Council spending freedoms ‘restricting value-for-money judgements’

 

If you can't see the Public Finance Daily email below click here to view the web version   News and comment from Public Finance - the official magazine of CIPFA   25 June 2014 | Public Finance Home | Contact us | Sign up         Auditors warn over council spending freedoms Government moves to increase the flexibility that councils have over spending Whitehall grants have made it more difficult to assess the value of town hall expenditure, the National Audit Office said today. Removal of ringfences meant ministers needed to do more to understand whether the system was effective...       News Councils 'not claiming Discretionary Housing Payment' More than £20m of funds to help people hit by government welfare changes, such as the introduction of the ‘bedroom tax’, was unclaimed by councils in 2013/14, the Department for Work and Pensions has said... MPs to vote on expansion in OBR remit MPs will today vote on Labour’s proposal to expand the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility to audit all major parties’ spending pledges ahead of the next election... Low pay costs 'Treasury up to £6bn each year' Low pay costs the public purse between £3.6bn and £6bn every year in tax credits to boost wages and the government should encourage employers to pay the Living Wage to reduce this subsidy, a report has said... Unison members back July strike action over pay Unison members in local government and schools are to strike on July 10 after 58% of workers voted to take industrial action following a 1% pay offer... More news     CIPFA Conference  CIPFA conference digital coverage Public Finance’s dedicated CIPFA conference page brings together all of the news stories, opinion, features and videos from this year’s event in London to keep you up to date... CIPFA 2014     Public Finance International Abe fires ‘third arrow’ of Japan’s economic reform Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has unveiled an ambitious package of economic reforms to improve the management of public funds and the country’s ‘earning power’... More international news     Opinion Mind the tax gap, by Chris Giles Tax revenues are below forecast despite the strong recovery in the economy. The result is a £30bn black hole in the finances and the need for yet more austerity... A cure for the NHS? By Malcolm Prowle The founding principles of the NHS were wonderful at the time, but the world has moved on and they need amending if the health service is to survive... More opinion     Features Margaret Hodge: the armchair auditor, by Judy Hirst The straight-talking chair of the Public Accounts Committee is well known for taking no prisoners in pursuit of the public pound. She talks to PF about going after tax dodgers, how to take on Ukip and her next big political challenge... More features     Assistant Chief Officer Cheshire Constabulary  c. £90,000 pa Finance and Resources Director SHAL Housing Limited £Competitive package Capital Manager London Borough of Merton £35,772 - £46,512 per annum (depending on experience) Finance Business Partner Newcastle City Council £38,422 - £42,032 pa More public finance jobs Jobs: South East Jobs: North West Jobs: East Mid. Jobs: West Mid. More regions CIPFA Publications Events     Click here to unsubscribe from this email