Library
Our library contains documents held on the Improvement Service site together with links to documents held externally. A list of websites which also hold publications and information useful to those working in local government is available in our Information Sources section.
Users of the IS site are invited to submit documents that they think will be of value to other site users. Please note that you must be a registered user of the Improvement Service website and logged in if you wish to submit a new document. Documents submitted will not appear on the site immediately but will be subject to approval by our editorial team.
If you need any guidance or help please read our 'How to use this site' document.
Financial Management
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This report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation explores how budget cuts affect the capacity of English local government to meet the needs of deprived households and communities. The report provides early, systematic evidence of the scale of the cuts and how local authorities are dealing with them.
Audit Commission reports which looks at the different approaches UK councils are taking to reduce workforce costs while protecting services. There are five case studies of good practice that accompany the report which show how some councils balance service priorities and financial pressures. These councils do not represent all councils but reflect the range of innovations necessary to manage in tough times. The case studies show what the councils did and why, and the benefits achieved.
This Audit Scotland report provides an overview of the financial environment facing the public sector in Scotland and current cost pressures. It explains what the public sector is doing to respond to current and future budget reductions, and highlights the risks and issues that organisation need to manage in their response. It includes case studies on priority based budgeting in Aberdeen City Council, shared service arrangements in Clackmannanshire and Stirling Councils, and outsourcing IT services in Scottish Enterprise and Highland Council.
This article from the May 2009 issue of Holyrood magazine discusses the crisis in local government finances. It argues that it is a time of great change in the public sector and that no area is immune from cost cutting, and suggests that collaboration and greater outsourcing of services will be necessary. It describes how Glasgow City Council has embraced efficiency-driven transformation by establishing arm’s length organisations to deliver certain services and considers whether the Glasgow model could be adopted across local government.
