Local Government Chronicle
July 2012 - online articles

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Academies should have nothing to hide

The recent action research report on the role of local authorities in education made a recommendation that councils need “to further develop the scrutiny role of councillors so this becomes a powerful route for championing and advocating on behalf of children and young people”.
Act now to protect vulnerable people from climate change

This soggy summer has already highlighted the lack of protection for the most vulnerable people in the face of extreme weather – and the Environment Agency suggests the flooding has not ended yet.
Acting chair of Public Health England announced

Health Protection Agency chair David Heymann has today been appointed acting chair of Public Health England, the new national body for public health.
Affordable homes scheme gets mixed review

The government’s affordable homes programme has been branded a “success” by auditors for exceeding original targets at the same time as reducing public spending on housing.
Audit bill reveals sector savings

The abolition of the Audit Commission and the outsourcing of its contracts is set to save councils £150,000 a year on average, according to government estimates.
Avoiding competition for Healthwatch work

Councils are now thinking about how they fulfil their responsibility to commission an independent local Healthwatch service from April next year, and for many there is a growing realisation that this is not as straightforward as it might first have seemed.
Backing schemes that are the right solution for the environment

I recall several years ago participating in a workshop where, to my dismay, a local authority planning officer characterised the Environment Agency as the organisation that liked to ‘say no’. I’d like to think that today he would describe us as the organisation that likes to say ‘yes if’.
Betts: Regional fund money at risk

Ministers have been urged to honour a promise to match-fund European Union support for economic development in the regions.
Blackburn chief to take Wirral job

Blackburn with Darwen BC chief executive Graham Burgess is set to be unveiled as the next chief executive of crisis-hit Wirral MBC.
Bleak future leads councils to reserve cash

Officials figures have shown the first small signs of councils adding to their reserves as the sector prepares for a number of significant changes to funding and continued austerity.
Bristol chief to retire

The chief executive of Bristol City Council is to retire with almost immediate effect, it has been announced.
Burstow tells councils: "You're not all crude cutters"

Care services minister Paul Burstow has said he will not “tar every council with the same brush as crude cutters of social care.”
Call to remove council duty to excluded pupils

An advisor to the Department for Education has suggested removing councils’ legal responsibility to provide an education for pupils permanently excluded from school.
Care reforms are welcome - but we need resources

The care and support white paper and draft bill successfully set out a compelling vision for care and support in the 21st century. The draft bill provides a consolidated and modernised legal framework for adult social care replacing all existing legislation.
Casey calls for single worker for families

Councils should assign troubled families “one assertive family worker” who can offer “practical help and support but also sanction”, according to a key government adviser.
Casey defends payment-by-results model

Louise Casey, head of a government scheme to help ‘troubled families,’ has defended the programme’s payment-by-results model and said she was “heartened” by the response of councils to the scheme.
Children's group struggling to fulfil remit

The tougher standards being applied by Ofsted to children’s services departments have left local government’s improvement body struggling to fulfil its remit.
Civica acquires Gateway Computing

Civica, a market leader in specialist systems and business process services that help organisations to transform the way they work, has announced that Civica UK Ltd, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, has acquired Gateway Computing Limited (“Gateway”).
Commissioner authorisation to be 'iterative' process

The authorisation of NHS commissioning groups will be an “iterative process” – with organisations able to correct their weaknesses throughout the process – government regulations have confirmed.
Commissioning support jobs fail to entice

There is a shortage of applicants to run commissioning support services, LGC’s sister title Health Service Journal has learned, sparking fears that the jobs are proving unattractive to senior NHS managers.
Commissioning support market faces heavy regulation

The NHS Commissioning Board has revealed the future market in commissioning support services is likely to be heavily regulated, potentially including restrictions on firms making a dividend.
Concerns on matched funding are heard - and understood

Across the EU, the public finances of member states are under pressure, and citizens are looking to local and national governments to provide sustainable growth.
Controversial contractors 'not systemic'

The use of personal service contracts is ‘not systemic’ in local government with just 13 identified nationally, the LGA’s chief executive has said.
Councils to run £330m disability fund

