When key performance data finally landed, the results were clear: relative to before the pandemic, most metrics got worse. Spending on agency staff, a key justification for the trial, went up, not down as was intended.
If a council is in trouble, then the more daylight on the matter the better – publishing accounts acts as that daylight. The first step to solving a problem is recognising it exists.
Our investigation into occupancy rates at council buildings found that offices were only around 40 per cent full.
In Central Bedfordshire, Council Tax is being frozen. One reason is early intervention for elderly residents, delaying the point where they need to move into residential care.
Arun District Council has decided to invest almost £500,000 of local taxpayers’ money on a luxury bed and breakfast in the picturesque town of Arundel in West Sussex.
This included visits to some of the world’s most oppressive regimes, such as Cuba, China, and Russia. The very same Council that hosted COP26 and declared a climate emergency in May 2019.
Anyone who has spent time in the Netherlands can hardly fail to see the benefits of more cycling; wider pavements and a merciful absence of cars. But the motive should not be to punish drivers and avoid the need to find savings.
Scott’s gamble is that it is in Wallace’s interest to wrap things up quickly – due to fears for his position. The Prime Minister is making a strikingly similar gamble.
Social distancing in a crowded urban park is ceaseless effort; on a rural stroll, effortless. Yet Derbyshire Police insist that we confine ourselves to the former.