The COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant challenge for all tiers of government across the world. In the UK, the devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are responsible for most of the public services significantly impacted by the pandemic, and have designed and...

The local government finance system in England is undergoing genuinely revolutionary change. A highly-centralised system of funding, with central government grants allocated on the basis of councils' relative spending need, is set to be replaced by a system where councils as a group are...

A new, up-to-date system for allocating funding between councils is vital, and reforms must align with the broader vision for local government.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit sub-Saharan African economies hard, exacerbating debt and debt servicing cost issues that a range of countries in the region - including Ghana and Nigeria - already faced. This report examines the fiscal context in sub-Saharan Africa and the issues and options for...

Over the last 20 years, sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have experienced significant economic growth and consequently growing levels of motorisation. Though overall levels of motorisation in SSA are still relatively low, with a high number of poor-quality vehicles concentrated in large...

We analyse the impact of the possible approaches to council tax reform set out in the Welsh Government's consultation on "A fairer council tax".

This chapter looks at what we know about why Scotland's tax base has grown more slowly so far since devolution.

After health, funding for Scottish councils is the second largest item in the Scottish Government's Budget. In the original 2022-23 budget as passed by the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government allocated £10.6 billion to councils as part of the main local government portfolio, with...