Local authorities will be put in charge of a £330m social care fund for disabled people, under plans published by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Councils urged to rate care reforms

The LGA has urged councils to rate the government’s social care reform plans out of 10, on a number of key criteria.
Curbs proposed on council powers over NHS reconfiguration

The Department of Health has begun consultation on regulations that would significantly check local government’s power to refer controversial NHS reconfigurations to the health secretary.
Dawes to take retirement

The chief executive of Lichfield DC is to retire after 11 years in post, it has been announced.
Department criticised over mayoral publicity

The Department for Communities & Local Government’s last-minute intervention into rules surrounding official publicity of the mayoral referendums may have contributed to low levels of voter engagement, a report has said.
Department's EU funding response 'inadequate', say MPs

The Department for Communities & Local Government’s response to economic development funding concerns have been branded “disappointing” and “inadequate” by senior MPs.
Developing energy self-sufficiency in local government

Do you have hidden assets that will power your long term economic growth?
Dorset names new chief

Dorset CC’s director for adult and community services has been named as the successor to chief executive David Jenkins who is set to retire later this year after 13 years at the council.
Durham consolidates revenues and incomes management systems onto Civica-supported shared service model

When legislation was passed, fast-tracking Durham’s eight councils into one unitary authority, Durham County Council, by April 2009, the councils involved knew they faced a tough period of consolidation.
Extra care funding is not enough, MPs warn

The government’s pledge of an extra £300m to fund social care will not be enough to close the funding gap that councils face, according to a group of MPs.
Finance experts issue verdict on Dilnot

The social care reforms proposed by the Dilnot Commission would require a rise in spending equivalent to just 0.2% of national income within 10 years, according to an influential thinktank.
Growing universal credit role for councils

Councils look set to have a central role in the government’s welfare reform plans and the rollout of universal credit.
Health commissioners could have powers removed

Clinical commissioning groups may be given “support” including having managers imposed on them or their functions removed, it has been confirmed.
Health warning over funding care reform

The cost of reforming social care should only be met by the NHS if there is also a wider move towards fully integrated services, LGC’s sister title Health Service Journal has been told.
Herefordshire chief to depart

A ground-breaking shared chief executive in Herefordshire is to stand down in the Autumn, it has been announced.
Hull chief executive departs

Hull City Council’s chief executive has quit her post at short notice, the council has announced.
In the team benchmarking stakes, residents’ panels don’t merit a medal

Credit where it’s due – in this case to the Local Government Association’s recent decision that data gathered from local residents’ panels about their views of and satisfaction with their councils cannot be used for benchmarking purposes.
Inspections reveal essential standards not met

Fewer than three out of four of the 14,000 health and social care sites inspected by the Care Quality Commission met all essential standards around quality and safety.
Is localism still the answer?

A recent study by the LGA suggested that local authorities will face a funding shortfall of £16.5bn by 2020 as they struggle to square the circle of making further spending cuts while also having to meet growing demand for services, particularly in social care.
Just nine commissioning support MDs appointed

Just nine out of the 23 managing director posts for commissioning support services have been recruited, it has been announced.
LGA bonds prospectus sent to councils

Finance directors are set to receive a prospectus this week for a collective bonds agency for local government.
Little interest in weekly bin return

Community secretary Eric Pickles’ prolonged campaign to rid England of alternate weekly rubbish rounds looks set to end in failure, exclusive research suggests.
Local NHS directors named

The NHS Commissioning Board has appointed to 16 of its 25 local area team director posts, whose holders are charged with securing “a strategic overview of the system” and overseeing service reconfiguration.
Low carbon key driver of jobs growth during the recovery

It is always difficult to get people to worry about climate change. In times of austerity it is even harder.
Mandate urges NHS to work with councils

A new government mandate for the NHS has emphasised the importance of working with local government and other public sector bodies, saying the health service must promote joint commissioning of health and social care services and work closely with local health and wellbeing boards.
Minister dismisses welfare timetable fears

