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The digital buying community is live

12.11.18: Many of the requirements from buyers posted on the Digital Marketplace were either non-compliant or poorly worded, which resulted in challenges from suppliers and delayed timescales for buyers. Crown Commercial Service (CCS) decided to go out an...

A force to be reckoned with

12.11.18: The South Bank plan, which refers to a number of investments and proposed activities across a massive plot of land south of the River Aire, is one of Europe’s largest city-centre regeneration initiatives. Cllr Judith Blake, leader of Leeds...

Less for less: the risk of 'core offers'

12.11.18: As councils across England struggle with their finances in the face of massive cuts from central government, Simon Edwards, director of the County Councils Network (CCN), assesses the risk of ‘core offers’ becoming the norm. Aft...

A two-speed England

05.11.18: Central government needs to change its approach to local transport planning and investment, including by consolidating funding and maximising devolution opportunities, argues Tom Thackray, the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI&rsquo...

Innovating workforce productivity

05.11.18: Cllr Peter Fleming OBE, chair of the LGA’s Improvement & Innovation Board and leader of Sevenoaks District Council, looks at how technology can improve the productivity of public-sector workers. Across the country, councils have b...

Social value in Greater Manchester: lessons learned

05.11.18: Peter Schofield, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) collaborative procurement programme manager, looks back at the region’s history of adopting social value policy and outlines what lessons his team has learned as a result. ...

Tackling problem debt

05.11.18: Debt problems can have detrimental effects on people’s wellbeing, the economy and public services. Charles Nancarrow, director of regulation and trade at the National Audit Office (NAO), talks us through part of his organisation’s la...

North of Tyne: a new future and political dawn

05.11.18: Pat Ritchie, chief executive of the North of Tyne authorities leading on housing and chief executive of Newcastle City Council, outlines her vision for the region as it walks towards a groundbreaking devolution deal. A new political era is...

Local roads and governance: an inquiry

29.10.18: Lilian Greenwood, chair of the Transport Select Committee, discusses the inquiry that MPs are launching into the state of England’s local road network. The “appalling condition of virtually every road” in the UK is a &ldqu...

Social care has reduced pressures on the NHS, now the pressures must reduce on care too

29.10.18: Glen Garrod, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), explores the thorny issue of funding ahead of the government’s forthcoming green paper. As the voice of social care teams across the country, ADA...

Social value: what is it and why?

29.10.18: Ben Carpenter, chief executive of Social Value UK, argues that, before we start measuring social value, we should ask clearly: what is it, and why does it matter? Social value is so much more than a value-for-money exercise. If you see soci...

The Northern Gateway

29.10.18: The Northern Gateway will be one of the largest residential-led regeneration schemes in the UK when the project hits the ground in the coming months, explains Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council. Rightly lauded in the...

Making good health a reality in Wigan

22.10.18: Wigan Borough Council is leading the way with its innovative approach to integrated health and care. We hear from the Healthier Wigan Partnership about the work they’ve been doing to improve people’s lives and transform their health...

Knowledge Quarter: the pieces of the jigsaw

22.10.18: Liverpool already boasts the best in class when it comes to innovation – but no city can rest on its laurels. Joe Anderson, the city’s mayor, talks about the ongoing development of the Knowledge Quarter Gateway. Knowledge is pow...

LGiU: Local government in Finland

22.10.18: Finland’s local government structure is going through a set of reforms as municipalities across the small Nordic nation continue to merge. Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGiU, and Suvi Loponen, LGiU associate, examine the local...