Pickles: 'Councils must do their bit'
An estimated 70% of council income will now be raised locally compared to 56% under the centrally-distributed "begging-bowl" Formula Grant system, according to the Communities and Local Government Department (DCLG).
– Communities and Local Government DepartmentFrom April 2013, councils can channel this greater local control into encouraging local jobs and local firms via a new business rate retention incentive that rewards them for growth. It could potentially add £10 billion to the economy by 2020.
The DCLG also published 50 examples of where it believed councils could save money, ranging from opening a coffee shop in libraries to scrapping the post of chief executive.
– Eric Pickles, Local Government SecretaryCouncils must keep doing their bit to tackle the inherited budget deficit because they account for a quarter of all public spending and still get through over £114 billion of taxpayers' money each year.
More top news
Secret files reveal drunken Stalin and Churchill meeting
Secret files reveal drunken meeting between Stalin and Churchill, a cross-dressing spy and King Edward VIII's phone bug.
Two arrested after man killed in London 'terror' attack
Two men were arrested after a man was killed in broad daylight on the streets of London in a suspected terror-related attack.
'Cycle Tweet' girl breaks her silence
A driver who boasted on Twitter about colliding with a cyclist has apologised for what she calls a "stupid tweet".