Council cuts, tax base rises, stress testing banks, PSDF charges cut
0LGIU says councils face 1.7% cuts
Councils will face 1.7% real terms annual cuts in spending over the Spending Review period, according to the Local Government Information Unit. In a briefing note on the announcement, it said that this was less than the aveerage annual reductions of 2.3 per cent between 2010-11 and 2014-15.
Council tax base rises
New figures show the number of dwellings liable for council tax in England rose by 0.8% to £23.1m in October. The DCLG figures showed that 15.0 million dwellings were liable to pay 100% council tax as they are not entitled to any exemptions or discounts.
Banks pass stress test
The Bank of England has assessed that the UK banking sector is adequately capitalised following its latest stress tests. Ratings agency Fitch said that capital ratios are likely to remain stable, held up by the BoE’s increased use of countercyclical buffers, and that the tests are likely to become more sophisticated and more qualitative in nature.
PSDF cuts charges
The Public Sector Deposit Fund has temporarily reduced the annual management charge for share class 4 holders by 0.1% a year to 0.08%. The move has been taken in order to enhance the return for public sector investors in the face of low sterling money market rates.
