Housing rev cap, LA bonds vs PWLB, Sector hire, Angus procurement, Herts regeneration

Brum mayor calls for borrowing changes
Birmingham City Council is being prevented from building the new hosues it needs by the housing revenue cap, according to the City’s mayor. Sir Albert Bore said that his council needs to borrow £2bn for the necessary work, but government limits mean it can only borrow £1.1bn against rental income unlike registered social landlords who may leverage their existing portfolios. “Why,” asked Sir Albert, “is the local government cap so much lower for social landlords, who are operating in the same market sector?” In March London Councils organised a letter to the Financial Times which said that lifting the housing revenue cap would allow councils to build up to 60,000 new homes.

DoE pays back councils
The Department of Education is to return £94m to local authorities. The payment follows unfair cuts, according to the LGA, that were made to the money councils received in 2012/13 to deliver school services.

Municipal bonds to be cheaper than PWLB
The founder of Sweden’s municipal bonds agency has urged the Local Government Association to move forward with its plans for the UK equivalent. Demand for public sector bonds with a good rating could let councils borrow at a rate 20 basis points cheaper than the PWLB rate said Lars Andersson, who is working with the French government to create its agency.

Angus looks local for procurement
Angus Council is to try to hand more contracts to local businesses. The authority has set up a working group to see if it can support the local area while staying within the rules governing public sector procurement. The chief executive of the council told local businesses that there was perhaps “more latitude” in procurement rules than the council had previously thought.

Sector hires council finance head
Treasury consultancy Sector has appointed the ex-director of finance for Cheshire East as a director. Lisa Quinn has join Sector’s local authority treasury and capital finance team after 27 years in local government.

Hertfordshire gifts land for regeneration
Herefordshire County Council has gifted land to a housing association as part of an attempt to regenerate an area classed in the 10% most deprived of the UK. Herefordshire Housing will spend six years on The Oval at Newton Farm demolishing, improving and building in order to bring the area into better order.