Highland Council has wasted more than £2m on preparations for five new care homes which will no longer be built. The figures were revealed by Councillor John Finnie, leader of the SNP group on the council, which had its 2007 decision to develop new homes overturned by the new Liberal Democrat-led administration owing to the economic climate. Finnie said: “Highlanders don’t like waste, don’t like double standards and won’t forget this betrayal of our older people.”

Stockport council has revealed that £78m has to be saved over the next four years. Council chiefs will have to find £20m savings in one year alone. The town hall is the last local authority in Greater Manchester to spell out the impact of the government cuts. Details as to where the axe will fall have not yet been outlined, but a decision is expected next month.

Lancashire County Council chief executive Ged Fitzgerald is to leave his post to take up a similar role in Liverpool City Council. On his reasoning for leaving Lancashire, Fitzgerald said: "Liverpool is my home city and I see the chance to become chief executive of the city council as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a difference there." Leader of Lancashire County Council Geoff Driver praised Fitzgerald's work. "Ged has revolutionised the county council's working culture in a way that makes us much better placed to cope with the significant financial and strategic challenges we are facing."

Oxford Council's 'Cleaner, Greener' campaign has been heralded a success after the city was voted the cleanest in the UK in an annual poll. 500 people have been fined for dropping litter in Oxford’s streets in the campaign's first year. John Tanner, the councillor behind the scheme, said it had “changed people’s way of thinking” and proven cities can be kept clean in the 21st century.