Today’s call for devolved tax-raising powers for London could herald similar moves in cities right across the nation. It’s a development that is long overdue Read more
You wouldn’t know it from the headline figures, but local government, along with some other unprotected and unloved public services, looks likely to face at least 50 per cent spending cuts between 2011-12 and 2017-2018 Read more
Ministers are at loggerheads over who should bear the brunt of £10bn extra spending cuts. This outbreak of ‘fiscal nimbyism’ signals deep Cabinet tensions over protected and non-protected departments Read more
Tomorrow’s local government settlement in England is likely to be a painful experience. There may be opportunities for individual councils to boost business rate income from next year, but the overall spending direction will be downwards at least until the end of the decade Read more
Dispersing the Audit Commission’s work to private firms marks the end of District Audit as we know it. But watch this space for further reforms Read more
Continuing economic uncertainty, coalition tensions, phone hacking and civil disorder are among the challenges facing politicians at this year’s round of party conferences Read more
The chancellor’s failure to reduce government borrowing by the required amount suggests that he may have to inflict further cuts on public sector spending Read more
The Office for Budget Responsibility has presented a sobering view of the pressures facing governments in the decades ahead Read more
The government has launched an inquiry into how to achieve savings in the charges made for Private Finance Initiative contracts. According to the Treasury’s press notice on the subject: ‘The contract for the Queen’s Hospital in Romford will be examined by an experienced team of commercial, legal and technical advisors to identify ways of reducing ongoing costs in this contract on behalf of the local NHS Trust. The lessons will then be used to drive savings across the full portfolio of PFI contracts.’ Read more...
The government’s consultation document Implementing self-financing for council housing outlines proposals radically to reform the finance of English local government’s social housing. The pros and cons of these changes for housing will be debated widely. But for aficionados of central government’s view of local autonomy, paragraph 3.22 is a gem: Read more...
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