The Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group spent much of its 2 March session exploring a question that is rapidly moving from policy theory into operational reality: what does the changing world of work mean for local authority services, especially revenues, benefits, council tax support, customer services and fraud? The discussion ranged across labour…
Category: Fraud
Monday Discussion Group: Budget Expectations, Council Tax Premiums, Fraud Pressures and Deprivation Indices
Summary of participant views – 24 November 2025 This week’s Monday Discussion Group opened with a sense of déjà vu. With the Budget only days away, Malcolm Gardner remarked that most of its contents seemed to have been pre-announced, leaving little mystery for Wednesday. Paul Howarth agreed, noting that Budget leaks usually reflect firm Treasury…
Independent R&B Discussion Group: From Snail Farms to Council Tax Reform
27 October 2025 The Independent Revenues and Benefits (R&B) Discussion Group gathered for another lively Monday session chaired by Malcolm Gardner, who began on a light note from “sunny Yorkshire” before steering conversation into some very grounded policy terrain — business rates, council tax reform, and the pressures facing local authorities. Snail Farms and Business…
Procurement Pain and Populism: Local Government Under Pressure
Independent R&B Monday Discussion Group – 20 October 2025 The latest Independent R&B discussion opened with Malcolm Gardner wryly noting that the week’s agenda looked like “a bit of a hodgepodge”—ranging from procurement headaches to welfare reform, the leaked Reform UK video from Kent, and the ever-growing fiscal squeeze on councils. Procurement: Avoidance, Waivers and…
Mid-Break Highlights from the Independent Revenues & Benefits Discussion Group
1 September 2025 We’re on our summer pause, so instead of a live session this week we’ve shared the second mid-break slide pack. It’s a chance to catch up on what’s happening across revenues and benefits while we recharge. We’ll be back together on Monday 8 September. So, what’s inside this week’s pack? Plenty to…
VN Monday Discussion Group 4/11/24 The Autumn Budget
On 4 November 2024, the Independent R&B Discussion Group met to examine the latest budget and its implications for local services, public spending, and policies affecting welfare and business rates. Led by Malcolm Gardner, the session provided detailed insights from experts in local government finance and welfare, with a focus on emerging policies and the…
Economic Challenges and AI Opportunities for Local Government
Difficult Inheritance: Navigating Weak Growth and High Debt The new government steps into an economic quagmire marked by weak growth, high taxes, and a government debt that has tripled since 2007. Public spending is teetering on the brink of crisis with deteriorating public services adding to the urgency. Fiscal pressures are mounting due to an…
Monday Discussion Regarding the State of Fraud Risks
In our recent Monday discussion group, we delved into the question of whether fraud has become a diminished risk, warranting less concern than in previous years. This intriguing subject sparked a comprehensive dialogue, enriched by the examination of contemporary statistical data. The figures indicate a moderate decrease in various forms of fraud—including benefit, insurance, and…
Discussion group 10/7: Oflog & Four-day weeks.
During our recent discussion group meeting, we examined the newly declared Office of Local Government (OfLog). The Secretary of State, Michael Gove, has heralded numerous prospective benefits to emerge from OfLog, while maintaining that it does not represent a resurrection of the Audit Commission. However, upon closer scrutiny, its responsibilities appear to align more closely…
Misallocated Covid-19 Grants: Recovery Challenges
Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented challenges for governments worldwide. As part of their response, councils in the UK disbursed a staggering £22.6 billion in grants to support businesses. However, it has come to light that an estimated £1.1 billion of these grants were paid out wrongly. Unfortunately, the recovery of these misallocated funds…