Councils are increasingly expected to help tenants find work. Rosie Niven finds out how town hall bureaucrats are preparing to beat the poverty trap

Penalising people who help to regenerate their communities makes about as much sense as paying them to stay out of work. But campaigners believe they have a solution. Susan Downer reports

If you’re homeless, the prospect of getting a job must seem like an impossible journey. But by taking it step by step, it’s a far less daunting prospect. Rosie Niven reports on a new model aiming to help people do just that

Abusive employers, long hours, paltry wages – working conditions in some countries border on the Dickensian. Unfortunately, the UK is one of them. Susan Downer reports on fresh efforts to fight for the working poor

It’s worth billions of pounds and yet regional and local agencies are doing little to capitalise on it. Aaron Barbour argues why it’s time to help the informal economy go legit

Rosie Niven finds out why Shaks Ghosh ended a ten year relationship with her begging bowl to help private equity firms express their humanity

Mighty creator of jobs or feared destroyer of community-based regeneration? This Rapid Research explains how to overcome the fear and make the most of the working neighbourhoods fund

Will a funding regime focused on tackling worklessness leave the achievements of the neighbourhood renewal fund dangling? Barry McCarthy reports

The arrival of workers from across Europe is injecting billions into the economy, but it has given birth to a whole new set of challenges for some local authorities. Rosie Niven reports

Inefficient, self-serving and a drain on resources – some reckon we need a cull of local public sector jobs. Victoria Bradford and Matthew Jackson explain why they are worth protecting