Ministers have dismissed fears about the tight time-frame for changes to council tax benefit, advising there is no need to worry if they stick largely to the existing scheme.
Ministers rethink standards concession

Ministers have rowed back on a recent concession over the new standards regime.
Ministers to slash consultation times

Government consultations could be cut from the default 12-week window to as little as two weeks under plans drawn up by the Cabinet Office.
More commissioning support details emerge

Further details have emerged of the process through which organisations to help GPs and clinicians commissioning NHS services will be established.
Multi-agency data sharing in the East Riding

With the increasing focus on early intervention, there is a real demand for schools and other teams to work more closely together in the provision of children’s services. This makes it more important than ever for authorities to be able to share information on children with those who need it in an efficient and timely way.
Munro calls for solidarity on adoption

Professor Eileen Munro, the social policy expert who carried out a review of child protection, has urged local authority children’s services directors to “stand together” against the misuse of adoption scorecards data.
New burden cost exceeds funding cut

The administrative cost of localising council tax benefit will be even bigger than next year’s grant funding cut, according to an early estimate submitted to government.
New integrated provider on cards for London

Two councils and a community trust in London are to consider plans to integrate provision of health and social care services.
News round-up 10/7: Council broadband scheme struggles

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News round-up 11/7: Deferred payment for care

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News round-up 12/7: Care paper unveiled

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News round-up 13/7: NHS abortions inquiry

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News round-up 16/7: Dilnot speaks on care plans

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News round-up 17/7: Immigration drives population

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News round-up 18/7: Loans to guarantee investment

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News round-up 19/7: MPs back minimum alcohol price

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News round-up 2/7: City deals imminent

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News round-up 20/7: More adoptions guidance

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News round-up 23/7: Desperate measures to find classrooms

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News round-up 24/7: MPs urge gambling freedoms

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News round-up 25/7: Recession deepens

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News round-up 26/7: Scottish elections criticised

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News round-up 27/7: Rise in school place demand

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News round-up 3/7: Ministers to tackle care home concerns

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News round-up 30/7: DfE accused of racism

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News round-up 4/7: School reforms 'unguided missile'

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News round-up 5/7: Oliver slams Gove on school meals

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News round-up 6/7: Town hall 'pravdas' to be outlawed

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News round-up 9/7: Care reform details this week

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NHS plans new improvement body to drive efficiency

The NHS Commissioning Board is preparing to launch a new organisation to promote and spread innovation in a bid to orchestrate a “system-wide response” to make services sustainable.
No record of procurement claim check

There is no record of government statisticians testing controversial research by private-sector consultants before it was endorsed by communities secretary Eric Pickles in a departmental press release, LGC has learnt.
Ombudsman service must change with the times

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO), formally the Commission for Local Administration in England, was established in 1974 - one of the longest standing ombudsman’s schemes.
Ombudsman service panned by MPs

MPs have delivered a scathing assessment of the Local Government Ombudsman service (LGO), saying it must conduct its own activities “with credible effectiveness” before it can criticise others.
Outsourcing is dead, long live outsourcing

The debate about outsourcing public services has rarely been so charged and so confusing.
Panel data banned from online tool

Councils that consult panels of residents to gather information on satisfaction levels will not be able to use this data to compare themselves against others, the LGA has decided.
Parsons resigns as Leicestershire leader

David Parsons has resigned as leader of Leicestershire CC, avoiding a ‘no confidence’ vote from his own Conservative group.
Parsons resists resignation calls

Embattled Leicestershire CC leader David Parsons has rebuffed advice from his own Conservative group to stand down, despite facing another standards investigation.
Pension funds eye infrastructure investment

Several local authority pension funds are considering increasing their investments in UK infrastructure in response to a Treasury plan to underwrite risks, according to interviews by LGC’s sister title Construction News.
Planning services key to growth - Kerslake

Planning services are key to the government’s economic growth agenda and need to be maintained, local government’s senior civil servant has warned.
Plans launched to integrate health and social care data

