into his foreign travel expenses. -
Parsons' expenses investigated
The leader of Leicestershire CC and one-time candidate as chair of the Local Government Association has been investigated over thousands of pounds of expenses stretching back five years. -
Parsons referred for further investigation
Leicestershire CC’s standards committee has referred leader David Parsons (Con) for further investigation over delays in repaying travel expenses. -
'Perverse incentives' for business rates
The government has been warned that its proposed business rates funding system will introduce “perverse incentives” and disadvantage some councils. -
Pickles asked to explain planning row remarks
A chief executive has demanded an explanation of communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles’ remarks when a complex planning dispute was raised in Parliament. -
Plans put forward for Middlesbrough neuro centre
Middlesbrough Council is considering proposals for a new neurological support and rehabilitation centre in the city. -
Plymouth's Keel quits
Plymouth City Council’s chief executive Barry Keel is to leave in May after seven years in office -
Politicisation row over Neill letter
The war of words over next year’s council tax levels has increased in intensity after ministers were accused of politicising the civil service with their attacks against councils planning to increase rates. -
Power of entry in doubt after Lords' vote
Council officers face losing their powers to enter premises without a warrant following a House of Lords vote. -
Reforms spell end of joint commissioning in Peterborough
A long-running agreement on joint commissioning of health and social care has come to an end because of the government’s health reforms. -
Ridgeway to be taken over by non-neighbouring FT
The struggling Ridgeway Partnership in Oxfordshire is set to become part of a larger foundation trust spanning two separate geographical areas, with all the bidders shortlisted to take it over based outside the county. -
Role for councils in older people’s dignity drive
Adult social services departments must be part of a fundamental change in the quality of care of elderly people, an expert commission has said. -
Salt stocks hold up in big freeze
Road de-icing salt supplies held up well in this weekend’s severe weather after councils spent a year replenishing stocks, the salt industry has said. -
Scotland's council funding set
Scotland’s 32 councils will share funds totalling £11.5bn in 2012-13, local government minister Derek Mackay has said. -
Scrutiny spending ebbs away
Spending on councils’ scrutiny operations was falling fast even before spending cuts struck in 2010, the Centre for Public Scrutiny has found. -
Sedgemoor goes nuclear over planning cost
A council has adjourned its council tax setting meeting amid a row with nuclear power station operator EDF. -
Shapps issues Growing Places and New Homes Bonus figures
Final allocations from the Growing Places Fund have seen all local enterprise partnerships receive slightly more than the initial allocations announced in November. -
Slow progress at intervention councils
Two Welsh councils that had commissioners sent in the run services last year have been criticised by auditors over their pace of progress. -
South Gloucestershire prepares to tender community services
NHS South Gloucestershire has given notice of plans to put £80m of community services out to tender. Commentators predict other primary care trusts will soon follow suit. -
Suffolk districts choose Gallin as joint chief
Two Suffolk districts have appointed a joint chief executive on a £105,000 salary after neither incumbent sought the role. -
The knock-on effect: PCTs, PropCo and social enterprises
All readers of LGC will be aware of the intense debate around NHS reforms, and especially the bumpy passage of the proposed Health and Social Care Bill. -
Thinktank slams Pickles for obstructing localism
A thinktank has accused communities secretary Eric Pickles of undermining the government’s localism policy through persistent attempts to micromanage councils. -
'This business model lets us focus on quality services and safe staff'
One of the major reasons for supporting our move to an independent co-owned social business was the flexibility the model offers in improving outcomes for local patients, staff and the community. -
Tobacco programme staff contemplate future as social enterprise
Tobacco programme staff in the North West are using ‘the right to request’ in an attempt to become a social enterprise, Merseyside cluster board heard. -
Tories resist pressure to freeze council tax
An eighth Conservative administration has unveiled plans to increase council tax as ministers step up pressure on councils to freeze the charge. -
Training and education transition warning as guidance delayed
The influence of smaller trusts and the independent scrutiny of NHS education and training could be undermined by government reforms. -
Troubled families coordinators wanted 'as soon as possible'
Troubled families coordinators must be appointed rapidly and be senior enough to radically improve councils’ work in this field, the government’s Troubled Families Team has said. -
Unfrozen Wales gets 2.1% council tax rise
Wales’ average council tax increase is expected to be 2.1%, the Welsh Local Government Association has said. -
Union threatens industrial action on pay freeze
Council staff face a third consecutive year of frozen pay after the Local Government Association refused to make a pay offer for 2012/13. -
Unison warns over car package cuts
A Unison region has threatened legal action against any council that seeks to reduce staff car allowances without an adequate transition period. -
Value of early years education questioned
Auditors have been unable to find any link between council spending on early years education and the quality of provision. -
Vote change marred by financial doubts
Electoral administrators have warned that continued uncertainty over the change to individual voter registration will make it impossible for councils to plan for the costs involved. -
We risk doing things differently, rather than doing different things
I’ve been involved in two very energising conversations in recent months - first at the SOLACE Summit, where chief executives met to discuss the big challenges, and at UKGovCamp in January, where people from across government looked at how they could use new technologies to transform governance and services. -
Weekly bins fund details unveiled
Councils will be able to bid for a slice of the £250m weekly bin collections fund if they want to develop food waste collection services as well as residual waste services, Eric Pickles has revealed. -
Why we went for an elected mayor - without holding a referendum
The debate over directly elected mayors dates back more than a decade. In Liverpool, Lord Heseltine and Sir Terry Leahy recently advocated someone to be a powerful voice for the city, as Boris Johnson speaks for London and Michael Bloomberg for New York.
