Almost all public services could be opened up to private companies under plans being put forward by David Cameron.
Ministers much-vaunted community-based budgets programme is at risk of collapsing, senior council figures have warned.
Councillors should have to approve local authority salaries of more than £100,000, the government says.
David Cameron has attempted to breathe new life into his much-criticised Big Society initiative, declaring that it is his ?mission in politics? to make it succeed.
Eric Pickles, the Local Government Secretary, is to order councils to list the staff and detail their responsibilities.
David Cameron refused to rule out the possibility of the introduction of local fuel taxes as part of the local government finance review that is due to be published shortly.
The local government finance settlement was finalised on Monday, with the upper limit for cuts to local authority revenue spending power adjusted down from 8.9% to 8.8%.
Localis has welcomed with open arms many of the coalition governments policies to decentralise power to local government and communities. But without genuinely rebalancing the control of finances between central and local government, the governments commitment to decentralise power will only go so far.
Alex Thomson, Chief Executive of Localis, has given evidence to the Localism Bill Committee.
The governments flagship Localism Bill will receive its first dose of parliamentary scrutiny this afternoon when MPs debate the details.