Thirteen areas have been shortlisted to pilot support for claimants of the government’s new single universal credit benefit, it has been announced.
Town halls could be handed greater powers to fine benefit cheats ? rather than pursue expensive and time-consuming legal cases ? under Coalition plans to devolve control of council tax support.
MPs have urged the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) to improve its performance in providing redress for public complaints about local services.
Proposed protections for councils facing large EU fines have been given the stamp of approval by ministers.
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.
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has announced £200 million of funding to encourage the development of specialist housing for older people.
The head of the staff-owned training company Prospects, has urged the Government to spread the ‘John Lewis effect’, and increase the number of mutuals.
A fourth senior minister this week urged councils to ‘push back’ at Whitehall edicts and use new powers to improve communities ? indicating the coalition remains keen on its devolution agenda as it heads into Parliament’s summer recess.
The LGA has called for the government to commit to a concrete timescale for reforming and funding social care following the publication of the long-awaited social care white paper.
Localis’ Alex Thomson argues for a shift of funding from acute to preventative care, as a recent LGA report exposes a 16.5bn shortfall in local authority funding by 2020.