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Latest Result - A Quiet Crisis: Changes in local government spending on disadvantage
Featured Publication - A Quiet Crisis: Changes in local government spending on disadvantage

A Quiet Crisis: Changes in local government spending on disadvantage

This report is about the services that English local authorities provide to support people facing disadvantage. Using a composite measure of ‘spending on disadvantage’, it looks at how such spending has changed, both in terms of service volume and re…

  • Published: 11th Sep 2018
  • Authors: Issy Petrie, Carla Ayrton, Adam Tinson
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - Devolution within Northern Ireland

Devolution within Northern Ireland

This report examines evidence for an extension of the responsibilities of local government in Northern Ireland (NI) through devolution from Stormont. Its context is a drive towards greater power for cities and regions across the UK, the absence of a …

  • Published: 21st Jun 2018
  • Authors: Peter Kenway, Issy Petrie
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - The Impact on Public Finances of meeting UNISON’s 2018/19 pay claim for NJC local government workers

The Impact on Public Finances of meeting UNISON’s 2018/19 pay claim for NJC local government workers

This paper provides an estimate of the overall impact on public finances of the 2018-19 National Joint Council (NJC) pay claim for employees in local government covered by the NJC. Although the NJC also covers the majority of school support staff, th…

  • Published: 16th Nov 2017
  • Authors: Adam Tinson, Issy Petrie
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - Are cuts to Council Tax Support in England a false economy for councils?

Are cuts to Council Tax Support in England a false economy for councils?

Key points Total uncollected council tax is £400m higher than in 2013-14 when Council Tax Benefit was abolished. The number of local authorities that have either retained CTB or set no minimum payment continues to decline, and more local authorit…

  • Published: 10th Aug 2017
  • Authors: Carla Ayrton, Karen Barker
  • Category: Council Tax
Featured Publication - Redefining neighbourhoods: A future beyond austerity?

Redefining neighbourhoods: A future beyond austerity?

Neighbourhood services are universal services. The public sees them as the core function of local government. Since 2010/11, neighbourhood services have been the hardest hit of all local government services, taking a shrinking share of a shrinking b…

  • Published: 25th Apr 2017
  • Authors: Karen Barker, Peter Kenway
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - Key changes to council tax support in 2017/18

Key changes to council tax support in 2017/18

Key points Council tax support (CTS) gives low-income working-age families a discount on the amount of council tax they have to pay. So if CTS is cut, the result is a tax increase for those families affected. 74 councils changed their schemes in …

  • Published: 4th Apr 2017
  • Authors: Otis Long, Carla Ayrton
  • Category: Council Tax
Featured Publication - Sustainable local government finance and liveable local areas: Can we survive to 2020?

Sustainable local government finance and liveable local areas: Can we survive to 2020?

This report paints a picture of local government finance up until 2020 against the backdrop of the past five years and identifies the challenge it presents to the liveability and public realm services most closely associated with APSE. They include l…

  • Published: 8th Mar 2017
  • Authors: Theo Barry Born, Peter Kenway
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - Council tax support schemes in 2017-18: what are the key issues ahead of councils’ decisions?

Council tax support schemes in 2017-18: what are the key issues ahead of councils’ decisions?

A new briefing from the New Policy Institute is calling on local councils considering making their Council Tax Support (CTS) schemes less generous to consider the impact on low-income households. …

  • Published: 25th Jan 2017
  • Author: Adam Tinson
  • Category: Council Tax
Featured Publication - Have cuts to Council Tax Support in England led to rising council tax arrears?

Have cuts to Council Tax Support in England led to rising council tax arrears?

Council Tax arrears have risen in the years since the introduction of Council Tax Support (CTS), a local replacement for Council Tax Benefit (CTB) which tends to be less generous. This briefing paper looks at the relationship between the generosity o…

  • Published: 12th Dec 2016
  • Author: Carla Ayrton
  • Category: Council Tax
Featured Publication - NPI submission to CLG Local Council Tax Support Review

NPI submission to CLG Local Council Tax Support Review

On 2 December 2015 the Department for Communities and Local Government announced the launch of the mandatory three-year review of the localisation of Council Tax Support, following its replacement of Council Tax Benefit in April 2013. Since autumn 2…

  • Published: 19th Jan 2016
  • Category: Council Tax
Featured Publication - The impact on public finances of meeting UNISON’s 2016-17 pay claim for school and council workers covered by the NJC for Local Government Services

