JGP News

Wiltshire County Council’s bid to become a unitary authority has been undermined by a report exposing “fundamental flaws” in the proposals.

Professor Michael Chisholm, a local government expert from Cambridge University, was commissioned by Kennet, West Wiltshire and Salisbury district councils to examine in detail the case for a unitary authority to govern the entire county. (more…)

The vast majority of single tier authorities and county councils in the UK improved their services delivery in 2006, despite more stringent performance testing.

Local government watchdog the Audit Commission announced that 79 per cent of single tier and county councils achieved a two-star rating last year, with none now in the bottom category of the hardest demanding Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) yet. (more…)

Charity directors have submitted a series of requests to the Treasury, seeking budget amendments that could help the third sector make significant tax savings.

The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (acevo) and the Charity Finance Directors’ Group (CFDG) delivered the document to the Treasury demanding 15 changes on issues from payroll giving, through gift aid, to VAT structure. (more…)

A petition aimed at saving a psychiatric unit has garnered more than 3,000 signatures.

Holly House in Gloucester was marked for closure because of health cutbacks, the BBC reports. (more…)

University chiefs in the UK enjoyed average pay rises of 7.9 per cent last year, according to the Times Higher Education Supplement.

The average increased to £165,105 over the 2005/06 period, up from £153,061 the year before. In comparison, lecturers’ pay increased by only three per cent over the same period. (more…)