Author: Ed Hammond
Devolution and a sense of place
This blog is the second in a series we are writing as part of our support work, funded by the LGA, on English devolution It was to say the least a bit of a surprise when DCLG announced, just before Christmas, that the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill would be amended to allow areas […]
Good scrutiny: Buckinghamshire County Council’s review of child sexual exploitation
CfGS will not be organising a 2016 run of its Good Scrutiny Awards. Instead, we are highlighting excellent scrutiny in two ways – by sponsoring an award for excellent scrutiny at the MJ Awards (details on how to apply can be found here) and by starting a blog series highlighting examples of excellent, innovative or […]
Scrutinising the floods
December saw some of the worst floods ever recorded in the north of England. For the first time, a major city, York, was seriously inundated. Images of floods seem to have now become a grim tradition at this time of year – floodwater cascading over breached defences, disintegrating bridges over swollen rivers, cars […]
English devolution: how we’re planning to help
Devolution is gathering pace in England. True, I could have started a blog with that line at any point in the last eighteen months, but this time (despite some wobbles) it really is happening. Deals have been done (and are being done, and will continue to be done) – but now minds must turn to what the […]
Some thoughts on transparency and freedom of information
Over the summer the Government announced plans to set up a Commission to review the freedom of information regime. This could have been an opportunity for celebration. An update of the Freedom of Information Act to take account of the increased prevalence of technology in the storage and management of information would be […]
Reflecting on #localgovcamp and the Local Democracy Maker Day
Last Friday I was a local democracy maker. The Local Democracy Maker Day is a fringe event held the day before the ever popular, and never-not-unhashtagged #localgovcamp (which is a sort of self-assembly conference and meetup for local government types). The purpose of the maker day is to chew over some big challenges […]
Launching our campaign on devolution
“Getting the governance right” for devolution isn’t about bureaucracy, or a sideshow distracting us from the real prize of more power for combined authorities. Good governance is in fact central to making those arrangements work. The next nine months will see us playing an active part in providing support to combined authorities in […]