Health and social care data sets are to be joined up for the first time to aid integrated commissioning under the NHS Commissioning Board’s final information operating model.
Pressure group's latest pensions report slammed

A Taxpayers’ Alliance report on local government pensions has been branded “flawed and inaccurate” by negotiators behind the latest reforms to the scheme.
Profits of waste contractor rise 20%

The UK arm of Veolia, which delivers waste services to local authorities, posted a 20% profits hike as revenue from its private finance initiative (PFI) portfolio surged.
Rules on EU fines unveiled

Proposed protections for councils facing large EU fines have been given the stamp of approval by ministers.
Schools concerns on hold until autumn

A key report on the role of local authorities in education will not be discussed formally with the Department for Education until autumn, after a meeting between schools, local authority representatives and ministers was cancelled.
Scoring the social care white paper

The LGA has long campaigned for reform of our social care system and the long awaited white paper on care and support sets out a good platform for change. But it doesn’t go far enough.
Shapps grilled by councillors

Ministers and local government leaders clashed over limitations to the government’s localism agenda during a heated meeting covering housing, council tax benefit and funding reforms.
Shropshire chief moves to Cheshire East

Kim Ryley, chief executive of Shropshire Council, has left the authority for a three-month secondment to Cheshire East.
Small business loan fund to boost entrepreneurs

Telford & Wrekin Council small business loan fund will support fledgling businesses or social enterprises and form a key part of the Council’s drive to be a Co-operative Council.
Social care cuts pile pressure on NHS

Two thirds of NHS leaders believe cuts to council spending have affected their services over the past year, prompting warnings that the system is “heading for collapse”.
Social enterprises 'to receive £19 million investment over next year'

The Department of health announced investment of £19m over the next year for social enterprises, on top of the £100m already invested over the last five years.
Stunell benefit comments 'misleading'

Ministers have been accused of “misleading” the public with “inaccurate figures” about changes to council tax benefit.
Tax collection rates: central and local

Council tax collection rates have become an annual Commons ritual, pleasingly coinciding with the first week of Wimbledon.
The case for mutuals is made to Government in new paper

Plans for staff mutuals in local government are being hampered by procurement obstacles, low awareness of Ministers’ aims and uncertainty over the cost impact according to ‘Knowingly Undersold - how Government can spread the John Lewis effect’, a new paper by Prospects, a leading public sector provider that is itself an employee owned former public sector spin-out.
The consequences of a lack of inter-provider information sharing

Charteris partner Stephen Hewett discusses the urgent imperative for constructive and efficient collaboration between healthcare providers
The need to drive cashable efficiencies in the public sector

By engaging with the public and providing visibility of the local services and amenities available, local authorities can get residents more involved and urge them to take greater responsibility for their environment and local services effectively and efficiently.
The next steps for public sector mutuals...

I did just ever so slightly want to sink even more deeply into the creamy folds of my overly large Latte when the recent report on next steps for public service mutuals by the Mutuals Taskforce was released.
Thurrock and Barking shared chief agreed

Barking & Dagenham LBC and Thurrock Council have confirmed their plans to share a chief executive.
Time to get kids coding again

This week the cross industry Next Gen Skills campaign launches a ‘call to action’ for local policy makers to support the education of a new generation of computer programmers for our economy.
Tower Hamlets searches for interim chief

Tower Hamlets LBC is to launch another recruitment process for an interim chief executive following the failure to appoint to the position permanently.
Unison branches back pension reforms

The vast majority of Unison branches have backed proposed reforms to local government pensions, according to a consultation.
Waste firm withdraws from framework

One of the 11 suppliers set to be involved with the UK’s first waste management services framework has announced its withdrawal from the project.
Welfare pilots shortlist unveiled

Fifteen areas have been shortlisted to pilot support for claimants of the government’s new single universal credit benefit, it has been announced.
Winners of £250,000 digital grants announced

Reading BC has won a £125,000 award for its use of digital technology, in a scheme run by O2 in partnership with LGC.

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Local Government ChronicleJuly 2012 - online articles

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Local Government Chronicle
July 2012 - online articles