The impact on public finances of meeting UNISON’s 2016-17 pay claim for school and council workers covered by the NJC for Local Government Services

This paper provides an estimate of the overall impact on public finances of the 2016-17 NJC pay claim for employees in local government and schools covered by the National Joint Council (NJC). The paper has been commissioned by UNISON. The pay part o…

  • Published: 13th Jan 2016
  • Author: Adam Tinson
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - Local Welfare Safety Net Inquiry: Submission from the New Policy Institute

Local Welfare Safety Net Inquiry: Submission from the New Policy Institute

The New Policy Institute (NPI) have responded to the Committee’s call for evidence on the local welfare safety net. This is a subject where we have both a wide-ranging view and in-depth knowledge, the latter from research projects to do with Council …

  • Published: 5th Nov 2015
  • Category: Social Security and Welfare Reform
Featured Publication - The Overall Impact on Public Finances of Meeting the Local Government Trade Unions' 2014-15 Pay Claim

The Overall Impact on Public Finances of Meeting the Local Government Trade Unions' 2014-15 Pay Claim

This pamphlet, commissioned by Unison, seeks to estimate the overall impact on public finances of the Trade Union Side’s 2014-15 pay claim for all employees in local government covered by the National Joint Council (NJC). The claim is for an extra £1…

  • Published: 18th Dec 2013
  • Authors: Peter Kenway, Adam Tinson
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - The Impact of Welfare Reform on Low Paid Local Government Workers

The Impact of Welfare Reform on Low Paid Local Government Workers

Since 2010 pay in local government has increased by less than inflation. Uniquely in the public sector, local government workers suffered a three-year pay freeze - in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The pay award in 2013 was 1%, plus the removal of the bottom p…

  • Published: 31st Oct 2013
  • Authors: Adam Tinson, Peter Kenway, Hannah Aldridge
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - The Impact of Localising Council Tax Benefit

The Impact of Localising Council Tax Benefit

In April 2013, Council Tax Benefit (CTB) was abolished and replaced by Council Tax Support (CTS). In England, 326 local authorities had to devise their own local CTS schemes but with 10% less funding. This summary looks at the impact of that change o…

  • Published: 28th Mar 2013
  • Authors: , Peter Kenway, Hannah Aldridge
  • Category: Council Tax
Featured Publication - Localising Council Tax Support: A Briefing Note on Local Authorities' Plans

Localising Council Tax Support: A Briefing Note on Local Authorities' Plans

This paper summarises our assessment of the proposed Council Tax Support schemes to replace Council Tax Benefit that local councils were consulting on in September 2012. As the most widely-claimed means-tested benefit, the replacement of council tax…

  • Published: 12th Sep 2012
  • Authors: Sam Popper, Peter Kenway
  • Category: Council Tax
Featured Publication - Living on the Edge: Pay in Local Government

Living on the Edge: Pay in Local Government

The local government workforce in England and Wales is a big part of the public sector – and a very big part of the local public sector – yet there is little understanding among the general public of who is in it. The two main archetypes, teacher and…

  • Published: 22nd Feb 2012
  • Authors: Peter Kenway, Anushree Parekh, Hannah Aldridge
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - A Poisoned Chalice for Local Government

A Poisoned Chalice for Local Government

This paper analyses the implications for English local authorities of the Government’s consultation document on the replacement of council tax benefit (CTB). Local authorities now have 18 months to design, construct and introduce their own replacemen…

  • Published: 24th Oct 2011
  • Author: Peter Kenway
  • Category: Local Government
Featured Publication - Council Tax Benefit: the effect of a 10% cut

Council Tax Benefit: the effect of a 10% cut

The Government’s plans to reduce spending on Council Tax Benefit by 10 per cent will have a disproportionate impact on local authorities which are in areas of high level of deprivation – with the most affected losing more than four times as much per …

  • Published: 1st Dec 2010
  • Author: Dan Paskins
  • Category: Council Tax
Featured Publication - Food Access: Whose Responsibility?

Food Access: Whose Responsibility?

In Spring 2000, the New Policy Institute held a seminar to review four recent research projects addressing food access for low income communities, and to discuss where responsibility lies for resolving this complex issue and what solutions might be g…

  • Published: 1st May 2000
  • Authors: Cathy Street, Catherine Howarth
  • Category: Income and Poverty

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