Archive news & events

Children in the care of a local authority are one of the most vulnerable groups in society.   And when services fail a child the...

Ensuring that public money delivers clear, positive outcomes to those who use public services is at the heart of good decision-making. Unless we have...

 In a couple of Saturdays’ time an event called #notwestminster is happening. A group of people who are interested in local democracy will be...

This blog is the second in a series we are writing as part of our support work, funded by the LGA, on English devolutionIt...

 The Communities and Local Government Committee has today released a report highly supportive of the principle of greater devolution but is critical that the...

  As you know, CfGS has decided to raise the profile of governance and scrutiny this year by introducing an Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny...

CfGS will not be organising a 2016 run of its Good Scrutiny Awards. Instead, we are highlighting excellent scrutiny in two ways – by...

On the release of the Education Committee's report on Regional Schools Commissioners, Su Turner, Director of Children and Young People at the Centre for...

  December saw some of the worst floods ever recorded in the north of England. For the first time, a major city, York, was seriously...

  The first working day of 2016 seems like a perfect time to launch a new look for CfGS. New Year, new look and a...

  It's an exciting time for us here at CfGS. Not just because we've opened our secret Santa presents, but because we’re moving our recognition...

Devolution is gathering pace in England. True, I could have started a blog with that line at any point in the last eighteen months,...

  It's that time of year. The clocks have changed, the days are getting shorter, traditional Christmas music enhances our shopping experience...Soon we can expect...

  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...

 Schools are at the heart of our communities yet the distance between the head teacher’s office and the town hall seems further apart than...

  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...

  “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....