Communities secretary Eric Pickles has offered local authorities £55m over the next five years as part of a bid to encourage more localism in the planning system.
In a letter to councils, sent after yesterday’s Spending Review, Pickles gave details of how various grants would be distributed over the next five …

Local government spending watchdog the Audit Commission has hit out at “misleading press reports” that accompanied the announcement of its abolition on Friday.
In a letter to communities secretary Eric Pickles, the quango’s chairman Michael O’Higgins said he had been “disappointed and dismayed” by reports that it had spent taxpayers’ money …

Councils are being given the right to sell renewable electricity for the first time, generating a new source of future income for cash-strapped local authorities.
Today, energy secretary Chris Huhne has written to all councils saying he plans to overturn a law that bans councils from selling renewable power to the …

More than half of property people in local authorities are worried about losing their jobs as a result of government spending cuts, a PublicPropertyUK.com survey suggests.
Today, PublicPropertyUK.com and public sector jobs site jobsgopublic.com have published the results of their survey, How will spending cuts affect you and your job?
It reveals …

London Mayor Boris Johnson would breach his strategic role by taking over the delivery powers of the Homes and Communities Agency’s London arm, councils have been warned.
A report to think-tank London Councils by its policy and public affairs director Dick Sorabji says councils should oppose Johnson’s attempt …

The Audit Commission has today published guidance on accounting for fixed assets under International Financial Reporting Standards.
The briefing, which is called Countdown to IFRS: Accounting for non-current assets, explains what problems could arise from IFRS for property professionals in the public sector.
In February, the Audit Commission’s deputy chairman Bharat Shah …

Councils now drawing up their annual asset management plans face greater challenges than usual.
Despite submitting budgets in April, they have to be reviewed, following initiatives such as Total Place. Further reviews are likely because of the uncertainty about the spending cuts planned following the election.
As a result, councils are appointing …

Anthony Coumidis, sustainability and energy director at property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper says local authorities should interpret their “10% renewables” planning rules differently to drive down the cost of green energy:
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Current planning permission regulations say new builds must generate at least 10% of their energy needs from on-site renewable …

What it is: Support services company Interserve reports on local authority attitudes to outsourcing as they expect to make 10% cuts to their budgets in the next two years.
When it came out: 8 April 2010.
Why it is important: The research shows that, of the 152 staff members at local authorities …

In the first quarter of 2010, local authorities sold 148 properties at auctions in England, Scotland and Wales, raising just £26m
This is a big decline from the same period in 2007, when 243 properties were sold for £112.9m (see graph, left).
However, experts expect councils to sell more properties after the …