What's New?
Local authorities ramped up their borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) in the year to April, increasing the statutory body’s liabilities by 10.5%, according to the body’s annual report.
Figures in the PWLB’s 2018/19 accounts, released this week, show liabilities of £78.34bn, up from £70.88bn the year before – driven by a 76.9% increase in new loans advanced to councils and other bodies in the 12 months.
HM Treasury sets a cap on the PWLB’s maximum liabilities, which is currently £85bn.
A current-year increase in the magnitude of liabilities on a par with last year’s would breach the existing cap.
However, the Finance Act 2014 allows the Treasury to legislate to eit
...Councils first became interested in the model more than a decade ago. At that point, the structure was known as the Local Asset-Backed Vehicle (LABV) – a term that has now all but disappeared. According to a Centre for Cities report in 2007, “unlike other models, LABVs are arrangements where local authority assets are used to lever long-term investment from the private sector for a stream of development projects”.
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy is seeking to identify the barriers to the public accessing and understanding local authority accounts.
The next prime minister should make an emergency finance settlement with councils to stave off crisis, a think tank has warned.
LGPS pool Border to Coast has launched private equity and infrastructure investment opportunities, with commitments of more than £1bn from its member funds. The pool has announced the portfolios, which[…]
Local authorities say the decision to lift the cap on the Housing Revenue Account isn’t enough for them to deliver on the scale needed to end the housing crisis. According[…]
A review of local government audit announced by the government this week will consider new measures to give the public better access to financial information produced by section 151 officers.[…]
The Local Government Association (LGA) will support 45 councils defending a challenge to business rates levied on NHS hospital properties that could see £2.35bn clawed back and set a significant[…]
Another model aimed at measuring the financial sustainability of councils has joined a crowded field, with the claim that more than a third of councils are at risk of failure[…]
A county council which last year decided to cut its service provision to a bare minimum says it will still run out of money without extra funding from central government.[…]
