There is a new call for local councils to be given more responsibility and greater incentives to drive forward Local Area Agreements. It comes from the New Local Government Network which also argues that the current system is inflexible for many local authorities.
The NLGN has evaluated the latest wave of LAAs, and while it highlights achievements such as a more joined-up policy framework it also warns there are significant logjams that stop the system working more effectively. 

The Home Office is being urged to reconsider proposals for new politicians to act as policing representatives amid fears that the move might alienate ordinary voters. The Local Government Information Unit calls the idea ‘risky’ and suggests instead that local authorities should take on a kind of commissioning role based on experience from around the world. 

This survey report from Croner Reward and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development reveals that public sector HR workers recorded the lowest rise in the last year with a 3 per cent increase in salary. Private sector workers experienced the highest increase with an average of 4 per cent rise, followed by the voluntary sector with 3.25 per cent. Salaries in all sectors increased by an average 3.25 per cent.