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In a previous post, we set out four possible scenarios for how governance could develop as we continue to navigate the pandemic.  Since then, we...

CfGS has been successful in securing funding to support a major campaign on local governance in the post-COVID world, and what steps could be...

As the National Housing Federation’s Together with Tenants initiative is rolled out nationally this month, many housing associations will be taking a comprehensive look...

Recent events in Parliament have provided us with a stark reminder of the absolute importance of scrutiny on the national stage – and act...

Today (29th September 2020) sees the Centre for Public Scrutiny change our name to the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny.   This change reflects the wider scope of our...

We are in the eye of this storm – there is no telling how or when it might recede. For the optimists, the New...

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the law which brought in scrutiny, CfGS is saying farewell to its longest serving team member, Tim...

One of the first things that the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny did when it was established in 2003 was to try to articulate...

Since the late spring there have been increased rumblings that the expected Devolution White Paper will bring with it plans for structural reorganisation in...

Throughout the past ten years we and others in the sector have spoken extensively about the pressing financial challenges facing local authorities. These have...

We have recently recorded our 'Finance Scrutiny' webinar for you to watch below. We will also be uploading further webinars for member and officers in...

We are, to be honest, not great as a country when it comes to learning lessons after terrible things happen. Nationally, the model we...

The Public Accounts Committee’s report on council commercial activity makes for uncomfortable reading – for Government as well as for councils. The Committee is excoriating...

We have today (25 June 2020) published a comprehensive practice guide on financial scrutiny, with our colleagues at CIPFA.  You can read a piece in...

In part one I kicked off with a brief introduction to the world of council logos, this part sets out what I've learnt. Council logos...

Whilst we still face many months of uncertainty and many institutions continue to be focused on the operational response to the pandemic, there is...

A lot of councils fairly regularly conduct reviews of their constitution. Your council may be one of them. You might do them in-house (your Monitoring...

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many councils were engaged in serious conversations about how they needed to rethink local democracy and local governance. For...