News Roundup: Burnley outsources, Barnet rent, Avon hedge investment, Sunderland LABV
0Burnley opts for large-scale outsourcing
Burnley Borough Council has launched a tender seeking a single partner for a massive outsourcing tender for backroom services. The deal, which could be worth up to £118m over 10 years if neighbouring councils get involved, covers customer contact, environmental health and licensing, payroll and payments, ICT, benefits and revenue administration, property and facilities management, plus strategic management services. It is aimed at making savings of 15% for the council.
Legal poser for Barnet rent plans
Barnet Council is proposing to raise rental levels for its council home tenants to 80% of average market rent. The council is consulting on the plan which it says would raise £550,000 for every 1% increase. It plans to spend the cash raised on building more homes. But lawyers have raised doubts about whether it would be legal to raise rents to this level for residents with secure tenancies.
Avon seeks hedge fund manager
The Avon Pension Fund, administered by Bath and North East Somerset Council, has published a tender document seeking an investment manager to set-up, implement and manage a diversified portfolio of hedge funds. The portfolio will equate to roughly 5% of the fund’s overall assets, or approximately £165m at current levels.
Gloucester set to join shared legal services team
Gloucester City Council has agreed to join a joint legal services team formed by councils in Tewkesbury and Cheltenham. A report approved by the council’s cabinet said that the council’s legal service needs to deliver £50,000 of savings and that this would “best be achieved through entering into a partnership agreement”. The One Legal service was formed in 2009, and Gloucester will now join, subject to a business case being prepared.
Sunderland signs off LABV
Sunderland City Council has signed a deal to create a local asset backed vehicle with contractor Carillion to undertake £100m of regeneration. The joint venture, which will be named Siglion, has appointed consultant Igloo Regeneration to provide development and asset management services. The council will transfer an investment portfolio of industrial, retail and offices into the new company, and will share in the profits from redevelopment.
£2bn tobacco investment by funds
Local authority pension funds have invested almost £2bn in tobacco firms, according to a request under the Freedom of Information Act. The figures, published by the Independent on Sunday, showed West Yorkshire’s fund was the largest investor, with shares worth £186m, followed by the London Borough of Barnet, with £116m. John Middleton, policy head at the Faculty of Public Health, said: “These amount to blood money investments. They are simply incompatible with the role local authorities now have in assuring the health of the populations they serve.”
Council launches solar investment scheme
Cannock Chase Council has launched a community share offer to put solar panels on the roofs of properties it owns. The project is looking to raise up to £1m to install the panels on bungalows owned by the authority. Investors are being offered a return estimated at 7% for 20 years, with a minimum investment of just £100.
Report joins devolution bandwagon
A commission into growth in non-metropolitan areas has joined the chorus of voices calling for a more devolved fiscal system. In an interim report released this week, it said that its “emerging view” was that more power over local taxes should be given to councils, along with a bolder arrangement for retaining business rates revenue growth locally.
